Horrific Shorts: Zombie Edition

He wasn't just a soldier.

He was her soldier.

And that was the first mistake.

His name was Elias.

Sergeant. Recon unit. Survivor of the Siege of Redwater.

The kind of man who followed orders without flinching—until Tess whispered, "Come with me instead."

And he did.

Not because it was smart.

But because he loved her back.

They met before Milo.

Before the fire.

Before the infections could talk.

Tess was running supplies through blackout zones. She didn't believe in the army.

Too slow. Too broken. Too willing to sacrifice civilians to save face.

Elias didn't argue.

He just offered her half his rations, stitched up her wounded arm, and shared his name.

That was all it took.

For three weeks, they were inseparable.

He taught her how to shoot around corners.

She taught him how to listen to people without badges.

They stole batteries together.

Shared chocolate.

And once, on a rooftop above a screaming city, they kissed under a blood moon.

"I never thought I'd fall in love during the end of the world," he told her.

She replied, "I think love's all that's left."

Then came the order.

His unit was pulling out.

A new infection had spread.

They were firebombing the zone.

Tess begged him to stay.

He said, "I can't abandon my squad."

She said, "They've already abandoned you."

Still, he went.

The next day, the sky turned orange.

Flames devoured blocks she once ran through.

When it was over, she searched the ash for days.

Found his helmet.

His ID tag.

And beside it—

a photo of her folded in plastic.

On the back, written in marker:

"I loved you like I forgot how to follow orders."

She never cried.

But she carved his name into the wall of her next safehouse.

ELIAS

Under it, three words:

"Not just a soldier."

Years passed.

Milo never asked. But he saw the way she looked when soldiers passed—like they were ghosts with guns.

He saw the way she touched her left arm sometimes, the scar where Elias once patched her up.

He knew she'd loved before.

And he didn't try to replace it.

Some loves leave you.

Others stay behind inside you, armored in memory.

One night, Tess whispered in her sleep, "Wait for me."

Milo didn't wake her.

He just sat beside her until dawn, wondering if anyone ever really moves on in a world where graves are swallowed by rubble.

Because loving a soldier isn't about uniforms or medals.

It's about knowing they'll leave.

And hoping—desperately—that they won't.

And when they do…

You carry their name like a shield.

Even if it's broken.