After he had killed Cartman, Kenny quickly found an exit to where he had been held prisoner. As soon as he walked through the door, he was bathed in a bright white light and teleported back to South Park, near the lake, without his gun. It was night time, and the cold air only exacerbated his pain.
"How the fuck did this happen? Was it Cthulhu? Could he even do something like that, being dead and all? Why would he do something like this?"
Kenny reached for his arm and started limping away without an actual direction.
"Everything hurts... I can't go to the hospital; they'd ask too many questions... Kyle... I have to get to Kyle. He should know something about first-aid."
Once Kenny reached Kyle's home, he went around to the back and tossed small rocks at Kyle's window. Inside his room, Kyle heard the rocks hitting his window, opened it and, much to his relief, saw Kenny.
"Kenny!"
"Shh! Not so loud!"
"S-Sorry."
"Well? Are you gonna let me bleed on your backyard all night, or are you gonna invite me in?"
"Sorry! I'll be down there in a sec."
Kyle picked up a towel and rushed downstairs. He opened the front door and helped Kenny inside and into his room, while making sure Kenny's blood was absorbed by the towel, so as not to leave any trace of his presence.
"Kenny, what happened to you?" Kyle asked as the boys headed up into his room.
"I found Cartman, but he knocked me out and locked me up. Then I..."
"You what?"
Kenny simply lowered his head in shame.
"...You said you wouldn't. You promised."
"It wasn't like that... He said he would never stop, and I believed him."
"Do you think that makes it right?"
"No. I'm just telling you what happened."
Kyle placed a different towel on his bed and Kenny sat down on it.
"Are you OK?" Kyle asked.
"Not really. They beat me up."
"Take off your shirt."
"What? Kyle, this is no time for..."
"If they beat you up, you might have a broken rib. Take off your shirt so I can get some ice to put on it, for the pain. Then I'm taking you to the hospital."
"Kyle, no. I can't go to the hospital. They'd ask too many questions."
"Kenny, you need a hospital. You're bleeding from your head. You might have a concussion. After all this time-"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, you've been missing for about two weeks."
"What?!"
"You didn't know?"
"No... I swear it hasn't been more than a day since I left to stop Cartman."
"Well, it's been two weeks. I've been here, worried sick about you."
"Thanks, Kyle..."
Kenny sighed and finally gave in to Kyle's wishes.
"Look, I'll go to the hospital, if you really want me to. Just let me shower first."
"What, here?"
"Well... yeah. I can't just show up at my place looking like this. My mom would freak!"
"And you think mine won't when she sees all the blood in the tub?"
"I'll be sure to clean up after myself. Don't worry."
"Fine. Just hurry... and be quiet. You might wake up my brother, or my parents."
"Thanks, Kyle." Kenny said as he quickly kissed Kyle.
Kenny left for Kyle's bathroom. Kyle smiled and rubbed his fingers on his lips.
"I can't believe he kissed me... again. I guess he really does like me. Does this mean we're a couple now?"
Meanwhile, while Kyle wondered about his and Kenny's status, Kenny had already undressed and gotten into the tub for a quick shower. As the water poured down onto his body, washing away his and Cartman's blood, his mind wandered.
"Why is Kyle being so cool about this? I killed someone. This isn't the kind of stuff that gets forgiven..."
Kenny started rubbing his hands as hard as he could. He could see Cartman's face, staring at the bullet just before it hit him.
"I can't believe I killed him... I-I..."
Kenny was starting to freak out. He breathed in and out slowly, to calm himself down.
"Just relax, Kenny... Relax..." Kenny thought.
Once he was done with his shower and put on his pants, Kenny went back into Kyle's room, who was sitting on his bed with a thin box on his lap. Kyle looked at Kenny for a while, enjoying the view of his shirtless friend.
"You're so fucking hot, Kenny."
"What's that?" Kenny asked.
"It's something very important to you."
"No way." Kenny thought.
Kyle opened the box and showed Kenny his orange parka.
"You kept it?"
"Of course. It's important to you... I ironed it every day."
"Why?"
"W-Well, I kinda... I've been sleeping with it ever since you didn't come back." Kyle shyly confessed.
"Wow. That's not creepy at all."
"I thought you were dead! Sleeping with your parka made me feel... a little better about possibly never seeing you again."
"I was just kidding. I understand. If I was in you situation, I probably would've done the same thing."
"...Well? Are you gonna get dressed or what?"
"Not that I don't enjoy seeing you shirtless like this..."
"Sure."
Kenny slowly put on his parka, enjoying its soft inside, until, at last, he was done. He was starting to feel a little better about having been locked up.
"Thanks for keeping this safe for me, Kyle."
"You're welcome."
Kenny began to feel lightheaded. He looked for something to hang on to, but there was nothing nearby. He collapsed onto the ground and hit his head. The last thing he heard before everything faded to black was Kyle screaming his name loudly enough to wake up everyone in his house. Kyle's parents then called an ambulance, once they realized what was going on.
Kenny woke up later in the hospital, with Kyle holding his hand.
"Uh..." Kenny groaned.
"Kenny!" Kyle yelled. "You're OK!"
"Not so loud... My head still kind of hurts."
"S-Sorry."
"W-Where am I?"
"You're in the South Park hospital. My mom called an ambulance to take you. I've been here for a while now, waiting for you to wake up."
"Thanks, Kyle..."
"Listen, Kenny... Your disappearance was kind of a big deal around here. Your parents, your brother and your sister wouldn't stop crying... Everyone was worried about you."
