Horrific Shorts: Zombie Edition-Chapter 2101: Story : The Thing Beneath the Bed (Series HS:ZE 22)

Chapter 2101: Story 2101: The Thing Beneath the Bed (Series HS:ZE 22)

The room smelled of medicine and melted wax.

A single candle burned on the cracked floor beside scattered papers and empty pill bottles. The small flame trembled every few seconds as if something in the room was breathing.

On the bed sat Elena Voss, her shoulders slumped forward, her messy hair covering half her face. She wore the same black sleeveless dress she had been wearing for days. Her bare feet rested near the edge of the mattress.

She stared at the floor.

Not because she wanted to.

Because she had to.

Behind her, the wall was covered with faint scratches. In charcoal letters, one word was written again and again.

CRAZY

Next to it were tally marks.

Twenty-three.

Twenty-three days since the world outside her apartment had died.

Outside the cracked window, the city was silent now. No cars. No voices. Only distant echoes that sometimes sounded like screaming.

Sometimes like chewing.

Elena didn’t turn around.

Because she knew what stood behind her.

Shapes.

Figures.

Faces floating in the foggy darkness of the room.

The zombies never left.

Their hollow eyes glowed faintly in the shadows near the wall. Their mouths hung open in silent screams. They reached toward her but never quite touched.

The first time she saw them, she thought she had finally gone insane.

Now she wasn’t so sure.

Her hand slowly lowered from the bed.

Down.

Down.

Until her fingers touched thick fur.

A deep rumbling growl vibrated from the darkness beneath the bed.

Two enormous yellow eyes opened.

The creature under the bed lifted its massive head slightly. Its mouth stretched into a terrifying grin filled with jagged teeth. Long claws curled across the floor like hooked knives.

Anyone else would have screamed.

But Elena only sighed.

“You’re still here,” she whispered.

The monster’s glowing eyes softened.

It looked almost... pleased.

Outside the bedroom door, something dragged itself across the hallway floor.

A wet scraping sound.

Elena froze.

The scratching grew louder.

Then came the unmistakable sound of fingernails scraping the door.

The zombies behind her began to move, their foggy shapes twisting and writhing along the wall. Their glowing eyes brightened with hunger.

They were excited.

The scratching stopped.

For a moment there was silence.

Then—

BANG.

The bedroom door shook violently.

Another BANG.

The rotten wood cracked.

Elena’s breathing slowed.

Her hand rested gently on the monster’s head beneath the bed.

“Don’t,” she whispered softly.

But the creature already knew.

The third impact shattered the door.

A corpse stumbled inside.

Its skin hung in gray strips. One eye dangled from its socket. Its jaw snapped hungrily as it smelled living flesh.

The shadow zombies behind Elena began screaming silently.

But before the real zombie could take another step—

The creature beneath the bed exploded upward.

Claws like scythes sliced through the air.

The monster slammed into the corpse, crushing it against the wall with terrifying strength.

Bones snapped.

Teeth tore.

In seconds, the room went quiet again.

The demon creature dropped the ruined body onto the floor and slowly crawled back beneath the bed.

Its glowing eyes looked up at Elena.

Waiting.

She gently scratched behind its ear like it was a loyal dog.

“Good boy,” she whispered.

Behind her, the shadow zombies faded back into the darkness.

And on the cracked wall, beneath the word CRAZY, Elena slowly carved a new tally mark.

Day 24.

The monsters outside wanted to eat her.

But the monster under her bed?

It was the only thing keeping her alive.