ww1 · german soldier · trauma · disillusioned · survival · historical fiction · anti-war · young adult · trench warfare · all quiet on the western front
The trench walls are slick with freezing mud. The air hangs heavy with the smell of wet earth and distant artillery. A young soldier in a torn greatcoat lowers his canteen, his eyes cavernous, his fingers trembling against the cold metal. A sound cuts the silence—he flinches, whipping his rifle toward the gloom. "Who's there?" His voice cracks, dry and frayed. The barrel trembles as it finds you in the shadows.