South Park: Tortured Souls- Chapter 3
Wendy's P.O.V
"Those touched by the curse of this school are gradually stripped of their sanity and end up in a state of confusion. Without warning they cause harm to others. Well, the symptoms may vary from person to person but in the end, their bodies will be stained black as charcoal, and their souls will be trapped in the cursed South Park Elementary for all eternity."
A voice floated from the doorframe and into Wendy's ears, but the information just barley went in. She felt too numb be paying much attention.
"I call this phenomenon 'The Darkening'."
Wendys eyes were fixated on her clenched fists, her knuckles turning white under the pressure she was putting on them. These were the hands that hadn't been quick enough to save Bebe.
"I'm sorry for your loss."
The voice spoke again. Sick of the sight of her own hands Wendy turned her head to the door. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting to see but this wasn't it.
Leaning casually against the mould-ridden door, stood a boy around her age dressed in a bright orange hoodie. His hands were buried somewhere in his jeans pockets, flashes of blond peeked out from under the fur lined hood, and everything about his posture suggested someone cheerful, yet his expression was one of absolute seriousness.
"I believe your friend was touched by that curse and reacted in a defensive manner, her mind told her the best option would be to commit suicide."
Wendy didn't question who this boy was, she didn't care enough to want to know. Yet despite lack of encouragement the boy continued to talk.
"This makes you the only living being in the school. You will remain alone untill you die."
Closing her eyes Wendy began to sob again, her head lowering in defeat.
This isn't fair! Bebe...
When she looked up again the boy wasn't standing there, a quick glance at her surroundings confirmed he was no longer in the bathroom.
"He left.."
She mumbled quietly, the hollow feeling in her chest throbbing faster when her eyes passed Bebe.
Then something odd struck her.
Why didn't I hear him open the door?
...
Kyle's P.O.V
Crack! Crack!
Despite a lack of any progress to make his own exit Kyle continued to slam a chair he'd picked up into the classroom window.
"Come on!"
Crack! Crack!
"You can't escape."
A new sound entered the room, Kyle dropped the chair in surprise and spun to see a boy dressed in a large orange hoodie sitting cross-legged on the floor mere feet from him.
"Neither can the friends you came here with, now all you have to do is wait."
The boy spoke nonchalantly, uncrossing his legs and getting to his feet.
"Others?"
Kyle frowned, taking a couple steps along the wall to distance himself from the stranger,
"Are my friends here?"
He then noticed the hooded boys feet were beginning to blur before fading away, the same process working it's way up the rest of his body.
"Hey! Wait!"
Kyle took a couple steps forward, unwilling to get too close,
"Are Stan and Butters here? Wait!"
But the boy was gone. Kyle clenched his teeth, stomping the floor in annoyance. The weakened wood cracked under him and dropped his foot into the space between the floorboards.
"Shit.."
He hissed, pulling his stinging foot out of the hole he created, he could feel a dozen or so splinters digging into him. Brushing a majority off with his hand Kyle looked back at the window, darkness.
What happened to us?
...
Stan's P.O.V
The noirette sat on one of the tiny desks of the classroom he'd woken up in, watching his companion, Clyde, investigating a volume of dark red liquid pooling in one of the corners of the room. After poking it with a snapped chair leg the boy who'd woken him up hurried back to Stan's side.
"That's blood, man. That's actual blood!"
Clyde's voice became progressively higher pitched as he spoke, chocolate coloured eyes still set on the puddle of supposed blood. Stan wasn't convinced. He pulled the crumpled piece of paper he'd woken up with from his trouser pocket, unfolding it and resting it's contents on his knees. It was a dirty, yellowed newspaper article about the school his had been built on. Along with the article a stray scrap of much newer looking paper lay on his lap, brushing it away the scrap fluttered to the floor, getting soaked by the patch of damp wood it landed on.
"What's that?"
Clyde asked, his attention now directed at what Stan was holding.
