Flashback

"We try to hide our feelings, but we forget that our eyes speak."

In an unknown space and time

"How interesting, to think that he actually followed through with it! Well, now that he has had his fun, why don't I have some fun as well!" declared a very cheerful voice.

Location: Germany, Heidelberg, Neckar River

Time: Year 1 of the new era of change Era: The Era of Change

"Steven! Steven wake up!" shouted Evelyn in an effort to wake him up. Yet, Steven remained unconscious, and he could not hear Evelyn's desperate voice.

"Damn it! He's still unconscious!" yelled Phillip with a distraught voice.

"We can worry about that later, let's first get Steven and then find a safe location," panted Michael in an anxious voice.

"I'll get him, you guys should go to the side," declared Phillip as he swam in the direction of Steven.

"Alright see you there," replied Michael and Evelyn as they swam to the side of the river.

"Damn... what's going on... I hope my parents are okay!" pondered Phillip as he was thought of his family, while he swam towards Steven's unconscious body. "Got you! Don't worry pal, I'm not letting go!" shouted Phillip through the water, as he now had Steven in his one arm and used his other arm and legs to swim in the direction of where Michael and Evelyn went.

Location: Germany, Heidelberg, Neckar River

Time: 8 November 2020 Era: The Era of Stagnation

"Guys come on! I'm fine... really!" spluttered Steven in an attempt to convince his friends, that he was feeling okay.

"Steven... don't lie to us! We know that things aren't easy right now, but we want you to remember that we are here for you," declared Evelyn in a concerned voice, as she knew Steven well enough to know that he wasn't okay.

"Yeah man we're here for you," said Phillip as he did not know what else he could say to help his friend.

"Steven... I know... we can't replace them, but... please... don't cut us off man!" pleaded Michael as he tried to convince Steven to open up to them.

"D... don't... don't talk about them!" roared Steven as his emotions and watering eyes betraying him. "I'm pathetic! I couldn't do anything! I'm weak... I... it's all my... fault!" screamed Steven while his whole body shook with emotional distress. "I... I don't deserve to live... I am not worth it!" declared Steven as tears streamed down his face. He lifted his head to the sky and softly mumbled, "You know. I wish you were here. I wish I could at least have said goodbye. I miss you Mom... Dad... Soon I will be with you again. Don't worry, I'm coming... "

"Don't you dare you bastard! I will beat you, until you feel the pain we are feeling, seeing you like this. Don't you understand that we will not let you kill yourself?!" roared Phillip as he was now terribly angry and nervous seeing that his friend had given up on them, on their friendship and on life itself.

"..." Steven looked at the worried faces of his friends. How could they care about me? Look at me, I am pathetic. thought Steven. "You know sometimes I hate you, Phillip," declared Steven knowing that his friends, especially Phillip, would never allow him, to kill himself.

"Hehe! You know it boy!" replied Phillip laughing, knowing he managed to succeed in calming down his friend.

"Steven, let's go somewhere and talk. We're here for you", insisted Michael as he was now trying to lead Steven away from whatever other ideas he had.

"Sigh! Okay, sorry!" remarked Steven, as he now had calmed down. He did not forget, nor change, what he would do in the future, he only extended the wait to calm his friends down. He did not want them to blame themselves.

Location: Germany, Heidelberg, Neckar River

Time: Year 1 of the new era of change Era: The Era of Change

"Steven... Steven!!! wake up!"

"Hmmm... what's that noise?" groggily asked Steven as he suddenly felt dizzy and was starting to get a headache. "Ugh! Where am I?"

"Great your finally awake!" exclaimed Evelyn as she was sitting next to him trying to dry her wet, brunette hair.

"Evelyn what happened?" asked Steven completely unaware of what happened after landing in the water.

"I'll tell you what happened! We forgot that you were still the same as always. How could we forget! Anyway, seeing as you hadn't changed as we had, you fell unconscious the moment you landed in the water," explained Michael while keeping an eye on their surroundings.

"Yeah, luckily Phillip managed to get you before you drifted too far," remarked Evelyn as she stopped trying to dry her hair. It seemed like the more she tried, the more she felt like her hair froze.

"Wow! Thanks man! I wouldn't have made it without you," whispered Steven looking at Phillip with a grateful smile.

"Ah it was nothing!"

"Well now that you're awake, how are you feeling?" questioned Michael.

"Yeah, I'm okay... just a little dizzy," revealed Steven. He did not dare mention the memories that flashed through his head in a time like this.

"That's good because right now, we're not in a very practical place to stay at. While you were unconscious, the surrounding area has gone crazy! People are running around, these strange beasts are everywhere, and chaos has decided to surround us. Crazy stuff guys!" The group of friends immediately became alert to their surroundings and looked around anxiously.

"Wait! What do you mean crazy stuff? A... and where are we?" inquired Steven, slightly confused.

Michael grabbed a stick and started drawing a map of their surroundings into the ground. "Ummm... well right now we're in one of these surrounding bushes," pointed Michael to his drawing.

"Close to the river. We're actually not far away from some buildings that might be a great place to hide out in for a bit. It seems everyone else already abandoned it or got eaten after the first screams started. So, it might be our best shot for a bit!"

"Yeah, I think that would be for the best," agreed Evelyn while standing up.

"Uh... okay! Nice map Michael... and anyhow, it's not like we have anywhere else to go!" chimed Steven not knowing what else they could do. Steven started to stand up when Phillip jumped to his side.

"Careful Steven, your body hasn't yet fully recovered, I'll help you walk," Phillip helped Steven stand up and put his arm around his back to help him walk slowly.

"Thanks!" Steven looked up to the building that they would find shelter in, and something felt wrong. There was something very wrong with that building. Narrowing his eyes, he saw a shadow move past a window. Within a blink, the shadow was gone. "Must have hit my head when I jumped into the river... " mumbled Steven. He decided to stay quiet, not to worry his friends even more with his pathetic, unchanged body.

What he did not know though, was that this decision, would change everything and this was just the beginning of all the changes.