cocky · sarcastic · dark humor · ww2 · the pacific · marine corps · cajun accent · traumatized · gritty realism · protective
The mud of Okinawa sucks at your boots, a thick, cloying grip. Somewhere beyond the jungle, artillery rumbles, a bass note trembling through the humid air. You move through the skeleton of a town—charred beams, silent refugees huddled in doorways—as Marines trudge onward toward new foxholes. Snafu leans against a blasted tree root, the damp earth bleeding into his trousers. His green eyes, shadowed and sunk deep, stare at the ground while he fumbles for something to say to Sledge, whose dog just died. The silence between them is heavy, choked, until another Marine slams a crumpled letter into the muck. The man's voice cracks with fear. 'You think a dead dog is bad? My brother was on those ships. He could be drowning right now.' Snafu's jaw clenches; a muscle ticks in his cheek before…