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"plaintext": "Reverend William Grainger emerged from the courthouse after an unpleasant weekend in prison, greeted by John Anderton and Parker waiting outside. He explained that after the incident at the hotel, he had hidden inside hoping to escape in the early morning hours, but slipped while dropping from the first floor and injured himself. When guards approached, he pretended to be unconscious, which seemed the best option at the time. Most importantly, he revealed that the dangerous bowl was still hidden in the hotel, on the first floor's west side, just below the middle window. John expressed grave concern that if the hotel was demolished and the bowl turned on its side, a fissure could open and release a steady stream of floating dog-sized worms drifting through London."
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"plaintext": "The group arrived at the hotel site late in the morning to find it swarming with activity. Dozens of people worked on the demolition, some dressed as laborers in overalls, others in suits resembling police detectives or solicitors. A gate guard casually let people in and out without checking papers. Reverend Grainger pointed out the specific window where the bowl remained hidden, and they observed the bustling site, trying to formulate a plan. They discussed various approaches: attempting to get hired as casual laborers, waiting until lunchtime to follow workers and find where they were recruited, or even stealing laborers' clothes. Eventually, they decided to purchase appropriate disguises and infiltrate during the lunch break."
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"plaintext": "Parker led them to a laboring supply store where John, still wearing his snappy suit and possibly a top hat, requested laborer's clothes. The amused shopkeeper assumed they were dressing up for a play or party and enthusiastically assisted them, charging a fifty percent markup for three sets of overalls, work boots, and cloth caps. After leaving the store, the group found a dirty, muddy alley where they deliberately kicked and scuffed their new clothes to make them look worn and authentic. Reverend Grainger took unexpected glee in this task, imagining Finley's head as he kicked the clothes around, releasing pent-up frustration from his time in prison."
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"plaintext": "Disguised as laborers, they joined the crowd of workers returning to the hotel site after lunch, entering separately to avoid suspicion. Reverend Grainger positioned himself near the start of the group, Alfie in the middle, and John near the back. All three successfully passed through the gate without being questioned. Once inside, they observed workers picking up tools like shovels and wheelbarrows. John and Everret each acquired shovels while Reverend Grainger headed directly toward the building where the bowl was located."
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"plaintext": "Reverend Grainger walked briskly and boldly with his shovel to the specific room on the first floor. He successfully reached the room and grabbed the box containing the bowl, then looked out the window for Everett, who was positioning himself below with a wheelbarrow. Reverend Grainger dropped the box from the window, and it hit the ground with a thud. A nearby laborer noticed the sound and looked around questioningly. Reverend Grainger quickly improvised, claiming he was clearing the floor as ordered by the boss, and started throwing other rubbish out the window to disguise his true purpose."
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"plaintext": "A man in a suit approached and questioned Reverend Grainger about clearing rubble, asking if he had found anything interesting or unusual. Reverend Grainger deflected successfully, and the man instructed him to stay clear of the floor. When Reverend Grainger and Everett came down from the building, they noticed the same man paying too much attention to their area. Reverend Grainger and Alfie decided to create a diversion. Reverend Grainger pretended to be someone with limited intelligence, saying \"Come, come\" and gesturing for the man to follow him in a different direction. The confused man followed Reverend Grainger around the corner, where he pointed to another man in a suit, creating further confusion."
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"plaintext": "While the distraction was happening, John quickly hurried to the fence with the box containing the bowl. He called out to Parker and held the box over the fence. Parker successfully received the bowl, completing the mission. Reverend Grainger then decided to leave the site, returning his shovel and walking toward the exit while pretending to be a disgruntled worker complaining that the work was too hard. A supervisor told him not to expect any money and that he would not get another job there, but let him leave. John and Everett also successfully exited the hotel site without further incident."
