Where is this? What happened to me? Is Kyle okay? What about Karen and the rest of my family? Why can't I move? A thousand questionss seem to buzz away in Kenny's head all at once. For a moment, he panics. He tries to move his limbs but they won't budge. They only send off signals of excruciating pain that make him cry out in horror. The bright lights blind Kenny's waking vision, but he hears a somewhat soothing voice, "Oh, honey. Don't try to move. You'll break your bandages and also maybe your already-broken bones."
"Where? Where are Karen and Kevin?" Kenny just barely manages.
"Don't worry," the nurse assures him by giving him a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Your family is alright. They came to see you earlier this morning. They were very worried. They told me they'd lost you after packing up, and then the house inexplicably caught on fire." Kenny stops struggling and sags in relief at the thought of his family coming out fine. Then he catches the confusing whiff of cotton. Cotton at Hell's Pass? Having been to the local hospital nearly every single day of his life, Kenny has associated it's scent and knows it well. It does not smell like cotton. It smells like fear, death, and mostly blood.
"What...is this?" Kenny sputters. "Where am I?"
"You mean what hospital?" the nurse clarifies curiously. "Why, it's Scarlett Havens in Middle Park. And you're from the small town of South Park down south, am I right? Thumbs up if yes. Thumbs down if no." Kenny gives her a shaky thumbs up. "You were found all the way at the edge of town. No one has any idea how you managed to get here. Your family was only evacuating to the community center to wait out the invasion of little crustaceans in your basement. You're confirmed to have been lost in the swarm, but your sweet, little sister insists that you stayed behind on your own terms." Kenny doesn't currently posses the ability to fein confusion, yet the nurse takes it as that anyway. "She kept on claiming that you insisted on staying back. She said that you told her you had business to take care of, but she wasn't supposed to tell anyone what that business is. Your sister sure is a character. I found your whole family quite charming, actually." Kenny lets out a weak, noncommittal chuckle. His eye finally begins to adjust to the bright, ward lights. The nurse has tan skin and vary dark brown hair tied in a bun. Her eyes are orange and she bears purple scrubs. He checks out the rack on her. Her breasts are of average size and she's a bit on the chubby side. She's also rather short for a twenty-one-year-old, only twice as tall as Kenny himself. The gleam of the plastic surrounding her name tag moves to reveal her name: Elaria Vilnurse. He decides he'd prefer a fuller form as she bends over him to reorganize his IV, chest right above his face. "You sure are a brave boy, Kenny. You fractured nearly every bone in your body and yet you still have the will to go on. How you were able to crawl all the way from South Park to Middle Park is beyond me. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you couldn't die at all!" Sister, Kenny thinks to himself, you don't know the half of it.
Kenny manages a few question that has been hanging in the back of his mind through his dreams, "What...about..."
Elaria finally finishes all her adjustments and stands back up straight. "Your friend. The one with the green hat? That's the one you're asking about, right?" Kenny gives a thumbs up. "Don't worry. He's okay. We received call that he was found on your front lawn. His lungs were filled with smoke, but he kept supposedly babbling about how someone saved him but he couldn't say who. He's currently being treated at the local hospital in South Park. I never really trusted that place. The number of casualties there has only given rise as the years drag on. Oh! I almost forgot! Your other little friend called and said that as soon as he's out of the hospital, they're coming to visit you here! He's due for release in three days, so you should be seeing them soon!" She picks up her clipboard off the table while Kenny ponders what to do next. "Well, I can see that you want to be left alone. Don't look so surprised. Your body can give off a lot of signals even in your state. I'll be up and down this wing attending to other patients. Give me a ring if you need me or any of the other nurses." She gives one last glance to the bronze bell on the bedside table before walking out the door.
Immediately, Kenny gets down to wondering about what his family and friends would think of this. Kyle's okay? And he and Stan are on their way here once he's out of the hospital? It's all a lot to take in at once. He's glad his family and friends are alright, but his job is still not over. Why did that portal open in his basement when it did? The crab monster was not supposed to be summoned until everyone in the house was far, far away. Something horrible is brewing unseen in the folds of South Park. Kenny can't do anything to fix it until he's released from Middle Park, but that will surely take weeks. He needed time to figure things out anyway. He just hopes his friends can hold up until then.