"Kyle! KYLE!" I panicked. Kyle was writhing in pain on the floor and grabbing his head.
"What happened! IKE!"
"He is in pain! He is throwing up!" I screamed on the mobile phone.
"Where are you?"
"We are in Colorden! In the bathrooms! Near the food court and the library!"
"Shit! It's 9:55pm! The mall will close in five minutes!"
"You need to hurry!"
"Hang on! Colorden is half an hour away from this shitty town. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK. I'll be right there, hold on."
"Please hurry! He is getting worse! He is-" My mobile phone was taken away from me. I turned around and noticed Kyle had already stood up. He had my phone on his hands and hanged up. His eyes had changed.
"Ike…" He looked at me, his eyes devoid of any happiness. He took off his ushanka, threw it violently on the floor and stepped on it.
Dreamt Shoreline
IV. THE MIND, TROUBLED AND HIGH
Note: Stan's POV of last chapter
"It was probably Cartman and his stupid joke! That's it! He is the only one who knows about the dreams besides you, Butters and me!" Kyle screamed.
"Cartman? But he's missing!"
I don't have any proof but I had a hunch it wasn't him. He was missing and I believe he is trapped in there. He couldn't have gone missing just to annoy me. I mean, a day or two, okay, Cartman might be faking it. But a shitload of days have passed since then! And Kyle won't listen to anything I say! I opened my mouth to speak but once again Kyle cut me off.
"Dude! He's PLAYING with you! He is a manipulative bastard! He sees everyone of us as puppets for his own amusement! He believes he is the ultimate mastermind of mankind, surrounded by sky buildings and people telling him how almighty he is! He believes he lives in the highest sky building of all, looking down at all of us! I hate him!"
Wait… what? How did he…
I get it. If that is what Cartman thinks, then aren't dreams made of stuff you believe or pure symbolism? There were sky buildings and tons of puppets. Could it be that Cartman… is trapped in his own 'dream'?
"Then Cartman is really in trouble…" I said in a low voice. Maybe his own greed and his own flaws were trapping him in there. I was about to tell Kyle about how the dream looked like but he cut me off once more.
"WHAT?"
Why does Kyle hate Cartman so much?By the way, Kyle seemed to be kind of moody today. Usually, he was nicer but god knows what got inside of him today. Moody or not, he had to understand one thing: Cartman was really missing and I needed his help to find him. Kyle is very smart and knows how Cartman thinks so he will find a way out of it.
"Kyle! Cartman is missing, I'm sure of it! Besides, in the dream there are puppets, sky buildings and everything you said! Cartman cried for our help in there! He is trapped!"
"Oh…" He smiled sarcastically. "And now you are going to tell me that there is a Jewish puppet in there which kind of looks like me and there is a huge light bulb in the sky because Cartman is a fucking genius…"
There was a creepy puppet with a Jewish kippah! Now that I remember it, it had curls but his face was disfigured. Maybe it was Kyle through Cartman's twisted mind. Which made me… sick.
"Yes, there is!" I wanted to tell Kyle that said puppet had a disfigured face but I think that seeing how grumpy he was right now I should better keep my mouth shut.
"Stan… I know you had an accident and woke up from it so your head isn't working the right way. You should get some sleep. Really." He said in a sweet voice which didn't soothe me at all!
"I just… I just can't stay here with my arms crossed and do nothing after going through that weird shit and knowing that someone is trapped in there!" Why couldn't Kyle get that Cartman is trapped in there! Why did he insist that he was faking it? Couldn't he see that Cartman, IF he was joking, was taking said 'joke' too far?
"Stan… you are NOT OKAY. I heard you had a brief comma after the accident, so your mind is still adapting and it will take some time…"
"I am fine, Kyle! I just can't get why you don't believe me!" I screamed at him. Maybe that way it could get into his head. Don't get me wrong, I like Kyle a lot. He is a super friend and fun to hang out with but if there is one thing I would change about him is when he gets amazingly stubborn!
"No, Stan. You are not fine! Your head isn't working properly and Butters believes everything you tell him!" Argh. What? I can't believe he is saying that. Shit!
"Kyle! You don't believe me because you haven't seen it. So fuck the kidnapper, come with me to Stark's Pond at 6pm and I'll show you!"
"… Ok… I'll prove you are wrong. Besides, now that I know who kidnapped me, I will place KFC all over the place to lure him out of my way." He chuckled but now I was the irritable one because Kyle just didn't fucking believe me. Couldn't he just accept he was wrong?
