This was an idea that I had after I first saw the "Preschool" episode. At the end of the episode, they say that they don't have to worry about Trent for another five years, and I thought "Hey, I should write a fan fiction where it's five years later and he's released from prison again." There was an idea I had before, but I didn't know how to carry it out, but then I saw that episode and was like "Yes. He's perfect! Mwa ha ha ha!" (I may or may not have actually laughed like that.)

A Dangerous Game

Chapter One: Five years later

Stan's POV

"Oh, what is this, that I can see? These ice-cold hands taking hold of me…"

It started like every other day in South Park. Birds were singing, it was cold as fuck, and giant, alien robots were having an epic battle in the middle of town. So, again, just a normal Tuesday. It had been five years since that day, and for some reason, that thought didn't come into my mind when I woke up.

Five years. We were fifteen now, and probably not any wiser. It's strange how as you grow older you don't notice yourself changing, but when you look back at yourself from five years ago, you sit there and think "Why the hell did I do that? I look like a dork!" I didn't look much different than I did from five years ago (I got a lot taller though) but my friends managed to change quite a bit. I still even wore the hat I wore in fourth grade, I was that boring. But hey, I grew my hair out a bit, so that's something, right?

Kenny, somehow, wound up being the shortest of the four of us. When we were thirteen he got a tattoo on his right arm. And his left arm. And his shoulders. By the time he turned fourteen, he was covered in tattoos and somehow managed to hide every single one of them from his parents.

Cartman, unsurprisingly, was the tallest out of all of us. He was still as large as ever, and his voice was still pretty high pitched. He had lost enough weight that he could actually touch his toes if he strained himself, but was still the biggest kid in class.

Kyle, on the other hand, had become the skinniest out of the four of us. When we were twelve, he somehow managed to grow his hair out so that it was long and kind of wavy, and if I wasn't dating Wendy, I would have said he looked pretty hot with that style. Too bad he still covered it up with his hat. Wendy would often joke that if we ever broke up again she would immediately go after Kyle. I still don't know if she was joking or not.

Wendy had become absolutely gorgeous. Not to say that she wasn't already gorgeous, but let's just say that one day everyone (including the girls) voted her to be the hottest girl in school. And she was all mine. I would to say that I didn't brag to some of the other guys that I was the one still dating her, but yeah, I totally did brag from time to time.

Sorry, I got completely off track. Anyways, the day started out like any other day as I made my way down to the bus stop. I felt as though something was nagging at the back of my mind, like I had forgotten to do something, but I ignored it. My friends were waiting for me, and the instant I looked at my best friend, I could tell that something wasn't right.

He had a sort of haunted look in his eyes, and he looked like he hadn't slept in a long time. For some reason, Kenny and Cartman either didn't notice or didn't care, because neither of them made any comment about his appearance.

"What's wrong, Kyle?" I asked him.

"Nothing," he replied, not looking me in the eye.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "Because it looks like you've seen a ghost, dude."

"Yeah, what's up with you, Kyle?" Cartman asked, nudging him hard in the side and almost knocking him over. "Did your mom force you to have sex with her again last night?" Kyle glared at him.

"One, that has never happened and you know it," he growled at him. "And two, it's none of your fucking business, fat ass."

Cartman opened his mouth to argue with him, but at that moment the bus pulled up and the conversation was put on hold. Kyle immediately took a seat next to the window and I sat down next to him. I tried to start a conversation with him, but he pretty much ignored me, instead choosing to stare out the window and only occasionally respond to what I was saying.

Rolling my eyes, I decided to give up on the matter. I figured he would tell me what was bothering him sooner or later. He always did.

I was shaken out of my thoughts when Wendy sat down next to us, giving me a winning smile. She flipped her long hair as she pulled her back pack onto her lap.

"Hey, Stan," she greeted. "Did you understand the Spanish homework? I swear, most of the questions and words are things we haven't even discussed in class."

"Boy, I'll say," Cartman said, peeking over the seat in front of us. "I couldn't even figure out the first question!" Kenny took his paper from his hand and glanced at it.

"That's where your name goes, idiot," he pointed out. I couldn't help but laugh as Cartman angrily snatched his paper from Kenny's hands and sat back down. Wendy started flirting with me, but I was distracted by the fact that Kyle had remained silent through that. Even now he would take every opportunity to insult Cartman, but it was like he hadn't even heard that entire exchange at all.

School went by as mundanely as ever, but not once did I lose that nagging feeling in the back of my mind. And it didn't help that Kyle wouldn't stop acting weird. I decided that I was going to confront him about it after school, but when I went to find him, he was already making his way towards me.

"Dude, I need to talk to you for a second," he said, grabbing my arm and pulling me aside. He led me into an empty hall way that almost seemed abandoned and turned to me.

"How long has this hallway been here?" I wondered, but he ignored my question. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a folded-up piece of paper.

"This letter was taped on my house's front door this morning," he muttered, pushing the hair out of his eyes. "I found it before my parents did, and I haven't told them about it. I didn't want to make them worry." Then he silently handed the note to me.

It was made up of a collage of letters, like the ones you see as ransom notes on TV. I felt my blood began to freeze as I read out loud: "I'm coming to get you. Before this week is over, you will feel my wrath. This time, all of you are fucking dead!"

"Who could have sent this to you?" I asked, my voice tightening. "How do you know it was for you?" Kyle looked me straight in the eye, terror shining in his own.

"Stan, don't you remember?" he asked, his voice a hoarse whisper. "Don't you remember what day it is?" I didn't respond. Suddenly, I knew what had been bugging me all day. I knew why my friend looked so terrified. "It's been five years, Stan. Trent Boyett has been released again. And this time, I think he's not going to stop until we're dead."

Well, on that cheery little note, I'm gonna end the chapter right there. I don't know how serious this fan fiction will be, but I know it's going to be slightly more serious than my other one. Let me know what you think, and tell your friends and all that.

I've decided that I'm going to shift view-points with each chapter, and darn it, I just love the first-person point of view. Next time we'll see if it really is Trent threatening them (spoilers: it is) and we'll maybe see why Kyle tried to hide this from his friends. Other than that, make sure to read and review!