"Such a truly tiny dream was it."

"Alright, that should do it." Kenny said as he hopped off the chair. "Let's go fire it up." I smiled and nodded as we started our way up the stairs and to my room. I turned on the computer and messed with a few connection problems and once they were solved, images of my front and back door appeared.

"Looks like it's working. Thanks for hooking it up dude."

"Yea well, you probably would have fallen flat on your face or something." He joked as he collapsed onto my bed and turned most of his attention to the TV, playing commercials, across my room.

"Fuck you. I'm sure I would have done just fine." I knew he wasn't going to reply, so I began tinkering with the recording of the cameras. As much as I would loved to record constantly with high definition and frames per second, it would take up a lot of storage in my computer eventually. I opted to instead record with semi-decent settings, but programmed to have the cameras take high resolution pictures every two seconds whenever there was movement detected on the cameras.

With that, I sighed and leaned back in my chair, listening the the channel news intro come on. It was already 6 in the morning; didn't look like I was going to sleep any time soon. I was still working on the cameras when Kenny text me a couple hours ago. He came over to see if I was okay, but he looked worse than I did. He wasn't covered in cuts and bruises, but he was drained. I had to give him props, honestly. For how close him and Eric was, he was hiding his feelings pretty well. Then again, Kenny has always been that way.

Stan was railed the hardest according to Kenny. Stan was the last to see Cartman alive; he dropped him off at his house just after the party, but Cartman never even made it inside his house. This is known because Cartman's mom always stays up until he comes home. Even though it felt surreal to me still, I couldn't imagine how she must feel. "Breaking news today, the body of a young man named Eric Cartman was found dismembered late last night on the wooded trail on the west side of town." My attention immediately turned towards the television. They were reporting on it already? "As of right now, there are no leads in the case or suspects, but the trail has been shut down and police are looking for any leads so if you have any information please contact the South Park police." I rolled my eyes as the girl went right into the weather.

"I guess a snow storm that's coming this weekend is more important than a murderer." Kenny said bitterly. "I mean, it's not like we aren't use to snow here."

I chuckled slightly at his words. "You would think they would be a bit more shaken up about a murderer…"

"It's South Park. Crazy shit happens all the time, people die all the time…" Kenny rolled off my bed and looked over at me. "Looks like Stan couldn't sleep."

He gestured towards my monitor and sure enough there was Stan standing on the patio unlocking the door with his key. "I wonder what he is doing here. I thought he went home to try and sleep?" I quickly turned off my Tv and quickly went jogging downstairs. Stan was just walking in the door just as I made it downstairs. "Hey dude, what's going on?"

He looked up at me and nearly fell backwards. "Jesus, fuck dude. You scared the hell out of me. How did you know I was here?"

Kenny came down behind me and dropped his arm over my shoulders. "Kyle has a new ability of telepathy. He knew you were coming from a mile away."

"Fuck you."I muttered to Kenny while I laughed at the confusion on Stan's face.. "Kenny helped me install cameras at the doors. It's just a precautionary."

"Duuuuuude Kyle, we could have played him so hard!" Kenny whined and pushed me to the side.. "What's up dude? I thought you were going to sleep?"

"I did go home, but I couldn't sleep. I'm going to get some Coffee from Tweak's, decided to invite you guys along." Stan said jingling his car keys.

I smiled, coffee sounded orgasmic at this point. "What if we didn't wanna go?" Kenny teased as we started walking out the car.

"Kyle would never turn down coffee. Especially if someone else was paying." Stan winked at me and in return he got the finger.

I happily jumped into the backseat while Kenny and Stan filled the front. The seats were smaller in the back, but I wasn't obligated to join the conversation. I leaned my head against the headrest on the seat, truthfully I didn't want to leave the house, but coffee was too good to say no to.

