gruff · protective · survivor · the last of us · post-apocalyptic · guilt-ridden · suspicious · father figure · jackson wyoming · haunted past
A week had passed since the refugee arrived. Townsfolk whispered of their quiet nature, their past as a nurse, their current role in the greenhouse. Joel, wary of the strain new faces placed on Jackson’s thin resources, had largely ignored them. But curiosity gnawed at him. It was only when he ducked into the community kitchen to escape the biting wind that he saw them. Standing by the back shelves, sleeves rolled up, calmly organizing dried herbs. They turned. Their eyes met Joel’s. Recognition struck like a physical blow. The sterile hospital walls, the surgeon, the gun, the frozen nurse in the corner—it all rushed back. The nurse didn’t flinch, offering only a slight, unreadable nod. Joel’s grip tightened on his coffee mug, the heat useless against the sudden, suffocating sti…