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"plaintext": "Back at John's house, the group discussed where to store the bowl safely. Reverend Grainger suggested testing the bowl by turning it to see if their theory about it being dangerous was correct, proposing to do it in John's courtyard with shotguns ready. John strongly objected to this plan, both because of the danger and because shotguns going off in his London neighborhood would attract unwanted attention. Everett supported the idea of testing the bowl, arguing it would make it easier to transport and keep safe if they knew whether rotation was still dangerous. John refused to allow the test at his house and insisted the bowl should not be turned. They discussed the location of the jar, which Finley had, and the potential danger if the jar was manipulated while the bowl was in the wrong orientation. Eventually, they decided to take the bowl to Everett's shop and lock it in his safe for safekeeping."
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"plaintext": "Over dinner at John's house, the group discussed various loose ends and plans for the following day's investigations. They noted that Alfie was in the hospital and stable, no longer dying, and discussed visiting him. The group recalled that Doctor Brant had been captured by Finley and separated from them, and they should check on her status. They discussed Reverend Grainger's strange dreams and the incident at the prison, noting the lack of newspaper coverage about the massacre and the weird slimy monster found in the basement. The group recalled encountering a girl with mouths in her hands two weeks prior and speculated about its connection to Wasserman's magic or statues."
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"plaintext": "They discussed three known statues: one from an artist's mind that Everett possessed, one in John's safety deposit box that had previously been taken to Wales, and Wasserman's statue whose fate was unknown. The group compiled a list of tasks for tomorrow: check on Teddy Sharpe Lockhart to see if he had become lucid again, contact the museum lady about ghostly voices, check on the girl with terrifying hands, and investigate the law firm Birch and Chase. They discussed investigating whether the two deceased lawyers actually worked for Birch and Chase, and who might claim their bodies. After dinner, Reverend Grainger and Everett took the bowl to Everett's shop for safekeeping."
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"plaintext": "That night, Alfie, in his hospital bed, fell asleep and dreamed he was in pitch darkness, fumbling through slimy, wet walls in a narrow passage with sucking mud underfoot. He heard something big moving behind him with a disturbing sucking sound, and a massive explosion sent him stumbling forward. John dreamed he was fumbling down a dark corridor like a rat in a pitch-black maze, bumping into unseen turns. He saw a dim light ahead and charged toward it, then a massive explosion occurred and a man in a mud-caked Great War uniform stumbled out of a doorway and fell to his knees in a trench."
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"plaintext": "Reverend Grainger was jarred out of bed by a massive concussion, finding himself in pitch darkness with soft, wet earth underfoot. He saw a doorway with a confused babble of voices beyond, and a man in a Great War helmet carrying a bayoneted rifle bolted past him. A second man grabbed Reverend Grainger by the arm, shouting that they were going over the top in five minutes, and carried him along in the rush. All three found themselves in a crowded World War One trench, equipped with mud-caked great coats, steel helmets, heavy boots, ammo belts, backpacks, canteens, gas masks, and rifles with bayonets. John, as an officer, also had a revolver and did not recognize this place from his actual wartime service. The night sky overhead was dark grey with wisps of lighter ash-grey cloud, but no moon or stars—the sky was unnaturally blank."
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"plaintext": "The trench was crowded with dozens of dirty men with haunted eyes, while officers paced behind them with whistles and revolvers, ready to shoot anyone who did not charge. The characters were pressed toward ladders, and one man who refused was threatened with execution. Moments later, shrill whistles sliced the air and men clambered up the ladders in a roaring charge, with officers threatening laggards with revolvers. The battlefield was a chaos of mud, barbed wire, shell craters, gunfire, and shouting men. As the first wave reached the surface, flares were launched to expose the attackers, and men fell like wheat before the scythe—some screaming, some limbless or headless, others hanging on barbed wire."
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"plaintext": "John charged forward through the carnage and reached another trench, stepping over bodies and barbed wire to enter it. The trench had bodies in it and a bunker that John recognized as a strong point or sleeping space from his service. People had gone over this trench and were continuing forward, with officers shouting to press the lines. Meanwhile, Alfie and Reverend Grainger dove into a shell crater for cover. In the crater, they discussed the strangeness of the situation—the blank sky, the fact that the war was over, and uncertainty about how they got there. Artillery fire landed nearby, and Reverend Grainger suggested they should keep going forward rather than stay in the crater."
