Horrific Shorts: Zombie Edition

The moment the door slammed shut, the manor shifted.

The walls breathed, expanding and contracting like the ribs of a dying beast. The air inside was thick—humid and pulsing with unseen movement. Shadows slithered along the ceiling, darting just out of sight.

Mira swallowed hard, gripping the cursed book at her hip. Something was watching them.

Zara raised her machete. "Tell me this place isn't alive."

The Forsaken Girl stood in the center of the grand hall, her frail figure framed by flickering candlelight. "The manor is old," she murmured. "It listens. It remembers."

Elias scoffed. "Great. A house with a memory." He gestured to the rotting wallpaper and warped wooden floors. "I'm guessing it's not a happy one."

The girl ignored him, her hollow eyes settling on Mira. "If you want to find Draven, you must follow the voices."

Mira stiffened. "What voices?"

Then she heard them. A whisper, just beneath the skin of reality.

She turned sharply, eyes darting across the shadows. The walls trembled, voices rising and falling like a distant chorus of the damned.

"Come deeper."

"He waits beyond."

"But beware… not all pieces of him remain."

Mira's fingers curled against the book. "What does that mean?"

The Forsaken Girl stepped forward, her presence unnervingly still. "The Hollow Man does not simply take. He feeds. He reshapes."

Elias's grip on his revolver tightened. "So if we find Draven, he might not be—"

"—whole," the girl finished.

A heavy silence settled over them.

Then, the walls split open.

Flesh and wood peeled apart, revealing a darkened hallway. The smell of decay and burning ink filled the air.

Mira stepped forward first. The cursed book trembled in her hands.

"We go together," she said, voice firm.

Zara exchanged a glance with Elias before nodding. "Let's end this."

They stepped into the hallway, the door sealing behind them.

The whispers grew louder.

The walls shifted.

And from the darkness ahead…

Draven screamed.