Hey everyone ! We're SO sorry it took so long to update... but you can blame Truthless Faith for this, honest !
Kyle couldn't find it in himself to move as something spattered against his cheeks. He felt his lower lip quiver and he turned around in the darkness, hands frantically searching for Stan. He stayed quiet as his eyes searched the room for whoever shot, but all he could see was shit in the almost complete darkness of the room. His fingers danced in a small pool of liquid and he knew it was blood. He almost let out a whimper but forced himself to stay quiet as his eyes continued to scan the room.
Something clattered to the floor and he heard someone curse faintly from somewhere. He blinked in the darkness and swallowed thickly, trying to open his eyes wider like if he did so he'd suddenly become part of a higher species and be able to see in the black darkness. The other person clapped and Kyle shielded his eyes from the harsh lightly, slowly removing his arm to see Kenny standing at the edge of the bed, running one hand through his hair with a slow sigh, with what looked like goggles around his neck and a small stream of curses dripping off his tongue.
Kyle blinked and shifted his gaze downward slowly, shaking as he saw the blood on his hands that had pooled on the bed and soaked into the sheets, the owner of said blood now missing a head. But it wasn't Stan…
It was Cartman.
"Holy shit…" Kyle felt his eyes burn and he looked up to Kenny, who still had his hand in his blond hair, eyes up on Kyle instead of Cartman now. His lip quivered, mouth hung open.
"If you don't shut your mouth, it's gonna collect dust, Kyle," Kenny said, his expression completely placid as it was just a second ago, even though he just joked about something. On the other hand, Kyle wasn't entirely sure what to do either; whether to freak out that Cartman just molested him while he was sleeping or the fact that now part of Cartman's brain was sitting in his lap. Kenny shook his head and sighed, reaching out for Kyle, who twitched back, not wanting to be touched. Kenny frowned at his redheaded friend, who stared at him with wide eyes about to cry, his hands and chest covered in the larger boy's blood.
"You… you…" Kyle stuttered and sputtered out at Kenny, shaking his head slowly, finding himself unable to look away from the blond boy.
"I know, I know," Kenny cooed and stepped up to Kyle slowly, arms raised in surrender as he got closer. Kyle just shook his head, raising his bloodied arm to shield his face from the other, uttering soft whispers of "no" and "you" that didn't make sense when he managed to get them out. "Trust me, I know, Kyle," he said with another sigh, standing next to the pillow that Kyle was now sitting on as he pressed himself against the wall and slipped down slowly. In a flash, Kenny's hands of surrender made it to Kyle's cheeks, who squeezed his eyes tight shut and pursed his lips into a fine line, grabbing at Kenny's arms to try and push them away. But Kenny was stronger. "Cartman got bit. He got bit, Kyle."
Kyle's eyes flew open and he stared at Kenny with wide and red, bloodshot and crying eyes. "Wh-what?" Was all he could choke out as his thoughts scrambled about to make sense of Kenny's words.
"Cartman got bit." Kenny was looking back at the redhead with apologetic eyes, but there looked like there was a hint of paranoia beneath them. "He was a zombie already." His hands dropped and all the Jew boy could do was stare at him. "When we were at the store, you know, getting food, he got bit…" He continued to explain, his voice hinting regret and maybe anger. "Stupid son-of-a-bitch and his fuckin' Cheesy Poofs," Kenny suddenly spat out, slamming his fist backwards into the wall as hard as he could. Something wasn't right with him, and Kyle knew it. One thing came to mind and his eyes grew even wider in question, his eyes tearing away from Kenny to look at the body laying next to him and back to the blond.
"You didn't get bit too, right?" Kyle blurted out, his heart thumping angrily in his chest. Kenny looked at him, his eyes mixed with pity, amusement, and something else. Kyle watched him open his mouth to answer just as thudding rumbled from the stairs, a panting raven haired boy staring at Cartman's body in horror. A small noise left him as he turned his eyes to Kenny and Kyle.
"What happened?" Stan asked sternly, looking like he was going to barf everywhere. Kenny looked to the ground and shook his head, gnawing on his lip before peeking up through the blond bangs that protected his face.