"Ok! You're on! I'll also keep an eye on you in case the kidnapper returns."
"Thanks!" He smiled. He seemed to appreciate what I said. "I'll keep an eye on you too!" And then his expression got a little grumpier once again. I'm seriously starting to believe what Cartman said about Kyle having his periods.
"Stan!" Butters greeted me when the lunch break started. "I'm worried about Cartman… I've been having nightmares about him."
"We've got to find him soon!"
"He is in there, but we don't know where to find him. The place is huge and it… creeps me out."
"I know where we can find him. I talked to Kyle and he said Cartman believes he lives in the highest sky building of all because he looks down at everyone."
"So we have to find the highest sky building?"
"Yeah."
"And are we going to climb it?" He grinned.
Duuude… And he sounded eager about it!
"NO! Butters, we will enter the building and use the elevator."
"Oh. That's better."
"Yeaaah… It's definitely better than climbing a sky building with our bare hands and waking up before we reach the fourth floor. If we don't fall first, of course."
"But isn't it safer to climb it?"
"How could that be safer?"
"Aren't there going to be, you know, puppets inside the building?"
"Oh… shit." He's right.
I heard some screams. Someone was in pain and his voice sounded I realized it was Kyle's.
"KYLE!" I screamed and was about to leave the room but before I could run Butters grabbed me.
"It's okay, Stan, he's having another attack."
"An attack? You mean a heart attack? Jesus Christ!" I tried to run but Butters held me once again.
"No. It's just that… He just screams and screams for no reason then he faints. Most people in the school knows he does that so just let the nurse take care of him."
"What?"
"He will be ok Stan. Don't worry." The screaming stopped. Most students left whatever they were doing to find out where the screams came from.
"Why… why does Kyle-"
"He saw a brutal murder." My eyes opened wide and Butters stammered a bit. "I shouldn't have told you about this, you know. You are Kyle's friend so maybe he will tell you one day but I don't want to open my mouth more than I should. I don't want to be spilling my friends' secrets!"
"Was it Bradley's murder?"
"No." Butters shook his head. "Kyle wasn't in South Park when Bradley got murdered. Besides, the person murdered was very close to him. Kyle and Bradley didn't talk that much. The three of us were classmates but Bradley joined Cartman's group. He made a huge mistake which cost him his life."
"I want to see Kyle, I'm worried!"
But Butters didn't let me go. He was still grabbing my jacket.
"Just let him rest. Ah! And Kyle doesn't remember when he faints or that he screams. He believes he passed out of nowhere or that time just went by. So I don't think it would be a good idea to tell him you heard him screaming or stuff like that because it makes him even more confused and it's worse for him."
"What am I supposed to tell him?"
"Just pretend nothing happened. It is for his best."
"How could I pretend nothing happened when he is suffering! He needs to be treated! Do you expect me to go 'ah, I see' and forget about it?"
Butters' expression changed. He wasn't cheery or nervous. He was dead serious and it was very unusual for him.
"He was treated, Stan. For a long time." He sighed. "I thought he was cured but his symptoms returned."
"When did those return?"
"I don't know. Let's change topic, okay?"
Kyle… I had no idea he suffered from this. He must have gone through a lot.
"Please, Stan. Don't ask Kyle about this or else he will get upset."
I couldn't stop thinking about Kyle and what the hell had happened to him. Whatever happened to him it is happening again so he needs more treatment. I want to help him, but how? I don't have the money to hire a psychologist but I could work part time to get it.
"Stan?"
"It's okay, Butters. I'm worried about Kyle."
"So am I. But I know he will be fine. He is not alone. He has people that care for him. You care, I care and there are others that care."
"I know… I will pay him a visit after classes."
"That would be nice. But I think you shouldn't." He looked sad. "I don't think you could pretend that nothing happened."
He had a point. I was worried about him but I don't know if I could 'pretend' nothing happened!
"I'll visit him and tell you if he's fine." Butters smiled.
Kyle… What the hell happened to you?
I couldn't stop thinking about him. Finding out that about him really killed my mood. I wanted to see him, I needed to see him right now and be sure that he is fine. I didn't care if he was still moody, Kyle was my best friend.
I sent him a message reminding him of our meeting.
"Stark's Pond, 6pm." I said out loud while I typed it. At least I would get to see him before entering the lake.
My phone vibrated.
"Im sry :( Ike has hmwk. Maybe 2morrow"
He said he would come! Argh!
