The moment I turned around, I heard running footsteps behind me — fast, desperate footsteps — and then suddenly they stopped.
Thud.
My heart dropped as I rushed toward the balcony, fear rising inside my chest before I even understood what had happened.
William was lying on the balcony floor.
"William!?" I shouted as I dropped beside him and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him while trying to bring him back to consciousness.
For a moment nothing happened — and then I saw it.
Blood.
It was slowly spreading from the back of his head.
"Anthony! Anthony!! Wake up!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, my voice breaking as panic took over.
Anthony burst out of the bedroom in confusion — and the moment he saw William on the floor his face went pale. Without wasting a second he grabbed the bedsheet from the bed and pressed it against William's head while I kept calling his name again and again.
My screams had already attracted attention — people began knocking on our hotel door while the three of us struggled to lift him.
Anthony suddenly ran outside in nothing but his shorts and slammed the emergency stop button near the road, forcing a passing mag-train to halt immediately.
At that moment Erik rushed into the room.
"What happened, sir?" he asked, his voice shaking while his eyes froze at the sight of blood.
"Help me lift him!" I shouted.
The three of us carried William into the elevator and rushed down to the ground floor where the train was waiting.
We placed him inside — and the train immediately sped toward the nearest hospital.
William's eyes opened for a brief second… then closed again.
"William! Stay with me — you'll be fine, trust me… William!" I kept shouting while holding his shoulders, trying desperately to keep him conscious.
Anthony stood near the door of the train, staring at him helplessly while fear slowly replaced the usual confidence on his face.
None of us had expected the trip to go this wrong.
Why did we even come here in the first place?
This place is full of mishaps, I thought while watching the blood soak deeper into the cloth pressed against William's head.
If anything happens to him…
I will never forgive myself.
After all — I was the one who pushed for this trip.
"Can't you run the train faster, damn it!?" I shouted toward the control panel.
"William… please keep your eyes open… please…"
Within minutes we reached the hospital.
Doctors rushed him into the emergency room while Anthony, Erik, and I were left sitting outside in the hallway — silent, exhausted, and terrified.
And only one question remained in all our minds.
Why did he do it?