Story 239: Into the Fire

The night was quiet—a little too quiet for Damien’s liking. He’d learned to trust his instincts, and they were screaming danger tonight. While the villagers prepared for the morning's repairs from yesterday’s ambush, Damien had taken up a post on the outskirts, his eyes scanning the moonlit field. The thought of his friends, safe and sleeping, made him all the more determined to keep the undead at bay.

Then he heard it: the faint, shuffling noise of something moving in the shadows.

Damien tightened his grip on his weapon, signaling to Elara, who was patrolling nearby. She moved to his side, her face tense but ready, the faint gleam of her dagger catching the moonlight.

“There’s movement in the east,” she whispered, eyes narrowed as she scanned the darkness.