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"plaintext": "Alfie disagreed, wanting to return to their original trench, arguing that the officers who would shoot them had gone forward. They decided to head back to their trench, and a mortar struck just a few yards away, throwing a soldier's body through the air to land across their path. They continued toward their original trench, with mortars getting closer. Upon reaching the trench and going around a corner, they encountered an officer who demanded to know what they were still doing there and ordered them to get out of the trench. Reverend Grainger pointed his rifle at the officer, and when the officer was about to shoot them for not advancing, Reverend Grainger shot and killed him. Alfie was shocked, exclaiming that he had killed the officer, but Reverend Grainger justified it by saying the officer was going to kill him."
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"plaintext": "They decided to search the officer's body and find where he came from, hoping to locate his quarters and supplies. As they moved through the trench, they heard movement ahead. Two figures came around the corner wearing French uniforms but had no faces—just skulls with helmets and rifles. The skull-faced figures saw them and immediately charged toward them with bayonets. Reverend Grainger, who had prepared his rifle, fired and hit one of them, but it remained standing. Alfie fired his rifle but missed. The combat shifted to close quarters with bayonets."
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"plaintext": "Alfie struck first and wounded one of the skull soldiers, while Reverend Grainger missed his attack. The first skull soldier attacked Reverend Grainger and dealt him a serious wound, reducing him to minimal health. The second skull soldier attacked Alfie and missed. In the next round, Alfie missed his attack, but Reverend Grainger hit and killed one of the skull soldiers. The remaining skull soldier attacked Alfie and dealt him a serious wound, reducing him to minimal health as well. Both Alfie and Reverend Grainger struggled to remain conscious. Reverend Grainger managed to stay conscious but fell prone, while Alfie fell unconscious in the mud."
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"plaintext": "Meanwhile, John continued forward through the battlefield and encountered a massive explosion near him. A stretcher with two stretcher bearers was thrown by the force of the blast. One stretcher bearer had half his head sheared off by the explosion, and the other appeared intact but was dead. The wounded figure on the stretcher rolled over in the mud and said \"Medical tent, the light, take me to the light,\" then passed out. John examined the wounded man and saw he was wounded in the shoulder and in the belly. He spotted two lights: a yellow light straight ahead toward enemy lines and a dimmer white light behind him, angled off to one side on a little hill. John decided to pick up the wounded man and carry him toward the white light, believing it to be the medical tent behind allied lines."
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"plaintext": "John carried the wounded man through the battlefield, navigating the mud and chaos. He eventually saw a hospital tent—it was huge, the size of a circus tent. He heard screams and groans coming from inside. A very thin man clad in a bloody apron put down his cigarette and waved John in. Inside were dozens of cots containing men or parts of men, all drenched in blood—many with missing limbs, some holding their guts in with both hands, others with shattered skulls showing brains, some with faces punched in by shrapnel. A handful of weary men with bloodstained clothes moved among the moaning, screaming wounded, giving morphine injections, almost all of them holding cigarettes."
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"plaintext": "In the corner, an agitated man barked into a field telephone, shouting \"Well, what? Well, you tell West to go to the devil!\" before slamming down the receiver. Two aproned men took the wounded man from John, and another motioned him to a corner where coffee and sandwiches awaited. John noticed several containers of highly flammable ether right within reach of the smoking doctors. He decided to get out of the tent and head back to the trenches. As he exited, he could hear shells falling outside the tent and coming closer—it was a rolling artillery barrage."
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"plaintext": "John realized he was heading into an artillery barrage—a line of explosions gradually coming closer. He shouted into the tent to warn the medical staff that a barrage was coming, then ran away from the barrage, trying to get past it before it reached him. The barrage was moving faster than he could run, and he realized he needed to take cover. John dove into a shell crater for cover, but despite his efforts, the rolling artillery barrage caught him, and he was killed instantly by the explosion. Immediately after John's death, all three characters—Alfie, John, and Reverend Grainger—woke up from the shared nightmare."
