Our heavy footsteps echoed as we approached the entrance of the underground tombs.
The air was thick, cold… like something ancient was watching us.
I was at the back of the group.
Eyes scanning the darkness ahead.
Then—
Silence.
A darkness deeper than night swallowed me whole.
I slowly opened my eyes...
Sunlight.
Blue skies.
Soft grass beneath me.
Warm wind brushing against my skin.
I stood up.
Looked around.
No fire.
No blood.
No tombs.
I took a deep breath.
"What a strange dream…" I muttered.
I sat on the grass, ran my hand through my hair, and smiled softly.
"Vampires? Tombs? Fighting? What a mess."
Then I heard it.
A voice.
So familiar… it pulled at something deep inside me.
"Kyle! Come on, breakfast is ready!"
I turned around—
It was her.
My mother.
Smiling, holding a basket of bread.
Waving at me beneath the shade of a big tree.
I ran toward her.
Sat.
Laughed.
Ate.
My little brother's giggles echoed through the field.
It was perfect.
Too perfect.
That evening, my mother turned to me, concern in her voice.
"Kyle… where's your brother? He was just with you."
I stood up, puzzled.
Walked through the trees.
Calling his name.
Then I saw it.
A cave.
Dark.
Silent.
Waiting.
I stepped in.
The air shifted—thick, heavy.
I walked deeper…
Then came the screams.
The fire.
The massacre.
I saw a village burning.
People dying in the most horrific ways.
Screams that cracked the sky.
I looked down.
There she was—my mother.
Bloodied. Burned. Broken.
"Why didn't you save us, Kyle?" she whispered.
I stumbled back—
Then the world froze.
In the middle of the burning road…
A figure stood.
Tall.
Shrouded in black rags.
A face lost in shadow.
He stared at me.
His lips moved—
but the words were not words.
Just… whispers.
Broken, ancient.
A cursed tongue that sent shivers down my spine.
I couldn't move.
Couldn't speak.
Then—
The ground shattered beneath me.
And I fell.
I woke up.
Gasping.
Sweating.
Heart pounding in my ears.
But something was wrong…
Too quiet.
I looked around.
Empty.
The others—gone.
Just me, alone…
in the dark.
And in my ears,
still echoing softly…
those whispers