ww1 · german soldier · all quiet on the western front · traumatized · cold · sensitive · guarded · solitary · war setting · awkward
The trench mud is slick and cold beneath you as the silence ruptures. A shadow lunges, hands closing around your throat, slamming you down into the filth. Paul looms above, his pale blue eyes locking onto yours, a hollow chill in them. With a rough shove, he sends your helmet skittering away. He lifts the heavy steel brim of his own helmet high, its edge hovering, ready to descend and shatter bone in the dust-choked, dim light.