Consuming Darkness, Arising Light

Chapter 14: Helping A (Best) Friend

Leopold

The rapid pattering against the Stotch's house has long since became a dull tune in Leopold's ears. "Aah wanna go outside, stupid rain," he thinks with a frown. He's sitting on the couch in between his parents in the living room that Friday morning. Unlike some parents, his never allowed for him to stay in his pajamas throughout the day, even if they don't have any plans to go anywhere. They told him that people who wear their nightclothes all day long are lazy bums. So, he's wearing a pale blue T-shirt, jeans, and black socks. The Stotch's are currently watching the news on their 65-inch flat screen television. The news reporter, Tom Thompson, isn't telling them anything new; just that the storm isn't going to pass anytime soon. They stopped updating everyone about the murder case ever since Tuesday, why? Leopold doesn't know, but he hopes both Eric and his mother have been okay.

"Aah wonder why the police haven't found Eric yet...Maybe he's not in South Park anymore..." Leopold thinks worriedly, but he yawns - boredom stronger than his concern.

"Leopold, you know better than that. Cover your mouth the next time you yawn," his mother scolds him, her light blue eyes still looking at the television.

Leopold tenses, his frown deepening as he looks at his lap. "Aah'm sorry." Now he really wishes he was outside. Every little thing he does results in him being chided, grounded, or both. His parents are extremely strict towards him. They always expect him to follow their rules and adhere to their orders without any complaints, and be well-behaved in school, never missing a day unless he was sick or if school was cancelled. Like it has been for the whole week. His parents were never this stringent before, they were actually kind to him and rarely got mad. The groundings didn't start until he was 4 years old, and Leopold knows nothing of what he did for them to resort to severe/constant banishments to his room. "This is why Aah barely have any friends," the little blonde thinks. He's been nursing a grievance ever since he started getting repeatedly grounded. Unbeknownst to him, the lights in the house start flickering. "Aah can never go out on the weekends cuz Aah'm always gettin' grounded, and Aah can't go out on the weekdays cuz of school." He thinks about Tweek, and how the boy suddenly started hanging around him and ignoring Clyde and Craig. "Tweek told me that he didn't hate Clyde and Craig when Aah asked him why he stopped hangin' out with them. But..." Leopold knows that Tweek has been forcing himself to be around him, he's not blind nor dense as his classmates make him out to be. Actually, it's more like he could see that Tweek missed being with his two best friends whenever it was just them together. Leopold would notice Tweek sometimes glancing at the two boys when they weren't looking, and Leopold would catch mostly Clyde doing the same thing to them. Just what happened between the three of them...?

A hand clasps Leopold's shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts with a jolt. He looks up from his lap only to whimper at the darkness around him. The only source of illumination is coming from the window, although it's faint since the curtains are closed. "It is time," Leopold's father announces in a monotone voice, who stands up shortly afterwards. The hand on Leopold's shoulder squeezes him, the pressure making him wince before letting go.

Leopold puts a hand on his aching shoulder, eying his parents that are standing stiff as statues. "M-mommy? Daddy?" Neither adult responds. Instead, they slowly turn to face him. Their eyes are glowing an anomalous dark green color and their pupils are gone. The boy whimpers again, very scared. He scoots back against the sofa, unconsciously applying some pressure onto his shoulder. His mother and father extend a hand towards him in beckoning.

"Come, Leopold Stotch. It is your turn now," they chorus.

"M-mah turn?" Leopold asks, not understanding. "F-for what?!"

Their hands inch closer, Leopold fruitlessly pushing himself further into the cushion behind him. "Become one of us, and serve our Dark Master," his parents say in sync with each other, their hands practically in his face.