The Butterfly Effect: A tiny butterfly flapping its wings today may lead to a devastating hurricane weeks from now.
The smallest decision can dramatically change the future.
Your actions will shape how the story unfolds.
Your story.
Is one of many possibilities.
Choose your actions carefully.
It was a cold winter night. The wind whipped the trees bare and howled like a pack of wolfs. The snow bared it's icy fangs as it descended upon the mountains, and more so on a large cabin hotel.
Light peeked through the partially open blinds and spilled onto the snow which covered the deck. Drowning out the sounds nature, it was particularly quiet without any sounds from what would be a bustling hotel. It was closed for the time being. Only open to a select few. A small group of friends whom have decided to reside in the cabin for a yearly party.
If one were to peak through the blinds they would be greeted by the sight of an older boy with messy, uncleaned brown hair which escaped out from under a grey beanie. His face was slightly oily which gave way to the idea that he hadn't showered since arriving at the cabin, but was not affected by this. A band aid laid across his left temple, his shirt was a red button up which was notably wrinkly and stood out against his grey sweatpants. This quiet and not well known figure was Kevin McCormick, the eldest of three.
However, he was unimportant, as was the unknown and unwelcomed figure who stared from the outside. Both would continue to go unnoticed for the time being.
What was important was the following events that took place that night. They would be the start to uncover the truth, but also to unravel the unforgivable
.
One of the many rooms in the hotel was unusually crowded with seven teenagers, all attempting to be quiet. One of them placed a note on the counter of the kitchen.
" Oh my god! I can't believe you actually did this." A snicker rose from one of the girls. She was tall and fairly skinny with her black hair tucked under a pink beret. This was Wendy.
"Shh… Shh… Shh" Hushed a lengthy, yet broad shouldered boy. His red curly mess of a hair peaked out from his lime green ushanka. This was Kyle Broflovski.
"Uh...I-I don't know, guys. D-Don't you think this is a little cruel?" The youngest boy rubbed his knuckles together. The sides of his head were shaved leaving the top of his blonde hair to partially cover one of his eyes, covering a large pink scar. His hair as held back by a butterfly hair clip. This was Butters.
Kyle's ears went slightly red as he smiled softly, possibly trying to suppress a grin, "Oh come on! She deserves it."
"Aw Jeez, It's not her fault she has a big crush on Stan." Butters replied, not daring to meet the redhead's eye.
"Karen's been making moves on him. I'm just looking out for Stan… a-and Wendy." Kyle said as he scratched the back of his neck as his eyes lingered on Stan he was a tall and well built boy, years playing sports as well as being the High School quarterback really payed off. His usually beanie was nowhere to be seen so his messy black hair matched with low riding jeans made him very attractive. Directing his eyes elsewhere Kyle walked out of the room followed by Stan, Wendy, and Butters.
"Just because he's quarterback doesn't mean he belongs to everyone. Stan's my man." Wendy said, clearly annoyed with the attention the Karen has been giving her Boyfriend which lead her to lose her normally clear mind.
"Hey. Wendy. I'm nobody's man." Stan countered as he reached out and grabbed her hand.
"Whatever you say, darling" Wendy smiled, but rolled her eyes as she did so.
The gang headed to one of the old guests rooms, all except Butters. Butter split from the group and headed up the stairs, worry written on his face.
"Karen?" He called. Karen was a short girl whos hair was kept in two low ponytails with lace purple bows at the end of them. She was the youngest of the group by about two years and she seemed to always act older than she was. There was always some kind of mark on her face as well, whether it be glitter or dirt, it just seemed to work with her personality. One of the most notably things about Karen is the presence of a tattoo on her right forearm. It was a butterfly, however the body of the butterfly was a question mark. It was in honor of her hero, and Guardian Angel, Mysterion. See this was Karen McCormick, the youngest of the McCormick Family.
In the lowly lit bedroom a boy with a wild blonde main twitched as he hid behind the partition, "ARG!-" He twitched, letting out a mix between a shriek and a was Tweek Tweak.
A dark skinned boy with a fade haircut stepped into the closet and closed the door behind him letting the lens of the camera peak out only slightly. This was Token Black, the token black kid of the group, who was usually smarter than to take part in pranks, but this time was the exception.
Wendy and Kyle slid under the bed quietly, trying to suppress their laughter while Stan awkwardly stood in the middle of the room. Surely, Karen wouldn't fall for this.
Wendy let out a loud laugh before quickly covering her mouth as the door opened. "Ops!... She's here… Sh!" She whispered.
