Kenny doesn't think. Doesn't try to work it all out in logical steps. Doesn't let himself process that Kyle has just died. He has to save grief for later.
He just knows.
He knows as soon as Kyle's last breath comes out
a shallow, gentle wave of warmth and his cheeks
soft in his hands. Stan's cries
I can't hear his heart anymore… I can't hear at all!
Cartman stands dumbly as if he's a child in the backyard again, watching them pull Kyle out of the shed.
You son of a bitch! Stan screams. He tries to get up.
Cartman grabs Stan by the hair and peels him back.
Stop! Kenny's own disembodied, shaking voice clambers out into the bloody void.
(stop
stop what
who would even listen)
Cartman lets go, but not because Kenny told him to.
Vomit pours from his mouth-
Dirt and maggots and blood.
It doesn't stop flowing and he surrenders to his knees
Choking, trying to claim some air for himself
In between violent bursts of bodily fluids.
Stan rolls over.
Kenny looks down on Kyle's face again and he knows.
He scrounges up the dirt around them with callused hands
As much as he can to make five points
Sprinkles lines under Kyle's head.
It's still warm. He's still wearing Kenny's jacket.
He hears a scratching sound from the altar. Stan is holding Bael's gun,
glaring at Cartman.
Kenny can't see Stan's face very well from here but he feels it. He feels
Hate.
(concentrate focus
concentrate kenny)
He takes the knife from the floor. With a deep breath,
he lifts up his shirt and drags the blade over his heart.
Top-left, bottom-right. Top-right, bottom-left.
The X conjures fresh blood but he ignores the pain.
Life for life, he breathes. He lets the blood run over his fingers.
Life for life.
He paints a streak of his blood down the center of Kyle's forehead and down the bridge of his nose, in the middle of his crushed eyes, floating in little pools of crimson.
Before time.
A streak on his cheeks.
And after time.
Stan has shot Cartman.
Before knowing.
Down the chin.
And nothing.
Kenny leans down and kisses him one last time.