[ WP ] In the future , people can be resurrected if their corpse is still in good condition . Your brother 's best friend comes to visit , only to find out your family cremated him .

*This wasn ’ t how it was supposed to happen, * thought Tony, as he tore down the trail. *This wasn ’ t how it was supposed to happen at all! * 
 
 He had known that Brendan had been sick: he was online less & less, and even when he was, his skills seemed much sloppier than when they ’ d played two years earlier. Even conversations had taken forever, like Brendan was stressing over every word. Tony had been quick to offer up poor internet connectivity as a scapegoat, though after a particularly long absence, he ’ d suggested a meet-up. 
 
 The underbrush kept pressing in, threatening to drown him in a sea of green. *We were going to hang out! Go to that boardwalk, eat junk food: just enjoy the day, not even bothering with video games! * 
 
 Brendan had never said how he was sick, but Tony knew that he had issues with travel. Even when he ’ d suggested making the trip himself, Brendan protested. Yet Tony wasn ’ t anything if not persistent, finally making Brendan agree to a visit. Tony had been looking forward to it too: he ’ d never seen the coast before, and Brendan caved once Tony claimed meeting his gaming partner was just a perk for a long awaited vacation. Brendan was going to meet Tony at the airport, but instead it was... her. 
 
 *Those backwards-thinking bastards! How could they?! * Tony broke through the foliage, finding himself on a hill facing the sea. He couldn ’ t remember running that far, nor expecting this view from the path he ’ d been taking. Before he could take in the sight, his sudden sprinting caught up to him; spying a nearby bench, he staggered towards it. 
 
 “ Tony, wait! ” a voice called out. Her voice. 
 
 “ Go away! ” he shouted back. 
 
 She had been waiting near the baggage claim, holding a sign with one of his gamertags written on it. Tony knew that they ’ d PM ’ d each other ’ s info before proposing the trip, so he ’ d thought Brendan was just pranking him. It would go along with Brendan keeping silent the last couple of days leading up to the trip. She ’ d said her name was Emily, and that she was Brendan ’ s sister. Tony hadn ’ t been able to get much more out of her while she drove, just that she was sorry Brendan couldn ’ t make it. She ’ d promised to explain things better once they arrived, so Tony enjoyed the ride, keeping the conversation superficial. 
 
 It wasn ’ t until they reached the house that she delivered the news. 
 
 “ Tony, I ’ m truly sorry, but Brendan passed away three days ago. We only just heard you were coming when we checked his accounts this morning. ” 
 
 “ Oh, really? Shoot, I really wanted to hang out right away, ” Tony had said. “ It ’ ll take, what, another two before he ’ d back to normal? I hope I ’ m not imposing by staying here in the meantime. ” 
 
 Emily had sighed, “ No no, it ’ s... Brendan ’ s dead, Tony. He ’ s not coming back. ” 
 
 “ What are you talking about? Of course he is. ” 
 
 “ No... I ’ m explaining this wrong, it ’ s- ” 
 
 Tony had stepped out of the car, shouting, “ Brendan, as jokes ’ go, you ’ ve done better! Where you hiding, man? ” 
 
 Emily had followed, “ He ’ s... he ’ s in here. ” 
 
 And she led him to Brendan. 
 
 “ Tony, just let me explain! ” Emily cried. 
 
 “ How could you? ” he snarled back. “ How could you kill him like that?! He could ’ ve come back if you didn ’ t have those stupid traditions! Who even follows those anyways? Especially for someone our age! He was my **friend**, damn it! How could you take him!?! ” Tony sobbed, letting his rant peter out. “ How could you take him... ” 
 
 The two stood there, only letting their crying break the silence. The sun dipped closer towards the horizon as they wore themselves out. Eventually, Emily walked over to the bench & sat down. 
 
 “ Did you know, ” she began, “ that that revival process isn ’ t a hard reset? Just a short rewinding of the clock? ” She didn ’ t glance over, though she seemed to be waiting for Tony. He grunted some affirmation as he lowered himself down on the other side. “ There ’ s all sorts of preconditions and what have you, but most times doctors say you get a year back every time you go through it. You ’ ve got to live that year though, before it really works again. For most people, that ’ s enough. ” 
 
 When she looked over, Tony saw the sheer grief in her eyes. “ But Brendan... Brendan had ALS. ” 
 
 Tony just stared, not processing why that mattered. Emily continued, “ What it does... it ’ s just cruel. That a disease could make you a prisoner in your own body... it ’ s just *wrong*. ” She wasn ’ t crying anymore, although Tony guessed that she ’ d cried it all out over this. “ Brendan used games as an escape: for a place where he could still do all those things that were robbed of him. ” For the first time, she smiled, “ And that ’ s where he met you. ” 
 
 “ You became his reason to keep fighting it, to keep holding out hope. He always wanted to keep playing with you; as he lost more control, we modified the controls so he could keep up. He *lived* for those hours with you, ” Emily sighed, nursing that melancholy memory to life, only to let it float away. 
 
 “ But we couldn ’ t do that to him. We couldn ’ t thrust him back into that pain, even for a moment with you. We couldn ’ t do it. I ’ m sorry. ” 
 
 Tony didn ’ t know what to say: what anger & revulsion remained had been smothered by the truth. All that remained was a near hollowness. *Not bad, really, * he thought, *just rather calm. * He didn ’ t know how to feel about this anymore. 
 
 So he thought about Brendan. He thought about his corny jokes & stupid gamertags. He thought about all the co-op matches they ’ d won by the skin of their teeth. He thought about all the matches they hadn ’ t. He thought about the weirdly deep conversations they ’ d had waiting for screens to load & opponents to join. He thought about his friend, letting the thoughts fill the void. 
 
 Tony was barely aware of Emily, going through the same motions he was. And they sat there, emptily-full, as they let the sun set for them.
