Horrific Shorts: Zombie Edition

The gates groaned open, revealing a winding path lined with twisted, skeletal trees. Beyond them, the manor loomed, its spires stabbing into a moonlit sky. The air reeked of damp wood, old blood, and something rotten beneath the surface.

Draven gripped his shotgun. "I hate this place already."

Zara kicked at a broken lantern near the entrance. "This house wasn't abandoned. Someone lived here… recently."

Elias took a slow drag from his cigarette, his eyes scanning the shadows. "And something still does."

Mira clutched the Cursed Book, feeling its pages pulse like a heartbeat. The Forsaken Girl had vanished, but her voice still echoed in her mind.

"You brought the Book."

The moment they crossed the threshold, the house came alive.

The doors slammed shut, trapping them in absolute darkness. The floor shifted beneath them, the walls groaning like living flesh. A soft, childlike whisper filled the air.

"Turn back."

Draven lifted his shotgun, but a cold wind blew through the hall, snuffing out Elias's lighter. The whisper turned into laughter, hollow and distant.

Then—the portraits moved.

A row of paintings lined the corridor, depicting past owners of the manor. But their faces were wrong—eyes hollow, mouths stitched shut, their skin rotting from the canvas.

One of them—a woman in a tattered gown—turned her head toward Zara.

"Leave while you still have a soul."

Zara stumbled back. "Nope. Absolutely not."

Mira flipped through the Book, her fingers tracing ancient symbols. "There's something buried here… something we need to find."

Elias exhaled. "And something that doesn't want us to find it."

A low growl rumbled from the ceiling.

They looked up.

A gaunt, black-limbed creature was clinging to the rafters, its skin stretched too tight over its bones. Its mouth split open, revealing rows of needle-like teeth.

It dropped.

Draven fired—the shot hit its chest, but the creature didn't slow. It landed on all fours, its head jerking unnaturally as it sniffed the air.

Then, its white, pupil-less eyes locked onto Mira.

Zara swung a rusted candleholder, cracking it against the creature's ribs. It barely flinched before lunging at her, its claws raking across her arm.

Blood hit the wooden floor.

Elias grabbed a chair, smashing it over the monster's back. "MOVE!"

Mira's voice rose in a chant, the Book's pages glowing with black fire.

The creature screamed, its body twisting in agony before bursting into shadows, scattering like dying embers.

The hallway fell silent.

Draven wiped blood from his face. "Tell me that's the worst of it."

But Mira's expression darkened as she looked toward the staircase leading into the abyss above.

"No," she whispered. "The worst is waiting for us."