Chapter 2: Mysterious Changes

Kyle

As soon as Kyle is seen walking down the stairs of the Marsh's household that same evening, he's immediately bombarded with questions from his mother.

"Why didn't you call me or at least tell me this mornin' you were comin' ova here?" Is her first query, her tone and face so serious that Kyle is unable to look her in the eyes. He stops on the bottom step. He opens his mouth to answer her, but his mother continues speaking. "Why would you come ova here anyway? You know that Stan is still sick. Do you wanna catch his cold?"

"Sheila," Mrs. Marsh softly utters. "Please calm down, and let Kyle have a chance to explain himself." Even though the Broflovski's have been in South Park for a little over two years now, seeing Sheila behave this way is understandable, but also a bit unnecessary. At least, that's what Sharon thinks. If Stan had done something similar, she would've thrown a fit too, but not go this overboard.

Raising a hand to massage her forehead, Sheila sighs heavily. "Sorry, I got a bit too carried away," she admits, although she feels no guilt. She lowers her hand giving her ashamed son a light glare. "But I was so worried about you. You didn't return home this afternoon from school."

Kyle tightens his lips into a line, he didn't mean to worry his mother to this extent. He was simply supposed to come here and check to see how Stan was feeling, then leave afterwards. "I'm really sorry, mom. I only came here to see how Stan was doing, but I...suddenly fell asleep..." Kyle ends up murmuring, his near glossy eyes focusing intently on the wooden floor beneath the step he's on. He feels mortified that his excuse was that he slept unintended.

His mother is silent for a moment, her face now blank of any emotion. "Here's your book bag full of clothes. Be sure to come straight home tomorrow after school." She hands Kyle the black bag, then leaves.

Kyle grips the book bag tightly, his face scrunching up into a pained frown. His mother is really disappointed in him, he should've expected that she wouldn't give him a sweet kiss on his cheek or forehead, or give him a hug before departing. Acknowledging the consequences of his actions makes him feel increasingly bitter. However, her emotionless tone of voice before she left is something he's heard more than once before.

Mrs. Marsh looks to the crestfallen redhead with a frown of her own. "Kyle-"

The boy shakes his head, already aware of what Mrs. Marsh wants to say to him. "I-it's okay. This isn't the first time she's acted like this." Kyle quickly retreats upstairs to Stan's room, his lime-green eyes leaking tears.

Sharon shakes her head with a small sigh. That was a rather heartbreaking scene between a parent and their child. "I'd best not stick my nose into another family's affairs...unless it gets out of hand. Hopefully, they'll talk it out tomorrow. I'll leave Kyle a note before I leave for work." She walks into the living room, scanning around in search for a pen and paper.

Once Kyle is in front of Stan's partly opened bedroom door, he doesn't go inside the room. His shoulders are shaking, and he's trying not to let his sobs be heard. He really hates when his mother changes into a different person, it's very scary and Kyle is always the one who triggers it somehow. No matter what he says or does. But he'll never forget the first time his mother's personality changed...no, rather she appeared as if she was possessed. Her eyes were empty and dull, clear signs indicating that she wasn't in control of her own body.

*Flashback*

May 15th

Kyle was 5 years old at the time, a Kindergartner in Park Tree Elementary.

Him, Stan, Kenny, and Eric along with the rest of their classmates were working with Play-doh. Their teacher, Mrs. Wayford, held a contest to see who could make something interesting out of their Play-doh. She had short, blonde hair and blue eyes. The children could either work as a pair, a group that didn't exceed five members, or by themselves. They must use ALL of their Play-doh without the need of tools to win, it was a test to see who was more creative. Mrs. Wayford gave them ten minutes, whoever won would get both a special prize on Friday, and extra credit on their next activity.

Kyle was immediately picked by a hyper Stan, his sapphire eyes gleaming with excitement as he was positive the two of them were going to win. "Mmph mph mmph mph mmph (Can I join you guys?)" Kenny's muffled voice asked from within his hood. Only his hazel eyes were visible. In his arms were three containers of Play-doh: green, brown, and yellow. Kyle and Stan exchanged a look of confusion, having no idea what the boy said. They never really did to begin with.

"He asked could he join you two lovebirds," Eric clarified for the confused boys. He walked over to their table, and sat a seat away from Stan. Four cups of Play-doh were in his possession, and they were brown, yellow, orange, and green.