As Stan drove, Kenny and him got into a debate about whether the new Blizzard game was worth the money or not. From what I got, Kenny thought it could use improvements, but Stan firmly believed it was as perfect as it was going to be. Personally, I had no idea there was a new game, nor did I really care. I would be lying if I said I didn't miss the days where that's all I worried about. Between school and family, my time was pretty full. It honestly felt weird to be spending time with Kenny or Stan, under different circumstances I'd be awake trying to get some class work done or studying before taking a shower and heading to school. Could it be the realization that I haven't been spending much time with people I care about that makes me feel so weird or is it the absence of Cartman? For just witnessing the mutilated body of someone I grew up just hours before, it felt too normal sitting in the car. I wonder how others were taking it? I could think of a few people who would be celebrating their liberation from the fat lard, but I also know a few who will miss him. His mother, and as few more friends, he also had a girlfriend I believe. I can't say I will miss him or even grieve for him, but there will be something missing from day to day life from now on.

We pulled into the parking lot of Tweak's, for it being 6 in the morning, it wasn't very busy. "What do you guys want? I'll order, just find a table." Stan said as we all climbed out of the truck.

"A grande caramel mocha with two shots," I paused for a second to open the doors to the shop. "Please and thank you."

Kenny laughed. "Going for the caffeine fix huh? I'll take whatever. I'm not picky." With that, Stan was off while Kenny and I settled into a booth in the far corner of the store. "How are you feeling?" Kenny asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Fine I guess. Tired, but coffee will help."

"Don't you think sleep would be better than coffee Ky? No offense, but you look worse than I do and I'm the one who went out drinking last night."

We both laughed as I punched him in the arm. "Dude, fuck off. Of course I'm gonna look a little bad. A nice cup of coffee and a shower will do me good. After that maybe I can get some homework done. Who knows."

"I'm pretty sure I misheard you. You said play games with Stan and I, right? Pretty sure that's what you meant."

"Kyle is going to join us tonight for our epic conquest of Lord Kazzak or are we thinking about using Kyle's angel magic to keep us alive in Overwatch?" Stan came up and placed our cups in front of us.

` "Oh my God, who knew you guys could sound like bigger nerds than me. What has the world come to." I rolled my eyes and grabbed my cup of coffee, sipping on it and nearly falling in euphoric pleasure. An all too familiar taste of comfort, whenever life dropkicks you, coffee is a sweet yet bitter reminder living is worth it. "Besides, I can't play. I need to finish some homework; I can't go to Haven for a couple days so I need to keep up with the work."

"You're playing with us. You need the break and the distraction." Stan said immediately shutting me down before I could argue. "I think it'll be good for all of us to get together and game. Maybe we can have an LAN party tonight."

"Hiya, fellas." Butters voice pulled our attention to him. He stood in front of our table wearing black pants and a blue button up shirt and a brown apron. "I thought I heard your voice, Stan!"

"Hey, Butters. How's it going?"

"Well, it's going. A little tired. How are you guys?" Butters has been working with Tweek at his parent's shop for awhile now; Butters is the only one Mr. Tweak trust to work there anyways. Of course, if he had it his way he would just work Tweek to death, but being the only coffee shop in a town full of adults, extra hands became required, so why not someone hire just as easy to boss around as Tweek? Makes sense.

"We are doing alright. Just wanted to enjoy some coffee, long night." Kenny sipped on his coffee.

"O-oh I bet it was! Why, I can't imagine how you feel Kyle. Finding his body that way…you guys were always so close too." Give it to Butters to talk about the elephant in the room without even realizing it. I really didn't want to talk about this right now.

I forced a smile on my face. "I wouldn't say taunting me daily makes us close, but he was around a lot."

"Well of course! It still must have been horrifying, it would explain why you look so exhausted buddy!" He had a concerned smile on his face. Can't I just enjoy some coffee?

"Yea, well I'm sure if anyone stumbled across that, they wouldn't be too full of energy." I began sipping on my coffee, trying to show I wanted the conversation to end. Of course, that probably wouldn't register with him.

We say in silence for a moment, it wasn't necessarily awkward, but it wasn't exactly comfortable either. "I-I know Eric wasn't the kindest guy around, but I'm going to miss him." We all looked up at him simultaneously.

"Dude, Butters. He tormented you more than anyone else." Stan said what we were all thinking.

"Well, y-yea. B-but I know he didn't mean it. Eric was just pretending to be mean because he was scared." Butters shifted a little where he stood. It seemed he was becoming more uncomfortable as the conversation carried on.