"South Park Local News Report: A dreadful crime broke out at the local elementary school. Over the past month numerous children have gone missing within the town, kidnapping being the most likely explanation. As a result of the investigation the police found the worst case scenario. When they discovered the bodies on September 18th 1973 at around 7PM. It was also revealed that a young female teacher from the school, alive but near-catatonic was found with them holding a pair of bloody scissors."
The light-blub flickered as Stan finished reading, looking up to see Clyde nervously chewing his lip. He shoved the article back into his pocket and stood up,
"Sounds like it's about the murder case Tweek was trying to scare us with, but still.. Where did the newspaper come from?"
Theories ran through his head,
It looks old, maybe this is the school it was written about, if so how did we get here, did we go back in time? No thats dumb, what if-
His train of though was severed by Clyde shaking his shoulder,
"Stan"
"What?!"
"I gotta piss."
For a moment Stan just stared at the brown haired boy, causing Clyde's cheeks to flush with embarrassment.
"Just go in a corner or something, I won't watch."
Stan shrugged, turning to face the doorway.
"W-we're in a school right? Can't we go find a bathroom?"
Tilting his head to look back at him Stan rolled his eyes at Clyde,
"Fine."
"Thank you~"
He heard Clyde hopping after him as he walked along a corridor, his classmates footsteps spiradic as he tried to keep up with Stan's long strides. As it turns out the bathroom was at the very end of a hallway, naturally Stan was the first to reach the unhinged rectangle of wood he assumed used to be the door. He swung it to the side to make space to get into the bathrooms, but the metal still clinging to the wall snapped and Stan was forced to dodge to one side and avoid the door falling on him. He heard Clyde squeak in surprise but the noise was quickly drowned out by the reverberations of wood slamming against wood.
"Well. Here we are"
Stan announced once the hallway had fallen quiet again, turning to Clyde expectantly. The brunette hopped over the fallen planks and stepped into the doorway, peering into the gloom nervously. He glanced back at Stan, the raven haired boy rolled his eyes.
"Don't tell me you're scared to go in there by yourself?"
Stan smirked, Clyde scrunched up his nose indignantly and retaliated by sticking his tongue out. Stan's smirk only widened at his classmates immaturity. He moved to look into the bathroom as well, seeing only vague shadows of objects.
"Well go o-"
He stopped himself, something on the bathroom floor was emitting a soft orange glow. Clyde stepped forward.
No, it's not this floor
"Wait!"
Stan grabbed Clyde's jacket collar, leaving him dangling in mid-air, but stopping him from falling through the gaping hole in the floor. He brought the smaller boy back to solid ground, Clyde's glazed eyes telling him the brunette was still processing what was happening.
"Thank you"
Clyde gasped, staring into the hole that was now illuminated by what appeared to be a small flame, it's source neither boy could see.
"Looks like you have some sorta' guardian angel on your side."
Stan spoke half jokingly, pushing away a jolt of fear left in his body his gaze moved up from the hole and back to the bathroom stalls. There was no way to get to them, and he doubted Clyde would use the crumbling urinals even if they could get over there. Clyde always got jumpy when it came to bathrooms.
"Lets keep going"
Stan announced, watching the floor on which he placed his feet far more carefully than when he'd entered. His slower pace allowed Clyde to keep in time with his steps, the brunette was putting on a brave face now, even striding ahead sometimes.
"Wet yourself yet?"
Stan's comment caused Clyde to stumble, the pink tint of embarrassment in his cheeks quickly darkened. Despite the fact Stan already knew the answer it was amusing to watch, if Clyde had wet himself it would definitely be noticeable.
"No."
Picking up his speed Clyde walked ahead of Stan, the noirette chuckled, his classmate disappeared down the staircase and then he followed. He'd only gone down a couple steps before a short scream made him freeze. The scream was followed by footsteps thundering along wood, and Clyde appeared in-front of him, running up the stairs. When he saw Stan he grabbed the taller boys arm, talking quickly between gasps of breath. Stan couldn't understand a word of it.
"Dude"
He shook Clyde's shoulder, the brunette paused, inhaling deeply.
"B-bodies, dead bodies d-dude!"
Stan frowned at him skeptically, before remembering the newspaper article in his pocket...
