It was late into the night when Wendy finally crept back into her house, thankful that her parents seemed to have already gone to bed. Quiet as a mouse, the girl cautiously tip-toed her way up the stairs to her bedroom. She exhaled sharply as her room's door came clearly into view. Wendy no more than placed her hand upon the doorknob when a voice broke through the darkness.
"How was the movie? Must have been a long one!" Called her mom from down the hallway. She was dressed in her pajamas but still bore a wakeful, stern expression on her face. "Suuure hope I won't be hearing about any funny business you were up to tonight!"
"What? O-Of course not! We just saw a movie, ate dinner, and came home! Eric was a perfect gentleman." Wendy failed to realize her mistake before it was too late.
"Eric? Who's that?" Her mom raised an eyebrow.
"Oh WHAT? Heh, did I say Eric? I meant Eric- I mean Stan, Stan!" Wendy began to sweat.
"…What? You haven't been drinking, right?"
"C-C'mon Mom, who drinks at a movie theater anyway?" The sweat grew more profuse.
"…Are you on drugs, then?" Her Mom's face was like stone.
"…Well anyway, I'm going to bed, love you!" Wendy rushed her mom with an awkward kiss on the cheek, the dashed into her room and shut the door.
"Her breath smells weird, but I don't think that's alcohol." Her mom muttered to herself, deciding to head back to bed and continue the conversation in the morning.
Wendy was quite pleased to finally retire to her bedroom for the night. The day had proven to be a curious mixture of horror and amazement, and she found it all difficult to process. To make matters worse, Cartman had not texted her at all. In fact, no one had. Wendy felt a strange, tense energy in the air, but decided there was noting she could do for the time being.
Eventually, after laying in her bed for quite some time with her swirling thoughts, Wendy fell into an uneasy sleep. No trips to that familiar frozen pond awaited her, in fact, no dreams visited her whatsoever. However, something unusual did occur during her rest. An uncomfortable sense of nervousness populated her mind, as though it was trying to prophesy some omen of doom. Wendy even found herself shivering slightly, despite many layers of blankets and nearby pillows adorning her bed.
When morning arrived, Wendy awoke to discover a single unread message on her phone.
"Come to my house as soon as you can. Need your help. It's urgent."
The message had come from Cartman. Wendy questioned whether or not this was some kind of ruse to have sex, but something within her felt it was very serious. "Heidi's supposed to come over to go shopping today, this may be difficult to expl-"
Just then, Wendy's door shot open and a familiar, silver haired figured barged into her room.
"You still in bed? Must have a hell of a hangover!" Heidi excitedly declared.
"Heidi? You weren't supposed to be here 'till 11:00!" Wendy replied confusedly.
"It's 11:15. Like I said, hell of a hangover."
Wendy checked her phone again, stunned to discover that Heidi was absolutely correct. She hadn't noticed the time when she checked Cartman's message, assuming it was 8:00 at the latest. This caused her concern to grow, since Cartman's message had come several hours earlier than she thought. Wendy quickly jumped from her bed and headed for the shower, Heidi returning back down the stairs and waiting on the couch.
"So are you sure that's she's not on drugs?" Wendy's mom questioned, eyeing Heidi closely.
"Mrs. Testaburger," Heidi replied, "All the time I've known Wendy, she has never touched drugs of any kind." This wasn't technically a lie, as while Heidi had seen Wendy slam down plenty of booze, drugs had so far been avoided. "Erm, oh look! Here's Wendy now!" Heidi declared, grateful to be freed from the shackles of awkward conversation. Wendy quickly made her way down the steps, she and Heidi waving a brief goodbye to her mother before departing.
As they climbed into Wendy's car, her expression turned dire as she glanced over at Heidi.
"Listen, Heidi," Wendy began, "We need to make a quick detour before anything else. Eric- err, Cartman, that is, texted me earlier and asked me to come over."
"Fine, but tell your asshole boyfriend not to steal you away for too long." Heidi smirked in a manner similar to Cartman himself.
"W-What? Boyfriend? You're crazy!" Wendy nervously stammered.
"C'mon girl, you might be able to bullshit your mom, but you really kinda suck at lying." Heidi quipped, smacking Wendy's hand, "Also I've literally never heard you call him 'Eric' before."
"Whatever, let's just go," Wendy sighed.
"Don't worry, I won't embarrass you in front of your boyfriend," Heidi teased.
"…One more joke and you're walking."
Heidi merely laughed in reply. She and Cartman really were like two sides of the same annoying coin. After some time, the pair arrived at Cartman's house, Wendy immediately noticing that the old car usually parked in the driveway was nowhere to be found. The two exited the car and quickly walked to the front door, however they soon noticed that the door had been locked.
