A/N: and chapter 21, this was hell to edit, for some reason I had autocorect on and the word 'gun' was constantly replaced with 'gin.'

I have no idea, anyways, i don't own South Park, enjoy the terrible writing and not understanding of suspense.

Chapter 21

If the poor district where the set to a post-apocalyptic movie, then when we arrived at Kenneth's house, it would be the centrepiece where the characters partook in poorly written social commentary.

The only reason it seemed so much more alive was because Kenneth was sitting on the steps outside, just waiting.

He took a glance up, having seen the shadows approaching and was surprised to see us, "oh, hey guys!"He said with a wide, false grin.

Kyle looked at him stern and commanding, "why the hell weren't you at school?"

Kenneth took a glance at his house and shrugged, "Karen, ya know, I can't trust those pricks to look after them."

"Shouldn't she be in school?"Said Stan.

"She's ill."

Damien looked at him confused, "then why are you outside?"

Kenneth suddenly erupted in a fit of laughter, very out of place and awkward to watch. He sobered up in a blink and stated, "Because Dad figured out that his .45 went missing, he ain't gonna find it though!"

"Jesus Christ Kenny!" Kyle exclaimed. "What the fuck are you doing with a handgun?"

Kenneth shot a quick glance to Damien, who quickly shook his head, fast enough that I nearly missed it from next to him.

"It's America ain't it? Who the fuck doesn't have a gun?"

"Yes, but what the hell do you need a gun for?"

"Have you seen where I live? If anywhere's a target, it's this shit hole. I'm... I'm… anyway, I'll be fine, if that shit head gets even a centimetre to here I'll strangle the fucking life out of him!"

Stan was the next to talk, "even so, fuck man, do you even know how to actually use a gun."

"I live in a town of rednecks, shit, your uncle owns a gun store, of course I do!"

"I mean actually how to use a gun except "aim and shoot"

Kenneth looked at him with conviction, "yes. Yes I do. What the fuck do you think I do in my spare time?"

"Screw chicks," Stan flatly said.

Kenneth sniggered, as if not detecting Stan's sarcasm "I meant in the day!"

Stan looked at him as deadpan as his voice.

"You should really get to school though."

"Tomorrow's Friday, no one gives a shit if you skip on Friday, and I'm not going until Karen's better, I ain't fucking moving until she's fit for school and safe."

He was certainly stubborn, a trait I couldn't blame him for, many times in our 'tutoring sessions' had he told me of the hardships of living on next to nothing. Yet he never accepted when I offered him anything.

Kyle butted in, "well, you're not going inside anytime soon, we both know that. So come on, you can stay around my place until tomorrow."

"You know I can't leave Karen."

"She'll be fine until tomorrow, so come on?"

Kenneth hesitated for a second, casting a glance over each of us before considering, "fine, but I'll beat the ever-loving shit out of you if you're wrong."

"Sure."

Thus the air fell as silent as a high, snow capped mountain peak where no one could live. I walked on edge, Tweek's words falling heavy on my mind, an invisible, psychic hand pushing me down, Trent or Eric or any of their companions would be around any corner, waiting and plotting, watching and noting.

Every silent house had invisible eyes between the dirty drapes, forever staring at me or the group. All with a malicious grin hidden by shadowy features.

It didn't take long for me to begin lagging behind everyone else. With the sun beginning its descent to the west, shining the world in a fading orange that would soon give way to a starless black.

The others went three steps ahead, then five and soon I was near to losing them.

For the rest of the walk that happened three or four times, even as we passed the invisible barrier I was slower, Damien or Kenneth stopped, letting me catch up and then the two of us would reconvene with the group.

"Are you ok?"Kenneth had finally asked on his second stop.

I meekly replied, "Yeah, it's nothing," and he shrugged me off.

It was as we were only ten minutes from Kyle's house that we heard a large echoing blast.

BANG!

Gunfire, like an exploding firework, booming around the street like it was a grand hall. As if it were rebounding off every house until it reached us, shaking us to the core.

'What the fuck was that?" Said Damien.

'Nothing I want to be a part of, let's hurry up."Kyle said.

Hurry we did, as people looked out of their windows, curious to the sound.

BANG!

At that the curious retreated, it wasn't very far away, maybe one or two streets.

Quiet followed soon after the second shot.

"Fuck walking into that!" Stan declared. "We're heading in any direction but Kyle's place, who lives to the south?"