A shade of red colored Kyle's cheeks, his eyes narrowing at his so-called best friend. "Shut it, tubby. We're not lovers."

"Yeah, me and Kyle are super best friends," Stan corrected proudly.

"Whatever," Eric muttered with the roll of his eyes. He began to take some Play-doh out from their containers, getting started on his assignment.

"Mmmmph, mph mph (Sooo, can I)?" Kenny asked again. Stan nodded, and the boy in orange sat in the chair beside the noirette.

"You wanna join us, Eric?" Stan asked. Kyle silently prayed that the brunette would refuse.

Eric paused what he was doing for a moment, then shook his head. "Nah, I don't wanna share the extra points, and the cool prize with you guys." An inaudible sigh of relief left Kyle's mouth, and his group got to work.

Five minutes flew by, and Mrs. Wayford announced to her students that they had another five minutes remaining. Everyone began to work more fervently.

Once the full ten minutes were up, a shrill ring of a timer called for the children's attention. Half of them whined in disappointment whereas an individual shrieked at the loud noise. "Alright, kids. Time is up," Mrs. Wayford said, standing next to the timer on the teachers desk. "If you still have to make some finishing touches, I will give you thirty seconds to do so." She set the timer for an additional thirty seconds, then observed her students with a small smile.

"Kyle, do you think that's enough time?" Stan asked, a bit doubtful.

Kyle looked at their progress with knitted eyebrows. What the three of them had made thus far was a pond with a duck in it. They had used up all of the blue for the pond, and had to combine half of the brown Play-doh with the yellow to make the duck. Its right wing, beak, and eyes were brown while the duck itself was yellow. Kyle wasn't too sure what else they could make with the untouched green, so he shook his head. "I don't see what else we can make with the green clay." His answer made Stan frown.

Kenny trailed his gaze over to the green Play-doh container, then the brown one. His eyes widened in realization. "Mph mph mph mmph! (I got an idea)!" His muffled voice exclaimed. He grabbed both the green and brown Play-doh containers, and began to get to work. Kyle and Stan watched him curiously.

Mrs. Wayford glanced at her timer. "You all have ten seconds left," she warned. Some of the children began to protest in urgency.

Eric, however, just laughed at them panicking. He made three flat, colorful doughnuts.

Both Kyle and Stan silently urged Kenny to hurry. So far, Kenny had used up all of the brown clay, but only had a little bit of green left. Kyle decided to help his best friend out now that he knew what the other was trying to create. He quickly tried to make little leaves out of the remaining green clay, but ended up making tiny bits of more clay after stretching them out. Stan came to his rescue, taking the extra clay. "I'll work on these," he told Kyle, although he wasn't confident he could use them all with the little time they had left. Kenny pointed to his finished tree, Stan taking the hint, and gently placing the small bits into it.

"Five seconds left," Mrs. Wayford warned again. She began to count down the dwindling time on her timer.

"Four." Stan placed the finishing touches on the tree. Kenny gently smoothed it out as a final touch.

"Three." Kyle began to struggle under the pressure. He hadn't made not one leaf yet, it's too difficult without tools. What he'd made resembled nothing close to a leaf, they're just fat, smushed dough. Angry tears started to prick at the corner of his eyes at his failure.

"Two." Stan and Kenny looked over to see Kyle gritting his teeth in frustration. Neither boy showed any signs of disappointment on their faces once their eyes trailed to what Kyle had unintentionally made.

"One." The noirette placed a comforting hand on the redhead's shoulder.

"Zero." A second wave of the shrill ring erupted throughout the classroom. This time, only a few children groaned while some others cheered at their success.

Kyle, Stan, and Kenny hadn't uttered a word to each other, neither boy knew what to say. Stan frowned when he saw a tear trail down Kyle's cheek. Kyle's mouth began to move, his voice coming out as a sad whisper. "I'm sorry."

Mrs. Wayford clapped her hands for her class' attention, she spoke once the children calmed down. "Alright, time to see who made the best with their Play-doh. I'm going to start with Craig and Tweek first, then work my way down the table."

