Horrific Shorts: Zombie Edition

Days had passed since Damien discovered the amulet, and with each moment, memories resurfaced—fragments of laughter, fleeting moments of joy, and the haunting image of a young child running through sunlit fields. Each memory pulled him deeper, and the lines between who he was and who he had become blurred. But one thing was certain: there was more to his past than he ever knew.

As Damien and Lena reached an abandoned church, seeking shelter from a sudden storm, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. The old structure loomed like a ghost of the past, its walls cracked but resilient, much like Damien himself. The rain battered against the stone walls, the sound echoing in the hollow silence around them.

Inside, Lena watched Damien closely, sensing his inner turmoil. "You feel something here, don't you?" she asked, her voice gentle but probing.

Damien nodded, his hand instinctively gripping the amulet in his pocket. "It's strange. I feel like… I've been here before." His gaze wandered to the altar, where an intricate carving of a phoenix rising from flames seemed to stare back at him.

Stepping closer, he brushed his fingers over the carving, and suddenly, a flood of memories hit him—his voice, a promise to protect, the touch of a hand he knew once belonged to his wife. He staggered back, his breath caught in his throat.

Lena rushed to steady him. "What happened? Are you all right?"

He managed a weak nod, though his heart raced. "I… I remember her. She was my wife… and she believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself."

A silence settled over them, thick with realization. He had once been more than a hunter, more than a man fueled by vengeance. There had been love, a family, a life he had lost but had somehow found its way back to him, piece by piece.

Then, from behind the altar, a hidden door creaked open. A woman, cloaked and hooded, emerged, her face obscured by shadows. She moved with a familiar grace, and Damien's heart skipped a beat. Though he couldn't see her face, her presence was unmistakable.

"Damien," she whispered, and he felt the sound wrap around him, as though it were calling to something buried within his soul. Enjoy new chapters from empire

He took a step forward, barely able to contain his emotions. "Who are you?"

The woman lowered her hood, revealing a face he hadn't seen in years—a face he'd mourned but had never truly forgotten. His wife, alive and standing before him, her eyes filled with an ocean of secrets.

"You thought I was gone," she said, her voice trembling. "But I was always here, waiting, watching. There was more to this fight than you knew, Damien. I had to protect you… to hide you from the King's curse."

Damien's heart ached with a mixture of relief and betrayal. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Tears glistened in her eyes. "Because some secrets were too dangerous to reveal. I did it to save you."

In that moment, forgiveness and love clashed within him, but he knew one truth: their journey was far from over, and together, they would face the shadows still waiting in his past.