The rain had finally stopped.
Outside the window of Car 8, a soft mist drifted across the steel tracks, glowing faintly under the early morning sky. It was the first time in days the passengers had seen anything close to dawn. Not that it felt like a new day.
Inside, the world was still quiet—too quiet.
Except for one small sound.
A laugh.
Tiny. Soft. Honest.
Asher turned around slowly, his eyes widening.
Mia was sitting cross-legged on the floor near the window, giggling to herself as she used her pink crayon to draw crooked hearts on the foggy glass. Ethan sat beside her, dramatically pretending to "lose" a game of thumb war.
"Daddy! I win again!" she said proudly, puffing out her little chest.
Ethan grinned. "What? Again? Are you secretly a superhero?"
She nodded seriously. "Yes. And I'm not telling my powers to boys!"
Asher chuckled, approaching from behind. "But what if your other dad needs help?"
Mia turned to him and threw her arms wide. "Then I'll protect you too, Dad!"
Ethan and Asher exchanged a glance.
There it was again.
Dad.Daddy.
She'd said it a few times the day before, almost without realizing it. But now... she said it with complete trust. As if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Asher bent down and scooped her up into his arms. She squealed, laughing.
"You're getting heavy," he teased.
"I'm five and a half!" she said proudly, holding up five fingers and a pinky.
He smiled, spinning her gently once before setting her down again. It had been days since any of them had smiled this much. For Mia, this strange, cold train had somehow begun to feel safe—not because it was, but because she had them.
She had Asher and Ethan.
She had parents.
Jason, watching from near the locked car door, gave a tired but relieved smile. His eyes flicked to his wife's scarf, still tied around his wrist like a band of memory. He'd stayed distant since her death, focused solely on protecting the group and keeping the train from descending into chaos. But seeing Mia laugh, even just for a moment, helped him believe that what he'd sacrificed wasn't in vain.
"She's healing," Jason said quietly as Asher walked over to refill a water bottle.
Asher nodded. "It's slow. But yeah... she's starting to believe she's safe."
"You and Ethan," Jason said, "you're doing a hell of a job."
Asher lowered his gaze. "We're just trying to keep our promise."
"No," Jason said firmly. "You're being fathers."
Asher didn't know how to respond. The words hit harder than expected. He hadn't realized how deeply they'd already fallen into the role—not until Mia looked at him with those wide, trusting eyes and reached for his hand as if it was the most dependable thing in the world.
The day continued slowly.
They moved through the train again—quietly, cautiously—clearing the last two cars between them and the sealed-off engineer's room. No new infected. Only bloodstains. The storm must have pushed the zombies into the rear, or maybe fate was giving them a sliver of time.
Ethan carried Mia on his back the entire time.
She held tight to his shoulders, whispering, "Are we going on an adventure, Daddy?"
He smiled at the word every time.
"Yeah, sweetheart," he replied. "The bravest one ever."
They reached a utility room near the front. It had an old railway radio, long unused and dusty. Jason fiddled with it, trying to boost the signal. Meanwhile, Asher set Mia up on a crate with some markers they'd scavenged from abandoned backpacks.
"Draw us something good," Ethan told her.
"I'm drawing our family!" she said brightly. "Me, Daddy, and Dad!"
When Asher looked at her drawing later, it was just stick figures—but it hit him like a bullet to the chest.
She had drawn herself between them, holding both their hands.
Above her head, in big purple letters, she'd written:
"MY FAMILY."
That night, she wouldn't fall asleep unless they were both nearby.
She curled up in Ethan's lap, resting her cheek against his chest while Asher sat close, leaning against his shoulder. They were silent, but something in the quiet felt... right.
"She needs this," Asher whispered.
Ethan nodded. "We all do."
"She saved us as much as we're saving her."
Ethan turned his head. "Do you ever think about what happens after this? Like... if there's still a world left?"
Asher took a long breath.
"I don't know," he said. "But if there is... I want her in it."
Ethan's voice dropped to a whisper. "And you?"
Asher looked at him.
Their eyes met.
"I want you too."
The moment was thick, heavier than the air around them, but still unspoken. They weren't ready to say it—not yet.
Not when the world was still so dangerous.
But for now, they were Mia's world.
And she was theirs.
The next morning, she called for them before she even opened her eyes.
"Dad...? Daddy?"
They were there instantly.
She smiled sleepily. "Good morning."
Ethan kissed her forehead. "Morning, superhero."
Asher ruffled her curls. "You hungry?"
"Always!"
They shared the last few crackers and peanut butter packets between the group. Mia was given the largest portion, and no one objected. She was the spark of life on this dying train.
Even Leo had started entertaining her with silly shadow puppets. Jordy helped her make a small doll out of string and napkins. Sienna braided her hair.
In just two days, she had become everyone's reason to stay human.
But no one more so than Ethan and Asher.
Every time the train creaked, they moved. Every time a door groaned, they reached for their weapons. One would guard her, the other would lead defense. Like an unspoken system forged in battle.
Jason said it best that night, quietly, over a rusted piece of metal he'd been sharpening:
"You two are doing more than surviving. You're building something worth surviving for."
That night, Mia laid between them, hugging her bunny and the napkin doll Jordy made her.
Before sleep took her, she whispered:
"Do I get to stay with you forever?"
Asher's voice cracked. "Of course."
Ethan nodded, kissing her forehead. "Forever and a day."
She smiled and closed her eyes.
And for the first time in a long, long time...
They believed it too.