Kyle was in hell.
Three days had passed since Stan and Kenny's murder/suicide. Kyle was trying to figure out why Kenny had done it, why hadn't the bastard just killed him too?
Kyle hadn't left his bed, hardly had eaten, and just tried to sleep. Dark dreamless sleep. Wondering if Stan would show up and which version. Normal Stan? Evil Stan? Cold dead Stan? Kyle didn't bother looking at his phone, he knew it was filled with notifications of condolence and sympathy. He knew instead he would look over old text threads between him and Stan. It hurt too much to even peek, so Kyle had let the phone die.
Kyle's parents brought their weighted blanket for him to use. It was supposed to be good for sleep, a constant hug since Kyle didn't want anyone to touch him right now. He knew they used strait jackets for the same reason. Kyle kept the blanket over his head, a dark silent cave. He overheard his mother's worry in a hushed tone, saying kids could be suffocated under a weighted blanket. His father insisted it was for the best in the meantime. They put Kyle on the waitlist for therapy but were discussing more intense treatment for him.
Kyle peeked out of his covers over at Stan's rabbit in its cage. If his parents were going to institutionalize him, he'd have to teach his brother to feed, water, and clean the cage. Ike could give it a real name, since it had only been known as Stan's rabbit so far. Kyle slid out of bed and went over, refilled the rabbit's food and water. He put more medicine on the rabbit's face, its sores were clearing up and the rabbit looked healthier. Probably best to teach Ike sooner than later. If that weighted blanket did smother him, he'd at least see Stan again. He could ask Kenny what he meant by fixing everything. He wanted to think Kenny accidentally shot Stan and killed himself in guilt. Kyle wished he had died instead, even if Stan hadn't been the same for weeks.
Kyle looked out his bedroom window. It was about a twelve-foot drop. There was rope in the garage. There were pills in his parent's bathroom cabinet. Kyle picked up Stan's rabbit and held it close, tears squeezing out of his tired eyes. The little creature calmly settling against him, Kyle wishing her could get the comfort back from the bunny he was giving it. The rabbit would miss him, his friends and family would miss him. But Kyle couldn't get the dark thoughts out of his mind. No wonder his parents were going to send him to the psych ward.
Stan was in hell.
The huge crowd was so packed together Stan felt like he was going to be crushed. The only direction he could see was up, a large rocky cavern with flames licking from the sides. Frightened screams echoing around him as Stan joined in. Sweat tricking down his neck and back, he wanted to take his jacket off but a painful feeling around his chest and stomach area prevented him from doing so. He had been shot! The atmosphere was so claustrophobic and suffocating but his mind could not handle if there was damage under his coat. Stan's family was Catholic so he thought he was saved, but he must have been bad in his life. Maybe he got sent here because of his post car accident behavior.
He remembered everything, the car crash, him being gravely injured, Kyle and Cartman using Mephesto to save him, Kenny covering evidence. The operation had gone wrong and he had been terrible to everyone, Butters, Scott, his family, Cartman, Kenny, Wendy, Kyle.
He deserved being sent to hell, even if the phantom pain through his heart ached forever. Kenny had done the right thing. He was turning into a monster.
Stan was lead through the crowd, it gradually thinned to a blonde girl holding a bunch of leis. "Luau is right over there."
"Why should I bother?" Stan asked. Looking over as the residents of hell seemingly having a great time, laughing and dancing with tiki drinks in their hands. Ignoring fire and ash raining down on them.
The girl gave a sympathetic smile, placing the lei around Stan's neck. "Oh, come on, it's not so bad, these will make you feel better. When you're ready we're having a limbo contest right over there, hula dancing lessons, or you can get something to eat from the buffet over there."
"How is this supposed to help?" Stan asked again.
"Breathe in, you haven't forgotten to do that, yet have you? You don't want to lose your humanity."
Stan breathed in, the sweet scent of tropical flowers helping cover up the smell of burning, rotting flesh, and shit that was hell.
"Feel better?" The girl asked.
"Not really." Stan said flatly.
"It's ok, it gets easier. You're never fully dammed if you hold onto your humanity." The girl smiled at him.
A voice broke out through the crowd. "Oh Jon Benet! We need an extra set of hands to make more leis!"
