Chapter Text
Another survivor—whose name Gavin didn’t know—guided him to a cabin. Unlike the other cabins they passed by, this cabin was straight on from the dirt path they walked on, instead of being parallel to the path as the ones previously were. Apparently, the survivor who lived here usually taught the new survivors how the Mist and its games worked.
The survivor knocked on the door. A few seconds passed before the door creaked open. A woman with shoulder-length brunette hair, a gray sweater, and bright blue eyes looked at both of them. She looked so familiar to him, but how? How did he know her?
The woman turned to the other survivor. “New survivor?”
They nodded before walking away.
She sighed. “Alright, let’s get this over with…” She continued to talk, but he was too lost in thought. Why was she so familiar? No one he knew well looked like her. “Did you hear any of that?” She spoke again, snapping him out of thought.
“No, sorry.”
She scoffed, half-laughing, half-annoyed. Gavin stiffened. He knew that kind of scoff, but it couldn’t be. She’s dead, had been for decades at this point. Yet, the person standing right in front of him sounded nearly identical to his older sister, Becca. Thinking about it some more, she even wore the same outfit he vaguely remembered her wearing the last time he ever saw her. “Are you okay?” The woman sounded genuinely concerned. To be fair, he had been staring at her this whole time.
“Becca…?” The words slipped out of his mouth and were barely audible.
She froze. Her eyes narrowed with a suspicious, yet concerned, glance plastered on her face. “How do you know my name?”
He put his hand on his chest. “It’s me, Gavin!” God, he was acting like he was twelve.
Becca eyed him up and down. “Right, sure.”
“Look, I don’t know how you look the same, and I know I don't, but I swear it’s me.”
Becca sighed. “What’s your real name?”
“Gavin!”
“Bullshit.”
“Then how the hell do I prove it to you? Huh?” He sighed. Becca narrowed her eyes, still not believing what her younger—now presumably older—brother was saying. Becca stayed silent, making no suggestion. “I don’t know what to tell you, but I swear to God it’s me.”
“My brother is back in my hometown.” Her tone was incredibly hostile. “He’s probably doing something great out there, so what is your name?” She enunciated every word.
Gavin flinched a tad, partly because of Becca’s tone. He never liked hearing her angry, but also, he wasn’t anything great, far from it. Hell, he got taken by this so-called Mist because he purposefully drank away his problems. He sighed, frowning. “I wish I knew how to prove to you…”
“Just tell me your name, and if you say Gavin one more time, I swear to…”
“Do you remember when I was really young and climbed a tree so high that I was too scared to come down?” Gavin blurted out. He paused for a moment, chuckling. “Dad thought he’d have to get a fire truck to get me down from there, but you kept encouraging me until I finally did it.”
Becca stiffened, staring at him like he had two heads. Gavin chuckled nervously, worried he just pissed her off further, but Becca whispered something. “Gavin…?” Tears welled in her eyes.
“Becs…?” Tears welled in his own eyes. Both of them rushed to embrace the other.
“How the hell are you here…?” She choked out.
“The same way you are, the damn Mist…”
She pulled back, holding onto his shoulders, and looked him up and down. “But you’re…”
“Old?” He chuckled, wiping his tears. “I know…”
“This can’t be real…” Becca wiped her tears. “How old are you?”
“Thirty-three.”
Her face dropped. “Oh my God… Three decades…?”
“Yeah…” He answered simply. He didn’t know exactly what to say to comfort her.
She chuckled weakly. “I missed out on a lot, I guess.” Before he could answer, her eyes squinted, looking at something on his shirt. “Officer Prescott…” Her head whipped up. “You’re a cop?”
“Yeah…” He chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his hand behind his neck.
“Since when?!”
“Uh,” He honestly forgot how long it had been. “Since I was in my mid-twenties or so.”
“Never thought you’d be a cop, but you were always pretty brave.” She smiled. Gavin smiled back, weaker than hers, though. He knew she was lying through her teeth. He was always much more afraid and hesitant than she ever was, usually needing some reassurance. Hell, she only believed him because he told her an instance of him being a coward, but he assumed it was because she wanted to seem supportive. “Why did you decide to be a cop?”
Gavin froze. That was one of the few things he could absolutely not tell her. He knew she’d feel horrible if she knew the reason. To be fair, if he were in her shoes, he’d feel awful, too. Plus, becoming a police officer just made him feel more useless. He couldn’t ever forget himself on how he dropped the case with the sole surviving father. Mr. Harris needed him, but he just couldn’t get Becca out of his mind. It felt selfish almost immediately after and still does to this day. “I’ll… Tell you about it some other time.” He finally answered, slightly hesitantly.
“Alright.” Becca shrugged. There was a brief pause before Becca spoke again. “It’s good to see you, though.” She muttered something else, looking a bit upset from it, but Gavin didn’t hear it.
Gavin smiled. “You too…” It was strange to finally see his sister again, something he wished for since he first heard “she was in a better place.” Those three decades where he just wanted to give her another hug, hear her teasing, to do anything with her, but now, he wasn’t even sure how to feel, let alone what to do. Sure, his prayer was finally answered, but this place was nothing but cruel and grueling, and he had only been here for a few rounds—as others referred to them as—or so. The Mist was far from where he imagined seeing her again.
“I should probably teach you, shouldn’t I?” Becca chuckled softly. “But I do want to know what I missed. You’ll tell me another time, though.”
“God, you sound like Mom.”
Becca laughed. “I do, don’t I?” She exhaled. “Do you promise you’ll tell me some other time?”
Gavin nodded. “I promise.”