Just Because You're You

Teenagers are stupid. They do stupid things. Smoke, drink, steal, and party. They take little problems and make them into mountains. They get drunk—with either beer or power—and do things they may regret later. Notice how I said may. Because maybe, they might be glad they did what they did.

In this case, it was in English class where it all started. Eric Cartman was sitting in the back of the classroom. The seventeen year old was… well, what can we say about our dear friend. He is racist, bad mouthed, fat, rude, feel free to add more. So, of course, he was concocting a scheme. He wasn't looking for any money, this time. He just wanted to see how far he could go. How much intimidation he could cause. How much black mail he'd use before his prey gave in, and came willingly. It didn't take long.

"Cartman, what the Sam hell are you doing?" Kenny asked two weeks later as he stood in said boy's basement.

"Wondering how you've been." Cartman drawled.

"You knock me out with Chloroform, drag me into your basement, all just to wonder how I've been?" Kenny asked completely aghast. "What do you really want?"

"Nothing. Just tell the truth. You're poor, and gay." It wasn't a question.

"What?" Kenny gasped. "What the hell do those two things have to do with each other?"

"Nothing. I just like rubbing it into your pisspoor self." Cartman said smiling down at the boy.

"Can I go now?" Kenny asked as he was shoved back down on to the mat. "Cartman, what the fuck!" he yelled trying to fight back.

"You never answered my question. Are you gay?"

"I don't have to say anything to you!" Kenny yelled trying to punch the boy. "Fuck you!"

"You can just say yes or no. That's all."

"Cartman, go to hell, and let me leave!" Kenny yelled. "I have no reason to explain myself to you!"

"Are you ashamed of being gay, Kinny?" Cartman taunted. "Are you ashamed? Not only are you going to hell for being poor, but now, you're gay."

"Fuck you, fat tub. The question of my sexuality has nothing to do with anyone, except me, my lover, and God." he said bitterly. "Now, let go of me, so I can get the fuck out of here."

"Oh, Kinny! Kinny! Kinny! You don't get it, do yuh?"

And with that, he and the blonde began wrestling. He was about to be beaten down, when he kicked a well-placed foot into Kenny's stomach. The boy let out a painful whimper, and a tear escaped his eye. Cartman grabbed a rope and tied him down to the mat.

"What the hell do you want?" Kenny begged. "Tell me! I will do whatever you ask."

"Admit it. Either say yes or no. Are you gay?"

"That's not even relevant to this!" Kenny yelled. "It doesn't matter to you!"

"Plead guilty or not." Cartman said smirking at him. "All you have to do is plead either guilty or not."

"No, I don't!" Kenny shot glaring at him. "That doesn't even matter! Let go of me, or you get fucked when I break away!" Kenny threatened.

"That doesn't work, Kinny! You're mine, and I'm going to kill you if it's the last thing I do before you admit to me that you're a fag. I bet you are."

"What the fuck does it have anything to do with you?" Kenny yelled so loudly his voice cracked.

"Just tell me." Cartman said smiling. "Just tell me, and I might let you go. Might."

They spent another twenty minutes arguing. It was useless arguing with Cartman of course. The boy just kept going in circles. Kenny pleading to be let go, but not pleading either way to the accusation that he was gay. If Cartman had any brain, he would've just guessed yes. But of course, Kenny wouldn't give in. Sure, he was gay. Sure he was going out with Butters, and people knew it. No one except Cartman—who was behind the times—didn't know Kenny was gay. Like Kenny always said, though. Why identify yourself as such? Just so you could be insulted? He preferred to be called sexually unbiased. Whoever he fell in love with, that was who he would keep. And it just so happened to be, Leopold Butters Stotch.

Cartman was currently stripping a very angry, very confused Kenny of his clothing. He laid the bound boy to the mat again, and brought out a stack of planks. He laid the boards out on the motionless boy's body, and smiled.

"Do you know what I'm going to do to you?" Cartman asked. "And Butters? And Kyle? And Jimmy?"

"No. What?" Kenny asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

"I'm going to kill you guys. I'm going to start with you, Kinny! I'm going to crush you. Does this lay out seem familiar?" Cartman asked.

"Crush… me?" Kenny claimed. "Lay out? Of what?"

"The boards, Kinny. I'm going to do to you what they did to Giles Corey." Cartman informed smiling. "Only without giving you food, or water, and faster. It's not going to take days, Kinny. It's going to take hours for you to die. Wanna plead guilty?"

"It has nothing to do with you, and you're insane!" Kenny yelled as he struggled under the boards and against the binding. "C'mon, Cartman. Let me go. Please. I have to get home. Mom and dad are waiting for me."

