In the hallway, Louis asked, "What do we do? Dave hasn't come yet."
Alex, with tears in his eyes, replied, "Dave… he's dead. He died trying to help us."
He continued, his voice trembling, "My life doesn't matter anymore after my brother Dave died. I have to make the right decision too."
Louis cried out, "No, Alex! What are you doing?"
But Alex had already run toward the man approaching them with a knife. He stabbed him, but the man managed to strike back, seriously wounding Alex as well.
As he struggled to stay standing, Alex gasped to Louis, "When you get out of here… don't forget those who sacrificed themselves for you. Hold on to life. Dave placed his dreams in your hands, and I did too."
Louis shook his head, tears streaming down his face. "No, Alex… you won't die. You'll fulfill Dave's dreams too."
Alex looked at him weakly. "You're not a child, Louis. You can't cry over everything sad that happens."
Louis tried to carry Alex with him, but by the time he reached the door, Alex had already passed away. Louis, grieving and desperate, lifted him and ran as far away from that building as he could.
He went to his parents' grave and laid Alex to rest beside them. Overcome with anguish, he cried from the depths of his heart, screaming, "Why? Why? Why?"
Stumbling through the streets like a madman, he noticed a note on the map he had found. It read: "Look at the back of the map."
Louis turned it over and found a message from Dave and Alex:
"Hello Louis, we are ghosts! Haha, just kidding—but seriously, don't cry for us. Keep living. We knew we might die, so we wrote this for you and placed our hopes in your hands. Don't be sad—be happy instead. We trusted you enough to throw ourselves into hell for you.
I'm Alex—I hope you go to the school you want. You have only a few months left to enter when you turn sixteen.
And I'm Dave. Please write your name here, below mine, along with Alex's, so our spirits will be together. Don't forget us, Louis. Live your life.
Goodbye, my friend."
Louis began to cry, but then stopped. He wrote his name carefully and whispered, "I promise you, Alex… I won't cry. I'll endure whatever comes."
He fell asleep in the street. The next morning, he awoke hungry and in pain from his injuries. A wealthy man approached him.
Louis asked, "Can you… give me some food?"
The man replied, "No. I can only give you food if you sign this."
Louis, starving, signed without hesitation—and immediately fainted from exhaustion.
When he woke up, he was in a hospital. His wounds had been stitched and treated, and a large amount of food was on the table beside him. He didn't even think—he just began eating, ravenously, making up for days of hunger.
The man said, "I will leave you to recover fully. You will be my servant."
Louis noticed the contract he had signed without thinking. He felt regret, but he had no other choice. It was only for two months, and he convinced himself nothing worse would happen.