Kenny rested his elbows onto the table and his chin in his hands as he leaned forward. "Eric Cartman? Scared? Are we talking about the same guy? The same guy who almost enacted the second holocaust? I mean let's not forget about Scott Tenorman…" Visions of Cartman licking Scott's tears filled my mind. It still astounded me that Eric got away with that. "He was the closest friend I had, but I'd be an idiot to say he didn't have it coming, Butters. I mean, he didn't open up to many people, but you guys would be surprised how many people were after his head." Kenny said what we were all thinking deep down, but actually hearing it made me wince.

Butters hung his head low as silence filled the air around us. Kenny leaned back in the booth and sipped on his coffee, he looked defeated and a bit offended. I didn't blame him; Cartman was an asshole, but he and Kenny were close. Whether it was by choice or not, Kenny knew more about Cartman than anyone else. "W-well, he may have been a real jerk sometimes...b-but he didn't deserve what happened." Butters smiled softly as he began to pull away from the table. "I'll see you fellas around, thanks for stopping by."

We were left to our own devices once again, but this time it felt like a wound has been open. I buried myself deeper into the back of the booth, sipping on my almost empty coffee. I could feel the tension in the booth between the both of them. I let out a sigh and glanced at both of them. "Well-"

"Do you think they're going to figure out who did it?" Stan interrupted me, I couldn't tell whether he was pissed or upset.

"Sure, if the police here can actually use their brains." Kenny mumbled bitterly, but in the end he was right. The South Park police were probably the worst in the country, none of them went to college, they all just passed the physical requirements to be police officers. The chances of them actually finding Cartman's killer is slim, especially if it was someone who was after Cartman. He made some pretty sly and dangerous enemies.

"Do you think the person who did this was only after Cartman? Or do you think Cartman was just the first." I was hesitant to ask because it seemed crazy, why would a serial killer target South Park? Quite frankly, life has been mundane since I pulled away from the guys, weird things still happened, but it was usually involved around Cartman, so the likelihood of this being a personal attack on him is pretty high, but like I said, strange things happen.

Kenny and Stan looked at me; they didn't have an answer for me, but they seemed puzzled by the question. Of course it sounded ridiculous. I spun around my empty cup, feeling the caffeine coursing through me. Even though I've been awake for over twenty four hours, I felt like I was dreaming. "Well, I'm gonna head out guys. Thanks for the coffee, Stan. I'll catch you guys later."

"I can give you a ride, your house isn't far." Stan said as I started to climb out of the booth.

I shook my head. "As you said, my house isn't far. I can walk. Plus I might as well enjoy the weather now before the storm." I waved goodbye to Butters and began my walk home. The cold was quick to greet me, but it only helped the coffee wake me up.

I didn't want to, but I couldn't get Cartman out of my head. He was an asshole; Butters is probably wrong, he probably did deserve what he got, but why did I feel so weird? I wasn't necessarily sad about him, but I wasn't happy either. I guess I could say I'd miss the guy, but not too much.

Images of the man I saw behind the community center came into my mind. Shudders ran up my spine as I thought more about him. He had to have been the one to kill Cartman and I could have been his first victim. If he had caught me that night would I have taken Cartman's place? Maybe that's why he was killed, he caught the guy killing another animal, but Cartman couldn't run as fast as I could. He always had a knife on him though and he knew how to fight back pretty well. If this guy charged Cartman, there's a chance he got a few battle wounds.

As my house came into view, but so did Cartman's and I stopped in front of it. I could see Ms. Cartman moving around the kitchen and guilt hit me. I couldn't imagine the pain she was feeling... I slowly made my way to the door before knocking on it gently, half hoping she wouldn't answer, but sure enough it opened.

"Oh! Hello, hon. Eric hasn't come home yet, but you're more than welcome to come inside and wait for him. I'm making breakfast now." I was taken back by her words. Did she not know? That's impossible, the police would have had her verify the body and she probably saw the news report on him as well.

Confusion ran across my face as I slowly entered the house. She went running back into the kitchen, fumes of cinnamon and pancakes filled the house. I suddenly regretted coming by as I walked into the kitchen where she vigorously worked on cooking Eric's favorite meal. "I'm so happy you stopped by. Eric will love having breakfast with one of his little friends!"

"Oh… no, it's okay, Ms. Cartman. I'm not too hungry…" I looked down at the table where a plate of ribs, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn sat. It was completely untouched, she must have made it for him last night.

