Sneaking down the streets with the stealth of a ninja, I let the yarn weave along the sidewalk, around light poles, and across crosswalks until I came across the railroad tracks: where the ruins of a large, crumbling building stood behind Kenny's house…something that was definitely NOT there two days ago. 'Okay, either I'm blind: or some weird shit happened around here. There's no way this was built and destroyed that fast, that's not how logic works.' I thought, coming to a dead-stop and took in the ruins of…'SodoSopa', before continuing on my way and up onto Kenny's front porch: listening carefully to the door for any signs of them being home. After a few minutes of silence, I turned around and noticed their truck was missing from the driveway: giving me the perfect opportunity to finish my mission.
Looping the remaining end of the yarn through the hole in the key, as well as a hole I punched in the folded piece of paper that held the riddle: I tied it to the doorknob in plain sight. Once that was done, I quickly taped the forged notices to the door at an adult's head level in order to make it more believable on Kenny's parents' part. As soon as that was done, my ears perked up at the sound of their truck approaching the house: giving me seconds to scatter and hide at the top of the ruined building and out of sight as soon as the truck pulled up the gravel driveway. As soon as the 'crunching' of gravel under tires stopped, I dared to sneak a peek from my perch as the entirety of Kenny's family climbed out of the truck: arguing amongst themselves in a familiar way that was almost painfully-similar to my own. It wasn't until they approached the front door, that the drunken fighting REALLY started: suddenly making me understand why Kenny didn't want me meeting his family in the first place.
"Oh hell no! What the fuck is this shit?! Carol! I fucking told you to keep those fucking 'Inspectors' away from my god damn house!" Kenny's dad yelled, the state of his drunkenness and the major slurring of his words honestly shocked me that he was able to walk in a straight line, let alone drive. "What the fuck are you yelling at me for, asshole?!" his mom yelled back, which couldn't be good for Kenny's little sister: who looked to be on the brink of crying as she was carried by their mother. "THIS! You blind bitch!" he snapped back, running a hand through his dirty red hair and gestured violently at the front door: drawing the attention of the rest of the family, who looked at the door with various stages of worry.
"'Scheduled for Demolition'?! Stuart! They're gonna tear down our house?!" Kenny's mom cried, cuing the kids to outright panic at the thought of losing their home and having nowhere to go. 'Little do you know.' I thought, feeling a smirk stretch across my face, despite the fighting going on down below. "The fuck they will! They're not touching MY fucking house! Move out of the way, and rip those down! I'm going inside and having another beer while I wait on you to make me my fucking food!" Kenny's dad bellowed, moving to do just that: and throw all my hard work and planning down the toilet. In a moment of panic, I slammed my foot down on my concrete perch: sending a shockwave through it and to the sad little shed that Kenny called home: causing it to violently shake and tremble with the force: making the garage cave in with a loud, rumbling 'crash': throwing rubble and concrete into the air and across the ground in a thick cloud of dust, while the house itself threatened to join it and topple over with the slightest touch.
"Stuart!" his mom yelled, pulling him away from the door with a surprisingly strong 'yank': bringing the drunk man back to the present as they all looked at the house with unease as it finally began to sink in that their house wasn't safe anymore: if it ever was. "Fuck that. I'm not going in there." the oldest of the kids stated, making me realize this was the older brother Kenny was talking about: just as dirty as the rest of them and covered in cuts and bruises: this kid was a fighter, and it wasn't hard to figure out the source of the brutal beating. "You watch your god damn mouth, boy! Before I kick your teeth in!" his dad growled, making my bare my hidden teeth at the threat and prepared to jump in in case he made good on his threat: despite not knowing the kid. "Mommy, daddy! Look!" the little girl called, pointing at the doorknob and drawing the adults' attention to it: at least someone saw it. "The fuck is this?" his dad growled, violently ripping the riddle and yarn from the door: making me 'wince' at the treatment and hoped he didn't destroy it.