"Coming!" The little girl replied sweetly, running off with her basket of flowers before Stan could thank her.
Stan shuffled into the line, blinking back tears. Why did the dead need to eat? Breathe? Socialize? Cry? Have fun? It was all so pointless. His humanity had already been lost on earth. He was handed a plate of roast pig, grilled pineapple, and was surprised to see some salisbury steak. A comfort food.
Stan looked up to see a familiar face behind the food counter.
"Hello there, Children." The deep booming voice said in surprise.
Stan broke down, tears running down his cheeks as he rushed in to give Chef a hug.
Kenny was not in hell.
Which was weird since being an apparent murderer was supposed to send you straight to hell. Well normally, but Kenny knew he was always the exception to the rule.
The world he was in was soft focus, a violet light and a sound of a nearby stream. Something familial and soothing about this place that would have Kenny want to curl up in a fetal position for a nap.
Kenny lazily looked though at the river. He dipped his fingers in it, the river was as warm and soothing as a bath. The more he looked the more it seemed to stretch on and grow wider across. The soothing warmth was broken by a slight squeak. The grim reaper was riding around on his tricycle.
"Hey, have you seen a friend of mine?" Kenny asked. "A boy with a red poofball hat and brown jacket?"
Grim stopped his trike. He pointed a finger forward which made Kenny move back instinctively, but Grim touched the river and it parted. Kenny peeked and saw flames and a large crowd.
Now Kenny had a general direction where to start looking, but he felt himself growing tired. He thanked his old frenemy. He settled down by the riverside, his eyes growing heavy and his body relaxing, like his existence was being pulled in another direction.
Cartman was in heaven.
His mom had bought him a game called Persona 5 Royal and Cartman had been playing all weekend.
His bedroom door opened. His mother entered, sniffling. "I just got word, your little friends Stanley and Kenny were killed on Friday."
Cartman snorted. "And Kyle?" He asked.
"He's ok, he was the only one not hurt."
Cartman threw his controller across the room. "What this is bullshit?" He yelled at his mom.
"I know this news is upsetting. The funeral is in a few days. Take as much time as you need sweetie." Liane put a hand on her son's shoulder.
Cartman considered, the sequel to his game was out in a few weeks. "I'll need at least a month of mourning."
"Yes sweetie. Anything else?"
"Yeah mom, more cookies and cheesy poofs. Now get out of my room."
Cartman sighed as he got up to retrieve his controller. "What fucking dumbasses." He muttered to himself.
Stan sat in Chef's little condo, noting how Chef's taste in decor hadn't changed a bit. Chef hadn't changed either, he sang to himself as he made Stan a mug of cocoa and put a blanket around his shoulders. Stan count helping laugh a little, it was easily 100 degrees, but the gesture was appreciated.
"I'm sorry children you got shot while out hunting. That's too bad." Chef took a seat across from Stan at his kitchen table.
"Maybe Kenny got into heaven for doing it. I was a monster on earth." Stan sighed adding a few marshmallows to his mug.
"Oh, I know how that goes, children. Right before my death I had a twisted version of myself going out saying he wanted to molest children." Chef sighed, as he placed a cookie jar on the table.
"Oh yeah. But we tried hard to fix you. I guess we failed." Stan thought bitterly that Kyle and Kenny had failed him as well.
"I hate to think there's still a part of me still out there controlled by the Super Adventure Club."
"Yeah there's some kind of beast that's a part of me out there too, I don't know if it's ok or even alive, still I shot it." Stan grimaced at what a hypocrite he had become.
"If there's people out there still trying for you, there's a chance. I'm just missing a puzzle piece."
Stan looked up. "Puzzle piece?"
Chef looked both ways before gesturing for Stan to follow him into the other room. Chef pulled back a curtain to show off a shrine. Various statutes, glass bottles, incense, tapestries sat on a low altar.
"This is voodoo from Scotland my parents taught me. They say they've brought someone back from the dead once before but can't give me the answers. I'm missing a puzzle piece." Chef explained.
"Hmm like Cthulhu or something?" Stan asked.
Chef laughed, "What? No! But I think to come back from the dead you need to have an avatar still walking the earth."
"Like your Darth Chef or Stanbearpig?"
"That's right, you need an avatar, a dead soul, victim child...and three fiddy."
