We're getting close to the ending, just two more after this! Thanks again for the support!

NoseBridgePinch: Nope, indeed Kenny can't. I love their friendship a lot also, one of my main reasons to write this fic, lol.

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"He couldn't have just up and left." Sharon tried reasoning with the other parents. The four families of the boys had gathered back at the Brofvloski household to reconsider any signs of Kenny's sudden disappearance. The boys as well as Shelly and Kevin sat on the staircase outside the discussion circle. Carol remained sitting on the couch in quiet distress as well as Stuart who sat near her with an arm holding her tightly. Karen remained in her mother's lap out of her own fear.

"He couldn't have gotten far, for goodness sake. It was storming last night!" Sheila added, making Carol curl in on herself more out of distress. Stuart fiddled with her hand as his eyes wandered the living room carpet. What they said to him the other night was kept in the pit of their minds, thinking maybe his run-off could've blatantly been their fault.

"Any idea, Carol?" Sharon asked.

"In South Park..?" She suffered. "Anywhere."

Kyle kept his cheek in one palm against his knee, looking over to Kevin who rested his chin on both crossed arms on the step. Next to Shelly, Stan listened more attentively to their parents' conversation as Randy turned to his youngest.

"Stan, are you sure he didn't say anything?"

Stan sat up. "Just that he wanted to go. He didn't say where.."

"Oh, this is awful.." Carol hassled. Karen clutched her mother's arm in her lap. "We didn't mean to drive him off."

Liane stressed, unable to imagine the scare Carol and Stuart went through with their son, let alone this on top of it. "Oh, it's not your fault. Surely. He can't be far."

"We'll start calling everyone," Gerald said. Sheila was already off to the kitchen as she dialed on her smartphone. "Maybe another parent has seen him, the police is already looking."

"We can call the school again," Sharon advised, taking Carol carefully by a shoulder. The McCormicks rose from the couch as Carol lifted Karen to her hip, afraid of letting her slip away with one child already on the loose.

Meanwhile, the boys felt like chopped liver. Kyle stood up on a step. "Can't we help? We know Kenny, too."

Gerald turned in demand with the others. "You boys are all staying put."

"But-!"

"That's a no, Stanley." Sharon warned. Seeing that the one child who remained most adrift on the staircase was Kevin, Sharon nodded to her daughter. "Shelly? Why don't you and Kevin go get some air, okay?"

That was basically their cue to get the fuck out for the sake of sanity. The parents made their way to the kitchen as Shelly waved forward for Kevin to follow her. He didn't mind, he and Shelly always got along in being the same age amongst the closeness of their families.

The boys were baffled by the ignorance towards them, as if they couldn't maybe track Kenny down by knowing him differently. He was their friend after all, not another kid hiding under a bunch of adults' noses. Kyle jumped off the steps towards the older kids attempting to leave.

"Kevin?"

The thirteen-year-old turned in distress, hesitant over the earnestness in Kyle's call. If these friends of his brother were anything as he still remembered, there was always some plan up their sleeve even against their parent's demands.

"No," was all Kevin said.

"What? But-"

"Give it a rest turds." Shelly pointed out. "Our parents said no."

Stan shook his head. "No, you don't get it. Wherever Kenny is it's gotta be somewhere obvious."

Kevin curled his lip in doubt. "Obvious, how?"

Kyle crossed his arms. "Where he thinks he wouldn't 'ruin' everything.."

Despite knowing his brother well, a few things came as a surprise for Kevin. He studied the three in their regret over Kenny's disappearance and knew Kenny had to have spoken his final straw before all this.

"He really thinks that..?"

Kyle nodded. Kevin hesitated as he looked to Shelly then to the parents discussing heavily in the other room. He nodded the boys' way and threw his head in the outside's direction, urging them to follow as they all went out the front door.

"My best bet is the window of a porn shop," Cartman advised. "Kenny wouldn't miss out on that."

Kevin closed the door with a sigh. "Jefferson."

"Who?"

"Not who, where." He grumbled. "Kenny's been talking 'bout it again in his sleep before school. I can never wake him up. When he was in the hospital he always said how if he had to run away anywhere it'd be Jefferson Lake."

"'Kay, as if that's not a weenie-ass idea," Cartman said.

