-Footsteps echo through the dense trees of the forest. Each step is louder than the last. But we are not alone, we never were. Surrounded by Saxon troops, we draw our swords in unison and harmony to protect what we hold dear. We were not born to be heroes, but fate shaped us into ones. We are the Knights of the Round Table and we will protect our homeland and our people. Because it doesn't matter who you are. Anyone can be a hero.-
As the last rays of sunlight tickle Tristan's face, he looks up from his novel and notices that the sun is already lower than it was a few hours ago. The trees outside the windows cast long shadows across the classroom. It is already late afternoon and Tristan has lost track of time while reading. He grabs his book, places his bookmark on the page where he left off and packs it into his backpack. As he slings his backpack over his shoulder to head home, he suddenly hears footsteps in the school hallway. He stops abruptly and looks down at the floor. He clings to his backpack and pulls it tightly against his body. As the footsteps grow louder and Tristan's nervousness increases, two people enter the classroom. "There you are! We've been looking everywhere for you," Luka says with a relieved smile. "We were worried about you, Tristan," adds Luise. When Tristan realizes that it's his two best friends, he loosens his tight grip on his backpack and calms down again. "I... was just reading something and apparently lost track of time," he replies to them sheepishly. Luka just shakes his head and laughs. "You're just avoiding your stepfather again, aren't you?" he asks Tristan. But before Tristan can even answer, Luise looks at him with a sad expression. "Haven't things gotten any better yet?" Tristan lowers his gaze again and stares at the floor with an almost empty look in his eyes. "Not really... since my mother died, he's become even more brutal than he already was. So I take every opportunity I can to stay as far away from home as possible. " Luka and Luise exchange understanding glances. Luka puts his arm around Tristan's shoulder and smiles mischievously at him. "Listen, you're staying with me again tonight. You're here so often that my mom has pretty much adopted you already." "Really? I don't want to be a burden," Tristan replies somewhat hesitantly. But Luise waves her hand and shakes her head. "You're not a burden, idiot. We like having you around." Tristan can't help but smile subtly and warmly. "Thanks." Luka then pulls him closer and ruffles his hair. "Stop thanking us all the time, dude. We're your friends, it goes without saying." "Especially when your stepfather abuses you and constantly tries to convince you that you're useless," Luise adds. "We're always there for each other, no matter what," Luka encourages him. Tristan is lost for words. How on earth did he deserve friends like these, he wonders. Luka shakes his head again, laughing, and looks at the clock hanging above the classroom door. He realizes that it's getting late. "If we want to catch the last bus, we should get going now." Tristan and Luise both nod in agreement, and the three of them set off for the bus stop. They walk through the empty corridors of the school building. "Somehow, an empty school is kind of creepy," says Luka. "I actually find it relatively relaxing. No loud students, no fights, and no teachers pretending not to notice anything," Tristan replies. The three of them start laughing. As they leave the school building, a fresh, almost cool wind blows, ruffling Tristan's hair. They arrive at the bus stop and Tristan feels a subtle sense of nervousness building up. He can't hear birds chirping or the sounds of crickets. "Is it just me, or does it seem a little depressing right now?" Tristan asks the group. "It must be you, I don't really find it depressing. But who knows what's going on in your head," Luka replies somewhat ironically. "Yeah, maybe you're right..." Tristan agrees uncertainly. The old bus pulls up to the bus stop with a loud rattling noise. The doors open with a squeak and the three of them get on. After paying for their tickets and moving further into the bus, they notice that apart from them and the bus driver, there is not a soul on the bus. "How wonderful. I love it when we have the bus to ourselves," says Luise, sitting down in one of the seats at the back. "Oh yes, that's true. Do you remember that one time when there was a baby on the bus that cried the whole way?" Luka replies as he sits down next to her. "That was annoying. Not that I don't like children, but we had just gotten together and wanted some time to ourselves, and a screaming baby was a bit distracting," Luise replies, resting her head on his shoulder. Tristan doesn't comment and sits down in the row behind them. As the bus starts to move, Tristan can hear the rattling of the old bus and the loud engine noise. He looks out the window and tries to forget the world around him. Tree. Tree. Bush. Sheep. With every passing object, his eyes grow heavier. Tree. Bridge. River. Tree. Fence. Suddenly, his eyelids close and Tristan begins to fall asleep to the rattling of the bus and the loud engine noise. He dreams of an old memory, shortly after his mother's death. It is his eighteenth birthday. The warm rays of sunshine gently wake him up. He stretches and enjoys the morning warmth. After getting up, he goes downstairs to the kitchen. When he arrives in the kitchen, he sees the dirty dishes from the day before piled up in the sink. There are no cakes or presents anywhere. There are no garlands or balloons anywhere to celebrate his birthday. He looks over into the living