"Goddamn Cheesy Poofs…" Kyle muttered, mirroring Kenny's earlier words. Stan looked confused, completely lost. He heard a gunshot and he came back to this? Goddamn it. Everything seemed to be going horribly wrong. Not that anything was ever right in this town in the first place.
"A zombie got Cartman, his arm…" Kenny muttered, his voice quiet as he let the information sink into the others minds. His hand ran through his blond locks, something trudging through his mind slowly.
" How could this happen?" Stan asked mournfully, shaking his head slowly. He was broken now. No, they were all broken long before this. They all held each other together but this… shit, this basically ripped out all those mental stitches they had been working on.
"Easy, he got bit. Some zombie sunk their fucked up teeth into his flesh, saliva infected with the Z-rabies, and it got into Cartman. " Kenny stated dryly as he watched Stan pull Kyle out of the make shift bed and out of the blood. They all looked as if they were going to vomit and everything grew quiet for a few minutes as Kyle pulled off the blood soaked pajamas, tossing them in the corner. Stan could see his friend shaking from not only the new found cold since he was in his birthday suit but also of the fear, shock, and confusion that the one person who should've lived really died.
"Come on Ky, I'll guard the bathroom door as you wash yourself off," Stan stated softly as he looked towards Kenny. He jerked his head the dresser, signaling the blond to get clothes for Kyle once he was done. With a small nod and grin that held no real meaning he walked to the dresser as his two friends vanished down the stairs that were still opened. Opening one drawer he pulled out a pair of clean boxers and socks. A green long sleeved shirt and jeans were next, all new from when they raided the GAP a while back. They needed new clothes because, really, there was no point in washing blood and flesh stained clothing. That shit would never come out no matter how much Oxiclean you used on the shirts. Kenny guessed Billy Mays never tried to get zombie goo out of clothes.
"Po' boy, what the fuck are you thinking about?"
Kenny whipped around on his heels, gun pointed outwards as he licked his lips, eyes darting to the bloody lump on the bed of fat and blood-encrusted flesh. His eyes flickered to the window where he fucking swore he heard laughter. A deep, cackling kind of laugh that only a person as fucked up as Cartman could make or maybe…
"Fuck…" Kenny muttered shakily. Killing his best friend was completely fucking with his mind. Walking over to Cartman, he pulled the blanket over him, covering up the headless body. He really wished Cartman still had even part of his head so he could give him a kiss goodbye to show just how much he cared. He patted the male's fat belly and turned away, grabbing the clothes off the dresser and heading down the stairs to where the bathroom was. As he passed the edge of the bed, he noticed something on the floor. He glanced down at it, gripping the clothes in his hand. It was flesh; lightly pink in hue and slightly puckered. Kenny stooped over, kneeling onto the floor and placing the clothes at his side. He bent down on his open palms on either side of the flesh and stared at it.
Cartman's lips.
Kenny puckered his lips slightly out at them, his heart giving a slow throb in his chest against his ribs. He was sure if Kyle or Stan came back he'd look like a complete idiot - stooped over on the floor like he was going to kiss the ground. He sucked his lips back into his mouth. He wanted to kiss Cartman good, to show him that he did care, but kissing his bloodied upper lip by itself on the floor was a little much. He loved Cartman. Just not that much. He grabbed at the clothes and stood back up, turning away from the flesh, using his boot sole to kick it under the bed. The squelching sound it made his stomach turn and a shiver run up his spine with a fiery anger. He almost gagged, but continued on his way to the bathroom.
Kenny stood in the doorway with the clothes in his hands, watching as Stan dabbed at Kyle's bloodied cheeks with a damp rag, two buckets sitting next to him. He leaned against the doorway as he shut his eyes and listened to Stan's soft coos to Kyle as he wiped the blood off his face. The two didn't notice him for the moment, Kyle keeping his eyes closed as Stan dabbed at his face, giving little winces here and there before Stan told him repeatedly to hold still. Kenny laughed softly and both boys finally noticed him.