"Was there anyone else down there?"
He enquired, praying to some unknown entity that the killer wasn't anywhere in this building. Clyde shook his head. With his brave façade once again steeled Stan marched the rest of the way down the stairs, Clyde in tow. He turned the corner and was unable to stifle a gag as the smell hit him full force.
"Dude."
Stan mumbled into his jacket sleeve pressed over his nose and mouth.
Even the school locker rooms smell better than this
Ahead of them the entire hall was splashed with varying shades of red, shadowy lumps lay on the floor, Stan assumed these were the bodies Clyde had been freaked out by. And rightly so. The ones Stan could see were horribly disfigured, missing limbs, faces slashed up, eyes crushed in, organs spilling out of their corpses and collecting as a sludge by their side. Behind him Stan heard Clyde wretch and then the splashes of the brunette emptying his stomach next to Stan's trainers.
"Dude!"
He hissed at Clyde, sidestepping before any more bile could hit him.
"S-sorry"
Clyde croaked,
"Can w-we get out of he-here now?"
Clyde was starting to blubber, sniffling noisily.
"Okay, come on!"
Stan hurried them forward, not ready for Clyde to start bawling. He hopped over the bodies relatively easily, but unfortunately Clyde wasn't gifted with the same athleticism but did his best to muffle his squeals of horror whenever something squelched under his pumps, never brave enough to look down and see what he'd landed on. Eventually Stan slowed down when it appeared they were in the clear, at the end of the hall it split again in two directions. He was about to evaluate their options when white light flashed from down the left-hand hallway. Stan tensed, cautiously peering into the hall, another flash illuminated the entire hallway for a second. Blood and bodies. He was ready to run away when there was another flash, and at the very end of the hallway Stan spotted a shock of bright red hair he'd recognize anywhere. Barley giving it a moments thought Stan started to run, leaving Clyde to get over his stupor. As he neared the end of the hallway the gloom faded and he could see the figure clearly.
"Kyle!"
Kyle turned, his shocked expression quickly melting into a wide grin when he recognized his friend.
"Stan!"
If they were younger the pair might have embraced, but Stan instinctively shyed away before any physical contact could be initiated.
"Hey dude"
The noirette smiled, instead patting his friends shoulder as a greeting. It looked like Kyle was about to speak but Clyde then came into ear shot, the brunette whimpering a little.
"Don't run off without saying anything!"
Clyde's voice trembled, stopping to wipe his nose on his sleeve once he reached Stan's side. Kyle's brow creased at them both, the look compelling Stan to offer the brunette an apology.
"Sorry man, but we found Kyle didn't we."
He shrugged, Clyde was obviously not convinced by the half-hearted apology but didn't say anything. Stan took this as acceptance and turned back to see what Kyle had been looking at, the far wall was stained red and pink with what appeared to be someone's entire inner workings spattered over the bricks, amongst the mush Stan could see strips of clothing, even what appeared to be tufts of blond.
Is that.. hair?
Stan started to feel sick and quickly turned away, glancing at the device Kyle was holding.
"Were you taking pictures of that..?"
The enquiry appeared to startle Kyle a little and his phone was hurriedly stuffed into his pocket.
"Y-yeah. As evidence though, this is either to sick prank or actual people were killed here. No one'll believe the weird shit I've seen without these."
He finished his rushed explanation with a curt tap on his trousers pocket.
"I guess.."
Stan glanced back at the display on the wall, by far the worst 'body' he'd come across so far. That was when Clyde broke. Hands over his ears Clyde sunk to the floor, curling himself over his knee's, his crying coming out in short loud bursts.
"I hate this place! It's horrible, and I'm scared and I just want to leave!"
The flicker of joy at finding Kyle didn't last long, Clyde's panicked rant forcing the reality of the situation onto Stan. He'd ended up in some crazy shit before, but this felt different, everything about this just felt wrong.
"Clyde, crying's not gonna help."
Stan mumbled awkwardly, despite the number of times the brunette had burst into tears he'd never been the one tasked with fixing him.