"There's only my place." Said Kenneth

Stan started, "and we aren't getting-"

I interrupted him, "y… You can stay around mine until the police deal with this; it's not very far away."

"Are you sure it's fine for all of us?" Damien said.

"I-... I don't mind, there won't just be a lot to do."

"Well, that's sure better then dealing with some asshole with a handgun!"Kenneth exclaimed. "Wait. But we have to head this way to reach your place, how are we going to get there?"

"Alleys." I simply responded.

"Alleys?" He asked.

"Just follow me." I responded and for some twenty minutes, I was some sort of leader for them.

By ten, we heard sirens off, not too far away, blaring in alarm towards whoever had made the shots.

"How the fuck do you deal with this, it's claustrophobic as all shit!" Kenneth exclaimed when we made a final turn to where my apartment stood. I didn't comment.

"Wasn't it you who said that it's better than dealing with an asshole with a handgun. Well that's better than dealing with an overweight sadistic prick." Damien said.

"Just call him fat ass, it's easier," Kyle had said.

I silently led them to my apartment.

"Jesus! How the hell do you afford this?" Stan exclaimed when we finally entered my flat.

"The orphanage pays for it. It's quite cheap and is better than what I would have caused there."

"What the hell kind of problems would you cause!" Damien said , shocked, he had never pried as to my living conditions before.

"The same problem I have in school." I explained as I gave a brief tour of the small flat, the others seated themselves in the living room as Damien followed me into the kitchen. I quickly continued what I was saying, "technically the place is paid for by my parent's life insurance, the orphanage just pay for my food and the sorts."

"Who were your parents?" He asked. "Do you actually know anything about them?"

I brought out a six-pack of coca-cola from my fridge; I couldn't be bothered to make refreshments.

"Nothing I'm afraid, they didn't live here long and were killed in… a robbery or car crash, I can't remember."

"Shit, that's gotta suck."

"I wouldn't know," I sadly responded, "I've never known what it's like to have parents." I smiled a little before continuing, "I can't let that get me down, I've got bigger problems though."

I may not know the loving hug of a mother or the proud look of a father; or even the resentful look of a mother to an unwanted child or the lack of a father, or vice versa. That didn't matter though, over a year of living by myself had proven that I could handle enough strife.

When I began to move into the main hall, Damien stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

He moved to my side and looked me in the eyes with a mix of gloom and... admiration if I could call it that. "Listen… I respect you man," he said, he then took the six-pack in my confusion and delivered it to the others.

That one sentence calmed me of the previous days fears, and the psychic hand had became a little less forceful.

Kenneth had asked if he could smoke and I saw no reason as to why he couldn't, as long as the window was open.

"The fuck do you think happened?"He had asked before he took a long drag, before blowing out the smoke in a large cloud then took a gulp from the red can.

Kyle answered offhandedly, "In the street? Burglary? Robbery?"

"In daylight?" Responded Damien.

"I guess that would be a bit stupid-'

"It's another murder, the same fucks." Kenneth said, taking another inhale. "I just know it!"

"It seems that's the only thing right now," I said.

"I sure hope Dad and Mom are ok, it sounded like it came from that way," Stan said, his voice thick with worry.

Kenneth gave a short chuckle, and swigged some more of his drink, "your sister would just beat the shit out of them."

"She's out in Denver," Stan replied.

Kenneth took one more drag, bringing the cigarette halfway to completion, he moved to the window and tipped the ash outside and it fell quickly out of sight. "She'd find a way; well... at least they're far away from my place."

Stan looked at him, stern, "and them being near mine is better?"

"Oh, shut the fuck up, you know I didn't mean it like that?"

Stan shook his head and his worry changed to guilt, "sorry man, I'm just a little freaked, ya know?"

Kenneth took one more, final inhale to prolong the cigarette smoke, "yeah, I know what you mean,'he then dropped the butt of the smoke out of the window. He finished the last of his drink, brought out another smoke and stared at it for a second before choosing not to and put the packet back in his jean pockets. "Bastards," he muttered, barely audible.

"True," Damien said.

From the window I could see the fading sunlight.

"Do you think it's safe for you to be walking home in the dark?" I concernedly asked.

` "I'll get my Mom to pick us up soon, she won't mind doing it at anytime of the night with the town like this."

I nodded.

"I hear there's gonna be a town wide curfew if this keeps up."