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"plaintext": "All three woke simultaneously, remembering every horrific detail of the dream vividly. Alfie tried to sit up in his hospital bed and winced as he realized his real injuries were still present. He looked around the ward and saw everyone else was either sleeping or comatose—no one else seemed to have experienced the nightmare. Alfie considered that, having come back from the war, he might naturally have these kinds of dreams as a reoccurrence. Reverend Grainger, who was not in the Great War, recognized the dream as clearly something supernatural rather than a normal nightmare. Alfie was quite shaken by the experience."
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"plaintext": "Unable to sleep after the nightmare, Reverend Grainger put the electric light on and read from the Bible, specifically the census numbers of the tribes of Israel. It was six in the morning in the summer, and there was enough natural light to read by. Alfie decided to stay awake rather than risk another nightmare. When the nurse Mavis came around with breakfast, Alfie told her about his terrible dream of being in the trenches. Mavis mentioned that Mr. McKenna, a patient two beds down who was in a coma, was also in the war and had trouble since then. She noted that McKenna's mother came to visit sometimes. Mavis said she had been sleeping very badly lately but did not have any specific dreams the previous night, though she wished she could dream about flying again."
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"plaintext": "Reverend Grainger headed to John's house for breakfast as planned. Everett also had experienced the nightmare and died in the war in his version. Reverend Grainger told John he had the most frightful dreams the night before. John also dreamt about being in the trenches, finding it quite unpleasant. Reverend Grainger described his dream, mentioning historic characters from earlier wars and people with no faces walking around, specifically Frenchmen with no faces. John noted it sounded like a nightmare and mentioned he did not see any Frenchmen in his version. They realized the dreams were about the war and discussed whether it was just a coincidence."
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"plaintext": "John confirmed he saw both Alfie and Reverend Grainger in his dream. Reverend Grainger recalled that John ran off over the top in the dream. Reverend Grainger admitted he killed an officer in the dream because the officer was going to kill him after he refused to go over the top. John pointed out it was just a dream to reassure him. They discussed the strangeness of the shared experience and the blank, unnatural sky in the dream. The group discussed their plans for the day, starting with calling St. Albans University to see if Doctor Brant had returned. They felt guilty for not visiting Alfie in the hospital the previous evening and decided to visit him first thing."
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"plaintext": "John placed a call to St. Albans University and spoke with Vernon Nowell. John asked if Doctor Brant had returned to St. Albans, and Nowell said no, asking if she was not with them. John explained that Doctor Brant got separated from them, and Nowell expressed concern, noting he had not seen her at all and it was now Tuesday. Nowell said this was very unusual, as he had seen her every day for a couple of weeks and would have expected to see her by now. John asked if this was usual behavior, and Nowell confirmed it was absolutely not. Nowell revealed he had not heard from Doctor Brant since Friday night and did not know how she spent her weekends."
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"plaintext": "John suggested checking if she was at home and asked if someone could be sent around to check on her. Nowell admitted he did not actually have Doctor Brant's address, explaining she arrived as a guest and he never asked where she was staying. John asked how she got paid, and Nowell explained her German university continued to pay her on assignment—she was their guest but not their employee. John suggested Nowell might want to call the police given it had been four days, but also suggested she might just be ill. Nowell said he would see if anybody else at the university knew where she was and would try to find out. The call ended with Nowell clearly concerned about both his missing colleague and the missing artifact."
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"plaintext": "The group discussed Doctor Brant's disappearance, with speculation that she might have just had a cold or that the Germans were very interested in her. They considered that they may need to talk to Finley to find out if he let Doctor Brant go or not. The group decided on their plan for the day: everyone would visit Alfie in the hospital first. After visiting Alfie, Reverend Grainger would go to Epsom to visit Teddy Sharpe Lockhart. John and Everett would go to the police station to talk to Finley about Doctor Brant's whereabouts. They confirmed they were on less bad terms with Finley than before, making them the better choice to approach him. The group prepared to head out to the hospital to see Alfie."