At least Kyle know's what he's doing
The redhead had squatted to about Clyde's level,
"Stan's right, if there is something bad happening here stopping could put us in danger, you have to be brave Clyde."
The words of encouragement didn't stop Clyde sniffling but he did stagger to his feet quickly after the word 'danger', rubbing his face into the fabric of his jacket arm. Stan frowned,
"Danger? Have you seen anyone?"
Kyle nodded, turning his head to stare into the hallway Stan hadn't gone down. The look reflected in his friends eyes sent a chill down his spine.
"There are, others, here. Not just our friends and us."
Stan felt something brush against his arm, internally he panicked for a second, quickly realising it was just Clyde moving closer to him. Kyle continued,
"But they don't really seem like people anymore.. I tried to talk to one but she didn't respond, it was like she wasn't even there."
His green eyes darkened, inhaling as if preparing to speak again but something made Kyle pause. His next sentence came out as little more than a whisper,
"There are ghosts here to. Of children. We should stay away from them."
Clyde bit his lip, glancing over his shoulder apprehensively.
"Dude now this sounds like the start of a horror movie."
Stan meant the statement as a joke, but his delivery fell flat as he thought about the things he'd seen so far that day, everything was way too real. The three boys stood in silence. Clyde sniffed. Then Kyle spoke again,
"In any case I'm glad you guys are ok."
"It's good to see you safe too.. But"
Kyle raised a quizzical eyebrow,
"But?"
"But if our friends are here they might be in danger, me and Clyde saw bodies back that way, we should find the others ASAP."
Kyle nodded slowly, taking a minute to ponder their situation,
"You're right, and splitting up would be the fastest way to do it."
Clyde's response was a vigorous shake of his head,
"Noooo way, this place is way too creepy!"
"We can leave faster if we all look separately"
Kyle defend his suggestion. The brunette turned to Stan pleadingly, the taller boy scuffed the heel of his trainers against the ground and glanced back to Kyle.
"Fine. Clyde you can stay with Stan but I'm going to search by myself."
The redhead was already striding forward, waving over his shoulder as passed the two boys.
"If you find anyone we'll all meet by the entrance."
"Kyle wait!"
Stan moved to follow his friend, Kyle paused his march and glanced over his shoulder, frowning a little at him.
"Never mind.."
The noirette sighed sadly, he didn't have much of a case to argue with Kyle's plan, and if one thing was certain the redhead would be able to keep himself safe. Stan turned to narrow his eyes at Clyde, causing the brunette to shrink back a little,
"It's you and me again I guess."
"Yeah."
Craig's P.O.V
"Hey, Tweek!"
Craig called, spotting his friend at the end of the hallway. He waved a greeting but the blond didn't return the gesture, in fact Craig realised Tweek hadn't noticed him at all. Instead Tweek's hazel gaze was fixed on a tall grandfather clock hands clutching his head, as Craig neared him he heard Tweek was whimpering. Suddenly very worried Craig quickened his pace,
"Are you okay?"
Now Craig was almost close enough to touch his friend, he raised his arm to pat Tweek's head but froze in shock when the short blond let out a terrified scream.
"We can't be here!"
Tweek's fingernails dug into his hair, his eyes scrunched shut as he frantically shook his head as if to dispel images from a bad dream. Craig lay a firm hand on Tweek's shoulder,
"Tweek, calm down."
The blond's breathing quickened,
"I-If we're here t-then we'll.."
Tweek cut himself off with another scream. Craig bit his lip, at this rate Tweek was on his way to a full blown anxiety attack. Placing a hand on both Tweek's shoulders Craig turned Tweek to face him, bending his knees a little to get down to Tweek's eye level.
"Listen to me Tweek, now breathe."
Hazel eyes opened slowly, Tweek's head stilling to stare back at Craig.
Tap
...
Tap
Footsteps?
Craig's head turned to spot a shape in the gloomy hallway, it's little shoes drumming against the mould ridden floor. The shoes belonged to a child, the little boy's face was downcast, but Craig still managed to recognize the shock of dark hair on his head. His mind traveled back to the night prior, when Tweek had shown him an article about the kidnapping's that took place in South Park Elementary, three girls and a single boy. His eyes widened,
It's the boy from the article!
