GHOST IN THE SNOW
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Joel met Olivia when she was twenty-two, inside the Boston Quarantine Zone. She wasn’t alone — with her was Mark, a boy she had rescued after the outbreak when he was just a little kid, and taken in as her own son. Together, they formed a small family in the chaos.
Joel grew close to both of them. For years, they survived side by side, finding moments of peace amid the ruins. Until everything fall apart.
Six years ago
The hum of generators and the distant clatter of boots echoed through the walls of the apartment. Olivia stood by the window, arms crossed tightly over her chest, watching the grey light spill over broken concrete.
Joel sat at the table, cleaning a pistol in silence. Mark, only thirteen at the time, was already asleep in the other room.
“Joel,” she said, voice tight.
He looked up slowly, sensing her tone.
“I’m pregnant,” she said, the words hanging in the room like dust.
Joel didn’t respond right away. He just stared at her, processing, blinking like he’d misheard. Joel didn’t move. “What?”
“I’m pregnant, Joel.”
He looked up slowly, eyes searching hers, as if waiting for her to take it back. She didn’t.
A long, tense silence settled between them. Joel stood, pacing a few steps with both hands on his hips. “Olivia... now’s not the time to be—”
“I’m not joking,” she said. “I’m already three months in.”
Joel turned to her, voice rising. “You should’ve told me sooner.”
“You would’ve said the same damn thing. I wanted to wait until I was sure.”
He ran a hand down his face. “Christ… You know this world ain’t for kids. You already got Mark to look after.”
“We. We got Mark, he’s our son" she said defensively. “He’s our family, Joel. You helped raise him all this years”
“I didn’t ask for that either!” he snapped.
The words hit harder than he meant.
Olivia’s face hardened. “So you’re saying none of it meant anything?”
Joel looked away, jaw clenched. “I’m saying this wasn’t supposed to happen. I never wanted—”
“Don’t finish that,” she warned.
He ignored it. “Get rid of it. Things can go back to normal. You, me, and Mark. We can survive like we have.”
Her mouth fell open slightly. “You want me to what?”
“You heard me.”
She took a step back, stunned. “You really think I’d do that? That I’d throw away a life just to keep you comfortable?”
“I’m trying to protect you,” he said, softer now, but still firm. “Protect all of us.”
“You’re protecting yourself,” she snapped. “Because you’re scared. Because you can’t face the fact that something real came out of this.”
Joel didn’t respond
She looked at him, broken and furious. “You can’t ask me that. I won’t.”
Joel crossed his arms. “Then maybe you should leave.”
She stared at him, waiting for him to take it back. But he didn’t.
So she turned and walked into the other room, gathered what she could.
By morning, she and Mark were gone.
And Joel never saw them again.
Until Jackson.