"You look like a mom treating her son who fell on the playground." Kyle growled slightly and Stan rolled his eyes.
"You're just jealous because you're not getting treatment from the wonderful doctor Stan," Stan said, pressing his fingers tips to his chest in a dramatic fashion, posing from his seat.
"Damn straight I am," Kenny laughed. He tossed the clothes at Stan, who took them with a little nod of thanks. "I'll take the rest of the night to watch. You guys can just sleep the rest of the night." Kenny smiled widely, although his smile was ducked into the little orange bandana tied around his neck. "Okay?"
"Well, Kenny… I mean, have you slept at all?" Kyle asked, blinked at the blond.
"I'll be fine," Kenny said firmly, in almost what seemed like a growl, though his smile still clung to his lips. Silence settled among them and just as Kyle was going to open his mouth again, Kenny turned back around and hooked his Eagle Carbine right back over his shoulder with a little thunk and laced his fingers together and pumped them upward, stretching. "I'll go watch, later," Kenny said with a little wave of his fingers backwards, turning around just slightly to wave at them. He smiled at them with his eyes rather than his mouth, which was covered with the bandana still.
"Kenny, wait, hey…" Kyle said, jolting up a little to stand and go after him in the nude, though Stan tugged his hand and pulled him back down, because Kenny was already gone. Kyle frowned and sat back down slowly, looking still at where Kenny once was. "You think he's okay?"
"Ky, he'll be fine - that much I'm sure of. Put your pants on." Kyle looked back at Stan again. Considering neither were sure of anything anymore made gave that statement a hell of a lot more weight.
The next morning, each of the boys were sore. Rather, just Kyle and Stan were, because Kenny looked like he could jump off the Empire State building and still be okay. He had his Eagle strapped over his back and a big grin plastered across his face even though he'd been up all night. Having not slept, it seemed a little odd that Kenny was less tired than Stan and Kyle seemed to be. It seemed a little wrong as well - the fact that Kenny still had enough energy to carry Ike and Karen's bodies without looking the least bit tired. In fact, he just seemed plain jumpy and overly ecstatic as they carried them out.
"We'll have to go back for Cartman later," Kenny says as he ducks around the corner, dodging trees that lined that side of their hideout like its no big deal. "Since it'll probably take all three of us to carry him."
"I dunno about that, Kenny - you seem like you've got enough energy to do it all yourself," Kyle scoffs as he pushes a branch out of his face, standing to hold it for Stan to pass through. Kyle glared after the blond, who just laughed back at him. He swore something wasn't right with him. He seemed like he was after that time when he was done with his cheesing escapades and started getting high off daisies and life itself. Maybe that's what he did late in the night and it was just a stroke of luck that no zombie fuckers came after them.
"Ya know, guys, honestly…" Stan started as he moved around the branch that Kyle was holding for him to pass through. He stood up straight and gave a little shrug, looking at the house with a sideways glance. "We don't really have to take the bodies outside, seeing as the whole place is going down." To that, Kenny spun around and looked at him for a moment, the bodies of the two children wrapped him and hanging over his shoulders.
"That is true," Kenny agreed as Kyle glanced back at him. "But I guess I was just being a little overcautious." He laughed about it. "I guess we can just leave Cartman inside as we take this baby down. You guys got what I asked for?" Stan raised both of his hands, holding two large gallons of fluid that sloshed around inside the canisters as he did so.
"There's another two back inside too, which I guess we should douse Cartman with one." Stan said and Kenny nodded back at him.
"Good," the blond said, then turned back around and continued on. "Now, I know it seems pointless to take them out like this, but I wanted to put them in the back - they liked to be there." Kyle blinked and his eyes started to sting a little and he rubbed at them with one wrist. Stan smiled at him softly, sadly. Kyle smiled back and they continued on. They reached the edge of their hideaway and turned around it quickly, reaching a little open area where some blooming flowers sat.
"Funny," Kyle said as he surveyed the little opening behind their fort. "As long as we've been here and all the time I've done scouting this place, I never really noticed this place much." He bent down and threaded his fingers around a white flower, plucking it then from the ground. Kenny set Ike and Karen back down against the side of their temporary hidey home, patting his hands. He leaned back over Karen's tarp-covered body, smiling with his hands in his pockets now.