Stan nodded. "Yeah, I doubt of all places-"

"You want my help?"

Stan shut his mouth. "...then how do we get there?"

Shelly scoffed. "You're not going anywhere, turd. We're telling our parents."

"Oh, come on that's lame."

"I'd rather tell them," Kevin agreed. "With the cops all over the place, they'd have a better chance finding Kenny than you guys. No offense."

"Dude, if a bunch of grown-ups show up trynna hassle over Kenny with blankets and a medical kit, he's not gonna have any of it."

The eldest McCormick considered it even with the doubt in his firm brow. Kenny wasn't exactly chummy with anyone lately, but he had a particular fit with how he was talking smack to his parents.

"Just cover for us long enough to leave," Stan begged.

Kevin frowned irritably. "Just hurry."

Tires rolled to a stop on highway two-eighty-five in one of the smallest counties of Colorado at seven am earlier that day. As the doors squeaked open, Kenny came to the step's edge and hopped his feet onto the ground. Looking at a familiar street way just off the center strip of the smalltown where a gas station and tire shop was for drivers passing through.

"You need to leave the door, kid. I got other stops."

Kenny turned to the driver. "Which way is Jefferson Lake Trail?"

"Don't know, sorry."

Kenny puffed a breath past his hood, leaving the open doors that closed behind him as he left the street's open way to the dirt side of the road. The bus drove off in the direction of the town strip that Kenny followed as well. Passing by a green patch on the side where one of the many trailers parked in the county remained. A man sat in his lawn chair before its open door as his wife exited with a basket of laundry.

"What're you, a traffic cone?"

Kenny looked at the man. Having barely acknowledged him but capturing attention otherwise.

"No."

"What's with all that orange?" He commented. "Looks real flashy to me."

Kenny could hear the slur in his voice. It was seven in the morning and this guy had already pounded a six-pack at most.

"Think yer better than me..?"

Jokes were made about his family being white trash. No, this was what white trash was. While folks in this town or South Park could be as sweet as your neighbor's sugar, there were always a few of the weird eggs. Like anywhere in this forsaken world.

"Leave em' alone," his wife berated, hanging clothes over a line tied to the trailer with the other end pegged to the ground. "You were no different than he prob' is when you were a lil' shit."

"Bitch, I ain't no fancy-schmancy cash whore who gives 'em kids what they want."

Considering his family? Kenny's parents definitely weren't like that. He didn't need to waste his time on any of this though until he found what he was looking for. He usually drove directly to Jefferson Lake camping grounds, so the town's path wasn't as familiar to him.

"Where yeh heading?"

Kenny would've rolled his eyes, but clearly this guy already had a disrespectful perception of him. "Do you know how to get to Jefferson Lake Trail?"

The man drank his Pabst Blue, laid back as he eyed Kenny. The boy had little hope. This guy most likely knew but was too stubborn and overcritical to probably say. If he knew Kenny's family had southern roots he'd probably sing like a bird.

"Take Michigan Creek Road up, just near the market and church," the man pointed down the two-eighty-five, he saw the hope growing under the boy's oversized hood and cracked a drowsy beam. "Ten-minute drive, longer by foot but it'll get yeh' to Jefferson Hill and the Lake Road."

Okay, maybe the entire world wasn't out to get him. "Thank you."

"If we're getting on a bus, we better get the seventy percent deal."

"Fatass, I swear to god-"

"Enough," Stan murmured as the three on their big wheels huffed as they neared their stop. The bus stop was a little way outside of town on their little modes of transportation. For Kenny to have dropped everything and run out here early morning was probably a punch to the lungs compared. It was hitting around noon by the time they'd coordinated a bus schedule, found an online for tickets, and got themselves out here. They figured it was better to start out of town before their parents caught up to them.

"Where are we gonna leave our big wheels?" Cartman reminded.

"I took my parents' bike locks," Stan mentioned.

"Psh."

Drifting onto the lot of the tiny off-road building, the three hopped off to go park their transports. Kyle and Cartman brought their big wheels to the side as Stan rolled his to the glass window of the booth. Faint drum beats and guitar resonated from ear buds of the pale red-head teen behind the booth, looking through his phone in the meanwhile.

