Chapter Seven - Safe for Now

Carol McCormick had been chained up and lying on a bed in a small dark room for the past two days. Before chaining her to the bed, the kidnappers changed her out of her old clothes and into a long plain white pajama gown. They left her there after giving birth to Kenny's reincarnated form with barely any food or water.

She may not be a smart woman, but Carol assumed they wanted her to remain weak while they carried out whatever evil plan they have with her son. Sounds of chanting continued through the thin wooden walls of the old house. The members of the Cult started speaking the same phrase repeatedly the moment they had arrived.

K'aem'nhi kh'rn K'aem'nhi kh'r K'aem'nhi kh'rmnu.

Fha'gnu Zy-d'syn!

Si'n Si'ra S'alk!

I'a Krell!

The sound began to drive her mad.

"Arg!" Carol shouted at the top of her lungs. "Shut up, you fuckin' assholes!"

With little surprise, she got no reply.

Carol barely saw where she was headed the entire trip. Even though it was dark, she knew they headed up the mountain. She was surprised that they stopped in front of an old house standing in the middle of the forest. The place looked like an early 1900's home. However, Carol did not care where she was, or how old the place was at all. Only one thing mattered to her - get out and find her son.

Again, she attempted to pull her hands free from the shackles, chained to the bed. Sadly, it was no use. She could not break free. The young Irish woman could try screaming again, but knew that would only get her nowhere fast.

Desperate, she silently prayed to God for help. She promised that she would never drink or do drugs again if she could get her and her son out safe from the Cult of Cthulhu. Tears escaped from her eyes, one-by-one. She feared what would happen, and if the rest of her family were safe.

Without realizing it, the chanting began to dim, as if the people were heading outside. It was at that moment the door suddenly opened, and a cloaked woman stepped in quickly. The movement caught Carol off guard.

"What do you want?" The young redheaded mother hissed through her teeth.

The other woman snapped her hand up and placed a finger over her lips. "Shh, we don't have much time." She warned.

"What are ya talkin' about?" Carol growled.

"I was a fool to have joined this Cult. I thought it would be just a fun gag to pass the time," the woman ranted to herself as she pulled out a key and began to unlock the shackles. "...But it all changed, thanks to the bizarre crap I've witnessed the past few days, and that is including the fact you gave birth to the Key."

"The Key...?" Carol wondered for a brief moment as she jerked her hand free from the unlocked shackle. Rubbing her sore wrists, she then looked up at the other woman with an annoyed expression. "You mean my son, Kenny. Where is he?" She demanded.

"He's upstairs. Safe, for now, I promise. Look, I'm sorry. I had no idea they would actually go to this length in the name of Cthulhu." The woman pleaded.

"This is a sick Cult. You should be ashamed of yourself." Carol spat as she allowed the woman to help her onto her feet.

"Hey, from what I hear you and your husband were once members." The young woman accused.

"We were young, stupid, and invited to one of their meetin's. In a result, we ended up with Kenny. Since then we had nothin' to do with these assholes." Carol defended her past.

The two women headed up the creaky steps and walked through the first door on the right. Two men sitting by the bed lied passed out on the floor. Kenny slept peacefully on the bed - looking like a little angel. He wore a white pajama gown like the one his mother had on.

"Kenny," Carol gasped. She ran up to her son and shook him slightly, but he did not wake up.

"Mrs. McCormick, hurry. Those men I drugged won't be out much longer. And the others will be back shortly." The younger woman warned.

Without hesitation, Carol grabbed her boy and followed the female Cult member outside. Looking up at the sky it was nearly dawn, but that did not concern the two young women.

"Quickly," the cloaked woman instructed. "Follow this path and you will end up on a dirt road. Then you must continue down the hill till you reach South Park."

"What about you? Aren't you coming?"

"I have to stall them before they finish the altar. Please you have to hurry. They plan to sacrifice the Key to open the Gates of R'lyeh."

"Sacrifice...?" Carol gasped. She held Kenny tighter to her chest. "You mean they plan on killing my baby?"

"Just go, please. Take your boy somewhere safe!" The woman waved her off.

Carol decided not to argue any more. With her sleeping son held tightly in her arms, she nodded and thanked the woman before running as fast as she could through path.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Hours later, at the South Park Elementary school, the second bell rung to indicate the daily lessons were ready to start. The fourth grade students sat down at their assigned seats - chattering to amongst themselves and throwing paper airplanes over their heads. Moments later, their teacher, Mr. Garrison walked in a few minutes later than usual.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up for class..." Cartman remarked.