The entire town had showed up to Stan's funeral. Wendy sat near the middle of the crowd with her parents. The wind had picked up and the day looked overcast as the crowd gathered at the cemetery.
The Marsh family sat apart, Sharon and Randy on opposite sides of the aisle, as if this were a wedding and not a funeral. Sharon had her face in her hands, crying into a wadded-up bundle of tissues with Uncle Jimbo's arm around her. Randy looked drunk, tears rolling down his cheeks and him occasionally yelling "oh, Stan" interrupting the annoyed looking priest giving the service.
Wendy's eye went to Stan's sister Shelly. Her face was neutral, posture stiff, her legs crossed elegantly under her skirt. She was putting on a brave face as her parents were falling apart.
Kyle looked like he was being propped up between his parents, eyes hollow looking. Everyone was saying Kyle was the one to find Stan. Not just one life was destroyed that night. He might never come back to school.
The service ended in prayer and then the part Wendy had been dreading. She got up in the procession to pass the casket before it was committed to the earth. She picked a red rose off a tray and tossed it on the mahogany casket, tears welling in her eyes. She went down the line, shook hands with Uncle Jimbo. Sharon threw her arms around Wendy and sobbed, stroking her hair before she released and threw her arms around the next person in line. Randy patted her on the head before taking another swig from a flask. No one said anything.
Shelly was next in line. "I'm sorry about your brother." Wendy said softly.
"I'm sorry about your boyfriend. I've lost a boyfriend too. Both are hard." Shelly whispered back.
Wendy was surprised to be recognized by Stan's sister. "I don't know how to feel." She admitted.
"I don't either." Shelly said glumly.
Wendy cautiously approached Shelly to give her a pat on the shoulder. To her surprise the older girl pulled her into a hug, her grip tight and strong. She felt the headgear press into her hair and cheek and heard a sob come out from Shelly. That's what made Wendy finally lose it as she cried herself, buried in the dark of Shelly's embrace.
Kyle sat off to the side, seeing Wendy had broken Shelly, both were crying and hugging each other. Kyle didn't have the strength to go into the procession line, he was waiting to sit by the grave once the crowd had died down.
"Hey, dude."
Kyle looked up. "Oh hey, Kenny. Where were you?"
"Ah, I was just over there. How are you?"
"I don't even know. I'm here for Stan but I just want to go back to bed and not have to talk to anyone." Kyle said, his voice cracking.
"Well I'm here for you dude." Kenny took a seat next to Kyle, cautiously putting an arm around his shoulder. Both boys feeling this was all their fault. Kenny unsure if he would be able to see Stan again.
Kyle's voice broke out again in a sob. "I just want to see him again. I'd give anything." Kyle covered his face in his hands and buried his head into Kenny's shoulder.
Kenny pulled Kyle into a hug when another group approached the boys.
"The sincerest emotion is grief." Said Michael, a tall curly haired boy dressed in black.
"Yeah, you're raw when the mourning is fresh." Pete said, flicking the red streaked hair out of his eyes.
Kenny waited for Kyle lash out at these goth kids for seemingly drinking in the sadness at their friend's death.
"I just wish I could see him one last time." Kyle sobbed.
The goth kids looked around for a moment, before the girl leaned in. "I've been studying how to contact the dead." Henrietta said, taking a drag off her cigarette.
"Oh yeah?" Kenny rolled his eyes.
"Henrietta has become a mistress of the arcane." Said Firkle, playing with his switch blade.
"We're having a seance tonight to try and contact Raven. You're invited, you were his best friends." Henrietta offered.
Kenny almost laughed but Kyle looked up, almost hopeful. "Ok. I'd like to see what you can do."
That night, Kenny found himself tagging along to Henrietta's house to humor Kyle and laugh at the goth kids. He picked Kyle up from his house so they could walk there together. He never had been afraid of Mrs. Broflovski, but his anxiety did shoot up when she pulled Kenny to the side. Asking to take care of her son, let her know right away if he wasn't feeling or acting right.
"But he hasn't been acting right, everyone can see that." Kenny argued.
Sheila sighed. "I know, Kenny dear. Just keep an eye on him."
Kenny and Kyle walked in silence to the Biggle's house. Kyle quiet, eyes red, thoughts scattered.