"What's it say, Stuart?" his mom asked, leaning over his shoulder to see: only to get shoved away as his dad unfolded the paper. "Shut up, woman! I'm reading!" he snapped, making me narrow my eyes in a heated glare that I hoped he felt as he lifted the paper to his face. "'Where one life ends, another begins: at the end of the line.' The fuck does that mean?!" he yelled, causing the little girl to 'flinch' and start crying again as Kenny walked over and tried to see the paper by jumping in place: though I was unsure if he could actually read it. "Sounds like a riddle, daddy. Look! There's a key!" Kenny said, grabbing the key and turning it over in his hands before his dad could snatch it away from him. "Okay! Who the FUCK is playing games?! Come out where I can see you, so I can fuck you up!" his dad yelled, making me 'snort' at the thought of an abusive drunkard trying to fight me: I would be amazed if he could walk in a straight line: let alone actually hit me. 'Yeah…right.' I thought, watching his mom snatch the paper from him and look at it, before turning her attention to the yarn that stretched away from the house in an obvious trail.
"Think it means we should follow that yarn." she said, pointing it out to him: who curled his lip at it like it was dog shit on the bottom of his shoe. "I aint following no damn yarn anywhere! I'm going in my fucking house!" he yelled, causing his mom to shift her hold on the little girl and glare at him in a way that screamed 'I'm done with your shit': not that I blamed her in the least. "Fine, you drunk bastard! Get crushed, see if I give a shit! I'm taking my babies and doing what that there paper says!" she snapped, paying him no further attention as she led the boys in the direction the yarn went: the two following behind like a pair of ducklings (making me want to laugh as the older of the two turned around and flipped him off), leaving him to stew in rage as it finally 'clicked' in his mind that they were actually leaving him there. "Hey! Get your dumb, redneck ass back here and make me my fucking dinner! Carol!" he screamed, making my ears hurt at the volume and grating tone of his voice: only for me to grin at the lack of a reaction they made, good to know they weren't giving the overgrown dickhead the satisfaction of attention for acting like a prat.
'Good on you guys. I would have made him take a nap.' I thought, feeling smug as he cursed and swore for several more seconds before slamming the paper down into the dirty snow and stormed after them: making me rise to my feet and silently follow after them. Keeping a safe distance away, I kept pace with the very confused family as they made their way along the path that was laid out for them: making sure there weren't any further distractions (aside from their dad's insistent bitching) that would deter them from getting to their destination. 'Better make sure this doesn't go up in flames.' I thought, making sure to remember to go through with the second part of the plan, even though I really didn't want to do that to Kenny and his family. Watching them come up on the house, I took up a hiding position in the top of the tree across the street and will not deny that my palms got sweaty through my gloves as I suddenly lost the ability to blink as they walked up the steps on the front porch. As they took in the neatly-kept landscaping underneath the fine dusting of snow and balloons on the mailbox, I sucked in a breath as they warily looked at each other with various degrees of uncertainty.
"Now what?" the oldest boy asked, obviously asking the question that was on everyone's mind as they stared at the front door, and the yarn tied snugly around the knob. "Maybe it's a birthday party? Should we knock on the door, mommy?" the little girl asked, drawing the attention of Kenny's parents for a few seconds, only to have their dad glare at the door with a heated scowl and drunken 'snort'. "Fuck no, nobody in this damned country gives two shits about us: so why the fuck should we even give this bullshit a second thought?" he spat, making me grow real tired of how he was talking to her: she may not have been my sister, but she was obviously important to Kenny, so that made her automatically safe as long as I was around. "But why would the yarn lead us here? This ain't never happened before." Kenny's mom said, just as confused as the rest of them: paying no mind to Kenny as he looked from the doorknob, to the key in his mom's hand, and back again. Stifling an exhausted yawn, I watched through the leaves as Kenny suddenly jumped up, snatched the key from his mom, and shoved it in the lock.
