Horrific Shorts: Zombie Edition-Chapter 588: Story : The Marsh of Shadows

The ZETU team arrived at the edge of the marshlands, a desolate expanse cloaked in heavy mist. The report from headquarters was dire—survivors had been spotted in the area, but so had something else. Rumors described skeletal zombies emerging from the swamp, their decayed forms impossibly agile in the muck.

"Why does it always have to be the creepy places?" Riley "Quick Shot" Bennett muttered, scanning the murky waters through her rifle scope. "Nothing good ever happens in swamps."

"Stay focused," Captain Marcus "Iron Will" Kane replied, his shotgun at the ready. "Brain, what are we looking at here?"

Ethan "Brain" O'Connor's drone buzzed overhead, its camera feeding live footage to his tablet. "Thermal scans are picking up multiple heat signatures beneath the water. Movement is erratic—definitely not human."

Jenna "Blaze" Hart tightened her grip on her flamethrower. "Great. Submerged zombies. Just what I needed to make my day worse."

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Marcus led the team cautiously into the marsh, their boots sinking into the wet, sucking ground with each step. The fog swirled around them, making it hard to see more than a few feet ahead. The only sounds were the occasional splash of water and the distant croak of frogs.

"Hold up," Lila "Huntress" Navarro whispered, raising her hand. She crouched, her sharp eyes scanning the water. "There's something…watching us."

As if on cue, the surface of the water rippled, and three skeletal figures emerged. Their hollow eye sockets glowed with a faint, eerie light, and rotted flesh clung to their bones like wet rags.

"Contact! Twelve o'clock!" Marcus shouted.

The creatures moved unnaturally, gliding through the water with silent precision. Derek "Shield" Coleman stepped forward, raising his riot shield. "I've got point. Take them down!"

Riley fired the first shot, her sniper rifle cracking through the air. The bullet struck one of the zombies in the skull, shattering it instantly. But the other two didn't even flinch. Instead, they let out a bone-chilling screech and charged.

Jenna launched a burst of flames, the fire lighting up the foggy swamp. One of the creatures caught fire, its skeletal frame collapsing into ash, but the third managed to dodge, diving beneath the water.

"Where did it go?" Derek growled, his eyes darting around.

Before anyone could answer, the zombie exploded out of the water behind him, its bony claws raking across his shield. Derek shoved it back with all his strength, and Marcus fired, his shotgun blast tearing it apart.

Ethan's voice came through the comms, tense. "More heat signatures incoming. A lot more. You need to fall back—now."

The water began to churn as dozens of glowing eyes appeared beneath the surface.

"We're surrounded!" Lila shouted, dual pistols firing into the advancing horde.

"Blaze, clear us a path!" Marcus ordered.

Jenna ignited the marsh with a wall of fire, forcing the creatures to retreat. The team sprinted toward solid ground, the fog closing in behind them like a living thing.

As they reached safety, Marcus turned back to the swamp. The glowing eyes lingered, watching.

"This isn't over," he said grimly. "We'll have to come back. And next time, we'll be ready."