Once the door opened the room was lit in a warm light as the candle flickered in Karen's hand. The flames flickered and the light licked the curved of her body as she shyly looked into the dark room. Her shirt was fairly low cut with three buttons down the middle, it was from good will and a little too small for her, but still it was the nicest shirt she owned.
"S-Stan?... It's Karen" She whispered tugging at the end of her hair lightly.
Stan gave a toothy grin as he saw the younger girl push opened the door. Innocence flush on her face. "Hey, Karen."
Kevin stared out the windows, snowflakes sticking to the windows and blurring his vision, but after another minute or so, his staring paid off because something indeed moved. A large black shadow moved across the yard and into the trees.
"Hey…" His deep voice penetrated the silence, " Did you see that? Didn't your dealer say it'd be just us this weekend, Kenny?"
Kevin turned around and stared at his younger brother Kenny McCormick. Kenny wore an orange parka jacket which in his younger years had hid most of his face. Now the parka's hood remind down where his bright blonde hair could be seen as well as his missing tooth and ear piercings. Kenny was passed out, and across the table was a boy in a similar state as him.
The boy wore a blue jacket which ws unzipped to reveal his black shirt. He had messy black hair and a small black piercing in his ear. The top of a galaxy tattoo was peeking out from under his sleeve and a blue Chullo with a yellow puff ball lay on the ground by his feet. This was Craig Tucker.
Kevin stared at the two for a second before going to investigate one of the many bottles that laid around the two passed out teens. His eyes scanned the bottle as a smirk spread on his face. Jeremiah Cragg.
"Jeez, Kenny. Once again brother, You've outdone us all." he laughed as he patted Kenny and noticed he didn't even move. He shook him a little harder and noticed that Kenny wouldn't even stir the harder he shook him. With one last laugh he gave up and stepped back.
He looked around again as he decided that maybe it was time to clean the counter, but then there was something that caught his eye. A yellowed page on the counter, face down. He walked over to it with a confused expression on his face as he pulled it across the granite counter and picked it up.
Karen
You look so damn hot in that shirt… but I bet you're even better out of. Come to the guest room at 2:00 am. ;.)
Stan
XXX
Kevin felt a slight burning in his chest. The flames of anger spread into his chest and he crinkled the paper in his hand.
"Fuck. What did our naive sister get herself into this time?" He snarled to himself.
Karen looked down at the ground, grounding her shoe into the carpet with the occasional glance up at Stan.
"I-I got your note." She blushed, her face heating up as she finally looked into his.
"Glad you could make it." Stan smiled, his voice deepening sightly. "Maybe we should start with a little, you know, making out, and see where it goes from there." He Scratched the back of his neck letting his shirt rise up slightly, revealing the small trail down his navel.
Karen swallowed hard and nodded, staring up at Stan. Her face flushing pure red as her fingers grazed the buttons of her blouse.
Stan's eyes widened "Ohhhhh hell yeah." He whispered to himself as he realized this was actually happening.
Kyle starred up from under the bed realizing that Karen has taken off her blouse. "Oh My God! She's taking off her shirt" he whispered.
However, he was not quiet enough. Karen could her the loud whisper and quiet giggles and quickly covered her arms around her chest. "What?" She stared watching multiple people slump out of different hiding spots, much like zombies. "Oh my god!" These people. They were who she considered friends, and yet here she was staring into the flashing light of a camera and choked by the giggles of those around her. She couldn't breathe. Her hand reached up to her throat as if it would help open her airway.
"T-Token? What are you doing here?" She gasped. He was one of the only level headed people she knew. The taste of betrayal burned her throat.
Stan took as step back, unable to look her in the eye now realizing how stupid this was. "Um, I'm sorry Karen… This all got outta hand, but…"
Karen turned as the door was pushed opened, and met with panicked blue eyes.
"Karen! Karen… O-oh, hamburgers. Karen, don't… it's just a-" Butters tried explaining, but was cut off as aren pushed him aside and ran out of the room." -Stupid Prank."
Stan looked around and shifted unevenly, "uh...damn."
No one has truly seen Butters angry before, but it was this moment that his face flushed red and his eyes went cold, "You guys are real jerks. You know that?" He hissed before sprinting out of the room after Kenny's young sister. 'Karen!"
Kevin threw the crumpled note onto the counter and looked up as he saw a shadow pass the window. Karen. He watched as his sister quickly ran past the window with her arms covering her upper body. He had to do something.