Hearing the satisfying 'click' of the lock from here, I couldn't help but lean dangerously forward on my branch as the family took an uncertain step forward: only to come to a dead-stop as they apparently saw the welcoming that was set up just inside. Daring to get closer, I let the biomass consume me as I changed my form into that of the little mouse again and scurried down the tree and hopped across the street as fast as my tiny legs could carry me, leaping through the front door and into the house before anyone had the chance to slam it shut on me. "Okay, who the FUCK is playing games?! You think this is fucking funny, you piece of shit?! Come out right the fuck now, so I can fuck you up for this god damn prank!" Kenny's dad screamed, nearly blowing out my eardrums as the boys stood frozen to the floor in shock. Their mom on the other hand, didn't say a word as she slowly walked over to the dining room table: taking in the decorations with the little girl looking mesmerized by the colorful balloons, confetti and cake on the table. Crawling under the couch, I had the perfect angle to watch as their mom picked up the letter addressed to them on the table and held it open as she began reading.
"'Dear McCormick Family, don't worry: this is in no way a scam or prank, merely a gift for a deserving family that the world crossed off for being deemed less than the garbage in the dumpsters. You don't know me, and you don't need to: but please, consider this home as my gift to you for valuing the important things, regardless of not having much in the physical sense. I have placed this house in the name of 'Carol McCormick', as you appear to be the most sensible one and the least likely to waste the stored funds that have been included within the details of this letter on insignificant things that won't end up benefitting your family.'" she began, unknowingly sharing a smug smirk with me as her husband ceased his rage: only to throw curses left and right as his drunken ears caught the part about him not being listed as the house's new owner. "'Enclosed in this letter are my wishes of good-will and a few simple things you need to be aware of before you're free to celebrate your new beginnings: the most important one being the bills and payments needed to continue living within this house.'" she paused, causing absolute silence to bounce around the room as everyone shared varied expressions of worry and anger: which is understandable, not like they'll need to worry very much about that, however.
"Of fucking course! There's ALWAYS a catch to 'kindness'! Well, go on! Let's hear how much they want so I can compensate in punches." Kenny's dad growled, oblivious to me rolling my eyes and twitching my whiskers at his empty threat from my position under the couch. "'Good news for you, is that there are no bills in which you need to pay in order to remain in this location, as I have taken the liberty of paying all major bills in advance for the next ten years. At the bottom of this letter, you'll find the information to an emergency account that has been filled with a generous sum that will cover any medical expenses, property damage, etc. which has also been put under Mrs. McCormick's name for the same reason as stated above. Enclosed in the attached envelope is enough money to purchase new clothes to fill in each of your bedrooms, as well as enough to cover for at least two sets of suits each for job interviews. No need to worry about using it for food, as I have taken the liberty of fully stocking your kitchen with enough rations to last at least three months. Don't worry, I expect nothing in return, except for the happiness of your family: out of the entirety of South Park, it is a great shame your family is treated as it is. That being said, I'm hoping to change that with this gift: less fortunate or not, you're still human, and should be treated as such. With that being said, I do hope you enjoy your new living space and all the benefits included therein, and am looking forward to seeing things look up for you and your family. Signed, Someone Who Understands.' S-Stuart…they…they gave us a house." Mrs. McCormick whimpered, making me clench my jaws as I watched her cry as the rest of the family looked like deer in the headlights as it started to sink in that this was in fact, not a prank.
"Is this…is this real?" Kenny asked, stunning me into further silence, haven't ever heard him that hopeful in such a terrified way before. It didn't take long for the fact to sink in, as the little girl suddenly let out an ear-piercing 'squeal' of nothing but excitement and happiness as she thrashed in her mother's grasp until she was dropped: taking off in a sprint for the staircase with her oldest brother hot on her heels: charging after her with a yell of joy of his own. Those yells increased tenfold as they apparently found their rooms, making me wish I could smile, but settled for the internal fuzzy feelings instead. Driven into silence, I watched Kenny's parents stumble and sit down at the table as their minds struggled to process everything: with free-flowing tears and expressions of disbelief as they took in the surroundings that suddenly belonged to them, with absolutely no compensation required in return.
