"What do you mean you haven't seen him?" Kyle pleads the McKormick couple. "He always comes here when he's ditching out on us!"
"Dammit, Stewart! Don't lie to the child. He's a friend of Kenny's," Mrs. McKormick elbows the bristly man aside and stands before the fourth grader. She then leans down and puts her hands on her knees so that her amber eyes can more easily meet his green ones. "I'm sorry, honey. What he means to say is that we haven't seen Kenny leave the house all day. I'd say he was in his bedroom, but sometimes he just disappears from there without us noticing."
"Well he did sneak out, but he always pussies out as well," Kyle breathlessly tries to explain. "And whenever he does- trust me on this- he always comes back here when we are at the height of excitement. Please, just let me go see him, just a quick peek into his bedroom to ensure that he really is there. Everyone else is waiting outside. If you won't let Kenny come out, could you at least let us inside? Have you looked out your window lately? It isn't safe out there for anyone."
Carol runs a hand through her fiery hair exhaustedly and sighs before actually turning to take another look out the window, "I know. Believe me, I really do wish that we could leave the house, but I just don't think it's worth the risk. We have tried countless times within the past few hours to get a hold of your parents, but the landline's broken up. So, yes, please bring your friends inside here. We don't really have much to offer but under a roof seems to be the safest place to be at the moment. You can all talk to Kenny then. I'm sure he'll be very pleased that you are here to see him."
"Thank you, Mrs. McKormick," Kyle tries to smile at her before turning around and waving the rest of the boys in through the window. He struts forth to open the front door to all of them standing and waiting out expectantly and on guard in the dark, snow-covered yard. "Alright, guys. It's all clear. They said we can come in and see Kenny." He hears them breathe out a collective sigh of relief as they head in. Their exhausted and sleep-deprived figures silhouette themselves it the light of the doorway across the lawn and pathway. He waits for them all to go inside before he takes one last fearful glance out at the glowing eyes staring him down before closing the door. Once inside, though the rundown shack of a house that the McKormicks live in is rather drafty, it is better than nothing. Tensions among the boys seem to immediately drop or at least cool to a simmering level. Everyone's tired and needs to rest before the group moves on.
Mr. McKormick glances up temporarily from his week old newspaper to glare around the room suddenly full of rambunctious, sweaty children. Carol notices the sudden energy in the room (though the children are very tired, they still are more ready than Stewart) as well and motions them down the hall. "You can all see Kenny now, boys, though I really have no idea what he's doin' right now. And you know what, I suddenly decided that I don't care. I now have even more smelly and obnoxious kids in my house and all I want is for you to be away from me." With that, she shoos the boys like toy soldiers in a line down into the darkened hallway. As they go, she calls halfheartedly after them. "Kenny's room is the second door to the right!" Stan, Kyle, and Cartman all scoff at this. The woman's obviously drunk as per usual. The three boys especially have been here an uncountable number of times, but Carol is his parent! She should know along with the rest of her deadbeat family that her son, Kenny's, bedroom is the second door on the left, not the right. The boys arrive there, the three at the head of the pack and stop in front of Kenny's splintery, wooden door frame. Cartman steps forward and performs the honor of taking an awkward knock at it. The rusty doorknob jiggles as the door vibrates on its hinges. A few splinters in the door break off from the vibration, creating tiny holes with which one may use to peak inside. Suddenly then, the door begins to shake on its own and more cracks appear in place of the splinters. The cracks widen to form holes. Then all at once the entire door collapses into a pile of cherry wood sticks at the base of the frame at Cartman's frosty snow boots.
There's a brief moment of awkward initial silence as the boys do not even stare straight into their friend's room but rather at the shattered remains of what once was his door. Then something shifts right on the beaten up mattress right beside the far wall. Everyone then looks up to see a faded, orange lump interspersed underneath the patch up blankets and a single tuft of dirty blond hair poking out near the foot of the bed. The boys all share a quick glance around at one another before Cartman goes forth into the room. His footsteps on the carpet filled with holes are nearly chalked up to stomps as he nears the bed. He stops when he reaches the bed. "Kenny! Get up, you pussy!" he then screams at the orange lump. "How could you leave us like that? I thought you were the new leader of Coon & Friends, but I guess not! I told you, Kenny. I'm the one that told all of you that you couldn't handle being the heroes."