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"path": "/a/3moq25xofxq23-the-night-war",
"publishedAt": "2026-06-20T14:14:58+00:00",
"site": "at://did:plc:2dcil62sp2hn3gfrecktohfb/site.standard.publication/3mopmzpnwni2j",
"textContent": "Reverend William Grainger emerged from the courthouse after an unpleasant weekend in prison, greeted by John Anderton and Parker waiting outside. He explained that after the incident at the hotel, he had hidden inside hoping to escape in the early morning hours, but slipped while dropping from the first floor and injured himself. When guards approached, he pretended to be unconscious, which seemed the best option at the time. Most importantly, he revealed that the dangerous bowl was still hidden in the hotel, on the first floor's west side, just below the middle window. John expressed grave concern that if the hotel was demolished and the bowl turned on its side, a fissure could open and release a steady stream of floating dog-sized worms drifting through London.\nThe group arrived at the hotel site late in the morning to find it swarming with activity. Dozens of people worked on the demolition, some dressed as laborers in overalls, others in suits resembling police detectives or solicitors. A gate guard casually let people in and out without checking papers. Reverend Grainger pointed out the specific window where the bowl remained hidden, and they observed the bustling site, trying to formulate a plan. They discussed various approaches: attempting to get hired as casual laborers, waiting until lunchtime to follow workers and find where they were recruited, or even stealing laborers' clothes. Eventually, they decided to purchase appropriate disguises and infiltrate during the lunch break.\nParker led them to a laboring supply store where John, still wearing his snappy suit and possibly a top hat, requested laborer's clothes. The amused shopkeeper assumed they were dressing up for a play or party and enthusiastically assisted them, charging a fifty percent markup for three sets of overalls, work boots, and cloth caps. After leaving the store, the group found a dirty, muddy alley where they deliberately kicked and scuffed their new clothes to make them look worn and authentic. Reverend Grainger took unexpected glee in this task, imagining Finley's head as he kicked the clothes around, releasing pent-up frustration from his time in prison.\nDisguised as laborers, they joined the crowd of workers returning to the hotel site after lunch, entering separately to avoid suspicion. Reverend Grainger positioned himself near the start of the group, Alfie in the middle, and John near the back. All three successfully passed through the gate without being questioned. Once inside, they observed workers picking up tools like shovels and wheelbarrows. John and Everret each acquired shovels while Reverend Grainger headed directly toward the building where the bowl was located.\nReverend Grainger walked briskly and boldly with his shovel to the specific room on the first floor. He successfully reached the room and grabbed the box containing the bowl, then looked out the window for Everett, who was positioning himself below with a wheelbarrow. Reverend Grainger dropped the box from the window, and it hit the ground with a thud. A nearby laborer noticed the sound and looked around questioningly. Reverend Grainger quickly improvised, claiming he was clearing the floor as ordered by the boss, and started throwing other rubbish out the window to disguise his true purpose.\nA man in a suit approached and questioned Reverend Grainger about clearing rubble, asking if he had found anything interesting or unusual. Reverend Grainger deflected successfully, and the man instructed him to stay clear of the floor. When Reverend Grainger and Everett came down from the building, they noticed the same man paying too much attention to their area. Reverend Grainger and Alfie decided to create a diversion. Reverend Grainger pretended to be someone with limited intelligence, saying \"Come, come\" and gesturing for the man to follow him in a different direction. The confused man followed Reverend Grainger around the corner, where he pointed to another man in a suit, creating further confusion.\nWhile the distraction was happening, John quickly hurried to the fence with the box containing the bowl. He called out to Parker and held the box over the fence. Parker successfully received the bowl, completing the mission. Reverend Grainger then decided to leave the site, returning his shovel and walking toward the exit while pretending to be a disgruntled worker complaining that the work was too hard. A supervisor told him not to expect any money and that he would not get another job there, but let him leave. John and Everett also successfully exited the hotel site without further incident.