"Excuse me?" Stan tried, met with no reaction. "Hello?"

The teen bopped his head.

"Hey, dude!"

The teen yanked out one headphone as if surprised he was supposed to be working. "Oh...yeah. What's up?"

"We didn't miss the next bus to Jefferson, did we?"

He removed the other, putting his phone aside. "Uh, one sec." He scooted forward in his seat to go through the computer as Stan waited, being approached by Kyle and Cartman from behind in waiting on a simple answer.

The teen wiped his nose by the back of his hand, clicking keys like he was half-tortoise.

"This butthole working, even?" Cartman criticized.

The teen continued, reading the screen as if he never did before. "Uh, naw. You're like, right on time."

"Okay thanks," Stan rolled his big wheel to the side to lock it up with the spare locks in his bag.

"Hey," Kyle questioned through the glass. "Did you see a kid in an orange parka pass through here last night?"

The teen picked up his phone. "I didn't do last night's shift."

"Then did the person who did see him?"

"I dunno.."

Kyle glared judgementally. "You guys will just let any kid on an early morning bus, huh."

He looked up from his screen. "You're kids."

Kyle's brow slanted. "You're like not even seventeen either.."

Cartman blew past his lips in boredom, looking all around as his eyes traveled up and were caught by the blinking green of an active device above the ticket booth. A dark lens stared back at him from a clear angle.

"Hey," Cartman pointed at the camera. "Maybe you caught him on tape."

The teen typed on his phone. "Uh, probably."

"Can we see then?"

"No, duh...that's authoritative property. You can't look unless you work here or you're like a cop or something."

Cartman clucked. "God, your parents must hate you."

Kyle looked back at the shrieking sound of a large and heavy approaching motor, seeing the Greyhound bus coming up the street. "Whatever, it's not like we have any other ideas."

"Sorry kid, trail's closed."

"But-!"

"We open at seven tomorrow."

Why did his heart bring him out here? The patroller left as Kenny watched the gate entrance that was merely a wooden slab held by two log ends. Kenny figured even finding heaven had it's limits. He just didn't think that would've meant a trail closed on a late Saturday morning for cleanup safety. The guy walked his way in the direction of the office lodge without any care to the boy being left behind. The trails would be empty by now, so screw waiting until tomorrow. Kenny slipped under the slab as quiet as he'd been in getting this far.

Familiarity of late evening walks with his mom hit him when surrounded by the greenery of Colorado. Just before sundown where they'd round back to their campsite where Stuart was grilling something or another. Kenny was always eager on starting the fire if Kevin didn't beat him to it.

He furthered from the front entrance, looking back once or twice to make sure no patrollers were on to him. Keeping forward, he looked for a place to keep hidden while crossing onto closed park grounds. Wherever the lake view was, he wanted to be. His ears picked up the rushing waters of Jefferson Creek nearing the hiking trail just beyond an upward hill to the right beyond a thicket. He'd soon hit campgrounds and then the open hike trail if he kept going, so maybe he could find a sweet spot just in between. The sound of a gentle loon's call in the surrounding nature caught his eager ear, and he looked up at the winged figure soaring in place before flying across the sky over the thicket. Where there were loons, there had to be a lake.

Kenny looked back again to make sure he was alone and went off-path. He ventured into the raggedy bushes that went upwards on a steep hill, breathing in breaths in what felt like a surreal rock climb. Reaching flat land, he found a top where beyond more trees and bushes the vast lake was shown in the distance. The sound of fast running water caught his attention below to where the deep stream ran on the opposite side of the hill between it and the trees. It looked like the deepest and fastest portion of Jefferson Creek that he'd ever seen. He could barely make out the bottom of it. Nonetheless, Kenny unlooped his backpack and dropped it to the ground, marked in his newfound heaven.

If he hadn't dropped everything and ventured out here, he'd be hooked to an IV for all he knew. His consciousness was dropping like crazy yesterday and his friends definitely wouldn't have been shy to tell on him. But holy fuckwad, he was staring at the blue he kept dreaming about for weeks on end now. The air felt like sipping fresh water, it was so crisp. His muscles felt relaxed by the touch of wind and the morning sun warmed the skin of his face. He took in a hearty breath, feeling peace within him for the first time in forever as he found a seat on the ground below him. Staring into the vigorous body of water just a little ways away. A yawn passed through him.