"Quiet Eric, I have something to share with all of you." Mr. Garrison told the class.

"What is it, Mr. Garrison?" Wendy chirped.

Eric mimicked Wendy's tone of her question by sounding like a murmuring chipmunk. This behaviour earned him a glare from both Wendy and her boyfriend Stan Marsh.

"I said quiet," Mr. Garrison snapped. Once all eyes were on him, he continued. "Listen, they found Kenny and his mother this morning..."

Before he could continue, the class jumped up in their seats with questions.

"What?" Craig snapped up.

"Where did they find them?" Wendy asked.

"Are they ok?" Bebe spoke up.

"How many times did they rap Kinny?" Cartman wondered.

"God damn it, Cartman, don't you ever shut the hell up?" Kyle snapped.

"Can we go see them?" Butters asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Stan left his seat and began leading his classmates to the door.

"Sit your asses back down. None of you little bastards are going anywhere!" Mr. Garrison shouted.

"...But we have to go see Kenny." Stan argued.

"Not now." The teacher stood his ground. "They are currently at Hell's Pass Hospital, and the cops and staff are not letting anyone, except family members in to see them. Principal Victoria told me that your parents would come by later to get you when they are allowing visitors. Until then, get back into your seats so we can start on today's lessons."

"Awe..." The children moaned as they shuffled their feet back to their desks.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Shelia Brofloski led Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Craig down the hall of Hell's Pass Hospital, and straight to the room where the McCormicks stayed.

"Alright boys, remember what I said. Don't be surprised if Kenny doesn't recognize you." Mrs. Brofloski began. "When he woke up earlier today he got really scared and didn't remember anyone, not even his mother, or is own name. No one knows why he is like this for sure, but the psychiatrist guessed that he might be emotionally traumatized. He needs you boys to be there for him, ok."

"We understand mom." Kyle assured her.

"Yeah, we are just looking forward to seeing our friend back safely." Stan added.

Shelia nodded at the boys before she stopped in front of the two officers guarding the door to the McCormick's room.

"Why are there police officers guarding the door, mom?" Kyle asked.

"Because bubbeleh, when they found Mrs. McCormick and Kenny on the side of the road she told them where to find the kidnappers. From what I hear, they caught most of them, but they are still looking for the rest. To be on the safe side these officers are here to protect Kenny and his mom, just in case they might came back for them." Shelia explained.

"Whoa, dude." Stan gasped.

"That sounds pretty serious." Craig commented in a monotone voice.

"Oh, it is." Shelia nodded again. "Now boys, when we are inside try to remain positive, for Kenny's sake, ok?"

"Ok mom." Kyle said to her.

Mrs. Brofloski opened the door, and she and the four boys walked in. Once inside, they saw that both Kenny and Mrs. McCormick each lied on their own bed. They both wore blue hospital pajamas.

Kenny looked like he was sleeping, while his mother sat up talking to her husband. Kevin and Karen sat on chairs beside them. Standing between Kenny and Carol's bed was a woman.

She was a thirty-something year old woman. Her hair was brown, and tied up in a loose bun. She wore a navy blue business skirt and jacket, with a white blouse, and high-heeled shoes that matched her outfit.

The woman turned and smiled at the boys that entered. "Hello, I'm Dr. Nora Lange." She introduced herself. "I'm here to council Mrs. McCormick and Kenny and help them with their experience from the past few days."

"Doctor, huh?" Cartman raised his eyebrow.

"What is wrong with Kenny? We heard that he can't remember anything." Stan asked.

The psychiatrist frowned and looked down at the blond child sleeping beside her.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "This is the worst case of amnesia I've ever seen. There is no head trauma, and I doubt anyone could be brainwashed in just two days. The only thing I can come up with is emotional shock."

"Awe poor Kenny," Kyle sympathized.

"Yeah," Stan added.

Craig said nothing. He kept staring at Kenny as he tried to think of what he could do to help him.

"You can fix him, can't ya, Doctor?" Mrs. McCormick asked hopefully.

"I'll do my best, Mrs. McCormick." Dr. Lange replied.

A small groan grabbed everyone's attention; they turned to notice Kenny waking up. The young boy slowly stirred then opened his eyes. He looked completely confused, especially when he noticed the new faces in the room.

"Hey dude, how are you feeling?" Stan said cheerfully.

