Horrific Shorts: Zombie Edition

Chapter 2438: Story 2439: The First Nightmare

The heartbeat echoed again.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Each pulse shook the Hall of Echoes.

Silver dust drifted from the ceiling like falling snow as the ancient chamber groaned beneath Hollow Creek.

Noah pressed a hand against his chest.

His own heartbeat matched the rhythm perfectly.

The connection was undeniable.

The First Nightmare was calling him.

The Broken King watched silently.

His crimson eyes reflected neither hatred nor kindness.

Only memory.

"It knows you’ve returned."

Noah looked toward the endless darkness beneath the cracked floor.

"What is it?"

The Keeper lowered his lantern.

"The first fear."

Silence settled over the Hall.

Aiden frowned.

"The first fear? Fear of what?"

The Keeper’s silver light flickered.

"Before there were zombies."

"Before kingdoms."

"Before dreams."

"There was one emotion the Dreamer could not understand."

He looked toward Noah.

"So it imagined it."

The heartbeat grew louder.

Boom.

The shadows surrounding the broken doorway stretched across the chamber.

Boom.

Every silver door slammed shut except one.

The shattered door.

Boom.

From somewhere below came the faint sound of a child crying.

Noah felt a sharp pain inside his chest.

The silver light surrounding his heart dimmed for a single moment.

Then memories surfaced.

Not his memories.

The Dreamer’s.

He saw the endless child sitting alone before creation.

Trying to imagine sadness.

Trying to understand loneliness.

Trying to understand why something beautiful could disappear.

The Dream shed a single tear.

Where it fell...

The First Nightmare was born.

The vision vanished.

Noah staggered backward.

"It wasn’t created to destroy."

The Broken King nodded.

"No."

"It was created to ask a question."

"What question?" Aiden whispered.

The crimson-eyed man closed his eyes.

"If everything you love can be lost..."

"...why love at all?"

The words struck every soul inside the Hall.

Even the Keeper looked away.

Because every war...

Every apocalypse...

Every fallen kingdom...

Had been different attempts to answer that same question.

Suddenly the earth split open completely.

A circular abyss appeared beneath the Hall.

Black mist spiraled upward.

Within the darkness floated thousands of silver fragments.

Broken dreams.

Forgotten hopes.

Lost futures.

At the center stood a small figure.

A child.

Its head hung low.

Its bare feet rested upon nothing.

Long black hair covered its face.

It looked no older than eight.

Yet every heartbeat came from its tiny body.

Aiden instinctively stepped behind Noah.

"That’s... the First Nightmare?"

The Keeper answered in a whisper.

"It never grew."

The child slowly lifted its head.

Its eyes were closed.

Tears of black crystal rolled down its cheeks.

When it finally spoke, its voice was painfully innocent.

"Did they leave you too?"

Noah’s breath caught.

The child wasn’t threatening them.

It was asking.

Searching.

Hoping someone would answer differently than before.

The Broken King’s shoulders slumped.

"I couldn’t."

His crimson eyes filled with regret.

"I answered with anger."

The Keeper lowered his lantern.

"I answered with duty."

Both men looked toward Noah.

Only one answer had never been given.

The child opened its eyes.

One silver.

One crimson.

The Hall of Echoes fell silent.

Then, in a voice trembling with loneliness, the First Nightmare asked Noah the question that had haunted every dream since the beginning of existence.

"If love always ends..."

"...will you still choose it?"

Noah stood motionless.

His answer would not decide the fate of Hollow Creek alone.

It would shape every dream yet to come.

The silver light in his heart began to glow.

And deep beneath the town...

Something ancient waited for his reply.