Maybe if he couldn't die, or he could but didn't wanna hurt anybody, he could still be in heaven this way. His heart lept on the idea, but his body remained numb under bright skies. Reminding himself just how little energy he had from barely sleeping or sleeping badly otherwise for almost a full week. It made him more irritable than he had been already and reminded him how cozy the sun felt blanketing above him just then. Pulling his drawstrings tight, he lowered himself to the patch with his bag used as support for his head. Hoping that sleep would take him easily. Making up for lost time.

Still, in falling asleep, Kenny hiccuped and wiped moist eyes with a fist.

If he chose to be free, why did he feel so abandoned?

Silence upheld the McCormick household, as Stuart tapped a fingernail to his coffee mug on the kitchen table before him. Making small chimes out of the china. His hand held his face sluggishly in unsettling thought as he'd spent the majority of that morning calling people with the help of the other parents. After hulling himself, Randy, and Gerald all over town, it only concerned Stuart more on where that boy could be as he waited on any potential call now.

He rose his eyes across the table to Kevin remaining with his chin against his crossed arms. Unenthused to do just about anything as Kenny's disappearance off the map brought out worry he wasn't prepared for.

"It ain't your fault, it's mine."

Kevin looked up. "What?"

Stuart moved his mug aside and leaned against the table. He wished he could do more to help Carol, who'd been held up in their room, but Kevin wasn't as okay as he claimed to be either.

"I think your ma and I," Stuart started. "Had it bad in worryin' over Kenneth. An' when we found out he wasn't takin' those pills, I might've driven him off."

"He's been a lil' shit too, dad.."

Stuart couldn't help but chortle. "He might have good reason."

"Yeah, but," Kevin rose in his seat. "I don't want him to be like that forever."

Stuart wanted that hope, too. "Not like we've dealt with his before," he said. "An' it's not like Kenny has either."

Kevin held his father's gaze. He hadn't been earnest in asking his dad for assurance due to brooding early-teenage years that kept him pretty confined since starting middle school. Maybe Stuart didn't give him that assurance in a while because he thought Kevin didn't want it. It was good to know somehow though that it was still there between the father and his eldest.

"Will he be back to normal..?"

Stuart stared at Kevin, almost mistaking him to be five years younger again by the youthfulness in the question. "Yeah."

"How?"

Stuart scratched the roughness of his mustache, hoping the best out of a crappy situation was gonna appear soon before anything else happened. "By doing our part, including Kenny doin' his."

Kevin kept wondering. They've tried their absolute hardest to keep Kenny afloat, but all that went to hell as soon as Kenny's days turned sourer and sourer. Stuart and Carol's final little spat with Kenny maybe had something to do with his runaway, Kevin wasn't gonna pass on his father's self-blame. But leading up to it, even Kevin wondered if he could've done something better as an older brother to get Kenny to talk. If Kenny did better himself to not feel so attacked.

"I hope so-"

A shrill little girl scream pierced their ears. Causing Stuart to whip around in his seat as if the house had just been set on fire. He shot up and ran out of the room upon Karen's call for help, nearly toppling his chair over in the process. Kevin remained baffled, pushing out of his seat and hopping off to go after his dad down the hall to the family bedrooms.

"Carol!"

Kevin turned in on the end of the hall and he was shellshocked by the panicked tears slathering Karen's face as she cried before the open bathroom door and faced the horrors within. Kevin shuffled to the other end quickly, taking Karen by the shoulders as he drew her back to look inside, having his stomach drop to the pits of hell in seeing his dad clutch his mother in an unresponsive overdose on the bathroom floor. Sickly pale barf puddled by the corner of the toilet, and an antidepressant bottle still remained atop the sink counter.

"Kevin, get me a phone!"

The boy was horrified but wrangled a wiggling Karen to bring with him who continued to cry. "Mommy! No, mommy!"

Stuart elevated Carol's head to his knee, carefully taking her pale face into frightened hands. "Carol! Carol, baby, look at me!"

Pitted and horrified guilt choked Stuart's soul, knowing he should've kept a better eye on his wife while also on Kenny.

To be continued...