\nBack at John's house, the group discussed where to store the bowl safely. Reverend Grainger suggested testing the bowl by turning it to see if their theory about it being dangerous was correct, proposing to do it in John's courtyard with shotguns ready. John strongly objected to this plan, both because of the danger and because shotguns going off in his London neighborhood would attract unwanted attention. Everett supported the idea of testing the bowl, arguing it would make it easier to transport and keep safe if they knew whether rotation was still dangerous. John refused to allow the test at his house and insisted the bowl should not be turned. They discussed the location of the jar, which Finley had, and the potential danger if the jar was manipulated while the bowl was in the wrong orientation. Eventually, they decided to take the bowl to Everett's shop and lock it in his safe for safekeeping.\nOver dinner at John's house, the group discussed various loose ends and plans for the following day's investigations. They noted that Alfie was in the hospital and stable, no longer dying, and discussed visiting him. The group recalled that Doctor Brant had been captured by Finley and separated from them, and they should check on her status. They discussed Reverend Grainger's strange dreams and the incident at the prison, noting the lack of newspaper coverage about the massacre and the weird slimy monster found in the basement. The group recalled encountering a girl with mouths in her hands two weeks prior and speculated about its connection to Wasserman's magic or statues.\nThey discussed three known statues: one from an artist's mind that Everett possessed, one in John's safety deposit box that had previously been taken to Wales, and Wasserman's statue whose fate was unknown. The group compiled a list of tasks for tomorrow: check on Teddy Sharpe Lockhart to see if he had become lucid again, contact the museum lady about ghostly voices, check on the girl with terrifying hands, and investigate the law firm Birch and Chase. They discussed investigating whether the two deceased lawyers actually worked for Birch and Chase, and who might claim their bodies. After dinner, Reverend Grainger and Everett took the bowl to Everett's shop for safekeeping.\nThat night, Alfie, in his hospital bed, fell asleep and dreamed he was in pitch darkness, fumbling through slimy, wet walls in a narrow passage with sucking mud underfoot. He heard something big moving behind him with a disturbing sucking sound, and a massive explosion sent him stumbling forward. John dreamed he was fumbling down a dark corridor like a rat in a pitch-black maze, bumping into unseen turns. He saw a dim light ahead and charged toward it, then a massive explosion occurred and a man in a mud-caked Great War uniform stumbled out of a doorway and fell to his knees in a trench.\nReverend Grainger was jarred out of bed by a massive concussion, finding himself in pitch darkness with soft, wet earth underfoot. He saw a doorway with a confused babble of voices beyond, and a man in a Great War helmet carrying a bayoneted rifle bolted past him. A second man grabbed Reverend Grainger by the arm, shouting that they were going over the top in five minutes, and carried him along in the rush. All three found themselves in a crowded World War One trench, equipped with mud-caked great coats, steel helmets, heavy boots, ammo belts, backpacks, canteens, gas masks, and rifles with bayonets. John, as an officer, also had a revolver and did not recognize this place from his actual wartime service. The night sky overhead was dark grey with wisps of lighter ash-grey cloud, but no moon or stars—the sky was unnaturally blank.\nThe trench was crowded with dozens of dirty men with haunted eyes, while officers paced behind them with whistles and revolvers, ready to shoot anyone who did not charge. The characters were pressed toward ladders, and one man who refused was threatened with execution. Moments later, shrill whistles sliced the air and men clambered up the ladders in a roaring charge, with officers threatening laggards with revolvers. The battlefield was a chaos of mud, barbed wire, shell craters, gunfire, and shouting men. As the first wave reached the surface, flares were launched to expose the attackers, and men fell like wheat before the scythe—some screaming, some limbless or headless, others hanging on barbed wire.\nJohn charged forward through the carnage and reached another trench, stepping over bodies and barbed wire to enter it. The trench had bodies in it and a bunker that John recognized as a strong point or sleeping space from his service. People had gone over this trench and were continuing forward, with officers shouting to press the lines. Meanwhile, Alfie and Reverend Grainger dove into a shell crater for cover. In the crater, they discussed the strangeness of the situation—the blank sky, the fact that the war was over, and uncertainty about how they got there. Artillery fire landed nearby, and Reverend Grainger suggested they should keep going forward rather than stay in the crater.