"As if we need it!" Kenneth called out. "No one's going fucking outside for god knows how long…" He sighed before changing the subject by turning to me, "hey, sorry to be a prick but… mind if I crash here, I can't be fucked with being home right now. Karen should be fine, she better be fucking fine."

"Sure, yes, yeah, you can stay," I answered.

"Thanks," he said, grabbing the final can, breaking it open and tipping it down. "I just can't be fucked today," he muttered.

Kyle's mom, Sheila, arrived quickly, with news that many of the roads had been blocked, it wasn't as if there was going to be traffic though.

They had left fast, urged on by the woman who held the power of a ruthless queen in her tongue, their "thank you's" and "goodbye's" left in the unreachable past.

"You ever tried one?" Asked Kenneth as we sat in the living room, he was holding out his packet of cigarettes, one was sticking out.

"Uh... No, no I haven't."

He gave a sad smile, "good. It fucks with your insides, don't try them."

"Why do you do it then?"

His smile fell, "it used to be because I was... well, thought I was immortal, now it's just because I can't really stop… or care to stop, I can't tell, and to be honest," a false smile grew, "I don't think I even care if I do or not."

I was shocked that he had talked of his 'immortality', it was a subject he had kept under a mental lock and key, I thought, to be left to grow dust and be swarmed by spider webs and eggs.

"Ya know, it's this sort of shit that's gonna leave me sad, don't do what I do," he said, upset and knowledgeable.

"And what's that? You're not going be sad, you don't have to be left like that."

"Smoking, fucking everything and hating everything, that's the shit, and hell, be glad you don't have to deal with it, because you are smart."

"You're smart and… why do you hate everything?" I pleaded, moving to sit next to him. I had never expected that I would ever have to give emotional support to anybody.

He stayed quiet and thought, slowly he continued, "Because I can't get it all… because I'm stuck as a fucking whoreish prick, because I'm shit at everything." He put up a grin, this one looked authentic but for all I knew it could have been false, "there's no reason to worry about me though, you've got bullshit to deal with, and so do I."

Slowly and shakily, I put a hand on his shoulder and lightly gripped, he looked at me with bewilderment.

I said, clumsily, "listen… uh, Kenneth… You're my friend, ok?" And his eyes softened slightly, his raised brows falling and he looked at me with understanding. The overhead light was dim and only revealed half of his face, as if the shadows were slowly creeping across his body to cloak him.

Then he leaned forward and kissed me on the lips, quick and feelingless.

In response I began stuttering, fumbling over words that I didn't know how to say, my face felt like all its blood in was boiling and seeping through my skin in a bright red crimson.

He sniggered for a second before cracking into loud, roaring laughter, falling on his back so he was draped over the sofa, clutching his sides and giggling like a child. Every couple of seconds he looked at my embarrassed face and a new wave of light laughter overtook him.

"Oh god… your face… your god damned face!"He got out between outbursts.

'Why did he do that? Why did he do that?" Was the only thing I could think while I stared at him in discomfort.

Finally I got out, "Wh-... Why?"

"Why… why not? I wanted to see what your face would look like! And fucking hell did it break the tension!"

"S… so-"

"That was nothing but me being a shit-head?" he interrupted. "Yes!" Three laughs seeped through the confines of his vocal cords, "yes it was!"

I was just stuck in a stunned silence, stuttering and muttering like an idiot.

"Hey!" He said suddenly. "Calm down! It's not like I'm going to fuck you or anything, I wouldn't even do that if you asked!"

In response, and embarrassment, I shuffled away from him and turned to focus on anything else, just so I could get my thoughts in check.

Kenneth laughed once more. At least he seemed better, even if it flustered and embarrassed me.

I had quietly offered Kenneth my room and with a smile and a pat on my head he retired to sleep.

I hoped to god that he would never decide to kiss me again, if the reaction was so awkward I would rather throw myself out of a window and into a sea of razor blades and vinegar. I loved Kenneth as a friend but his leniency and uncare in life was a thing to behold and fear, for such a person could always be your friend but when he was your enemy, he was ruthless. There was an older teen in my orphanage much like that, who had gotten himself arrested for murder that had happened three years before I met Damien.

That night I didn't sleep and I didn't ponder on why Kenneth actually had done what he did and thought about the gunshots from before.

I remembered them vividly, and I could almost hear them echo around my living room, a monstrous roar of a bang as the only warning for an imminent demise.