room and sees his stepfather sitting in his old, musty armchair with a bottle of beer in his hand, watching some talk show. "Morning, Chuck," Tristan greets him somewhat cautiously. Chuck tilts his head back just enough to see Tristan's silhouette standing in the kitchen. He looks at Tristan with annoyance. "Don't you have anything better to do than just stand around being lazy? Get me a beer instead. That's the only thing you're good for." Tristan reluctantly walks over to the refrigerator, takes out a bottle of beer with a green label, and brings it to Chuck. He had hoped that Chuck would at least say something like "Happy Birthday" or something similar today, but that wasn't the case. He was even quite sure that Chuck didn't even know it was Tristan's birthday today. He hands Chuck the beer, and when Chuck looks at the label, he grabs Tristan's wrist and slaps him in the face with his other hand. He throws the beer bottle on the floor and yells at Tristan, "The one with the red label, you absolute idiot. Go get me a new one and then clean this up!" Tristan touches his right cheek, where Chuck had hit him, in pain and goes to get him a new beer. He hands it to Chuck carefully and then bends down to pick up the shards, cutting the palm of his right hand. He ignores the pain and the dripping blood and continues to pick up the shards. After wiping up the mixture of beer and blood with a rag, he goes back to the kitchen to clean the rag and bandage his wound with a kitchen towel. He looks out the window and thinks of his mother. He misses her very much and wishes she were still here. His mother was a kind-hearted person who always got along with everyone and everything. She was the kind of person who, whenever she passed a homeless person or street musician, would take money and give it to them. She always wanted to help everyone and everything she was able to help. She always called Tristan her little rose and told him repeatedly that he should help whenever he could. But after she was diagnosed with cancer, she grew weaker with each passing day until she finally succumbed to the disease and died. This loss hit Tristan hard, as his mother had always been his role model. After her death, he began to withdraw and talk less to others. As a result, he seemed to slowly forget what his mother had wanted for him. Thinking of his mother, a few tears roll down Tristan's cheeks. At that moment, Tristan wakes up again and looks around, somewhat disoriented, until he realizes where he is. Luka and Luise are still sitting next to each other, cuddling. Seeing the two of them gives Tristan a warm feeling. He remembers how it all started with them. Luka and Tristan were friends even as toddlers. They were always out and about together and did everything together. When they started middle school, they weren't allowed to sit together, and Tristan was seated next to Luise. Luise's warm and loving nature quickly ensured that she and Tristan became good friends. Tristan and Luise began to do more and more together, but Luka never had a good rapport with Luise. However, this changed a few years later when the three of them were out together and Tristan gave them some space because Luka liked her but didn't know how to talk to her. The two grew closer over the next few weeks, but Tristan was increasingly pushed into the background. However, he didn't mind, as he was happy for them. When he awakens from his thoughts, he feels a sense of unease that he cannot explain. The stronger the feeling becomes, the more nervous Tristan gets. He slides back and forth in his seat and begins to rub his wrist. It seems to him as if all the noises around him are getting quieter and quieter. The rattling of the bus and the loud engine noise seem to be fading into background noise. He also notices that it is getting colder and colder in the bus with every passing second. To calm himself down a little, he looks out of the window. He expects to see green meadows and large trees, creating a peaceful atmosphere in the light of the evening sun. But when he looks out of the window, he is surprised to see that a thick fog has settled outside. The strange thing is that until recently it was a warm summer day and the weather services had not predicted any fog. Tristan quickly realizes that the noises have indeed stopped and that he didn't just imagine it. Luka and Luise also seem to have noticed it by now. "Am I being paranoid, or have all the noises stopped?" Luka asks, somewhat nervously. Luise looks around nervously and can only agree with Luka. "No, you're not being paranoid. I don't hear anything either." She gets up to ask the bus driver what's going on, but when she gets to the front, she is shocked to find that there is no one at the wheel. She goes back to the other two and tells them what she has just seen. "Don't freak out, guys, but the bus driver is gone." "What? Don't mess with us," Tristan replies tensely. "I'm telling the truth," she assures him anxiously. This only makes everyone even more nervous. Just as Tristan is about to get up, he notices that his body suddenly feels lighter, which only makes him even more uneasy. Before anyone can say anything else, the three of them begin to float. Panicked, Luka looks out the window and sees that the fog has cleared, but the bus appears to be in free fall. So it's not weightlessness. The bus is falling. When Luka finally realizes what is happening, he starts screaming, "Damn it, we're falling! What's going on here?!" Before Tristan or Luise can answer him, the bus crashes to the ground with a loud bang, causing the three of them to immediately pass out.