"He will not come…" I told Butters. Both of us were walking towards the shore.
"It's such a shame! I really wanted him to come." He sighed.
We laid on the shore and waited. But I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about Kyle.
"Butters…"
"Yeah?"
"How long have you known Kyle?"
"Hmmm… since pre-school I think."
"And Cartman?"
"Pre-school too. Kyle and Eric used to hang out together with Kenny."
"Really? I thought Cartman and Kyle hated each other."
"I don't know if they hate each other but they hanged out together. I remember Kyle used to call Eric mean names and made him cry. Poor Eric."
"But surely Cartman had provoked him first."
Butters shook his head. "Nope. Kyle just called him mean names and laughed at him. I told Kyle not to be mean but he ignored me and called me a lame-o. Then, Kyle's mom grounded him when she found out he was being mean to Eric and Kyle apologized to him. But Eric started calling Kyle names. You know those… like jew… and jew… and… jew?"
I stared at the sky. There were few stars. I could still see the trees so we hadn't entered the dream yet. I was bored, so was Butters and we chatted until I decided to check my clock for the ninety ninth time.
"Hey!" I called Kyle. "Nothing is happening! I want to give up!" I was bored and hungry. My stomach was aching.
"As soon as I'm done with Ike, I'll go right there." He told me. "We are nearly done-" I overheard someone calling him 'Cookie Monster'. I wanted to laugh over the phone at such ridiculous nickname.
"Give me a sec, Ike. Stan, Ike's homework is a piece of cake so I'll be there at 8pm-
But Kyle we still have maths to do!
That's due next week!
Ok, ok. Stan. I can't go today. Let's try again tomorrow, ok?"
What's the deal with Ike doing homework due for a week! He should be like normal people and do it the day before it is due.
"Argh, that sucks." I bitched. "Can't Ike do his homework alone?" I sounded exasperated. I think it ticked Kyle a bit. Wasn't his brother the first in his class? Why did he need help? And for homework due not for tomorrow, no, due for NEXT WEEK!
"Yeah… he can… but he wants some help. And there is nothing wrong with it. See ya tomorrow, bye." He hanged up.
"Kyle won't come because his stupid brother needs help for homework due for god knows when!" I complained to Butters.
"That's strange. Ike rarely asks Kyle for help."
"No! It's not strange! It is as if Ike doesn't want Kyle to come!"
"Yeah, that must be."
"What?"
"Ike doesn't want Kyle to come." Butters yawned. "I'm feeling sleepy. I wonder why Ike does that."
We looked at the stars. Then I remembered something Kyle told me.
"My brother told me my memory has been letting me down recently so he told me it would be a good idea to write some stuff in some new app he made for me."
And then a light bulb, as big as the one in Cartman's dream, turned on in my head.
"Ike knows."
"What?"
"Butters! Ike knows what we are doing. Kyle has been writing it on his diary!"
"Well… he's worried then, isn't he?"
"Butters, you do not understand!" I stood up violently and Butters crawled backwards."Kyle was kidnapped, right? And the only ones that knew about the synched dreams were him, you and me. And he WROTE it on that app! An app that Ike developed. Don't you think it is a little bit strange?"
"Strange? Why?" He looked confused.
"Ike told Kyle to write stuff in that app he made. When Kyle wrote that he would meet us, he was kidnapped before the 'meeting time' and warned about it. But he was released during the morning and he wasn't harmed at all! And now that we told him to meet us to go there, Ike won't let him go. And the kidnapper just 'disappeared'."
"You don't think Ike kidnapped him, right?"
"I don't know. But I know Ike has something to do with it. I'm pretty sure of it. Ike couldn't have carried him so he might be working with some other guys."
"You are right. Maybe we could ask Kyle tomorrow."
"I don't know… We should be careful about Ike."
"You don't have to fear Ike. He is just protecting Kyle."
Maybe Butters was right. Maybe I was being a little paranoid by thinking Ike was the evil one in here. He must have been worried about his brother and knowing he wasn't that mentally stable as Butters told me, he might have wanted to keep him away from these things as dreams. But Kyle needed to see this and I wanted to show this to him.
"Lets go, Butters. It's nearly 9pm and I am starving."
"Yeah. Boy, I'm hungry."
We walked on the rocky path towards the town.
"Man! I forgot my wallet!" Butters ran towards the shore but tripped over and fell to the floor.