Don't mention Stan. Don't mention Stan. "So... it's getting cold again." Kenny offered.
Kyle sighed. "It's like that night of the accident. It hasn't snowed this bad since then... I have a bad feeling."
"We don't have to go; we can go to a movie or to the mall instead." Kenny suggested.
"No, you don't get it, Kenny. I have this bad feeling and it never goes away. It won't go away no matter what I do." Kyle's voice grew wary, "I wish it had been me."
Kenny felt bad at the horror he had caused. He had been too hard on Kyle. "No, don't say that. No one would wish that, especially him."
Kyle shook his head but said nothing. The two boys walked in awkward silence the rest of the way.
With some relief the boys reached the Biggle house and were led inside by Henrietta's nice looking parents.
After Kenny and Kyle were escorted to her room, Henrietta screamed at her mom to leave her alone and door shut behind them.
With some flourish Henrietta pulled back a black cloth to reveal a crystal ball, a pack of tarot cards, crystals, and a statue of some goddess with huge boobs. The other goth kids lit some black candles as well as their cigarettes as some synth and bass heavy music was put on.
"Come, join us in the coven circle." Said Pete, messing with his iPhone.
Kyle obediently sat down. Kenny scooted off to the side, his back pressed to Henrietta's dresser. He had a good view of the action while also keeping an eye on Kyle.
Henrietta started. "We invoke the goddess Persephone to be our tether to the underworld. Use your power, goddess and put us in contact with our dear Raven."
"Stan." Kyle said.
"What?" Henrietta said back.
"He wouldn't respond to Raven. Ask for Stan." Said Kyle, crossing his arms.
Henrietta rolled her eyes and the other goth kids muttered 'conformist' at Kyle. "Use your power to put us in contact with Stan."
She pulled out her tarot deck and pulled cards, moving them in front of her.
A gust of wind came from the window and made the candles flicker, the cards scatter.
"Shut the goddamn window!" Henrietta screamed.
"No way, then we can't smoke in here!" Pete argued back.
"Just do it, the cards are all scattered." Henrietta said getting up to get her missing cards.
Kenny jumped slightly to get out of the way while Michael went to close the window, causing him to bump the dresser. The stereo fell over as well as a few items of Henrietta's makeup, perfume bottles, and a black piggy bank, which shattered, coins spilling across the floor.
"That's a good sign, Rav-Stan is that you?" Henrietta called out.
Kenny rolled his eyes. "Yeah Stan, you didn't like that song?" He said sarcastically.
"It's the song. We need to change it." Pete pulled out his phone while he and Firkle got into picking the right mood music.
This was the dumbest shit ever. Kenny got up to pick the items off the floor. Then he saw it.
The silver of the spilled coins dipped and vibrated, like a dull mirror Kenny could see through. He looked around, the Pete and Firkle arguing over the music, Michael picking up and relighting the candles. Henrietta looking for the cards from her deck that flew away under her bed. Kyle remained seated, staring off into space. Could no one else see what Kenny saw?
He kept staring and saw an image. "Stan?" Kenny whispered seeing his friend, but Stan not seeing him back. Screw that big tittied statue, maybe Kenny was the goddess of the underworld who could reach Stan. He was a Japanese princess once, anything was possible. Kenny touched the coin mirror and saw his hand could dip into the floor, the same warm bath feeling of the grim reaper's river.
"Kyle, dude. Am I the only one who can see this shit?" Kenny asked louder, trying to get his friend's attention.
Kenny reached forward seeing if he could get Stan to see him. A loud squeak rang in his ears, the grim reaper's tricycle. An electrical jolt in his brain, a violet aura clouded his vision. Kenny reached once more. "Stan!" He shouted and saw Stan look up and silently yell back and try to reach up.
Kenny felt arms around him, being pulled close. He looked up into Kyle's concerned face.
"It's ok, Kenny, we're gonna get you to a hospital." Kyle said.
Kenny struggled against Kyle's grip, trying to push him away. "Let me go, let me go... Stan, let me go."
The last thing he remembered was the terrified look on Kyle's face as Kenny's vision faded to black.
Stan had been looking over Chef's voodoo shrine, trying to take in all he was telling him as Chef put on his traditional dress of a feathered mask, elaborate wings, and two torches.