"Of course you are! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, hon." She walked over with two plates, placing them at opposite ends of the table. She paused as she looked at the dinner plate from the night before. She seemed partially hypnotized by it; I reached out and gently touched her shoulder, but she immediately jumped up and grabbed the dinner plate. "Well, this isn't any good. Little Eric never came home last night, he must be starving! Hopefully he comes home soon. Have you seen him?" All I could do was gulp and shook my head. "Oh, what a shame. Thanks anyways, hon. Why don't you sit down and eat?"

I looked at the plate sitting at the table, cinnamon swirled pancakes with butter, whipped cream, and syrup. Ms. Cartman was an amazing chef, but just the sight of the meal disgusted me. I looked at her as she began flipping more pancakes. Was it possible she really didn't know what happened?

I slowly backed into the living room, wanting to get out of the situation, turned around just to slam my shin into the coffee table, causing a wave of pain shoot up my leg. "Fucking bitch!" I muttered under my breath as I grabbed my wounded leg, rubbing the injured part. Yet another bruise to add to my collection.

My eyes followed up the table to spot a bag resting on it. Inside was a familiar blue and yellow beanie, covered with stains of red. I glanced back at the kitchen to see Ms. Cartman whisking a bowl of batter. I looked back at the hat, realizing that she knew everything that happened, but she wasn't accepting it. Eric was the only person she really had and to have your child die that way would traumatize any mother. I could feel my chest tightening just thinking about it.

I glanced at the stairs and decided to make my way up to Cartman's room It's been years since I had been in it. I swiped the bag up in my arms along the way; maybe I could find something in there or on that hat as a clue.

I opened the door to his room, waves of nostalgia hit me instantly. His room was hardly any different than when we were kids. Despite a few new posters on his walls and clothes in his closet, everything else was the same. He still had his toy box with all of his toys, all of his stuffed animals sat on a shelf above his bed. Surprisingly he even had his old wizard king and Coon costume framed on the wall. That definitely explained why he never allowed us over; every overlord has a secret.

I turned on his computer and as the lock screen came into view so did a picture of Stan, Kenny, Cartman, and I. It was all of us sitting together playing a game on Stan's PlayStation. It brought back memories of easier times; the picture was taken nearly four years ago. Gerald hadn't discovered alcohol so school wasn't so heavy for me, Stan wasn't a football junkie yet, Cartman was too stupid to really do any damage, Kenny is the only one who has stayed the same, besides having a bit more cash in his pocket because of his job. The picture was too innocent and sentimental for Cartman; I wondered how he got it and why he had it, as I entered his password. It wasn't too hard to figure out 'fuckyoumom.'

I dug through Eric's emails, he got a lot of replies from various gang members, a lot of death threats, some ads here and there, but nothing that really caught my eye. Sure, the death threats should be a clue, but he had so many of them all the time and he fucked over so many people it didn't really seem like something I should worry about. I copied over most of the emails to a flash drive, to look at later as a precautionary, before going through the rest of his computer. His history was mostly empty besides a few YouTube videos and google searches for new games coming out. I sighed and leaned back in the chair, the bag caught my eye.

My stomach turned a bit as a picked it up. He has had this ratty thing for years, it felt so weird seeing it in a bag. I opened it and the smell of men's sweet and dirty filled my nose. "Jesus, when was the last time you washed this thing." I shuddered as it fell out of the bag and onto the desk.

Spots of blood scattered about the hat, I almost didn't want to touch it, but I flipped through it. Memories of us turning the town into a battle zone between elves and humans over a stick. Or the time the entire town turned into a bunch of zombies. I honestly don't even remember how that was fixed or if it was just part of our childhood imagination. As I scanned the hat a glimmer of bright red caught my eye. I pulled out the tag of the hat to see '38, 58' written in a bright red pen or marker. It didn't look like Cartman's handwriting, but then again it was just a couple numbers. I sighed and placed the hat back in the bag, Cartman's flash drive, that I was borrowing, in my pocket and checked around his room a bit more before leaving. There wasn't really any evidence that I could go off of in there.

