Under The Oak Tree (South Park FanFic)

Chapter 16

Stan's POV

I roll over and groan, opening my eyes slowly to the dim light that is starting to show up in the sky. I sit up and look at the clock on the wall, and it's only six thirty in the morning. We don't need to be up for another two hours. Speaking of we...
"Did I wake you up?" Michelle asks. I hear her and look over to where she's digging through her bag.
"I don't think so. But whatever." I reply, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and yawning as I stretch my back.
"I woke up just a little bit ago." She says, putting her shorts in a laundry bag and taking out new clothes. She puts her clean clothes on top of her bag to put on later. "So, since we're up," she walks over to me and sits in my lap. "Should we finish what we started last night?"
I smirk a little. "I did notice you took off your shorts." I say just as I pull her into a deep kiss.
Suddenly there are horrified screams coming from outside. They're long and painful to the ears. I jump to my feet, dumping Michelle off of me, then hurriedly pull on my tee shirt and fly out the door while Michelle is still trying to dress. The screams don't stop and I finally find the source.
Petra?
"Calm down, Petra what happened?" I put my hands on her shaking shoulders to stop her screaming. Tears are streaming down her face and she's sobbing and looking down a ditch. I realize why she's so shaken when I look down myself.
"Last night," she barely gets out. "He went to the bathroom alone. He didn't have a flashlight and, I didn't notice he was gone until morning!" She shuts her eyes tightly and leans into me. I pat her back comfortingly. Oh god, Kenny.. He must have fallen down the ditch in the dark and been impaled by the sharp branches.
The teacher and a counsellor are the next to run out and pull us away from the scene as others show up. Everyone is wondering what happened but no one gets an answer or to get to see the scene. I think everyone knows though, once they figure out who the one person who isn't at the scene is.
"LET ME SEE HIM! LET ME SEE HIM YOU BASTARDS! BASTARDS!" Kyle screams as he's pushed back by a counsellor. Cartman takes Kyle by the shoulders and looks into his eyes, and I know he's telling Kyle something that soothes him. As the previously screaming boy rests his chin in the comforting one's shoulder, Cartman can't help but stare with empty eyes in the direction of Kenny's death.
Michelle takes Petra and holds her. I want to be able to comfort Michelle too, but I know she's strong enough to be able to comfort Petra before taking comfort herself.
It's chaos. Tweek is shaking more than usual and talking to himself quietly, while biting his nails and looking around nervously. The girls of the class huddle together and comfort one another as they cry tears of fear and loss.
"Stan, are you alright?" My dad puts a comforting hand on my shoulder, approaching me from behind.
"I'll be okay." I tell him. "Thanks, dad." He pats me on the back before heading back off to talk to a counsellor.
I walk over to where Clyde, Craig and Token stand. They're silent and looking at their feet in sorrow until they notice me coming over. They look up a little.
"Are you guys gonna be okay?" I ask from concern. They all look so lifeless and depressed, but then again who isn't right now?
"Yeah." Token says quietly, cutting through the silence of the group and the sound of people crying around us. He looks around at the people in the area. "I don't think he is though." He says looking over at Tweek, who's still chattering to himself. He seems to lock eyes with Token and jumps, stepping back, afraid.
"I'm going to help him out." Craig says, leaving us. We watch in silence as Craig walks over to Tweek, who seems very afraid of him. He sits down beside the shaking boy and talks to him a little, which seems to calm him slightly.
"Hey, Stan?" Clyde looks over to me. As I turn my face in his direction he's looking directly into my eyes. He looks like he's going to be sick, pale and open mouthed as he is, his hair not touched from the time he woke up. "What... What did you see over there?" He asks.
I can't. And even if I could, they wouldn't want to have the image in their head I do. "Don't think about it." I tell him. "It won't help you to know how he looked."
He's tearing up, I can see it. He's trying hard to keep his face relaxed and normal. "You're a good friend, Stan." He said with a shaky voice, bowing his head and looking down at his feet again. I just see one tear drop into the soil at his feet.
"Everyone please go back to your cabins and pack your bags. Pack away everything into the vehicles and meet by the firepit." The teacher announces. It's obvious she's shaken too, but she has a calm exterior, making everyone feel a little better. "Bring me Kenny's things, I'll take them." She says to me quieter knowing we were supposed to be in a cabin together. I won't make Petra go back in there to see his things, I'll get them from where he was really staying without having her be there.
I tell Michelle to take Petra to our cabin and head off towards the cabin where I'll be packing away Kenny's belongings.