"I love you, Karen, you know that?" He told her, smiling, his eyes threatening to tear over. He shook his head and looked back at the two boys, nodding at Stan. Kenny stepped back as the raven-haired teen put one of the canisters down and uncapped the other, the liquid inside slish-sloshing about as he stepped forward to the two children. He flicked the canister and the fluid washed over the two in sprays, Stan managing to cover a good portion of the back wall as well as he did. He looked back at Kenny who nodded at him. Stan stepped back and rolled the canister in his hands, which made the same gurgling and bubbling noises as it did before. Their attentions turned to Kyle, who stepped back from the two, the little white flower that he had picked earlier now set down between the two. He smiled weakly back at them with eyes about to cry.
Kenny grabbed the other can and they all headed back around to the front, Stan letting out the fluid as he walked. They made their way back inside and Stan shook his can at the ground, the last of the clear fluid sprinkling onto the ground. They retreated back to the closet so each boy had a fair container of the fluid in their hands. They nodded at each other and Kenny retreated up the motor-turned stairs as he listened to Stan and Kyle begin to cover the floors, the walls, the sofa, the doors with the floor until each would give them a shine of assurance. Kenny jogged up the stairs and peered around, seeing a body he'd become familiar to still laying on the bed, untouched. The blood had begun to drip through the mattress and onto the floor beside the bed, the blood now dried black from the exposed neck. He turned away sadly and uncapped the gallon of fluid, the gallon shaking as he did so it already spat its fluid over the floorboards a little. Like the boys downstairs, he began covering the walls with the glistening fluid.
"Kenny! Are you ready?"
"Just a minute!" Kenny shouted back and he finally turned to the bed, stepping along its edges to the other side of the bed where the blood dribbled off the side. He leaned down and set his canister on the floor, sitting down on a dry spot on the edge of the bed, the mattress squeaking gently under him. He extended his hand and patted the fat boy's sides gently, smiling at him with a little laugh as the skin gave a ripple. It was a little grotesque, but it made Kenny smile nonetheless. "Cartman, I just… thanks. I'm really gonna miss you. I'm… sorry too." His smile fell - his eyes dark, almost abyssal. "I didn't think it'd come out like-"
"Kenny!"
He laughed and shook his head, patting the fat again. "Like I said, I'll miss you." He stood back up and emptied the rest of his container onto the bed, coating Cartman. He dropped the canister on the floor and walked over to the dresser, running his hand over the wood. Ah… he was going to miss this place. Ignoring the redheaded male's call out to him, he walked over to Cartman's duffel bag, one he picked up from his house. The fat tub of lard put up a hell of a fight for it too. He picked up the item and swallowed thickly and turned the bag over, dumping the contents out on the floor. It took him a second to find what he was looking for but smiled shakily when he did.
The redneck looked around before kneeling down, picking up the limp toy. A thumb ran over the messy stitches that the owner had put in when they were eight, he explained to Kenny before that Kyle was enraged because he had receive HIV from him and used his Jew strength to rip off the frog's head. It was the only toy Cartman took the effort or time to fix in his life time - not that he really took the time or effort to do much else that didn't appease him in some sadistic way or another. Earlier this week he accidentally walked in on the boy as he talked to the object, it was kind of cute in a disturbed kind of way. 'Ey, Kenny, don't be a douche bag and speak up when your lurking around. Don't tell Kahl about this either, I'll kick your ass.' A rough sigh left him and he turned back to the decapitated body of his best friend.
"I'll take good care of him for you Cartman- it is the least I can do." He explained as he looked back at the object and gave it a squeeze. It let out a soft wheeze of protest. "I'll try and stop bein' a douche bag, too. No more sneaking around…" A creak from the stairs drew his attention away from the one sided conversation and he hesitantly shoved Clyde frog in his pocket, any thoughts of burning the treasured item with the owner vanished as he walked towards the stairwell.