Craig Tucker and Tweek Tweak made what appeared to be some sort of animal. It was mixed with brown, orange, yellow, and blue. On top of its head was an odd shaped blue hat, the tip a yellow ball. It's somewhat identical to the hat Craig was wearing. Mrs. Wayford mustered up a small smile, her best guess was that the two tried to make Craig's pet guinea pig. "U-um, very creative, you two, but you should've made something that went well with the colors you had chosen. I'm sorry, but you boys didn't win." She walked down the table to the next pair. Tweek twitched while Craig flipped the lady off behind her back. Up next were Wendy Testaburger, Bebe Stevens, and Nichole Daniels; the three girls made two fairly big flowers. One was purple with yellow petals, and the other one was the opposite of the first one, it was yellow with purple petals. Mrs. Wayford smiled a real smile at their work. "Nice job, you three, they're beautiful. But I'm afraid flowers aren't really that interesting, so I'll give you girls extra credit instead." Wendy, Bebe, and Nichole looked at each other, then smiled in agreement. It was better than nothing.

Next up was Eric, a proud smirk was etched on his face. Mrs. Wayford observed the three flat doughnuts he'd made. One of them was brown with green sprinkles supposedly shaped like miniature stars, the other was yellow with brown dotted sprinkles, and the last one was orange with both brown and yellow dotted sprinkles.

"They look good, don't they?" Eric bragged.

His teacher shook her head in amusement. "They are very beautiful, Eric," she admitted, boosting Eric's ego even more. "But you didn't use all of your Play-doh, so I'll give you extra credit as well."

Eric blinked once in confusion. He looked down into each of the containers, widening his eyes. Only one of them held some green clay in it. "W-wait! It's only a little bit, I can add it really quick."

"Sorry, but you should've done that when I gave you all the extra thirty seconds." Eric crossed his arms with a pout. Wendy and Bebe giggled at the upset boy.

Kyle's group was next. Mrs. Wayford looked at their creation with an approved smile, but altered into a sympathetic one when she saw the remaining green clay they hadn't used. "Aww, too bad, you three were soo close. Instead, I'll give you boys double extra points for your outstanding creativity." She walked down to the next group.

Stan and Kenny approved with a nod, but Kyle seemed as if he didn't, the brim of his ushanka covering his eyes from their view. "Kyle?" Stan uttered hesitantly.

With a sniffle, Kyle wiped his eyes using his jacket sleeve. He looked over at the two boys with contrite eyes. "I'm sorry," he apologized again.

His super best friend shook his head, a small smile forming on his lips. "It's okay. We still got something in the end to make up for our hard work." Stan looked to Kenny, the boy nodding his head in agreement.

A small smile ghosted its way to Kyle's lips. He looked down at his hands seeing them clutching some of the green Play-doh. His smile dropped into a frown as he released his grip on the soft materials. "But she said that we were so close though..."

"Don't blame yourself, we aren't mad at you," Stan said, sincere. "If anything, you should be proud. Both you and Kenny. The two of you took action once you saw that we were in a tough spot."

Kyle knew what Stan was hinting at. He felt that he didn't do anything until Kyle himself and Kenny figured out what to do. "Stan, we all did the best we could," Kyle told him. Stan smiled, raising his hand for a high-five. Kyle smiled as well, a genuine one as both his and Stan's hand briefly met one another's, emitting a loud smack. They gave Kenny a high-five also.

Eric saw this and rolled his eyes again. "You three are losers," he muttered. Kenny heard him since he was next to the chubby boy, he turned to him with narrowed eyes. Eric wasn't intimidated by his look of disapproval, thus he provoked him further. "What? You mad, po' boy?"

Kyle glared at the laughing brunette, never seeing why the three of them hung out with a butthole like him. Kenny said something, but Kyle, of course, couldn't interpret what the boy said. However, he didn't need to because Kenny suddenly jiggled Eric's stomach in his chair. "K-Kenny, what the-s-stop it!" The boy shouted, but Kenny ignored the order.

The whole class exploded with laughter, mainly laughing at Eric. "Eww, look at it wiggle," Wendy grimaced jokingly, pointing at Eric's gut in disgust before laughing again.

Mrs. Wayford quickly made her way over to the two disruptive children. "Eric, Kenny, behave yourselves. Stop harassing each other." She gently pried Kenny's hands away from Eric's stomach, the bigger boy's puffy cheeks tinged red from embarrassment.

"Kenny, you suck! I hate you!" Eric whined. Kenny just laughed in response.