"You mustn't make eye contact with him!"
Tweek's voice filled his ears just at the child was raising his head.
"Got it"
Craig shut his eyes, turning his head away. But when he opened them again a pair of dark beady eyes were there to greet him. His insides seized up with fear, letting go of Tweek Craig stumbled away from the child, his heart beating faster for every moment the boy continued to stare at him. Their clothes were dull and patched with reddish stains, and several deep gashes littered the child's physique.
"Stay away!"
Craig gasped, tripping over his own feet in desperation to escape and landing with a thud against the wall. The child smiled, not the sweet, joyful smile Craig would expect to see on a grade schooler, this smile was more of a demented grimace that stretched almost the entire length of his face. From behind his back the child produced a knife, holding it up to show both students his weapon.
"Which one will die first~"
He chimed, running the blade along his finger the dark eyes were directed at Tweek,
"The little one?"
The childs gaze slid over to Craig's scared expression and he took a couple of steps towards the collapsed boy.
"Or the big one?"
Craig's mouth opened, his jaw trembling, at a loss for anything to say. He was frozen. Then Tweek started to whimper again.
"Craig.."
The child's head snapped to look at the blonde, in a flicker of movement he had the pointed end of the knife pressing against Tweek's throat.
"I'm starting with you?"
The child's voice came out so sweetly it was sickening, but the feeling of bile rising in his throat gave Craig the sense of reality he needed. Summoning up the courage the childs glare hadn't sapped from him Craig let out a yell,
"Leave him alone!"
A high-pitched laugh resonated through the hallway,
"Okay!"
Little footsteps thundered past Tweek, the child's blade raised above his head. He leapt at Craig.
Dong!
Then he was gone. Both the small boy and his weapon had winked out of existence before Craig's eyes, but he didn't allow himself to be relieved just yet.
Thump
Tweek's knees gave way with a thud, seeing this Craig sprung to his feet and in a moment was kneeling at his friends side.
"You okay?"
Tweek's reply was a shaky nod. Now Craig could see there was a thin stream blood trickling from a small puncture in the boys neck, and guilt welled up at his inability to react faster. He pressed his sleeve to Tweek's neck, the black school jacket masked the blood as he listened to Tweek's breathing return to normality.
"T-Thanks"
The creak of nearby floorboards reminded Craig of the imminent danger, and a tall figure flickering into his field of vision set the noirette on high alert. Removing his jacket he dropped it by his trembling friend before straightening his legs.
"Who's there?"
He snarled into the shadows, fists tightening by his sides. Dirty blond hair escaped from under the jacket hood of a teenage boy walking towards them, his orange-clad body flickering in and out of darkness before solidifying a few steps from Craig.
"So you're the one with a strong spiritual sense"
Craig noticed the teen was looking past him at Tweek, a glance over his shoulder assured him Tweek was still okay, but looking just as terrified by this new arrival. His attention was returned to the teen, their blue eyes moved over Craig critically at first, then a smirk tugged at his jawline.
"But who are you supposed to be?"
"Did you save us?"
Craig ignored the question, doing his best to look intimidating despite the dirty blond being just as tall as him. The boy shrugged, the smirk still plastered across his face,
"Yeah"
"A-are you trapped h-here too?"
From behind them Tweek's voice piped up, his fingers tugging nervously at fraying fabric on Craig's jacket sleeve.
"I died here a long time ago."
The reply caused Craig to step backwards, if they had another ghost on their hands he was eager to distance himself. His reaction prompted a chuckle from the boy,
"I'm not like the kidnapping victim"
He assured the pair,
"I came to this place because I needed to find something. Something import."
The ghost looked away, blue eyes misting over with emotion. Craig felt Tweek's arm brush against his, his thin fingers curling round Craig's arm.
"A-are you perhaps, Kenny McCormick..?"
This question caught the ghosts attention, for a moment he stared back at Tweek in surprise then answered with a curt nod.