Kenny on the other hand, didn't say a word: just silently walked around the room, letting one of his shaking hands drag along the furniture with enough repressed emotions and uncertainty that made me want to cry as he slowly explored the kitchen: staying in there for a solid ten minutes before making his way over to the staircase to follow after his siblings on shaking legs. Creeping after him, I knew I made a good choice on the carpets as it occurred to me how much dirt was tracked in on their shoes: suddenly making me very glad the kids lost their shoes in their haste to get up the steps. Reaching the top, I perked my ears at the sound of running water and low 'groans' of happiness: signaling that their eldest brother discovered the hot water in the shower. 'No hate from me, that's be the first place I'd go too.' I thought, leaving him to his (probably) first ever hot shower and peeked in their sister's room. From my position on the floor, my whiskers twitched as the look of unsuppressed awe on her face as she wandered around her new room: teddy bear firmly pressed into her chest and apparently not going anywhere any time soon as she thoroughly explored every possible inch of her own space.
Leaving her along, I followed the baseboards and into Kenny's new room: making me suddenly wish I could change back and give him a hug as soon as I saw the state of my friend. Even though he had all but his eyes covered by his parka: his face held a truly shell-shocked look, eyes glancing around but not really seeing as he sat on his new bed. After seemingly making sure nobody was going to come barging in, his face suddenly dropped into the palm of his hand as he started shaking with suppressed sobs that hit hard enough to cause his entire bed to shake: the only sounds coming from my orange-clad friend being sniffles and uneven breathing. Despite desperately wanting to give him a hug, I knew for a fact that doing that would only make him even more upset and potentially causing a fight I had no interest in having. 'Don't worry, Kenny: it'll be okay.' I though, flicking an ear as I hoped he somehow heard my thoughts as I backed out of the room and retreated back down the stairs: glancing at his still-shocked parents one last time before squeezing through the mail slot and back outside the house.
Deciding to leave them alone and get used to their new surroundings, I did a mental count-down from five in my head: glancing back in the direction of Kenny's old house as soon as I reached zero, feeling the ground shake as the remainder of the house caved in on itself and crumbled to the ground in a messy heap. 'Really didn't want to destroy the only house they knew, but they don't need it anymore.' I thought, feeling awful for doing that, before quickly brushing it off as another wave of exhaustion started to creep up on me. Shifting back into my regular self, I followed the sidewalk around the corner and in the direction of my own house: glad Kenny's new one was located almost directly behind mine. Jogging up the driveway, I was glad both my parents were at work and not around to bitch at me for being gone all night and all day, despite me knowing for a fact that they didn't give two shits at the end of the day. Kicking off my boots at the front step, I made my way up to my own room: fully prepared to collapse into my bed and pass out, if it weren't for the folded note sitting innocently on my pillow.
Raising an eyebrow at the paper, I strode over and opened it: biting back a 'snarl' as I saw who it was from, and he and I definitely were NOT on good terms. 'Get my shit done, or something important to you will disappear.' I read, growing more and more pissed off the longer I stared at the note: before crumbling it in a crushing grip, feeling a special satisfaction as I imagined Eric's skull in its place. "You threaten me, and it'll be the last mistake you'll ever make." I snarled to myself, before quickly deciding to replace the urge to bash his head in with a nap: making him wait even longer serves the asshole right for rushing me and treating me like a god damn servant. Hopefully, by the time I woke back up I was in a better mood, because at this point: it was getting harder and harder not to listen to the voices in my head, which didn't bode well for anyone involved…I just hoped that by the end of this new game it would stay that way, or else South Park really is going to have itself a Hell of a time.
A/N: Sorry sorry sorry! REALLY didn't want to leaving you all hanging for as long as I did, but real life on top of Writer's Block kept happening, as well as a general urge to not continue. Its going to be finished, but with my schedule and lack of ideas, I honestly don't know how long it'll be in between updates. I ask that you don't hate me, but I've been hit by the Struggle Bus and its honestly putting me in a depressive state that I really don't want to be in. Hope you all enjoy the update anyway, despite it being short
