I started writing ‘Battlefield Surgeon’ in response to the following writer’s prompt on Reddit: “You are a surgeon working the front lines of the American Civil War. 2 soldiers bring in another, shot twice, one in each leg. Looking closely you realize it is your brother. “Fix him up enough that he can be hanged for desertion” one of them says.”
War isn’t something to be glorified. This prompt struck a chord with me simply because it illustrates the impossible circumstances that humanity can put itself in. War is a horror, how should a doctor respond? I took inspiration from An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce and started typing.