Story 585: The Swamp of Shadows

The air was thick with mist as the ZETU team waded through the murky waters of Blackthorn Swamp. It was an uncharted region, untouched for decades, now believed to harbor a new breed of the undead. Local reports described creatures emerging from the water—silent, skeletal, and impossible to kill. Several villagers had vanished, their cries swallowed by the suffocating fog.

“This place stinks,” Derek "Shield" Coleman muttered, his riot shield slicing through the knee-deep water. “I can’t see more than a few feet ahead.”

“Stay sharp,” Captain Marcus "Iron Will" Kane ordered, his shotgun poised. “We’re not alone out here.”

Ethan "Brain" O’Connor’s tablet pinged. “I’m picking up multiple heat signatures, but they’re… faint, almost like they’re not fully corporeal.”

“They’re watching us,” Riley "Quick Shot" Bennett whispered, her sniper rifle scanning the treeline. The sound of something splashing in the distance drew everyone’s attention.