.
Beyond the castle woods a new world was coming into existence.

The short cut to Villeblanche seemed to Desnoyers a leap of millions of leagues, a fall into a red planet where men and things were covered with the film of smoke and the glare of fire.

He saw the village under a dark canopy spotted with sparks and glowing embers.

The bell tower was burning like an enormous torch; the roof of the church was breaking into flames with a crashing fury.

The glare of the holocaust seemed to shrivel and grow pale in the impassive light of the sun.
Running across the fields with the haste of desperation were shrieking women and children.