Mrs. Wayford later announced the winners, they were Clyde Donovan, Tolkien Black, and Leopold Stotch. The three of them made an ice cream sandwich.

*After School*

The school bell erupted within the halls that early afternoon. Buses began to fill with children as they exited the building, all happy and eager to go home or hang out with their friends. Kyle, Stan, Kenny, and Eric all boarded the same bus driven by the grouchiest woman alive, Ms. Crabtree. Kyle and Stan sat together whereas Kenny sat with Heidi Turner. Eric was still mad at Kenny for what he did earlier, he didn't want him sitting next to him ever again for a while.

"So, Kyle," Stan began, drowning out Ms. Crabtree's monstrous voice telling someone to sit down. "Got any plans for today?"

Kyle thought for a moment, but nothing came to mind. "Nope," he answered simply.

Stan smiled at his reply. "Wanna hang out later?"

Kyle wasted no time nodding. "But I gotta ask my mom first."

"Okay." Then, the two chatted about random things.

A few minutes later, they stopped at the edge of the poor side of South Park. Kenny walked down the aisle, Stan and Kyle bidding him goodbye as Ms. Crabtree rushed Kenny off of the bus. Due to her lack of patience, she drove off once he only had one foot out of the bus. The poor boy (no pun intended) fell onto the hard asphalt with a sickening thud. Blood rapidly oozed from his head as he laid there unmoving.

Kyle and Stan witnessed the unfortunate fall along with the rest of the children, the two boys standing in their seat. Ms. Crabtree drove away from their dying best friend, uncaring. Kyle was petrified when him, Stan, and Eric first witnessed Kenny die right before their very eyes, it was back in Preschool. It was three days later when Kenny was seen again, alive and well.

"Oh my God, you killed Kenny!" Stan blurted out.

"You bastard!" Kyle shouted.

Abruptly, the bus came to a halt after their outbursts. They almost fell out of their seat. "What did you just say?!" Ms. Crabtree demanded angrily, her attention to the back of the bus as she glared at the remaining children, unsure of the culprit.

"Umm, I said I have a blister?" Kyle responded meekly.

Ms. Crabtree instantly lost her glare. "Oh, don't say that out loud. No one wants to hear that." And with that, the bus moved again. Stan stifled a laugh behind his hand as he sat back down, Kyle lightly nudging his arm with a pout as he did the same.

After two more stops, Kyle's and Stan's came up. "You take care of that blister, ya hear?" Ms. Crabtree told Kyle as they exited the bus, then she drove off once they were out.

Stan laughed. Kyle couldn't help but blush at what the grouchy lady told him. "Yeah, yeah, keep laughin'. Anyway, what time can I come over?" Kyle asked.

Stan stopped laughing to answer his question. "How about as soon as you ask your mom?" He suggested with a playful grin.

Kyle chuckled at his response. The two walked down the sidewalk until they approached Stan's house. They bid each other a see you later as Kyle continued on to his own home.

The Jewish child reached his house more than several minutes later, no car was in the driveway. He walked up to the porch, placing a hand on the front door's doorknob. He attempted to twist it, but it didn't budge. The door was locked. "Huh? Why's it locked?" He thought, confused. He knocked on the door a few times to let his mother know of his arrival. Five seconds passed, then ten, then fifteen. Yet his mother still hadn't come to open the door. "She is here, right? She doesn't leave for work until dad gets home after picking up Ike from Preschool." Kyle knocked once more, a bit harder this time. He began to worry as the inside of the house remained quiet, silent of any oncoming footsteps. "Mom?!" He called out as he pounded on the door, urgency evident in his tone. This was the first time his mother had ever done something so careless. She always left the door unlocked for him as she sat in the living room, awaiting his return from school.