"Huh?"
Craig blinked quizzically at his friend, how could he possibly know that,
And why does that name sound so familiar?
Without another word Kenny turned and walked into the shadows, his footsteps echoing back to Craig's ears. Tweek's hand fell away from his wrist and he walked quickly in pursuit of the ghost in the orange hoodie. Half-reluctantly Craig joined him. It turned out 'Kenny' had walked into a small library, the room and it's contents were in surprisingly good condition despite the inevitable dust, insects and smell of damp paper. The shelves were ceiling high with books but the overall size of the room made it easy to spot the teen sitting in the far corner, slumped back in a chair with feet propped up on a table. In his hands was a book, the front cover too worn and dusty for Craig to make out the title. The blond payed no notice to the two boys as they neared his table, stopping a meter or so away.
"Who is this guy?"
Craig asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously at Kenny.
"Kenny McCormick, he was an aspiring journalist living in South Park back when the elementary school was still open. He and his brother investigated a bunch of weird stuff that went on in the town, remember that book I showed you yesterday?"
Craig nodded.
"That's where he wrote down all his discoveries."
"So you found my journal?"
The sudden response made Craig jump a little, as well as the fact Kenny was now standing right next to him despite never noticing him move.
"Y-yeah, I guess I did"
Tweek shuffled back a little, his cheeks flushed pink as he spoke,
"I-I'm actually a b-big fan of your work. I managed to track down most of your a-articles."
"Thanks"
Kenny grinned, suddenly a lot closer to Tweek and causing the tint on his cheeks to darken. Now was a good time to interrupt.
"So you're journal contained the spell that got us into this place?"
Craig spoke accusingly, disappointingly Kenny didn't rise to it, his reply was a simple nod,
"Well it didn't work very well."
To counter Craig's acidic tone Tweek spoke again, the shorter boys brow was creased with concern,
"Your writing just cut off after the charm, I couldn't find any information why... w-what happened?"
Spinning on his heels Kenny faced away, strutting forward he stopped in front of a book case, his hand rising to pull one from the shelf but he hesitated, only brushing his fingers over the spine of a dust-encased novel.
"I came to this world looking for answers. But, my pursuit for truth is the reason I can never escape this place"
"Wh-"
"Because they killed me."
Kenny's words silenced any further questions Tweek had, Craig noticed his friend's expression had grown sombre. The noirette had had enough of this guy.
"Come on Tweek, some guy who got himself killed isn't gonna help us."
The noirette's mocking tone wavered when Kenny tilted his head to look at him, any humorous sparkle in the teens dark blue optics was gone, replaced with dead seriousness.
"Actually, I'm probably you're only hope of stopping you and your friends meeting the same fate."
Craig's mouth went dry, fear trying to wriggle it's way inside his mind, luckily Tweek still had courage enough to speak,
"Our friends are here too? Can you tell us where?"
In the silence that followed Kenny turned to face them holding a neatly folded newspaper, the paper yellowed and grubby.
"This world is made up of closed spaces formed in the school, they're caused by four murder victims spirits."
He's dodging the question
Kenny unfolded the paper to reveal photo's Craig recognized from newspaper clippings in the journal, one dark haired boy caught his eye.
"Hey, isn't that the kid who attacked us earlier?"
"It certainly is my new friend, just be fortunate you haven't run into any of the girls yet."
A wicked grin had returned to the blond ghosts face, now Craig was certain he didn't want to meet any more ghosts.
"I've been working on a theory, and came close to proving it. But, in the state I am now.."
He did a theatric spin, casting the paper aside as he went before stepping backwards and disappearing into a bookcase. Tweek let out a small disgruntled noise when the thrown newspaper hit his chest, the paper now conveniently folded into a regular tube shape. The blonde managed to catch it before it hit the floor, unfolding it to get a better look at the photos and leaving Craig to glare in confusion at the empty space Kenny had been standing.
"..I can't do a thing."
Turning round Craig could see Kenny leaning against the doorframe of the library entrance, the ghost casually shrugging his shoulders at the pair.
How the- Oh nevermind I'm not going to ask.
