Story 292: Fortress of Shadows

The air was thick with the stench of decay as Damien and Mira approached a towering, crumbling fortress. Rumors of a scientist inside—a rogue working on a cure for the zombie virus—had led them here. But standing before the dark, foreboding walls, Mira hesitated.

“Are we sure about this?” she asked, gripping her blade.

“We don’t have a choice,” Damien replied, his voice firm. “If there’s a chance he’s real, we need to find him.”

They stepped through the half-collapsed gate, the fortress silent save for the faint moans of distant undead. The dim corridors were littered with broken machinery, dried bloodstains, and ominous graffiti scrawled on the walls: “Beware the Shadow King.”

“Shadow King?” Mira whispered, her voice trembling.

“Probably just a myth to scare people away,” Damien muttered, though his hand tightened around his shotgun.