"The hell's going on?" Wendy found herself quite perplexed, but her concerns were soon answered by a buzz emanating from her phone. Upon pulling it out, a new message had appeared, seemingly written in a panic.
"wendy pleas come to the hospital HURRY!"
The poor texting grammar was highly unusual for Cartman, causing Wendy further concern. To her surprise, Heidi was already waiting in the car, apparently having noticed the message as Wendy checked it. She rushed back to the car, nodded in Heidi's direction, and set off for the hospital.
The journey was quite tense, both girls panicked at the thought of what might have happened. Had Cartman been hurt? Was someone else injured? Just what the hell was all this madness? Upon their arrival, some of their questions would be answered. As Wendy dashed into the waiting room, she was greeted by a familiar face, Kenny, sat in a chair with his head buried in his hands.
"Kenny! What the fuck is happening?" Heidi questioned, causing Kenny to slowly lift his head. Before he could respond, an exhausted looking Cartman trudged into the room.
"Eric!" Wendy cried, rushing over and wrapping him in a warm embrace. "I'm so happy you're ok… I was so worried…" Wendy looked as though she would burst into tears at any moment.
"I-I'm not the reason we're h-here," Cartman replied, a dire tone to his shaky voice, "It's for my…my…" Cartman collapsed into the chair behind him, unable to continue. Kenny reached out a supportive hand to his friend's shoulder.
"We're… here for Cartman's mom…" Kenny began, "Cartman found her outside of his house last night. Seemed like she was thrown out of a moving car."
"Oh my God… that's horrific!" Wendy held tightly onto Cartman, her own tears beginning to form.
"…That's not all," Kenny continued, his tone becoming increasingly grave, "She hasn't woken up yet. Doc's say she should've by now. But she's not going to, not on her own."
"I don't understand. What the hell does 'not on her own' mean?" Heidi's confusion was patently visible.
"Cartman told me that his mom was picked up by a guy with a Cerberus tattoo. Wish he'd told me sooner." Kenny gazed off in the distance as he spoke. "That man was likely part of the Cult of the Third Circle, bunch of fuckin' wackos trying to resurrect some demon."
"Third Circle? As in Third Circle of Hell?" Wendy questioned, her mind fresh from a recent reading of "The Divine Comedy".
"Yep, I learned about them when I researched the cult that gave me my own curse. They kidnap women and try to extract their souls as a power source for their "Master". If they succeed, the soulless body is dumped off in some ditch. If they fail…"
"…What happens, Kenny? What happens if they fail?" Heidi's attention was fully focused on the blonde boy.
"…They tie down the victim and eat their body whole." Upon the words leaving Kenny's mouth, Cartman visibly wretched. "Strange as it may sound, it's actually a blessing that Cartman's Mom ended up here. If things had been just slightly different…well…"
"ENOUGH MAN!" Cartman bellowed. "I can't listen to any more of this shit!" Wendy held him closer.
"Eric, don't despair. I'll be with you, even in your darkest hour." The sweet words that Wendy spoke surged optimism through Cartman's heart. When he lifted his head, her visage glowed under the pale light emanating from the ceiling. It was as though he once more was in the presence of the radiant, beautiful, silken-haired angel from his dreams.
"Cartman, don't lose hope yet," Kenny reassured, "The captured souls are trapped within the cult's hideout. If we can fuck up the cultists, they'll have no choice but to let them go." Cartman turned his eyes toward Kenny, realizing that he also bore an angelic look about his person in the fluorescent hospital lights.
"That's great news…" Heidi muttered, "But, how could we find a cult's hideout? Not like they have a Facebook Page or something."
"They do, actually," Wendy interjected, scrolling through her phone, "Sadly no address, just, um, a bunch of really shitty memes."
"Doesn't matter," Kenny declared, "I…know where they are. An old friend of mine stopped by earlier. He's been tracking them, too."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Cartman exclaimed, "Let's go fuck 'em up!" He was now reignited with burning vigor, the same passion that Wendy had fallen in love with. Kenny looked at him sternly.
"We…may not come back alive," Kenny warned, clearing his throat, "Also, if we fail, the demon they summon could destroy this whole town…even the world. Are you all willing to take that risk?" After exchanging glances, the other three all nodded in agreement.
"Let's stop at my place first, dude," Cartman suggested, eyes filled with determination, "I've got some 'things' that might help us out." With one final, silent prayer for his Mother's soul, Cartman and the others departed the hospital. The fate of everyone they cared about, as well as possibly the whole world, now rested heavily on their shoulders.