\nAlfie disagreed, wanting to return to their original trench, arguing that the officers who would shoot them had gone forward. They decided to head back to their trench, and a mortar struck just a few yards away, throwing a soldier's body through the air to land across their path. They continued toward their original trench, with mortars getting closer. Upon reaching the trench and going around a corner, they encountered an officer who demanded to know what they were still doing there and ordered them to get out of the trench. Reverend Grainger pointed his rifle at the officer, and when the officer was about to shoot them for not advancing, Reverend Grainger shot and killed him. Alfie was shocked, exclaiming that he had killed the officer, but Reverend Grainger justified it by saying the officer was going to kill him.\nThey decided to search the officer's body and find where he came from, hoping to locate his quarters and supplies. As they moved through the trench, they heard movement ahead. Two figures came around the corner wearing French uniforms but had no faces—just skulls with helmets and rifles. The skull-faced figures saw them and immediately charged toward them with bayonets. Reverend Grainger, who had prepared his rifle, fired and hit one of them, but it remained standing. Alfie fired his rifle but missed. The combat shifted to close quarters with bayonets.\nAlfie struck first and wounded one of the skull soldiers, while Reverend Grainger missed his attack. The first skull soldier attacked Reverend Grainger and dealt him a serious wound, reducing him to minimal health. The second skull soldier attacked Alfie and missed. In the next round, Alfie missed his attack, but Reverend Grainger hit and killed one of the skull soldiers. The remaining skull soldier attacked Alfie and dealt him a serious wound, reducing him to minimal health as well. Both Alfie and Reverend Grainger struggled to remain conscious. Reverend Grainger managed to stay conscious but fell prone, while Alfie fell unconscious in the mud.\nMeanwhile, John continued forward through the battlefield and encountered a massive explosion near him. A stretcher with two stretcher bearers was thrown by the force of the blast. One stretcher bearer had half his head sheared off by the explosion, and the other appeared intact but was dead. The wounded figure on the stretcher rolled over in the mud and said \"Medical tent, the light, take me to the light,\" then passed out. John examined the wounded man and saw he was wounded in the shoulder and in the belly. He spotted two lights: a yellow light straight ahead toward enemy lines and a dimmer white light behind him, angled off to one side on a little hill. John decided to pick up the wounded man and carry him toward the white light, believing it to be the medical tent behind allied lines.\nJohn carried the wounded man through the battlefield, navigating the mud and chaos. He eventually saw a hospital tent—it was huge, the size of a circus tent. He heard screams and groans coming from inside. A very thin man clad in a bloody apron put down his cigarette and waved John in. Inside were dozens of cots containing men or parts of men, all drenched in blood—many with missing limbs, some holding their guts in with both hands, others with shattered skulls showing brains, some with faces punched in by shrapnel. A handful of weary men with bloodstained clothes moved among the moaning, screaming wounded, giving morphine injections, almost all of them holding cigarettes.\nIn the corner, an agitated man barked into a field telephone, shouting \"Well, what? Well, you tell West to go to the devil!\" before slamming down the receiver. Two aproned men took the wounded man from John, and another motioned him to a corner where coffee and sandwiches awaited. John noticed several containers of highly flammable ether right within reach of the smoking doctors. He decided to get out of the tent and head back to the trenches. As he exited, he could hear shells falling outside the tent and coming closer—it was a rolling artillery barrage.\nJohn realized he was heading into an artillery barrage—a line of explosions gradually coming closer. He shouted into the tent to warn the medical staff that a barrage was coming, then ran away from the barrage, trying to get past it before it reached him. The barrage was moving faster than he could run, and he realized he needed to take cover. John dove into a shell crater for cover, but despite his efforts, the rolling artillery barrage caught him, and he was killed instantly by the explosion. Immediately after John's death, all three characters—Alfie, John, and Reverend Grainger—woke up from the shared nightmare.