Craig shook his head disbelievingly, his previous fear turned to anger that showed when he spoke,
"Are you gonna tell us how to get out of here or not?"
"Patience. Patience. From my time here I figured if you could appease the victims spirits maybe the closed spaces will collapse and finally release their tortured souls."
Tweek looked up from the paper, his teeth digging into his lower lip nervously,
"But h-how?"
Kenny's hand rose above his head and he held up two fingers,
"Number one. Gain a confession from the murderer. The police never managed to catch them but fortunately for you they're trapped inside this school too. Number two. Appease the victims. They're still not at peace, but if you calm them the anger holding this dimension together will cease to exist."
A glance at Tweek reminded Craig the children's spirits were no easy task to deal with, despite his friends hopeful smile.
Getting near one almost got us killed, how are we supposed to calm them!
Somewhere between rage and terror Craig smashed his foot into one of the smaller book stands, sending wood crashing to the floor and scattering pages.
"Why did it have to be us! What did any of us do to deserve this?!"
To punctuate his concern Craig threw his hands into the air and barking his words at Kenny. The ghost's expression dropped back to a serious glare."It was likely the fault of one of your friends."
"W-what"
Tweek gasped, only then did Craig notice Tweek had moved away from him, clutching the newspaper in front of himself like a shield.
" 'Oh wouldn't it be funny if I recited the charm one to many times' "
Kenny's voice was high pitched and mocking, his next taunt dropped to a lower octave and his eyes moved to narrow at Craig,
" 'Who cares it's just a dumb kids story, I'm not even gonna take part' "
Craig's automatic response was to ball his hands, resisting the impulse to punch something, preferably a person. Kenny shrugged his shoulders, his hands disappearing into his coat pockets,
"Or it could have just been a mistake. Either would have messed it up."
"My friends w-would never do something like t-that!"
Kenny gave Tweek a questioning look and the defiance in the blonde's face faded.
I counted enough times, right?
The new information made Craig's stomach churn with doubt, Tweek appeared to be thinking similarly.
"No! I'm sure of it! My friends t-took it seriously a-and we need to g-go find them! Come on Craig."
Tweek's words came as a surprise to the noirette but he complied when Tweek grabbed his wrist, marching them both past Kenny and into the hallway.
"You won't be able to find them."
"Why not?"
Tweek snapped at the ghost, his grip around Craig's wrist tightened. Kenny's reply was a dry laugh,
"Weren't you listening? The spirits created closed spaces, and not just one space, multiple places."
"S-so you're saying.."
"I'm saying if you don't exist in the same space you'll never meet!"
Without warning Kenny was behind them, walking into the same darkness they'd met him in.
"Wait!"
Craig yelled after him, attempting to pursue the ghost but stumbling due to Tweek still having possession of his hand.
"W-we don't need him."
"But he has answers, he knows how to keep us out of danger"
"I have you d-don't I?"
A light blush crept into Craig's cheeks, the noirette angled his face away and nodded, suddenly grateful for the poorly lit hall.
"Yeah."
The grip around his wrist slacked,
"Thank you."
While a smile found itself on Craig's features the noirette looked back at the area Kenny had vanished into, his eyes resting on something that hadn't been there earlier. Obviously Tweek saw it too because his friend moved forward and picked up the object, holding it up for both of them to see.
"A doll?"
In Tweek's hands was a porcelain doll, pale china face, perfect blonde curls, large blue eyes and clothed in a dark pink dress, completed by large pink bow tied in her hair. What bothered Craig most wasn't the appearance of the creepy doll, but how immaculate and dust-free the entire thing was, as if someone was still taking care of it.
"R-reckon it belongs to K-Kenny?"
"It wouldn't surprise me."
Tweek turned the doll over, brushing his fingers over the ribbon,
"Huh?"
"What?"
"There's a n-name here."
He was right, leaning towards the doll Craig was able to read a word stitched into the underside of the ribbon.
" 'Victoria'?"
...