Wake Up Kenny or Find Others
They others might know what happened…. But Karen is our sister….. No. This is a family matter.
Kevin rushed over to Kenny, shaking him harshly "Kenny!KENNY! Fucking damnit!" I have to do this myself. Kevin grabbed his coat and rushed out the door while putting it on.
"Guys! There's someone outside!" Kevin yelled as he rushed into the foyer, realizing it was empty and snow was coming in through the open door. "What the hell?"
"Karen?" Kevin heard Butters yell as he rushed past the slower group members.
"What's going on? Where's my sister going?" Kevin hissed, feeling the anger build up again.
Kyle shrugged" It's fine… She just can't take a joke."
"It was just a Prank, Karen!" Wendy called.
Kevin stepped up to Stan and grabbed the collar of his shirt, "What did you do!?" He snarled.
'We were just messing around, man!" Stan said squirming in Kevin's grip, "It wasn't seri-"
"You bastards" Kevin his throwing Stan to the ground and rushed off into the snow, just being able to hear the last bits of conversation between stan and butters.
"So… should we go after them?"
"I-I think you're the last person she wants to see right now, Stan."
Kevin tightened his jacket around himself as he rushed into the forest. Snow pelted his face as the tree branches grabbed at his arms. "Karen! KAREN!" He bellowed.
I need to find her. Those lame ass friends. Who the fuck do they think they are anyway? Not like any of them cared about her anyway. When I find her and get back to the lodge, Stan Marsh is gonna have a lot to deal with…. God damn it Karen!
"Oh shit!" He hissed jumping over a fallen log and sliding slightly. The snow littered his face as he could just make out a broken bridge.
Fast or Safe
I need to be sure about this. This is for Karen. I need to find her… She's not in proper clothes. She's gonna freeze out here… Fuck it, I need to find her fast.
He sat down on the edge of the bridge and pushed himself off. There was a second of pure weightlessness before it all came crashing down. He landed on his feet and felt the pressure in his knees. Fuck that hurt. There was a small pop in his left foot, but he couldn't be bothered with that now. Glancing back only slightly to acknowledge the distance in which he jumped. He continued to sprint in through the opening. The cold air stung his throat.
He came to a small fork in the road and stopped for a few seconds to catch his breath. There was a loud rustling of leaves and a few twigs breaking.
Follow the tracks or Follow the noise
I need to find her, she's been out here for a long time. Those tracks look too fresh to be her's they must be something else. The snow probably covered her tracks. That's it! I'll follow the noise!
Quickly stepping over another branch Kevin continued to sprint until he met another fork in the road. Damnit Karen! Where are you!? He thought to himself, but noticed new tracks in the snow . Fresh tracks. And he heard… Crying? That's got to be Karen! He rushed to the right path,
Strange noises followed him causing him to constantly look back. Wait. Someone else was outside… could they have been following me? Kevin shook the thoughts out of his head as he jumped down another broken bridge into a much darker area. The darkness combined with the snow made it almost impossible to see.
"Karen!?" He called out again as he pulled out his iPhone and turned on his flashlight. Well. At Least it helped a little. But it's still hard to fucking see. Kevin sighed as he moved the flashlight over the ground, making sure to not trip on any of the fallen branches or ice.
There was something off about this area. He could hear hissing, soft hissing, and long growls. What is that? Branches break. Twigs snapping. It's coming this way!
Kevin stepped back and covering his face as a warm body rushed passed him, not at him. It was… only a deer. A frightened deer. Fuck this! He hissed in his mind as he decided that now was as good of a time as any to walk faster.
He quickened his pace but there was something that caught his eye as he got closer to a small clearing. There was a small wooden carving on the floor, almost like a small totem of an animal with old paint on it. It was as if the wood had been stained with natural dyes. He scrunched his eyebrows as he squatted to pick up the totem. There was a small opening on the back as he turned it over and noticed the most prominent color was black.
Pain. That's the first thing that Kevin acknowledged as he turned over the totem. It felt as if someone had taken an ax and was, at that very moment, repetitively trying to crack open his skull. His vision went white. What happened next was unusual, almost supernatural. Kevin's eyes burned and he couldn't see. Yet at the same time he could see. It was like watching a movie or a play. In the back of his mind a scene from a movie played out and he was only victim to watch.