"What about Cartman?"
"Same thing."
"Wow. I can't believe he was missed." Kenny thought.
"The point is, cops got involved." Kyle continued. "They searched the entire town for you, but couldn't find you anywhere."
"No shit." Kenny thought sarcastically.
"And... the cops think you're involved with Cartman's disappearance."
"Well, they're right about that..."
"Kenny..."
"No, Kyle, it's true. I'm the one who... who killed him. It's my fault he's gone."
"You had no choice!"
"Maybe so, but, like you said, that doesn't make it right."
"Kenny, I... I can't lose you... Please don't make me lose you."
Kyle suddenly started crying. At that moment, to keep Kyle from getting hurt, Kenny decided to keep the fact that he had killed Cartman a secret from the police and anyone else who might want to put him in jail for it.
"OK, Kyle. I won't tell anyone. Now please stop crying."
"D-Do you really mean that?" Kyle asked between sobs.
"Yes. I don't want to see you hurt... I... I love you."
Kyle stopped crying and approached Kenny. The boys shared a brief kiss, before a police officer entered Kenny's hospital room and knocked on the door to announce himself.
"Are you Kenneth McCormick?"
"Yup."
"We have some questions to ask you."
"What's this about?" Kyle asked.
"I'm afraid I can't discuss that with you."
"I'm just going to tell him once I'm done, so you might as well tell him now."
"That's not how it works. I can't just-"
"Settle down, officer. I'll take it from here."
"Yes, sir."
Once the officer left the room, a detective entered it.
"Who are you?" Kenny asked.
"My name's Matt. I'm the detective working your case, Kenny."
"Are you gonna tell me what this is about?"
"We think your friend, Eric, was-"
"Cartman is not my friend."
"Sorry... Anyway, we think Eric was involved with an underground cult of Cthulhu worshipers here in South Park."
"Seriously?" Kyle asked.
"Yes. We've been investigating them for a while now."
Kenny and Kyle shared wary looks. Matt noticed this and realized they were hiding something from him.
"What did you find out about them?" Kenny asked.
"From what we could gather, they were trying to resurrect Cthulhu."
"And do you really believe in Cthulhu?"
"I've seen enough to know not to doubt stuff like that."
The boys shared wary looks again.
"Anyway, it's time for me to ask the questions... Kyle, is it? If you wouldn't mind, I need you to leave the room."
"Can't he stay?"
"I'm sorry, but that's not allowed."
"Please? I'd really like for him to stay."
"It's against the rules."
"It's OK, Kenny. I'll be right outside."
Kyle let go of Kenny's hand and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Matt watched the whole thing, then turned to Kenny, who was scared out of his mind.
"Relax, Kenny. I won't take very long. You can have Kyle back in about ten minutes."
Matt started by asking questions about whether Kenny had seen Cartman. Albeit hesitantly, Kenny lied and said he had only seen him at school.
"You're sure?" Matt asked. "You haven't seen him anywhere else?"
"Like I said, he's not my friend, even though we used to hang out... I never liked him."
"'Used to'? Why did you stop?"
Kenny felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and tried coming up with a good answer.
"Well, I haven't seen him in weeks. That's why we stopped."
"Right..."
Kenny could tell Matt didn't believe his answer, but he hoped that, having nothing else to go on, he'd never know where to look to find evidence to the contrary.
"What about your captors? Do you remember anything about them that could help us identify who they were?"
Kenny had another decision to make. Should he tell he truth, and admit he was being held captive by the cult members, or lie, and say something else? He hesitated for a bit, but decided to tell Matt the truth for once. Most of it, anyway.
"I... I was being held captive by some guys in cloaks."
"Do you know where?"
"I couldn't tell. They had me locked up in a cell."
"Were there others?"
"Not that I could tell. The hallway seemed to go on forever."
"And did that happen to you when you were... kidnapped?"
"My head? Yeah. They knocked me out."
"Did they tell you why they kidnapped you?"
"No..."
"What about your... acquaintance, Eric? Was he held captive by the same group?"
"Uh... Well, like I said, I didn't see anyone else."
"OK..."
"Um... Is that all?"
"For now. I'm going back to the precinct and... review the evidence."
Matt opened Kenny's hospital room door, but turned around before leaving.
"I'm glad you're OK, Kenny. I can only hope Eric's still alright too. His mother hasn't stopped calling us in tears."
Matt waited a few seconds, checking Kenny's reaction to his final statement, before finally leaving. Kyle entered the room shortly after.
"What did you guys talk about?"
In response, Kenny simply lowered his head, and tears started falling on his bed sheet. Kyle quickly approached him and took his hand, gently rubbing it to calm him down.
"Kenny? What's wrong?"
"I... He wanted to know about where I was held up, if I had seen Cartman... Stuff like that."
"Why are you crying?"
"He said Cartman's mother's been crying and calling the police in tears."
"Kenny, you-"
"No, Kyle. Don't say anything. I killed him. It's my fault she's suffering."
Kyle lowered his head. He didn't have the courage to look his friend in the eyes, knowing that he was right. Kyle had tried to deny it to himself, but he no longer could.
"...You're right."
Kyle raised his head and was faced with a confused Kenny.
"You're right, Kenny. I've been trying to convince myself otherwise, but you're right."
"Kyle..."
"But... You had no other choice. You did what you had to do to protect us. Protect me. And that's why... I forgive you."
Kenny started crying again. Kyle put his arms around Kenny and pulled him into a hug, while gently rubbing the back of his head.
"...I forgive you, Kenny."