Tokens P.O.V
The hallway was deathly quiet with only the echoes of his footsteps there to lull Token's increasing claustrophobia. Fortunately he'd found a hallway lit by a few candles, the light allowed him to finally get a look at the sheet of paper he'd found next to him when he woke up in... Wherever he was. To combat the silence Token read out-loud, but even his own voice felt alien in the situation,
"The brutal deaths in South Park Elementary have now been traced back to the hands of a teacher found in the room with them. The scissors she held are confirmed to have been used to cut out the victims tongues, leading to death through excessive bleeding or choking. One of the victims even had the majority of her head slowly and methodically removed..."
Oh my god this is horrible! I can see why Tweek left out these details..
His train of thought was abruptly cut off by high pitched giggling from a room he was passing, his first emotion was relief, someone else was here. Token's hand was turning the doorknob when another emotion hit him. Fear of the unknown. But his fear was short lived when Butters voice floated through the crack between the door and the wall.
"Butters?"
Token called out to the student, widening the door and stepping inside. The scene he was met with stopped the teaching-assistant in his tracks. Butters sat on a low wooden stool about the centre of the room, a surprisingly bright light bulb attached to the ceiling lit up the entire room, basking a crumbling classroom in a welcoming glow. But Token didn't have the courage to advance. Seated opposite Butter's were two small children, their skin grey and torn. The little girl closest to him was missing her left eye, the wound still oozing blood made her terrifying in spite of her innocent red pigtails and warm smile. Even worse was the child sitting next to her, taller than the red-headed girl and would likely have been taller if half her head wasn't missing. The gaping space contained what was left of her tongue and a pool of crimson, it look like she was supposed to be laughing at whatever Butters had just said but what little sound that emerged was gargling combined with blood bubbling in her concave skull and splashing down onto her pale pink dress.
The murder victims from the paper!
Token wretched. At the sound Butters turned and noticed him, his eyes visibly lighting up when he saw who was in the doorway.
"You two! This is my good friend Token, he helps teach classes at my school."
He told the children, beckoning Token closer. Both girls 'giggled' the headless one spilling yet more blood down what was left of her chin and the floor around her.
No way.
"Hmm? Yeah I like school too, the kids there are nice."
Butter's attention was back on the girls, chatting to them excitedly.
"Butters? Shouldn't we be looking for your classmates..?"
Token spoke hesitantly, afraid he'd attract attention from the little girls. The blonde students smile faltered, his eyes flashing sadly.
"I'm sorry Token, but I don't think I want to leave..."
Butters spoke without turning to face Token, instead he had his eyes fixed on the girls,
"...these children have been alone for so long. I don't want to abandon them too."
"Butters what are you saying?!"
Token shook his head, his voice rising with panic. When his student didn't respond Token took a step towards him, but the moment his foot touched the floor again the red-haired girl turned to look at him, her single pale blue eye burning with anger. Then Token felt his spine hit a wall, thrown back by an invisible force. Through his blurred vision he watched both girls stand up their features already turned to face him.
"What about your friends? Stan and Kyle, they'll miss you if you stay."
His tone was getting desperate now, trembling under the hateful glare of the red-haired child. Behind her Butters got up, glancing at them and then at Token.
"Ruby, Shelly, I'm sorry but I have to go with Token now."
The blonde student moved as if to walk past the children, but in unison the two girls grabbed his ankles. In a moment their feet had left the ground, hovering in mid-air and leaving Butters dangling upside-down, his face a mixture of confusion and fear.
"Butters!"
Token gasped, but before Butters could properly react the ghosts bolted out of the room, carrying him with them. Scrambling to his feet Token could hear screaming from the hallway, running back out of the room Token faced the direction the ghosts had taken his student.
Splat
Butter's screams ended. Token's hands flew to his mouth in horror.
No.
At the end of the hall a wall that had once been painted white was covered in what remained to Leopold Butters Stotch. Unidentifiable now his bones, guts and clothing had been mashed together, all dripping with blood.
"Oh my god..."
The horror of the sight filled Token's senses. He barley registered footsteps approaching behind him, not untill a heavy object hit the back of his skull, and for him, everything went blank.
