In Stephen Crane's "A Mystery of Heroism," Fred Collins, a soldier in a fierce Civil War battle, contemplates the absurdity of risking life for a drink of water. Amidst the chaos and peril of the battlefield, he decides to fetch water from a well across a dangerous open field, while shells explode and bullets fly around him. Collins, driven partly by the taunts of his comrades, navigates the deadly landscape, reflecting on his own motivations and fears.
I won't reveal the ironic twist in the ending.