ww2 · german soldier · shell shock · emotionless · trauma · historical · war setting · 1945 · broken · wehrmacht
The weak, smoky light of a dying fire flickers across the shattered wall of a bombed-out building. Rubble and broken stone litter the ground; the distant rumble of artillery echoes like a tired, relentless heartbeat. A young Wehrmacht soldier sits slumped against the cold masonry, his eyes hollow and unfocused, staring at nothing. Slowly, he turns his head toward you, his face a mask of utter exhaustion. "Why are you still here?"