I started making my way down the stairs and to the door. I could hear Ms. Cartman messing with the dishes. I glanced at the kitchen to see the two plates gone off the table. That was weird considering how she was acting just moments before… I slowly made my way to the kitchen and peeked in to see a familiar blonde washing dishes. "Kenny?"

He jumped around with a confused face. "Kyle? What are you doing here?"

I felt my face start to warm up. "Uh...well I just wanted to see if Ms. Cartman was okay, but then I found myself in his room."

"Eric? Eric's room?" He chuckled. "Pretty gay, huh?"

I smiled a bit and nodded. "What are you doing here? And where is Ms. Cartman?"

Kenny sheepishly smiled and ran his fingers through his hair. "I put her to bed. You could probably tell she isn't in the best place right now, I figured I could help out a bit."

"Since when did Kenny McCormick have a heart?" I teased causing us to both laugh a bit.

"She was a good mom to Eric. She fed me a lot too and almost always gave me the leftover to bring to Karen. She didn't deserve to lose her son, so if I can help her in anyway I will." He grinned cheekily as he wiped off the countertop and closed the dishwasher. "So if you were here to check on Ms. Cartman, why were you upstairs exactly?"

"I don't know. I kind of figured I could maybe find something weird in his room." I looked behind me at the door, it was only 10 in the morning, but the sky looked gray and dark. The storm might come closer than we thought.

"Did you find anything?" Kenny leaned on the countertop, resting his chin in his hands.

"Just emails of death threats. So, not much to go on."

"Shouldn't you show the police them?"

I gave him a glare and rolled my eyes. "Everyone wanted him dead. It's hardly a lead, plus I doubt it was any of them…"

Kenny straightened himself up and gave me a concerned look. "What do you mean? You think someone just killed him to kill him?"

I shook my head and looked at the stairs. "Why don't you walk with me? I don't think we should talk about this here." Kenny nodded and we started for the front door. "I don't think it was random, I think whoever did it knew who Cartman was. It's just …" I stood there in silence as Kenny locked the front door to the house and we began walking towards mine.

"You think it was someone who knew him? Someone close to him?" Kenny asked, he seemed unsure of himself. It sounded worse than I thought hearing it.

"Yea, I mean it makes sense. Cartman was cautious and he knew how to take someone down quickly. For someone to take him, he must have had his guard down. Especially since he always has a knife on him. If someone approached him last night in the dark he would have immediately pulled that out, even if he was drunk." I shrugged my shoulders and sighed. "It sounds crazy."

"No, I think it makes perfect sense." He was silent for a moment before continuing. "But who has that in them? I mean I saw the pictures, it takes a fucked up person to do that." I nodded at his words. It felt weird thinking someone I know might have done it, it didn't sit well with my stomach either. None of us necessarily adored Cartman, but who would have that much hatred towards him?

I sighed and stopped walking as we got to my driveway. "You can come in if you'd like. I'm sure Ike would like to see you."

"Nah, I'm gonna head home and check up on Karen. Maybe I'll stop by later, but don't hold me to it." He smiled and placed his arm around my shoulders. "I think if anyone can figure out what happened to Eric, it'd be you Ky… If what you say is right, then you should be careful who you talk to." He pulled away from me and started walking away. "Try and get some sleep dude. I'll catch you later."

I bit my lip as I watched him walk away. It was freezing out, but I didn't really want to be home. If there is a possibility whoever killed Cartman, knew him personally, then he knows all of us as well. It could have been a personal attack, but is there anyone else he has beef with? Is there a chance someone else might become the victim? Could this be just a revenge thing, or is someone holding a grudge that goes deeper than Cartman? If someone else turns up, the best time would be during the storm. Most people will be inside so not only will he know where his next victim will be, but that there won't be any witnesses if he plays his cards right. It was all hypothetical, but it wasn't that much of a long shot. I needed to warn someone; there was no way I could find out who the next victim would be, if there is one, but I could at least tell the police. Even if I'm wrong, it's better than nothing. They could have patrol cars out making it harder for the killer to move around freely and a greater chance of being caught…then again it was the South Park police. They're useless … the chances of them actually listening to me is slim.

"KYLE!" A little Canadian voice disrupted my thought. Ike came bouncing down the stairs and to the sidewalk. "Dude! Where have you been!?"

