Horrific Shorts: Zombie Edition
Chapter 944 - 944: Story 944: The Hollow Man’s Game

The train screamed through the void, its rusted wheels grinding against tracks that no longer seemed real. The windows no longer showed the dead world outside—only a shifting abyss, a place where faces formed and dissolved in the swirling blackness.

Mira pushed herself up, her breath ragged. The Cursed Book in her grip burned cold, its pages fluttering as if something inside was trying to escape.

Draven groaned, steadying himself against a torn seat. "What the hell was that?"

Elias peered through the flickering lantern light, his revolver ready. "We're not in our world anymore."

A laugh echoed through the train. Low, hollow, wrong.

"Good evening, travelers."

The voice was everywhere, dripping from the walls, seeping through the cracks in the floor. The Hollow Man had arrived.

The train shuddered, and a figure materialized at the far end of the carriage. Tall. Draped in shadows. His featureless face stretched and shifted, a blank slate where expressions tried—and failed—to exist. His fingers were too long, tapping idly against his sides.

"Welcome to my train," he said, voice layered with a thousand whispers. "Shall we play?"

Mira's grip on the book tightened. "We're not here for games."

"Oh, but you are." The Hollow Man tilted his head, his faceless void twitching as if trying to smile. "And the rules are simple."

The train lurched, and suddenly, the seats were filled with passengers. But they weren't alive. Their skin was stitched, their mouths sewn shut, their eyes bulging with silent screams.

Elias swore under his breath. "Not a fan of this ride."

"The game begins now." The Hollow Man snapped his fingers.

The dead passengers moved.

One by one, their heads jerked toward the group. Then, with unnatural speed, they lunged.

Draven fired first, his shotgun blasting apart a stitched corpse, but the pieces kept moving. Another gripped Elias' arm, its bony fingers tightening. He slammed his revolver against its temple and fired, but the body didn't fall—it only twitched and laughed without sound.

Zara sliced through two, her daggers glowing faintly, but for each one they killed, more rose from the floor, crawling from the darkness beneath the seats.

"There's no winning this fight!" Mira shouted.

The Hollow Man clapped his hands together. The lights snapped off, and suddenly, the group was somewhere else.

The train was gone.

The world was a black expanse, stretching forever.

And in the distance stood a door—a tall, ancient thing covered in carvings of eyes and teeth.

The Hollow Man's voice drifted through the void. "Find the key, or stay forever."

Mira looked at the others.

They had no choice.

The game had begun.