Chapter Six: I'll make a ghost of him that lets me.

"So fucking cold," Stan growled into the night. His breath fogged the air in front of this face in rhythmic puffs as he breathed. Stan shoved his hand into his pocket, his fingers ghosting over the handle of the pocket knife Kenny had given him before his death. He turned toward the back of the school, seeing Kyle and the Goths already waiting for him. The quiet conversation the three were sharing stopped abruptly when they saw Stan.

"On time." The tallest of the Goths said, looking at the watch on his wrist.

"He'll be here soon, Stan," Kyle slipped his arm around Stan's shoulders, leading him toward the wall of the school. The four boys leaned against the wall. The only sound in the still and soundless night was their soft breathing. Minutes ticked by as the four waited silently, Stan keeping his gaze on the frozen ground ahead of him. A quiet beeping interrupted the silence, causing the boys to hitch their breath as the tallest Goth checked the time.

"There." The other goth pointed to the thicket. A young man approached, soundlessly making his way towards the four of them.

Stan stepped forward, stumbling slightly as he edged toward the apparition looming before him. "Oh my God." Stan whispered, feeling his knees wobble as his friend's ghost approached. "Kenny? Why are you here?" Kenny's silent steps stopped in front of Stan, his slightly transparent feet hovering above the frost laden ground. "Please, Kenny, talk to me." Kenny's pale, shadowed eyes traced Stan's quivering figure before lifting and resting on Kyle and the Goths. He gazed back at Stan, lifting his arm and pointing towards the trees. He turned, returning to the trees he had just left with remarkable speed. Stan breathed deeply, lunging forward after Kenny.

"Stan! Stop!" Kyle yelled after his friend, running toward him. He grabbed Stan's shoulders. "What are you doing?"

"He wants me to follow him. Let me go, Kyle." Stan jerked his shoulders, struggling to free them from Kyle's grip.

"And what if he tries to kill you?" Kyle screamed, wrapping his arms around Stan's waist and pulling him back.

"Don't care. Let me go!" Stan clawed at Kyle's hands. "He'll talk to me if I follow him." He looked up at the trees, catching a smudge of orange at the edge of the trees. "Wait, Kenny!" Stan leaned forward, throwing Kyle off balance and freeing himself from his friend's frantic grasp. Stan began running again, determined not to lose Kenny in the trees. Kyle managed to catch Stan again, this time aided by the Goths, who pulled him back from the edge of the thicket.

"Dude, you can't go in there." Kyle desperately yelled, pulling Stan back by the arm. Stan screamed, ripping his arms free from their holds. He punched Kyle in the gut, causing him to reel back and crash into the tallest Goth, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Kyle stared up at Stan with pained, questioning eyes. Stan stood over him, panting, his face harshly shadowed in the pale light.

"Don't stop me, Kyle." Stan balled his hands into fists, spinning on his heels to look at the Goths, who stepped back as Stan glared at them with murderous eyes. "Or you. Next person who tries to stop me is a dead man." He looked up and the knotted branches overhead, before searching the crooked, arching tree trunks that made up the thicket.

"Kenny! I'm coming." Stan called as he rushed into the small forest, darting between the trees.

"He's gone crazy with anticipation." Kyle reached out, as the red-fringed Goth extended a hand to lift him up.

"We should follow him." The curly-haired Goth brushed the dirt and frost from his black, torn jeans.

"Yeah, we should. I'm worried." Kyle apprehensively approached the thicket, making his steps light. He placed a hand on a knotted tree trunk, looking at Stan's footprints embedded in the cold, unforgiving earth. Kyle's eyes grazed Stan's path through the upturned underbrush between the trees until the path disappeared into the shadows deep in the forest.

Kyle whispered into the cold. "What have you gotten into, Stan?"

Author's Note

It has been a LONG time since I've updated this. And would you look at that? There is plot developing, finally. Thank you Taz for editing, as always. Review if you wish, and thanks for reading.

~A.P.