"Butters!" I ran towards him. "Are you okay?" I shook him but I noticed he was asleep. I could hear him breathing softly. "Butters? Butters?" No answer.
The lake was brighter than usual and there were a few sparks on the surface. Butters laid asleep with a troubled face and he was sweating. He must have entered the dream. I tried laying down but I had no luck and couldn't enter it.
"Butters?" I whispered.
"ARRGHHH!"
"ARGHHHH!" I freaked out when he woke up.
"STAN! STAN! I entered the dream! But I managed to get out! It was so close!"
"DUDE YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK! Wait! Weren't they synched dreams? I mean, didn't both of us had to be there for it to work?"
"I don't know! I just entered. It was peaceful, almost welcoming. There were fewer puppets." Butters' stomach growled. "My tummy…"
I checked my clock. 9:05pm.
"Yep, it's getting late. I'm tired."
Why did Butters enter? Why didn't I enter? I don't get it!
I ate dinner alone, watching the TV. My mom was busy with Shelly doing god knows what. My phone rang. It was Kyle.
"Stan! How did it go?"
"Butters entered but I couldn't. I don't get it!"
"Really?"
"This whole thing makes my head hurt!" I heard someone sobbing near Kyle. "I hear someone crying nearby… is everything okay?"
"That's Ike. He is a little sad because he misses mom. I miss her too."
"Where is she?"
"With my aunt in Connecticut. She's been gone for a year I think. But she called me and said she was coming home tomorrow."
"That's great!"
"Yeah! Isn't it great, Ike?" I heard Ike still crying. "Ike, don't cry. Let's watch that movie you love so much, I bought you the DVD! Dude, I need to take care of Ike, he is very sad. Come to the student council tomorrow morning."
I met Kyle at the student council and before leaving I reminded him to come to Stark's Pond once again.
"Sure, I'll be there. I promise I won't fail this time!"
We took a bus after school was over and went to a small mall called Colorden that was like 30 minutes away from the town. I wanted to buy a winter hat so I told Kyle to tag along. Maybe he could buy one himself.
We were in a winter clothing store. I noticed a greenish ushanka which was on sale.
"Hey! Kyle!"
"Yeah?"
"Why don't you try it?"
He looked surprised.
"An ushanka? Why? That's kinda out of the blue…"
"You told me you hate your hair because it's messy and too curly, right? Maybe you could wear a hat if it bothers you so much."
"A simple hat could do, but why an ushanka?"
"I think it might suit you."
I grabbed said hat before anyone else could. This was Kyle's hat, there was no doubt about it!
"Just try it dude." I grinned.
Kyle sighed and laughed. "Ok." He tried said hat. It looked perfect on him! I couldn't help but admire how his face was much more noticeable by hiding those curls. Kyle was good looking and that hat enhanced his facial features.
"Stan?" He smiled when he saw the look on my face. "Does it really suit me that much?" He blushed a little.
"It's perfect! It's the nicest hat I've ever seen and it suits you perfectly! Buy it, Kyle! Or I'll buy it for you! But we are taking this hat!"
"Still… isn't this hat a little weird and uncommon?"
"Who gives a shit if it's uncommon. It looks good on you!"
"And it hides my hair! I'll buy it! But you must buy your hat as well!"
"An ushanka?"
"Nah. I don't think that would fit you…" Kyle said. He picked up a hat with a red pompom. "This is kind of cute, try this."
"I don't want a 'cute' hat, I'll look gay!"
"Fuck off. It's a cute hat but not in a gay sense, just try it!"
I tried tons of other hats after than one. I had to agree with Kyle that the one he had chosen for me suited me the best.
8pm. And Kyle wasn't here. He said he would make it but something told me he wouldn't.
"It's nearly 9pm Stan. I think we will enter this time." Said Butters.
"I KNEW Kyle wouldn't come." I sighed. I was disappointed, even if I had expected it.
"But why-?"
"Because Ike wanted to buy some books. Yeah, he wants to buy books in right now, in the night, because he just fucking wants to buy books." I sighed.
"Stan! Look!" Butters pointed at the sky. There was the huge light bulb. We were inside the dream.
"9pm." I checked my clock. "So it means we can only enter this place at 9pm, huh?"
There were puppets wandering around. They scared the shit out of me. I feared they would attack us.
"We must find the highest building of all. Let's go."
"Kay, kay. But we should get back before 10pm, otherwise I will get grounded…"
We tried to avoid most of the puppets until I felt someone grab my ankle and pull me. A puppet had sneaked up and caught be from behind.