"Hello," the blond boy nodded at him. "Do I know you?"

Even though the grownups had warned them, the four boys were still beside themselves when Kenny asked if he knew them.

"W-we're your friends, Kenny." Cartman reminded him. His expression showed real concern.

"F-f-friends...?" Kenny sounded as if the word itself was a foreign language.

"Don't worry; we are here to help you remember." Craig added in a soft tone.

"That's cool, I guess." Kenny smiled, but then frowned. "Who are you, again?"

For the next few hours, and with great patience, everyone in the room talked with Kenny. They tried to rekindle some of his memories with little, to no success. When it came to suppertime, a food-service worker brought trays into the room for the McCormick family. That was the cue for Shelia to take Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Craig to the hospital cafeteria to get their meal.

As they sat and ate, Kyle turned and broke the silence that befell them.

"So Craig, why are so interested in Kenny all of a sudden?" The redheaded boy asked as he swallowed a piece of chicken.

"Exactly what I was thinking..." Cartman mused.

"I have my reasons..." Craig replied as he quietly scooped up some soup with his plastic spoon and slurped it into his mouth. He glanced up at the other three boys and glared. "...And it isn't because I want to suck his balls."

"What-what- what?!" Mrs. Brofloski sputtered in surprise. She nearly toppled over her plate of food when she heard what the stoic boy said.

"Then what is the reason?" Stan asked, ignoring Shelia's outburst.

With a sigh, Craig placed his spoon on a napkin beside his bowl. It took him a few moments before he finally spoke.

"Last weekend I fell through the ice at Stock's Pond. I would have drowned if Kenny hadn't been there to pull me out." Craig looked up at everyone then continued. "He saved my life, and since then I've been trying to pay him back."

"Wow," Kyle gasped.

"Yeah, wow." Stan nodded, not knowing what else to say.

"That is quite a story, Craig, and it is really nice you to want to be here now for your little friend." Mrs. Brofloski commented. She jabbed her plastic fork into her salad and began nibbling on a piece of lettuce.

"Yeah dude, I bet if Kenny starts remembering again, he will really appreciate you being here." Stan nodded with a smile.

"Absolutely," Kyle agreed.

"You guys are so gay." Eric scoffed before shoveling a spoon full of Sheppard's Pie into his mouth.

"Takes one to know one..." Craig muttered sarcastically. He picked up his spoon again and continued to eat his soup.

Stan, Kyle, and Shelia laughed at the stoic boy's comment, while Cartman frowned, and grumbled something in return. Afterwards, the boys and Mrs. Brofloski remained mostly quiet as they finished their meal.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The moment Shelia and the boys returned to the room, Dr. Nora Lange confronted them.

"Boys, Mrs. Brofloski, I have a request. You don't suppose you boys could stay the night here with Kenny. I think your presence here is really helping him right now." The psychiatrist said hopefully.

"Let me get this straight." Cartman pondered aloud. "You want us to spend the night here...in the hospital." He tone sounded disgusted with the thought.

"Well, I don't know..." Mrs. Brofloski muddled over the request.

"Oh, please mom. I want to be here if that means I can help Kenny." Kyle insisted.

Both Craig and Stan nodded in agreement.

"Fine, if you guys are staying the night then I might as well join in." Cartman groaned, rolling his eyes skyward. He then turned and pointed an accusing finger at Kenny. "But don't you ever say I don't do anything for you."

Kenny looked back, confused by his comment.

"Ok boys, but you all need to talk to your parents for permission first." Shelia finally agreed.

"Great, I'll go get some board games from the children's room, while you three go call your parents." The psychiatrist clasped her hands eagerly before walking out of the room.

"Did you hear that, Kenny? This is like having a slumber party with your little friends." Carol chirped.

"I have no idea what that means, but ok." Kenny shrugged.

He turned to see the friends he never knew he had. Each of them looked up at him with a smile of hope. Slowly Kenny returned the smile back at them.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Once again, I thank those of you that have been supporting this story so far. I appreciate your comments as well.

In addition, I actually did a bit of research for the chanting and here is the translation:

K'aem'nhi kh'rn K'aem'nhi kh'r K'aem'nhi kh'rmnu.

(The Old Ones were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be again.)

Fha'gnu Zy-d'syn!

(Behold the Beginning and ending of (time) dimensions!)

Si'n Si'ra S'alk!

(Time that was, time that is, time that shall be!)

I'a Krell!

(Hail Key!)

Again, thank you.