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The Build a Bear store stood empty and dark. No one had bothered to switch on the lights when they broke in. The remains of ruined teddy bears were strewn like a crime scene with blood, except it was cotton. Outside, the sun sank behind the abandoned town.
Stan had been silent and unresponsive since the mob dissipated.
"Uh, Stan?" asked Cartman. "You ready to go buddy?"
Randy placed a hand on Stan's shoulder. "Come on, son. We need to go home."
"I can't... I just... I can't take it anymore!" Stan choked out between sobs. "We were so close. We had hope. Hope that the pangolin could be the key to a vaccine. But now...it's gone." He wiped away tears with the back of his hand, but more streamed. "The pangolin...it was innocent--"
Randy mumbled something no one caught.
"--it was trying to survive like the rest of us. And what did we do?" said Stan, clutching the ripped remains of a teddy bear. "We destroyed it. We snuffed out its chance of saving lives, of bringing an end to this. And its all my fault! All because I asked for help, because I thought I could do something."
"Son, I've learned something today. You can't blame yourself for everything that goes wrong with a pangolin."
Everyone else in the room turned to look at Randy skeptically.
"He's right, dude," said Kyle, hugging Stan for the first time since lockdown began. "Its not your fault. You tried your best. Everyones trying their best."
"But our best isn't good enough to end COVID! Not without the pangolin. And now I don't know what to hope for to keep living--or if I even want to."
Butters couldn't contain his own tears. "Aw, it's just so sad. I can't even keep on waitin' for a bear!" Butters cried, looking at the shreds of fur all around them.
Randy plucked a toy off the shelf, then stopped, eyes widening."Hey, these bears are just a rip-off. You know, we could make Tegridy teddy bears. Hey, yeah!"
Sharon sighed and reached into her purse. She counted out the money for the ruined bears and one extra, leaving it in the store's register.
Kyle cradled Stan in his arms, gently rubbing his back, and Stan's sobs slowly subsided.
"It's alright, Stan," Kyle whispered, warm breath on Stan's neck. "Let it out. I'm here for you."
As Stan regained control over, he sniffled. "I'm... I'm sorry, everyone. I didn't mean to fall apart like this."
"Its alright," said Cartman, while Kyle nodded. Butters hugged a giant stuffed duck from the display, no longer crying.
"Why don't you boys come with us?" Sharon said. "We'll give you a ride home. And Butters, we'll take your wagon too."
The boys sat in the truck while Randy tied the wagon to the roof, no one saying a word. But Kyle's hand held Stan's, squeezing it tightly, and Stan still had something to hold on to in the darkness, something to hope for.