"Well then, get the balls to admitting that you're either gay or not. And be warned. I know when you're lying. I can smell it on you."

"Man, I should've never let the English teacher have us read the Crucible!" Kenny moaned. "You lay one hand on Butters, Kyle and Jimmy and see what happens."

"You'll be dead, by then." Cartman said smiling. "You'll be no harm to anyone. Especially, me."

Kenny was about to yell. To explain to Cartman that he would be back the moment the sun rose again. But it was too late. Cartman started placing heavy objects on the boards above Kenny's stomach. Kenny gasped as the pain shot through him.

"I went and spent five hundred dollars on brick, Kinny." Cartman informed. "That's two and a half truckloads of lime stone."

"You're insane!" Kenny yelled as the boards on his chest were ladened with brick. "You're a fucking sadist, or… or something!" he shouted. "Fuck you!"

"Just plead guilty." Cartman advised smiling down at his friend as he placed yet more bricks on the boy's shoulders.

"Cartman, please!" Kenny cried as the boy kept on laying out the bricks. "At least drop them a little slower!" he shrieked as his ribs experienced massive pain.

"Just plead."

The boys argued for what felt like hours. In reality, it was really a few fifteen minutes. Cartman still didn't have his answer, and Kenny was being crushed with about eighty pounds. Which wasn't too bad, accept for the fact that his groin was being painfully crushed. He was sure that his shins were already broken in two places.

"So, are you going to tell me?"

"More weight!" Kenny said valiantly as he lay under the bricks.

"Cartman, you know what you're doing is wrong." Kenny said as fire shot through his ribs. "You know what you're doing won't do anything to make me admit either way to my sexuality."

"I'll crush you before you admit to it? Really? That's no fun. Just admit to it so I can crush you, and rip on you for being a fag." Cartman cooed insanely

"Cartman, you're breaking my sternum!" Kenny yelled as part of his chest was ladened with more brick.

The boys were each true to their words. Kenny refused to open his mouth, and Cartman crushed his friend slowly, bit by bit. The whole thing had started on a Saturday, at around eleven in the morning. Kenny McCormick was crushed to death, and died at about eight in the evening. It may not have been the crushing that killed him. It may have been because one of his ribs was broken wrong, and now stabbed into his heart. Either that, or his lung. Kenny wasn't sure which as he blacked out and headed towards a bright light.

"Are you sure, Kinny?" he asked one last time as blood leaked from the boy's nose.

"More weight, fat ass!" Kenny cried as he finally blacked out.

Cartman took care of the evidence cleanly, and neatly. There was no body, no blood. There was no evidence that he had ever bought all that brick. He was neat, cleaned up well, and kept on going. And the next day, unaware of Kenny McCormick's return, he continued with the rest of his planning.

Soon, he had everything ready to go, and he was going to make a clean job of it, too. He waited for Sunday morning, before he made his clean snatches. Bringing with him his trustee bottle of Chloroform.

"What the h-heck are yuh doin' Eh-Eric!" Butters moaned as he stood tied to the make shift gallows that Cartman had erected at Stark's Pond.

"Cartman, what the hell!" Kyle yelled as he awoke on the boy's other side. Jimmy Volmer was the only one still out. He was securely tied to the platform on Butters's left. Cartman smiled.

"I'm killing you. What does it look like, Butters?"

"Why?" Kyle yelled.

"Jimmy's a cripple, Butters a fag, and you? Isn't it obvious? You're a Jew! A filthy, no good, Jew!"

"Cartman, you're insane!" Kyle yelled. "Help!"

"There is no one to help you, my small Jew. You are alone. No one can hear us. You're mine. I've wanted to kill you since you were nine. And now, I get three birds with one stone! How amazing!"

"Cartman! What the hell!" Kyle yelled. "Butters, try to think of a way to untie us!" Kyle yelled.

"Eric?" Butters whimpered. "My mom and dad are gonna be awful sore at me if I don't wash the dishes today." he predicted. "I don't wanna get grounded!"

"N-now, Eh, eh, eh, now, Eric!" Jimmy spoke for the first time as he opened his eyes. "It's really N- it's real- it's really not good for your health to take things to this level." he said struggling with his words.

"Why are you hurting Butters and Jimmy if you're only supposed to kill me?" Kyle asked confused.

"Because you're a Jew, Butters is a fag, and Jimmy, a cripple. Get it?"

"God, you're evil!" Butters said beginning to cry steadily. "Let us go, Eh-Eric! I'm serious!"

"You think tears will sway me?" Cartman said cackling. "It's sweet to have power, you guys. Seriously. Sweet."

