Stan spent the rest of his day feeling sick.

He managed to successfully maintain a front of being calm, but on the inside, he felt awful. He knew that there was a minor possibility Craig and Tweek were merely playing a cruel joke on him, and he dearly hoped that that was the case.

Then, soon after he got home, he finally got a clear answer.

AMBER ALERT

Emergency Alert: Victim is Kyle Broflovski, age 11.

Suspect is unknown.

Last known location 1002 Avenue de los Mexicanos, South Park, CO 80440.

If observed, please call 911 as soon as possible.

"Oh no...", Stan's mother said. "Oh, son, I'm so sorry.", Stan's father said. But he wasn't paying attention to either one of them.

Instead, Stan merely sat there, hyperventliating. His mother stood up from the table, and walked over to her panicking son. "Stan, you gonna be okay?", she asked him in the softest voice she could muster.

Stan responded by shooting up out of his seat, running to the bathroom and vomiting on the floor before he could make it to the toilet in time. His parents followed close behind him, ready to provide comfort. After Stan finished vomiting, he collapsed. He would've hit the floor if it weren't for his father catching him.

"It'll be okay, son.", Randy said, not bothered by the small amount of bile that clung to Stan's chin and jacket. "It-it won't be okay!", Stan cried out as he sobbed. "We've seen this happen like ten fucking times over the past two months! He's gonna die! I can't lose another friend! I can't!"

Randy rubbed his son's back. "We don't know that. Kyle's a tough kid. Smart, too. If anyone can beat the odds, it's him."

Despite their efforts to convince their son to the contrary, Stan's parents were deeply concerned as well. Kyle had been friends with their son ever since Pre-School. They had come to love him as though he were a member of their own family. They dearly hoped that Kyle would be okay, but they knew deep down that they were likely going to have to help Stan get through something beyond horrible in the near future.

...

"Oh no! Oh my God!"

Stan was awoken by the sound of his mother's cries. He ran down the stairs. "Mom what's the matter?"

Sharon and Randy both stood in front of the TV, tears in their eyes. "Stan! I...I..."

Stan then turned his gaze to the TV, and saw the absolute worst thing he had ever seen in his brief existance.

The news headline read, "Broflovski Found." And above the headline, was what was left of Kyle.

His body had been absolutely ravaged. His stomach was sliced open and his intestines covered the floor. His fingers and toes had been sloppily sliced off, his bones jutting out from some of them. A third of his face had been caved in, and the parts of his face that remained expressed that of utter fear and sorrow. There was so much blood on the floor around him.

"OH!", Stan yelled before throwing up and collapsing to the floor, sobbing harder than he ever had in his life. "No! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!"

...

"No!", Stan said aloud as he woke up in a cold sweat. It took him a few moments to regain himself. He looked over to see that it was seemingly still dark outside. He then looked over to his alarm clock. 3:22 AM

After a few more deep breaths, he let himself fall back into the comfort of his bed, and softly cried.

"Why did this have to happen?", Stan quietly asked himself in the dark. "Why did this have to happen to him of all people? Kyle's my best f-friend. He's the bravest, kindest, most loyal person I've ever met. Why him?!"

"WHY HIM!? WHY HIM!? WHY HIM!?", Stan yelled as he began to punch his pillow.

After a few seconds, he settled down, but the young boy's sobs did not cease.

"...Why not me? Why not me?"...

...

Five year old Stanley Marsh's fears about Kindergarten had unfortunately been confirmed during lunchtime. All he had wanted was to enjoy the chocolate pudding his mother had packed for him.

Then, he had the misfortune of meeting Jared.

"Hey! That's mine! Give it back!", Stan shouted to his new bully. "No way! You're so stupid, you couldn't even get six plus five right! You don't deserve this!", Jared replied.

Stan couldn't believe this was happening to him. He buried his hands in face in a vein attempt to get away from it all.

Only to hear the sound of a loud smack, Jared grunting in pain, and a classmate he hadn't met yet say, "That doesn't belong to you!"

When Stan looked up, he saw that Jared had dropped the pudding and was holding the back of his head. And behind him, was a boy he had seen in class earlier that day, but he hadn't yet spoken to. The boy was holding a box of school supplies, (which he had used as a weapon against Jared) and Stan's pudding. He had paler skin than all of the other kids, vibrant orange hair which was covered by a green hat, and green eyes which shone with a kind of determination he usually only saw in grown-ups in movies.

"Get lost, Snow-man!", Jared demanded. "No! You don't scare me, jerk! YOU get lost!", the strange kid responded.

After he remained silent for a few more moments, Jared slowly walked away.

Stan stood in awe. He couldn't believe someone actually came to his rescue when he needed it most, and it was another kid!

After he was sure Jared had given up, Stan's rescuer walked over to greet him. "Hey. I'm sorry about that. Some kids can be really mean.", he said as he handed the pudding back over to it's original owner.

Stan gratefully grabbed it. "Thank you. I hate mean people!", the little boy said.

His rescuer smiled. "I hate mean people, too."

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Stan said, "Hey, do you..."

Stan paused for a moment, feeling shy. "...do you wanna play with me on the playground?"

His rescuer grinned. "Yeah!"

"Cool! I'm Stan."

"My name's Kyle."

...

Stan owed Kyle so much. He was the first real friend he had, the best friend anyone could ask for. What kind of friend would Stan be if he didn't at least try to go save him?

"We already lost Kenny. I'm not losing you too, Kyle. I don't know how the in the holy fuck I'm gonna do it, but I WILL save you. I promise.", Stan said to himself in the dark as he wiped some of his tears away.

"Either we both get to grow up, or neither of us do."