"Stan!"
Two other puppets were approaching me. I was lucky that whatever that thing was that had emerged from me last time had reappeared before my very own eyes. It cut the puppets' limbs and allowed me to escape. I kept running with Butters and the strange shadow that had come from me kept cutting whatever puppet approached me. It felt as if I was the one cutting them with my own mind. But more and more kept coming and I was getting tired.
Butters looked at said shadow with admiration. It looked like a man covered in robes with Egyptian decorations. I don't know what it was. All I knew was that he followed my thoughts. If I saw any danger and thought about cutting this or that, that shadow would do it. We were one. That was exciting but scary at the same time.
"Stan! Look" Butters pointed at a weird cross near a trashcan. "The strings attached to these puppets are coming from there! Maybe if you cut those strings, they will stop attacking us!"
"I can't see the strings!"
"I see many of them but they are very thin! Try cutting them!"
"All right!" I did as he said and cut them. The puppets fell to the floor and tried to crawl towards me. They had no support and could not move.
"Nice one, Butters!"
The puppets turned pale and grew red hair before turning into dust. What the hell? Ginger puppets?
We soon found out the highest building of all and entered it.
"Eric!" Butters shouted. "Are you there? Eric?"
Another group of puppets went towards us. The space was too small and it was hard containing them.
"Butters! Find out where these strings connect to!"
"Okay!" I protected him with the strange persona that had emerged from me until he screamed. "Here! Stan! Here it is!" And I broke it. The puppets turned into students from South Park High School and turned to dust.
"Stan! Let's take the elevator!"
I followed Butters and we got inside said elevator. There was a red button named 'ETTC'. I pressed it and I was relieved when the doors had closed.
The elevator had transparent walls and we could see whatever was happening down there. The puppets had increased in number and were looking at us with hungry eyes.
The elevator doors opened and a middle aged man with a mustache greeted us.
"Hello boys. How can I help you?"
I feared that he was a puppet, so I took a step backwards and tried to hide Butters behind me. At least I had this strange thing that protected me but Butters didn't.
"Stan." Butters whispered into my ear, trembling. "That person is dead. He might turn into a puppet like Bradley did."
"I know. Shit!" I whispered back.
"How can I help you?" He repeated once again.
"Hello Sir, we are looking for our friend Eric." Said Butters with a nervous voice. "Have you seen him?"
"Ah, yeah. Come with me."
Should me follow him? Would there be a trap?
"What's wrong with you? Don't you want to know were Eric is?"
We decided to follow him with caution. He lead us to a huge balcony. There were many other people looking down at something. They weren't puppets, or at least they didn't look like them. They were also laughing at something and chatting between themselves. There were kids, adults, elders, all sorts of people.
The middle aged man made way through the mass of people and allowed us to get a better view.
"There he is." He pointed at the floor. I squeezed my eyes to try to look more clearly and I saw a little dot which looked like Cartman.
"Would you like some binoculars?" The man asked us.
"Hmm… yeah…" Said Butters with a trembling voice. I was shaking as well. I didn't know if it was because I was going to find out what he did to Cartman, if I feared that this would be a trap or a combination of both.
The people were throwing ripped stuffed animals, burgers and torn condoms. I shivered.
"Thank you, sir." Butters tried to be polite when receiving the binoculars.
"No need to thank me. And stop calling me sir, it makes me feel old. Why don't you call me Mr. Tenorman?"
A/N:
Here's another chapter J I don't know if any of you have played Persona. If you do, then Stan has an affinity to garu skills and Butters acts as a support. Like Kuma/Teddie in persona 4, who can't see very detailed info about the enemies but helps the main character.
In case you haven't watched 201 or read it elsewhere, Jack Tenorman is Cartman's biological father. Cartman killed him and his wife, unaware that he killed his own father. But Cartman didn't care about that, he was troubled that he had ginger heritage. What could be the nightmare of a guy like Cartman who is a borderline sociopath? By watching and rewatching 1% I realized it might be being looked down upon by the others, due to his low self esteem. Which, of course, has a lot to do with the way he acts and manipulates people for his own needs.
Just to clear things up, the start of the chapter is the continuation of the previous one but from Ike's point of view. This chapter starts with the little argument between Stan and Kyle. While Stan is on the dream looking for Cartman, Kyle is in the mall with Ike buying books.
See you in the next chapter! Reviews motivate me ^^