A sudden gust of wind blew past Kyle, blowing the flaps of his ushanka. An uncomfortable chill surged through his body as he tugged his hat down to keep it from being blown away. Thankfully, the wind began to abate some, but still provided cool air around the vicinity. Kyle looked around, his eyes half-lidded thanks to the nipping cold. He wasn't sure if the wind was playing tricks on him or if it were his eyes when he caught a glimpse of a black figure across the street. As soon as he saw it, the silhouette disappeared from his sight. "W-what the heck was that?" He thought uneasily. Another rush of wind came by only to be completely calm shortly afterwards. The young boy couldn't stop himself from shivering. He hugged himself to try to warm up, even if only slightly. He almost jumped when he picked up the sound of a door being unlocked. He turned his attention back to his house, the front door was being opened. He saw that the inside was dark, he couldn't even see his mother as she slowly continued to open the door some more. "M-mom?" He called for her nervously, but he received no reply. Once the door was opened all of the way, 'his mother' stood eerily before him, the darkness behind her only intensifying the unsettling ambience. "S-something isn't right..." Kyle thought. A very tense silence settled over the two. Kyle was unsure whether or not he should step foot into his own home.

'His mother' backed away from the door. "Come inside, Kyle. You don't want to catch a cold now do you?" Her calm, sinister Jersey accent sent extra chills down Kyle's spine, overpowering the bone-chilling cold.

He made no attempt to do so, his freezing body warning him not to inch any closer towards the house. Through chattering teeth, he asked, "W-what's g-going on?" Instead of answering him, the woman walked away into the darkness. Kyle had the strong urge to run over to Stan's house and tell him of this situation, but something told him not to. It was another warning. "I'll call and tell him," he concluded. Kyle entered the house at a snail's pace, still hugging himself. Once his father returned home, he would surely tell him of his mother's strange behavior as well. As soon as he's all the way inside, the door slammed shut behind him, coating the area around him in pitch blackness. Kyle's heart jumped along with his body. Faint light from the light grey clouds covering the sky gleamed through the curtains in the living room. Kyle tried to adjust his eyes in the dark, but he still couldn't see much. "M-mom?!" He called out once again. The woman didn't answer to which Kyle should've expected. He took a cautious step forward, hugging himself tighter when he suddenly bumped into something- no, someone.

Kyle froze, his heart racing madly in his chest. He could clearly hear his pulse in his ears through the deafening silence. "Kyle," he managed to hear the familiar monotone voice utter his name over his pounding heartbeat, sounding like she was directly in front of him. He looked up, glowing, pupil-less dark green eyes meeting his unseen lime-green ones. He felt paralyzed from her gaze, it was as if she was looking into his very soul. "Do not tell your father of this. Understand?" She warned. Kyle wasn't stupid enough to defy 'its' orders, this wasn't his mother. He complied with a nervous nod of his head, his silent answer approved by the possessed woman. "Good. Say nothing, and no harm will befall your family."

Kyle's eyes widened in both shock and horror, but he clenched them shut when all of the lights came on. He didn't see his mother going towards the staircase, but he did hear her walking away. He sank down to his knees, tears gradually slipping from underneath his eyelids.

When his father came home with his baby brother, he kept true to his word. He greeted them as usual, and then told his father how his day at school went. The warning glimpses his mother would give him prevented him from saying anything or even mentioning what transpired half an hour ago. She eventually left for work.

After the strange event with his mother, the woman hadn't spoken to him for the next couple of days. His father questioned the two of them about it, but all he was told from his wife was that she was too busy with work, and it was left at that. Kyle also didn't tell Stan of the unusual occurrence.

His family's lives were in his hands, he must keep them safe...

*End Of Flashback*

Kyle sighs, wiping the tears away with his arm. Every now and then, only Kyle alone would receive the empty looks from his mother, never knowing why. "She doesn't hate me...does she?" It's a question he knows that he will not get an answer to. He then wonders about the shadow he saw that day. "Just what was that thing? Did I imagine it? I never saw it again after that day." Perhaps either the wind or his very own eyes really did play tricks on his mind at that moment...

He heaves another sigh, shoving that day's incident to the back of his mind. He pushes the door before him open, and walks into Stan's room. A sudden feeling of anxiety stirs up within him almost instantly. Something feels...off, however nothing appears out of the ordinary. Stan is now asleep in his bed. Although nothing seems wrong with the room, Kyle can't shake the uneasiness out of him. "It's probably nothing. I'm just shaken up from remembering..." He can't bring himself to finish the thought. He detests the fact that his mother was targeted by some unknown creature out of the blue.

But little did Kyle know that not only had his mother fell victim to a monster, but the rest of South Park's citizens are slowly suffering the same fate in great abundance. As well as in other States and countries. The darkness from every corner is leisurely making its way towards not just the small town of South Park, but everywhere in the world, ready to infect everyone and everything with its corruption.