Horrific Shorts: Zombie Edition

The dying sun bled into the horizon, casting an apocalyptic glow over the wasteland. Dust swirled in the air, and the stench of decay filled the breeze. The once-thriving land was now a battlefield for survival, overrun by mindless hordes of the undead. Yet, even in this forsaken world, heroes could rise.

Damien Rook was one such hero. A former lawman, now a lone rider, hardened by the horrors he’d witnessed. His black hat was pulled low, shading his steely eyes, and his worn leather jacket was patched from countless close calls. As the hooves of his horse splashed in the murky water, Damien stared at the crimson clouds above, knowing that danger lurked behind every shadow. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Once, Damien had been a man of justice. But the world had no use for justice anymore—it only understood survival. His town, his family, all gone in the first wave of the infection. Now, all he had left was his resolve and the silver revolver on his hip, engraved with the names of those he’d lost.

The town ahead, Black Hollow, was his destination. He’d heard whispers of a new terror—undead creatures, smarter than the mindless husks he’d faced before, seemingly controlled by a single, sinister presence. They called it the "Zombie King," a grotesque ruler who was once a man but had now become something far more monstrous.

As Damien entered the ruins of Black Hollow, he sensed movement in the shadows. His horse whinnied nervously, its instincts on edge. He dismounted, drawing his revolver, and scanned the buildings. The town was eerily silent, save for the rustling of the wind. Then he heard it—a low growl, followed by the shuffle of feet.

From the corner of his eye, he saw them. Zombies, their eyes glowing faintly in the twilight, moved toward him with a strange, predatory grace. These weren’t the slow, shambling creatures he was used to. They moved with purpose, coordinated, as if driven by a single mind.

Damien fired, the crack of his gunshot splitting the air. The lead zombie’s head snapped back as the silver bullet found its mark, but the others didn’t flinch. They kept coming, faster now, their dead eyes locked on him.

"Come on, then," Damien growled, stepping back toward his horse. He reloaded quickly, his hands steady despite the rising tension. The undead closed in, but Damien wasn’t just any man. He was a survivor—a hunter of monsters in a world that had become a nightmare. Discover more stories at empire

The first zombie lunged, and Damien sidestepped, bringing his gun down in a sharp arc to crush its skull. Two more advanced, and he fired again, taking them down with precision shots. But it wasn’t enough. There were too many, and they were too fast.

He fought his way to the heart of Black Hollow, where a guttural roar echoed through the night. There, atop a crumbling church, stood the Zombie King, its grotesque form a twisted mockery of humanity. Its eyes glowed red with unnatural intelligence, and it raised a clawed hand, commanding the undead army.

Damien squared his shoulders. The battle ahead would be unlike any he had fought before, but he wasn’t afraid. He was Damien Rook, the last lawman in a lawless world, and he wasn’t done fighting yet.