It was snowing, a scream was echoing louder and louder and louder. CRACK. Kevin McCormick scrawled on a rock, his spine snapped in half. His eyes remained open. His heart remained beating. His brain acknowledge the pain. The paralysis. Blood seeped from his mouth. His body slid next to Karen's. Her eyes remained opened. Unmoving, Unfocused. Her face bleed as she stared into the soul of the viewer.
Kevin blinked. The image faded like a movie reel set on fire. What the fuck was that? He thought as he placed the totem back down. Karen can't be dead. I just saw her… and me? I...no. That was just bullshit! After effect from bad weed or something…yeah. It was just something. I just…. I can't waste anymore time. She went this way.
Kevin walked slower this time, unsure of what he had just seen. One thing for sure now was that he had wasted too much time. He stared into the shadows as he walked , noticing how they moved quickly. He was definitely being followed.
There was suddenly a big gust of fire blowing from the left. A shriek echoed as the flames singed some of the nearby trees.
"What they hell was that?!' He yelled to himself as he rushed into a full sprint and rushed past trees pushing the tree branches as he ran.
"Karen?" He yelled again as he rushed into another clearing. "Karen?!"
"H-hello?" a weak voice called out. That was when he saw her.
Karen, his little sister curled in on herself, her whole body shook worse that Tweek's. Her teether chatter and it seemed her fingertips were turning blue. Shirtless, his sister looked destroyed, her tears had frozen her her face.
"Karen! Oh My God! You must be freezing!" Kevin quickly removed his jacket, wrapping it around her. He zipped it up and rubbed her sides in order to generate some type of heat.
"I'm Such and idiot! I'm SO dumb!" Karen cried as she leaned into Kevin's embrace. She seemed to have lost one of her ribbons when she ran.
Before Kevin could reply the hairs on his neck stood on ends as a large echoing screech reminded him of the situation. Someone had been following them.
"Kevin?"
"Karen?"
They looked at each other. It was a silent agreement. Run.
While Karen was the first to run, Kevin was the fast of the two and got ahead of her. It's gonna be alright. We're gonna make it out of here. Right, Karen?...Karen?"
Kevin turned to see Karen slip as she tried to stand.
"Karen!" He yelled as he turned back and grabbed her arm to help her up. WE NEED TO GO! He dragged her behind him as she picked up the pace, not realizing that his phone and fallen and slipped through the cracks of the bridge that they were crossing. Snow, ice, bridges all of these obstacles were slowing them down. Kevin could hear the pounding of blood in his ears.
"Oh Jesus Christ." Karen panted, she was the one to notice the cliff first. Isolated and trapped. Goddamnit! Kevin thought I lead her to a cliff! This is it, there's no way down! He stepped in front of Karen, placing her behind him. The Screams got louder as did the crunching of snow. A man rushed out of the clearing, a tank on his back with a large gun in his hands. A small flame flickered on the weapon. A Flamethrower. The man had an array of knifes on his belt, however his face and his whole body were concealed. A gas mask covered his face, his breathing almost inaudible. His strides were fast and long, almost animalistic as he lunged for them.
"Stay Back! No!" Kevin's voice echoed out as he clung to Karen's hand. "I said stay Back!" Karen shifted backwards. Too Far.
Kevin felt the shift of weight. "Fuck!" He screamed as gravity took hold of both him and his sister as her boyd pulled him over the cliff. No! He threw his right arm out and took hold of a branch. Karen! Please be okay! He could hear Karen's sobs and her scream echoed in his mind as she clung to his left arm.
Fire spread out from above the cliff as Karen let out another scream. The Branch cracked.
"Hold On!" He yelled looking down at her. Please, for Fuck's sake hold on. He begged in his mind.
The man appeared at the top of the cliff staring down at the both of them. Kevin's breath hitched in his throat.
Drop Karen or Let go
I can't. No...I can't….I.. I'm sorry Karen. I love you… I'm so I've always been a jerk. I'm so sorry….I love you…. I'm sorry, Kenny. Forgive me.
And then he let go.
He was lifeless, falling, becoming one with the snow. When suddenly CRACK. Kevin McCormick was sprawled on a rock, his spine snapped in half. He could feel the pain radiating through his body .His eyes remained open. His heart remained beating. His brain acknowledge the pain. The paralysis. Blood seeped from his mouth and other opened wounds. His body was tumbling down into the old mines. It was cold, a blissful cold. His body slid next to Karen's. Her eyes remained opened. Unmoving, Unfocused. Her face bleed as she stared into the soul of the viewer. Never to move, nor blink, nor laugh again. I'm Sorry. He thought.