"Let us, go!" Kyle yelled.

"I think, I'll let you go. Yes. Now is a good time."

He walked up behind Butters, who began screaming furiously. He smiled.

"Cartman, you can't do this!" Kyle yelled trying to break away from the rope that held him. "Butters! Help!"

"Aaaahh!" Butters shrieked. "Kyle!"

"Aw, shit." The Semite felt terrible at putting that much pressure on his friend. "Sorry, Butters." he muttered.

"So, let's flip a coin." Cartman said smiling. "It's between Jimmy, and Kyle." he said smugly. "Who… shall… go… first?"

"Dude! Let us go!" Kyle yelled.

"Fellas?" Butters gasped. "I can't die! Mom and dad'll ground me if I die!"

"It's okay, Butters!" Cartman said smirking. "You'll be quite fine."

"Stop this!" Kyle yelled. "Stop this, right now! Let us go!" he yelled.

"You you you you you can't, do this, Eric." Jimmy tried. "It's not nuh-nuh-nuh, it's not nice."

"Since when have I ever cared about that?" Cartman said laughing as he tossed a coin. "Heads or tails, Butters?"

"Aaaahh!" Butters shrieked again. "Stop! Stop! Let go of us!"

"Heads, or tales." he called again pointing from Kyle to Jimmy. "Jimmy, you mind picking?"

"Just let us go!" Kyle yelled. "Mysterion!" he shouted. "Help! Help!"

"It looks like heads." Cartman said smiling. "For no particular reason, I think it should be you, my boy." he said tapping a hand on Jimmy's shoulder.

"N-now, Eric. Be r-reasonable!" Butters said as tears ran down his face. "Be reasonable, man!"

"Why don't I give you a little push, Jim?" Eric said smiling.

"Stop!" Kyle yelled as tears soaked his own face. "Let go of him!"

"I think you, think, you, I think, you, you, should, I think—" Jimmy's suggestion was never finished as the boy pushed him forward, and he slipped off the platform. Kyle and Butters both screamed as a crack pierced the air. Jimmy Volmer was dead before his plea was done. His lifeless corpse hung slightly outward to Butters's left, suspended by the noose Cartman had created.

"So." Cartman said as he took a step over to Kyle. "It's between the fag, and the Jew. Who will go first?"

"Really, Eric, this has gone far enough!" Butters cried. "Please! Just let us go!"

"This isn't funny anymore!" Kyle yelled. "Please let it be special effects! Tell me you really didn't just kill Jimmy!" he pleaded. "Cartman!" he cried out. "Let us go!"

"I don't think so, my Jewish friend." Cartman said beaming at them. "The question now, is, who shall go next."

"Kyle?" Butters gasped.

"I'm not going to let him kill me!" Kyle yelled as he kicked out his bound feet. "I'm… not… going to give him that satisfaction!"

"Cal! Cal, what the fuck are you doing?" Cartman yelped as Kyle kicked out again. The boy was shifting his weight and slowly, but surely, heading to the edge of the platform. "Cal! No! No!" Cartman screamed as the boy let himself fall forward.

Butters and another voice yelled as the body flailed, and died. The rope cutting into the flesh, and making droplets of blood trickle down the collar of the blue shirt. Butters was shaking with fear, and terror as he watched his friend to his right. The second scream had come out of nowhere, and only now that he looked straight ahead, did he realize.

"Kinny!" Cartman yelled as he saw the figure trying to run to Butters.

"I'll fucking kill you!" Kenny yelled angrily. "I'll fucking kill you!"

"Come one more step closer." Cartman said as he pulled out a switch blade. "And see what happens."

"No!" Butters and Kenny both yelled.

"Please, Eric!" Butters pleaded sadly. "I'm not a toy!"

Kenny's heart broke at the sound of those words. "No. Butters, you're not a toy." he said as tears welled up in his eyes.

"Cartman, please!" Kenny shouted trying to make his way over to both of them. "Cartman, please! Whatever you want! You've as good as got it."

"I'm not killing him for money, or anything, Kinny. He's just mine. He's just a fag." Cartman said smiling. "That's the only reason why."

"Stop!" Butters gasped. "Get me down from here!" Get me-"

The rope slipped, and Butters skidded forward without control. Kenny and Butters let out screams of terror as the boy was tossed forward by gravity, and his neck broke. His scream was cut off, but his mouth remained parted in a silent O. Kenny screamed as he threw himself across the little distance that remained, and flung his body at Cartman.

"Your turn." Cartman said as he slapped a cold towel across the boy's face. "It's crushing time for Kinny!"