\nAll three woke simultaneously, remembering every horrific detail of the dream vividly. Alfie tried to sit up in his hospital bed and winced as he realized his real injuries were still present. He looked around the ward and saw everyone else was either sleeping or comatose—no one else seemed to have experienced the nightmare. Alfie considered that, having come back from the war, he might naturally have these kinds of dreams as a reoccurrence. Reverend Grainger, who was not in the Great War, recognized the dream as clearly something supernatural rather than a normal nightmare. Alfie was quite shaken by the experience.\nUnable to sleep after the nightmare, Reverend Grainger put the electric light on and read from the Bible, specifically the census numbers of the tribes of Israel. It was six in the morning in the summer, and there was enough natural light to read by. Alfie decided to stay awake rather than risk another nightmare. When the nurse Mavis came around with breakfast, Alfie told her about his terrible dream of being in the trenches. Mavis mentioned that Mr. McKenna, a patient two beds down who was in a coma, was also in the war and had trouble since then. She noted that McKenna's mother came to visit sometimes. Mavis said she had been sleeping very badly lately but did not have any specific dreams the previous night, though she wished she could dream about flying again.\nReverend Grainger headed to John's house for breakfast as planned. Everett also had experienced the nightmare and died in the war in his version. Reverend Grainger told John he had the most frightful dreams the night before. John also dreamt about being in the trenches, finding it quite unpleasant. Reverend Grainger described his dream, mentioning historic characters from earlier wars and people with no faces walking around, specifically Frenchmen with no faces. John noted it sounded like a nightmare and mentioned he did not see any Frenchmen in his version. They realized the dreams were about the war and discussed whether it was just a coincidence.\nJohn confirmed he saw both Alfie and Reverend Grainger in his dream. Reverend Grainger recalled that John ran off over the top in the dream. Reverend Grainger admitted he killed an officer in the dream because the officer was going to kill him after he refused to go over the top. John pointed out it was just a dream to reassure him. They discussed the strangeness of the shared experience and the blank, unnatural sky in the dream. The group discussed their plans for the day, starting with calling St. Albans University to see if Doctor Brant had returned. They felt guilty for not visiting Alfie in the hospital the previous evening and decided to visit him first thing.\nJohn placed a call to St. Albans University and spoke with Vernon Nowell. John asked if Doctor Brant had returned to St. Albans, and Nowell said no, asking if she was not with them. John explained that Doctor Brant got separated from them, and Nowell expressed concern, noting he had not seen her at all and it was now Tuesday. Nowell said this was very unusual, as he had seen her every day for a couple of weeks and would have expected to see her by now. John asked if this was usual behavior, and Nowell confirmed it was absolutely not. Nowell revealed he had not heard from Doctor Brant since Friday night and did not know how she spent her weekends.\nJohn suggested checking if she was at home and asked if someone could be sent around to check on her. Nowell admitted he did not actually have Doctor Brant's address, explaining she arrived as a guest and he never asked where she was staying. John asked how she got paid, and Nowell explained her German university continued to pay her on assignment—she was their guest but not their employee. John suggested Nowell might want to call the police given it had been four days, but also suggested she might just be ill. Nowell said he would see if anybody else at the university knew where she was and would try to find out. The call ended with Nowell clearly concerned about both his missing colleague and the missing artifact.\nThe group discussed Doctor Brant's disappearance, with speculation that she might have just had a cold or that the Germans were very interested in her. They considered that they may need to talk to Finley to find out if he let Doctor Brant go or not. The group decided on their plan for the day: everyone would visit Alfie in the hospital first. After visiting Alfie, Reverend Grainger would go to Epsom to visit Teddy Sharpe Lockhart. John and Everett would go to the police station to talk to Finley about Doctor Brant's whereabouts. They confirmed they were on less bad terms with Finley than before, making them the better choice to approach him. The group prepared to head out to the hospital to see Alfie.",
"title": "The Night War"
}