Elysian Fields (A Kyman Fanfiction)

Chapter 4: These Things

I laugh, watching Butters puke through Pikachu's mouth as Cartman kills the rest of his drink. I'm only halfway through mine, and feeling the need to catch up. I lift my wolf mask to take a sip of the amber swill. My head is already swimming but I need this to last. If I keep pushing myself, maybe the day really will be good. There's a cold nipping through my layers of clothes but I can ignore it with the warm alcohol rooting in my stomach.

Children are laughing, parents are chattering and Butters' vomit dribbles through Pikachu's smile. Cartman laughs and pulls a tabby cat mask over his face, the elastic keeping it tight. He grabs my bottle from my hand, taking another swig before handing it back.

"Gotta hide the evidence," he says, his eyes twinkling behind the cat's yellow ones. I nod and grin despite myself, moving the wolf face onto my forehead and taking yet another swig.

Butters finally meanders away from between the trash cans, toward us. "Sorry guys, I thought I had it."

"It's whatever," I say. "Pikachu might have some complaints though."

I chuckle and hear Cartman's boisterous laugh too.

We stumble through a family with two young boys while Butters trails, holding his pink bunny friend. Through the eye slits, I catch the youngest' face and recognize the confusion flashing in his eyes. What would I at that age have thought of myself now? I must look like a monster with this mask, but little does he know I'm also a monster without one.

"Look, it's those faggots," Cartman motions toward the ferris wheel. I scan the carts and see Wendy giggling as Stan moves his hand up her pea coat. Cartman nods toward the bottom of the ride and I see Craig and Token trying to stand nonchalantly in front of a row of blue porta potties. The old fashioned repetitive mechanical music gets louder as we approach.

"Hey assholes!" Cartman bounds toward them, "I have gifts for all!"

"What's up?" Token says. A good head taller than all of us, he was always looking down to meet our gaze. It would be intimidating if it wasn't for his good nature.

"Butters puked his guts out for ten minutes so we had to hightail it out of there," Cartman continues, reaching into his leather jacket's deep pocket.

"This is for youuuu," he hands Craig a Marilyn Monroe plastic mask and Craig responds with a grin, "and this for you, Token." He holds out a mask of President Obama.

Token grins and puts his hands up defensively, "Come on man, really?"

"He's the most powerful man in the world, token, get over it!" Despite feigning innocence, Cartman's cruel humor is reflected in his smirking face. The brunette attempts to place it over the taller boy's head.

Token laughs and doesn't put up a fight. Once his face was replaced with the president's, he throws his arms outward in a V with peace signs.

"Mr. President, what do you have in store for the world?" Cartman asks jokingly, holding an invisible microphone to the mask's mouth.

"Big booty bitches for all," Token shakes his head back and forth as we all laugh.

"What's going on?" A combination stench of human excrement and disinfectant wafts over us and the blue door opens behind Craig as Clyde steps out.

"Hey Addict," Cartman says, handing him a frog mask, "put this on."

Clyde pouts and absentmindedly fingers something in his pocket. "Why am I the frog?"

"I don't know, why is Kahl a wolf? Just put it on," he shoves it into the smaller boy's hands and turns his attention toward the ferris wheel. "Who thinks they can climb it the highest before security shows up?"