I’ve tried to picture in my mind what 480,000 bodies would look like, but all I can visualize are hundreds of fat, black corpse flies feasting on them and, even worse, laying their eggs on them. I see the clusters of flies in the corners of their eyes and in their mouths, noses and ears, and the speckles of fly dust that mark their clothes. The buzzing of the flies fills my mind and I think of those poor dead men turning into a mass of maggots. My gorge rises and it’s all I can do not to vomit.
This is a short extract from my WIP, The Soldier and the Radium Girl. Thank you to Charli Mills for the inspiration. You can join in here: https://carrotranch.com/2021/05/28/may-27-flash-fiction-challenge/
roberta-writes.com 
Reblogged this on Ed;s Site..
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Thank you, Ed.
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Just did a double take! I’m excited to read this Robbie! 😱❤
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Hi Didi, I’m glad this paragraph captured your attention. This has a romantic thread in it which is fairly untried territory for me.
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I love stepping out of the norm zone 🤩
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Yip, me too, Didi.
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You know I love you girl.. YUCK! (the visual, not the way it was presented)
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Sorry, Annette, blame Charli – it was her topic [grin]. This is how it was and if you thought it was yuck, then my description worked.
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Ha! Robbie, you went where the prompt led. Good job!
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So visceral, Robbie. Wow, that a scene. So dark. Loved the writing.
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Hi Diana, thank you, I’m glad you liked this piece. It is dark, but I seem to be attracted to dark topics like war and murder.
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I know the feeling. These are dark times in a way.
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Very graphic! (I try not to think about what 480,000 bodies would look like.)
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Hi Liz, Jake is a young American recruit who has been sent to France after the USA’s entry into WW1. I imagine that when faced with the prospect of fighting, and knowing all the facts of the huge death rate in this war, a soldier would think about it from time to time.
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I would expect so, yes.
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Robbie, that’s a perfect description of the horrors of mass death. Had to read it twice to let it sink in. Grim (in a well written sort of way).
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HI Priscilla, thank you for your lovely comment. War is grim and I seem to have a passion for writing about it. I have a strong belief that people need to know what has happened, what is happening, and what could happen in the future.
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Images of war have no beauty. Well done. (K)
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Thank you, Kerfe, you are right about that
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you’ve created quite a disgusting visual, but as that was your goal – congrats!
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Haha, thank you, Jim. It is also a piece from a whole which makes it more intense.
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yes, the clear focus on just this one passage does make it more intense…
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You pulled no punches on this one, Robbie. Wow.
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Hi Jacqui, do you think it is to harsh? I could tone it down a bit. Of course, this is just a small piece.
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No–I think it came across like a wake-up slap, exactly like you’d want to do to motivate folks to read your book. I assume it is ‘this type’ of book–raw, real, sensory.
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Yes, the subject matter is rather heavy going as is indicated by the title. My favourite books to write [smile]
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Deep, dark and vivid. Flies swarmed this piece with great impact.
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Thank you, Charli. It is very dark, but so is war.
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Oh my goodness, Robbie. That’s revolting. It must be really well written. 🙂
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Sorry, Norah, but this is a truth.
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Still really well written.
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💖 thank you, Norah.
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Oh gosh, tragic. Now I’m wondering if that’s going to be about some aspect of African history? There have been some bloody massacres.
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HI Anne, not for this particular book. This one is about the USA involvement in the war and a civilian girlfriend in America. I have recently published a book about the Second Anglo Boer War called A Ghost and HIs Gold and I intend to write a book about the Anglo Zulu war when I get my current three WIPs finished. So many ideas and not that much time.
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Evocative. 💜
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