"So your plan is to find some gateway to bring the dead back to life?" Stan asked.
"Yes, my parents were able to do it but never could give me the details. I've spent my time in hell making sweet love to many women and practicing the art of Scottish voodoo in my spare time. I've figured out we need a dead soul and an avatar still on earth." Chef explained.
"Like how your avatar is Darth Chef?" Stan asked.
"That's right, I just can't locate him. The Super Adventure Club travels so much. Your avatar is still just prowling the woods near Stark's Pond."
"So, you're using me to see if it's possible before you locate yourself?"
"I need some kind of base line and the missing puzzle piece to see if it's even possible."
"Good thing I'm so average I'll be a good control subject." Stan said with a laugh.
He and Chef sat in front of the alter. Stan lit the candles at the end of Chef's torches, feeling like a sorcerer's apprentice. Chef started to chant. If you had told Stan a month ago, he would be doing this shit, he would have told you to go sixty-nine yourself along with John Edward. Now here he was, a dead soul trying to make contact.
Stan felt a tingle at the top of his head, an almost static chill down his spine. He looked up, his vision murky, as if he were at the bottom of a pool looking up. Making out the shape of an orange parka staring down at him. He saw Kenny silently trying to say something. "Look, Chef it's Kenny."
"I can't see him, Stan, get closer. Try to reach for him and watch your eyes."
Stan jumped up on the alter, standing on tiptoes before he saw Kenny yanked away. Stan cursed before he saw a shattering of a glass jar hit the ceiling above him, three dollars and fifty cents in exact change raining down on him, making the murkiness part. He put his hand up once more, yelping in surprise as fingers grasped his. Stan pulled and Kenny found himself yanked into the bedroom of Chef, falling on the floor next to Stan as the alter broke and items scattered everywhere.
Stan got up, dusting off broken glass and coins. "Kenny, is it really you?"
"I should say, is it really you?" Kenny asked back.
Stan embraced his old friend. "It is. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm happy to see you, dude." Stan stepped back, a wave of sadness overtaking him. "But this means you're dead too."
Kenny let out a little laugh. "It's okay, Stan. I die and come back all the time."
"What?" Stan yelled.
"Hello there children." Kenny looked up in surprise and gave Chef a hug.
"This is the first, well second time I've actually seen people I know all the times I've been down here." Kenny said excitedly.
Chef smiled, putting his hands on both boy's shoulders. "Children, I think we just found our missing puzzle piece."
Wendy walked through the streets of town, after Stan's funeral. She had to get out of her own house. She had gotten the note to stay away from the forest, so she stayed on the main streets. She wasn't sure what Kenny meant by it and she didn't see him at the funeral to ask.
She couldn't help herself; she passed the Marsh home noting the lights were on. Even the light that was in Stan's room. She wondered which one of his family members was currently in his room, trying to make sense of the tragedy that happened.
Wendy pulled her jacket closer to her as wind and snow swirled around her. She crossed the street to the cemetery next to the South Park church. To a small freshly dug mound of earth, no headstone yet.
She bent at the knees and put her hand to the dirt. Smoothing the sides to make it perfectly symmetrical. The falling snow hindering any effort to smooth the icy earth. Maybe just like her relationship with Stan. Wendy was relived no one else was around, she wanted to do this alone.
"You...you fucking idiot!" Wendy yelled in frustration, shocked that was the first thing out of her mouth. Sorrow overtaking her anger as sobs wracked her body once again. "I cared about you so much. You were my first love. Why did you have to die?"
Half a short lifetime spent together, high highs and low lows. Wendy's overwhelming guilt, her cries broke through the still and snowy night. She heard movement from the woods behind her but ignored it.
"I feel so bad about our final conversation, you have no idea. I wanted you to be happy and safe. That's all I wanted. I have no idea if we were ever destined to be together, we kept being torn apart. But how could you be so stupid? You just had to keep yourself safe. Why do you never listen?"
Wendy took a deep breath before continuing her word vomit.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all our fights. I can say it now. I do love you. I love you, Stan Marsh and I'm so sorry. I'd do anything to see your face again."