"I was just takin' a minute to wish Cartman luck finding Hitler down in hell." Kenny yelled down the stairs as he turned, colliding with a warm body mass. His arms automatically shot out in front of him, grabbing whoever it was and pulling them close to him. Soft hairs tickled his nose as a voice spoke under his chin.
"Thanks, but watch where you're going next time Ke-" Kyle was cut off when a loud 'Ah-choo' left the blond. "Aw, sick dude! You just got snot all in my hair!" He yelled, pushing himself away from the blond and giving him a disgusted look and pulled a bandana from his pocket and patting his head with it. "I'd be pissed if I haven't had zombie guts splattered all over me." He stated then offered a small smile and handed the cloth over to Kenny who took it and blew his nose happily.
"Ah, much better. Thank you." the blond stated, holding the dirty item back to Kyle who shook his head.
"Just ditch it here, I'll pick up a new one whenever we stop somewhere." Kenny gave a shrug to this and Kyle turned around, trotting down the stops. Blue eyes stared at a nice set of cheeks and licked his lips, a sly grin on his face as he thought about grabbing that ass and pushing the smaller boy against the wall. Then a rough - but tender - kiss would ensue as his hand would go to pay attention to Kyle's cro-
"I know he has a nice ass Kenny but we need to come up with a plan so please stop staring at it and get down here." Stan stated, an amused grin on his face that didn't reach his dark blue eyes. The same look is mirrored on Ken's face as he continued down the stairs. Kyle pretends as if he heard nothing.
Once they were all in the room, they stared at each other, no one knowing exactly what to say until Stan pointed to the map they had pinned to the wall. Kenny turned to look at the map of South Park, red X's and circles scattered around it. "Most of the places are unlivable and not worth saving; I think we have to venture out of our territory." Stan spoke up, eyes trained on the map. Kenny froze, a soft snort leaving him.
"You mean go up to north park? That's Trent's territory, he'll blow our fucking brains out." Kenny pointed out, to which Stan nodded his head and delivered a shrug. It seemed like everyone was doing that now. Eric gave the commands, he always was positive of what to do. He never asked them about it - "don't be a pussy or be a pussy, your choice." That was what he always said when they were hesitant. Cartman was strong; he was the leader. Now Stan took it over - Kyle wasn't a leader. He wouldn't want to be anyway - he knew he could think, come up with ideas or plans but he wasn't the type that could take care of everyone. To Kyle, his friends had a line of succession, and that just wasn't a typical leader trait.
"There's a mall in North Park. We need to pick up supplies there." The dark haired male explained halfheartedly. Before anyone could respond though, he raised a hand and shook his head. "Well, we'll think the rest of it over later. Let's just hurry up and burn this place down and get out hell of here."
"I say we blow it up; one big BANG and then, ya' know, it'll attract Zombies here - and even Trent's group if we're lucky - giving us a distraction big enough so we can run like hell to wherever." The blonde explained, holding up a stick of dynamite. Stan's mouth opened to ask him where the hell the hick picked that up at but shook his head, not really wanting to know the answer.
"Fine, whatever dude, lets just go now." Kyle spoke up, picking up the small bag of food and slinging it over his shoulder as he walked towards the door, his gun lazily held in his arm. Stan and Kenny followed in suit.
"You two go ahead, I'll toss this sucker in and catch up." The blonde ordered, getting a match out and wiggling the red stick in his hand. They didn't resist or fight it; both knew Kenny would come back if a piece of debris impaled him somehow. He waited for them to walk a good football field away before lighting the match with his thumb nail and holding the dynamite up and lighting the wick. He chucked the item in, catching a glimpse of something - no, someone, perhaps - inside. Angry red eyes glared at him and a hysterical laughter echoed in the air. He blinked hard and when he opened his eyes back up there was nothing except flames starting to erupt all around, making him turn and sprint towards the other two males, the explosion lurching him forwards and causing him to stumble a little, though he fell into Stan as he made his way down the hill from their ex-hideout. His arm wrapped around the raven haired male's neck to steady himself and then chuckled against him.
"I've always wanted to do that, ya' know."