Chapter 3: The loss that comes with change
"Never underestimate desperate people. You never know how far they will go to survive."
In an unknown place and time
"Behold. Truth...cannot...hidden. Revealed...ignorance...no... more," wheezed the silent and sorrowful voice.
Location: Germany, Heidelberg, CBS School
Time: Year one of the Era of change Era: Era of change
"Um... guys... uh, you need to hurry!" wailed Steven again as he saw the beasts getting closer and closer.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!!!" Everyone coughed at the same time as if answering Steven.
"Cough..." "Cough..." "Cough!!!"
Everyone continued to cough uncontrollably until suddenly, a black substance, thick and gooey, came dripping out of their mouths.
"Eww! What the heck is this stuff?" yelled Steven in disgust and revulsion as he saw a huge amount of dark and corrosive slime pouring out of the mouths of his friends and schoolmates.
"Ugh... I can finally breathe... whew..." croaked Evelyn as she could finally speak properly without vast amounts of pain hindering her.
"Yeah! That was sooo painful!" agreed Phillip as he slowly stood up.
"But... is it just me, or do you guys feel like... like something's changed?" questioned Michael as he was looking at his body.
"Yeah! I feel like... I'm stronger... not just that..." remarked Evelyn inspecting the changes in her body, "... but I feel like... I, for some reason, have some kind of potential or capability in me that I…"
"Um, guys! I know you are all feeling fantastic and full of potential, but we have bigger things going on right now!" screeched Steven as he interrupted Evelyn.
"What are you talking about? You're just overreacting Steven! We just went through hell, give us some time to get ove…" snapped Phillip in a very irritated tone. "Wait! what the... what in the abominations are those things!" bellowed Phillip, as if completely forgetting what he had just previously said.
"Oh! Now you believe me!" yelled Steven back at him.
"Shoot! What are we gonna do?" moaned Evelyn
"Guys... I think we have a bigger problem!" ranted Michael, in a panicked tone, as he pointed in the other direction.
"Worse than this? What the … !?" hissed Steven as he looked in the direction at where Michael was pointing. What he saw in front of him was not the classroom of adolescents he had turned his back to, but instead, an entirely different scene. The once overly normal-looking class looked as if they had lost their sanity and would collapse at any moment. They looked entirely different, they had multiple different hair colours. Some green, others blue and even golden hair, but those were not the only modifications. Not only had their hair colours change, but it also seemed as of their personalities had completely altered. They turned their sights to Steven and his friends with vicious smiles.
"Uh... it doesn't seem like they like us very much..." stated Evelyn with a concerned voice.
"Yeah... they seem to... for some reason… they are not happy with our presence," grunted Michael as he observed their gazes.
"Keke... degenerates... scum..." declared one of Steven's classmates in a sinister voice.
"What you just say, James?!" snarled Phillip in an angry voice.
"Hmmm... why are you with THAT weakling? Come... join us... leave THAT thing behind!" cackled James. He looked at Steven as if he were the most revolting thing he had ever seen.
"What did you just say? You bastard! Say it again I dare you!" hissed Phillip.
"Hmmm! Strange... Very strange". remarked James as he was trying to understand why they would not want to join them and stay with that horrendous being.
"Ahem… uh guys, I think the first thing we need to do is, get out of here. Before those beats surround the entire structure and start breaking in!" gurgled Steven, not understanding that the current situation fully.
"Hmmm! Fine stay and die! You can die with that weakling and win us some time to escape" announced James as he saw the horde of beasts coming to the school.
"What! What's wrong with you, why are you spewing such nonsense?"
"Keke... you don't understand, do you? We gave you an option, but you chose THAT thing. Now that we are in a desperate situation, we have the best solution... You!" declared James with a smile on his face and a menacing voice to match his statement.
"What...?" wailed Michael with a stunned voice.
"Hmmm... yes... goodbye and thank you for your great sacrifice..." mocked James winking.
"Wait. What's wrong with you? Where are your morals? What happened to you guys?" wailed Evelyn at James and the rest of the class.
"Keke... very strange! Don't you see? Times have changed. Only the strong will survive. The rest... will die! Now we have wasted enough time. Goodbye!" ranted James just as a thick ice wall started to appear between them.
"What... no! Wait!" begged Michael.
"How... how was that possible?" asked Steven as he formed the thought that it was not just the animals that changed. No, it was that everything had evolved. Including humans. They have become people that had did not just changed physically but also mentally. How was that possible?
"I don't know what's going on, but we have to find a way out of here, NOW!" sputtered Phillip trying to stay calm.
"There is no way to get out of here Phillip!"
On the other side of the ice wall, Steven and his friends heard James say: "Let's get out of here."
They heard a girl named Penelope answer: "Yeah before beasts get to us!"
Another boy's voice, Günther, could be heard responding: "Hmmm… seems as if all our other classmates have the same idea!".
"Well, we'll have to kill them. In times like these, we can only survive if we let go of everything, we once knew..." declared James in a tone that much sadder and more desolate, than when he was addressing them. Steven and his friends heard no arguments or disagreements against this absurd idea. The times had changed. James and his posse had to survive. This was a new era and even if they did not want to kill people, they knew they had to survive. Kill to survive would become their new way of life. Survival of the fitness was the law of this era.
"Now shall we get started?" Steven heard James state in a stronger, more confident voice.
James had thrown away whom he once was. As he started walking away from the ice wall, all his peers, without a moment's hesitation, turned and readily followed him. Leaving a desperate Steven, ensnared between an ice wall and monstrous beasts. With only his friends at his side.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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