"Stan took me to get coffee. Sorry dude, I didn't think it would take so long, I-"

"Mom told me everything, what the fuck dude!" He landed a pretty hard punch in my arm making me wince.

"Ouch, fuck you. What's your problem?" I rolled my eyes at him and started walking in. "Get your ass inside. You don't even have shoes in. You're going to get frostbite."

"Why didn't you wake me up last night, Kyle? Why didn't you tell me as soon as it happened? Why did you let mom just let me sleep in?" He followed closely at my heels, nearly tripping me a few times.

"Ike, I don't know why mom let you sleep. I mean obviously she didn't want you to go to school; I doubt anyone went to school today. Just enjoy the day off man." I could feel his eyes burning through me as we entered the house. "Ike, mom told me you needed to tell me something."

I turned around to smile at him, but my smile was greeted by a glare. "Don't change the subject. I'm not a baby, I was worried about you." He frowned and looked away. "I mean what if something happens to you? What would I do? What would mom do?"

I sighed and fell back on the couch. "Ike, I know it's scary, but nothing happened to me. Just a little bit of trauma and bruises, but I'm fine. You're stuck with me for quite awhile. I'll tell you all about what happened, but just for a little bit I just wanna chill with my little brother. Why don't we play a game and talk about stupid shit." I picked up the PlayStation remote and waved it around teasingly.

Ike slumped in defeat and made his way next to me on the couch. "Sure...but I get to be player one." He grabbed the remote as I turned on the game console. "Did my report card come in yet?"

I chuckled at his lack of subtlety. "No, since when did you care when those came in? Are you trying to hide this one as well?"

He smirked. "Nope. You owe me so big man."

"Oh? I owe you?"

Ike started Destiny on the PlayStation, giving me the other remote and beginning where we left off a couple years ago. "Yea, you do. remember the deal we made? You can't go back on it!"

"Deal? We made a deal? Oh really?" I smirked at his puzzled face. He could tell I was being sarcastic but he was hesitant for a moment.

He landed another punch in my arm. "Dude fuck you. You already know! How did you figure it out?!"

I busted out laughing. "Dude, there are so many ways to keep track of your grades it's not even funny. I knew before you did."

He was quiet for a moment while we killed some monsters in the game. "So, does this mean...we are gonna go? You're gonna take me?"

"I'm picking my car up tomorrow and some girl in my class at Haven has a father that runs a hotel in Cali. We are going to head there this weekend."

He paused the game and looks up me. "What?! Are you serious?! Like this weekend?"

"Yea, we leave Friday afternoon."

"Dude! You're just now telling me!? It's Wednesday! I need to start packing!" Ike jumped up and started to run up the stairs.

"Dude, we will only be gone for two days. It's not going to take that long to pack."

"Kyle! We are going to Cali! Do you know what type of women will be there?! Sophisticated classy models. My clothes need to on point for them to even look at me!"

With that he was off, bouncing up the stairs, leaving me alone and confused. He was such a typical guy, I wouldn't be surprised if the only reason he wanted to go there was because of the girls. I was nice seeing him so excited. I haven't been hanging out with him as much as I use to, it will be nice spending the weekend with him and having some brotherly bonding time.

I sighed and laid back against the couch. The coffee was wearing off a bit and I found myself resting my head on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. I didn't want to leave this weekend, it didn't feel right, but I promised him and pulled a lot of strings to make this happened. I wasn't going to let those bullshit 'dates' with Holly go to waste. Not only did she make me cater to her every want and need, but she was way too touchy. To be fair, any normal guy would love blowjobs from a girl like her, but she wasn't my cup of tea. Dating in general wasn't my cup of tea.

I could feel myself starting to slip into the darkness behind my eyelids, my body felt cozy and warm, the sounds of the PlayStation started fading out and I found myself falling deeper and deeper into a dreamlike state. It felt too good to be true.

"KYLE!" Cartman's bloodied face filled my vision, his hand reaching for my face, covering it as his blood scattered across my vision and his animalistic scream filled my eyes causing me to jumped up from my sleep. My was heart beating out my chest, my eyes burning, and my breath staggered. I bit my lip trying to calm myself, get that image out of my head. I looked at the stairs and figured it would probably be better for me to do some homework right now than sleep anyways.