Horrific Shorts: Zombie Edition

The train thundered forward, splitting the mist-covered tracks like a blade. Inside, the air was thick with the scent of rust, old leather, and something rotting. Draven, Mira, Zara, and Elias moved cautiously down the dimly lit aisle, weapons raised. The flickering lanterns cast eerie shadows against the walls—shadows that moved on their own.

Behind them, the ghouls stirred, their twisted bodies shifting in the seats, jaws slowly unhinging.

Elias cocked his revolver. "We need to move. Now."

Mira turned toward Draven, whispering, "The book's pulsing again. It's like it knows something."

Draven gritted his teeth. "Then let's hope it tells us before we get eaten."

A low, mechanical groan echoed through the train. The walls shuddered.

From the far end of the carriage, the Ghoul Trainmaster's voice slithered toward them. "You think you can stop the train? Foolish mortals… You are passengers now. Your souls are already mine."

The floor tilted, and the train's interior seemed to shift like a living thing, stretching impossibly long. Seats twisted into iron restraints. Chains slithered from the ceiling.

Then, from the darkness ahead, a new figure emerged—a skeletal man with soot-streaked overalls, a rusted engineer's cap, and gears embedded into his exposed ribcage. His fingers were twisted wrenches, his mouth stitched shut with iron wire.

Mira shivered. "Who the hell is that?"

Elias clenched his jaw. "The Engineer."

The cursed machinist raised one grotesque hand, and the walls clanged to life—spinning gears, hissing steam, and shrieking iron forming a nightmare maze of shifting metal.

The Trainmaster's laughter echoed. "If you want my train, you'll have to take it from him."

The Engineer lunged.

Zara moved first, flipping over a row of seats, her twin daggers flashing. She slashed at the Engineer's side, but her blades scraped uselessly against his iron bones. He swung a heavy wrench-arm, nearly taking her head off.

Draven fired his shotgun, the blast tearing through gears—but the Engineer did not stop.

Mira flipped open the Cursed Book, her voice whispering an incantation. The pages glowed crimson, and black tendrils lashed out, gripping the Engineer's limbs. He struggled, gears grinding, but the magic held—for now.

"We need to reach the engine room!" Draven shouted, reloading.

Elias fired at a lever in the corner of the car. The shot snapped the brake release, and the train lurched violently. The Engineer howled, gears cracking as he slammed into the wall.

"Go!" Mira yelled.

One by one, they rushed toward the next car, leaving the Engineer writhing in his own machinery.

But as they reached the door, the Trainmaster's voice returned, amused and hungry.

"Run while you can, little souls. The Nightmare Express has many more stops before the end… and your next one is Hell's Crossing."

The door slammed shut behind them.