A big crash made Wendy turn around, the wooden fence splintered as a large creature, big as a bear, face of a pig, and blue eyes came towards her. Wendy screamed, as it tore through the graveyard, knocking headstones over. Wendy ran over to the church building and pulled on the doors. Locked of course. The creature kept coming over, it seemed to be limping on one of its legs which gave Wendy an advantage.
She hopped the fence and took off down the street. The creature roared as it followed behind her, crashing through that fence as well. Wendy's house was too far away but she was near her mom's office. It was after hours but Wendy had a key for emergencies.
She ran to the building and pulled out her keys, cursing as she dropped them in the snow. A scramble as her hand closed around the keychain and jammed the key in the lock, pulling open the heavy door and slamming it behind her.
The beast roared through the thick glass of the door. The monster slashed at the wood with its claws and howled once more as Wendy went to her mom's desk to call 911. She heard the door shake, the beast repeatedly slamming on it, worried it would get kicked in before help could arrive. She shoved a desk and a table in front of the door and braced herself.
Then silence.
She peeked out the window and saw it had left. Wendy pressed her back to the wall as she waited for help to come. She buried her face in her hands and cried. The creature's cries echoed hers as Stanbearpig retreated back into the woods.
God was punishing Kyle. That had to be it.
For the second time in a week, another one of Kyle's friends had died in his arms. This one was more terrifying, since Stan was already gone once Kyle found him. Kyle actually saw the light leave Kenny's eyes. His final words haunted Kyle. He kept saying Stan's name. Maybe Kenny had the seance on the brain, or in his dying state he accidentally thought Kyle was Stan when Kyle went to help him off the floor after his first seizure. With some satisfaction, the goth kid's apathetic looks were broken, they actually looked terrified as Kenny lay dying in front of them. Kenny's heart had stopped during his second seizure and the paramedics hadn't been able to revive him. Doctors figured Kenny had some undiagnosed heart or brain condition, autopsy results pending.
Kyle wouldn't be around to find out the autopsy results. Kyle himself had died once, electrocuted by the Imaginationland Gateway. But he had no memory of the details, other than Cartman gloating about it. Kyle still had no confirmation of an afterlife. He had seen ghosts, aliens and Stanbearpigs. But no afterlife.
His ulterior motive for accepting Henrietta's invitation was he wanted confirmation if there was an afterlife and a chance to see Stan again. He went to the goth kids, first to see if they could contact Stan, secondly to get his mom off his back that he was socializing, third he was looking for a sign. Kenny dying in front of him and calling for Stan was sign enough.
Maybe it was more of an excuse.
This is why Kyle was walking through the woods rope slung over his shoulder. He was looking for the now demolished Glimmer Corp building. It was about halfway between there and Mephesto's home, where they had crashed Stan's dad's truck.
That's where Kyle planned to hang himself.
After Stan and Kenny broke Chef's alter, they offered to clean up for him so he could entertain a lady visitor.
Kenny held the dustpan while Stan swept. They had to separate the change from the glass. Even if they were picking through broken glass, this was the happiest Stan had been in a long time. "So, you die all the time, and come back the next day? How long have you been like that?"
"All my life. I call it a curse because dying hurts." Kenny said darkly.
"Well I know that now." Stan hugged himself around the middle.
"I think your body will just revert back to how it was before. That's how it's always was for me." Kenny explained, dumping more shards of glass into a trash can.
Stan hesitated, then unbuttoned his coat and looked down. Just a plain T-shirt. "Oh, thank god. I couldn't imagine walking around with a big hole in my stomach."
"I would probably have no body at this point." Kenny shrugged. "I've been burnt, shot, stabbed, electrocuted, run over, drowned, took my own life numerous times."
"Man what a pussy I am, I got shot once and didn't survive." Both boys couldn't help but break into giggles, before Stan continued. "I'm so sorry dude, I wish I had known. I can't even imagine how hard that must be."
Kenny looked at Stan. "But for the first time I can share my secret with someone and have them believe. I would die, have you guys not remember, then laugh at me."
Both boys grew quiet as they continued to clean. Finally, Kenny broke the silence.
"I'm sorry I shot you."
"I'm sorry I never remembered your deaths and was an asshole about it." Stan said back.
Author's Note: I had to split. Expect Chapter 12 (No title yet) to be out February 17, 2021.
