Chiro watched in horror as something leapt on Sam from behind, driving him into the floor. He screamed at all the red splattering across the hallway walls, painting terrifying images on their light surface. There was no point in trying to save his friend. It was too late for anyone to save him, so Chiro began to run. Skipping several stairs at a time, he made it to the bottom and ducked into the first room he saw, quietly shutting the door behind him. It was a study, he knew. Chiro had been forced to clean it once after one of the other cleaners went missing. He knew that there was a door at the other end that would lead him directly to the front entrance way, and he took off across the room, dodging and weaving around furniture in the dark. He closed the door behind him quietly, and right before the latch clicked, he heard the door open on the other end.

There was no response from his cranial unit. All incoming message capabilities had been shut off by the family when he was disowned. They wouldn't ignore the distress signal. They couldn't take the chance that something would happen to any person who once shared the family name. It was bad for business. A day and a half was more than enough time to get anywhere in the solar system with current engine capabilities. He just had to get outside to be picked up.

There was no time to worry about anyone else in the manor. Once he was rescued, then he could tell everyone what happened and the enforcement agencies could have a quick fight over who would come and save everyone that was left, and punish the people who set the whole thing up. He needed to get outside.

His feet moved as quickly as they could without making more noise than necessary. Chiro tried not to think about what had happened up in the servant's quarters. It was clearly a man, but it moved wrong, limbs jerking spasmodically as they...

Chiro swallowed back a sob. Sam was a good guy. He never made fun of Chiro for talking so much, or got angry at needing to have things explained to him. Chiro had wanted to get Sam home safe almost as much as he wanted to get out safe himself. But Chiro had failed the innocent breaker boy. He hadn't thought that the man, the creature, would be waiting in the hall by Sam's door to catch them both as they ran. His cockiness combined with his fear made him focus so hard on the getting away that he didn't think about what could go wrong.

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Turning a corner, he spotted the front door, and he sprinted for it. The small plaque next to it was quickly twisted to the side, revealing a numerical keypad. Chiro pressed the code in that he had seen butler enter, and the door opened with a click and a hiss. He ducked inside, skidding to a halt in the brightly lit little room.

Everything was stark white. Floor, ceiling, walls. A narrow bench ran along the side, leading to a door at the other end. No, not a door. A hatch. Chiro felt tears begin to gather at the corner of his eyes. His stomach dropped out, and he forced his feet to move closer to the 'door'. One foot, then the other, repeating until his face was pressed against the round window set into the center of the hatch's surface.

Chiro rubbed his eyes, dashing away the tears that were now falling steadily. It was so dark outside. But it wasn't so dark that he couldn't see the sparkling rings of the cobalt planet floating against a background of nothing. They weren't in a manor on the other side of Io. They weren't on one of the other moons or even one of the other planets in the origin system. He had never seen the planet before him in person before. The family that built their habitats to orbit it was not the family his parents were expelled from. He was a long, long way away from home. Nobody was going to come and save him. There wasn't enough time to even get close.

"Where are you running to, young master Chiro?" A voice like something rising from the abyss tore Chiro's eyes away from the beautiful planet that loomed outside the airlock hatch, indifferent to his despair. He turned slowly and stopped trying to wipe his tears from his face. Standing just inside the manor entrance, everything behind him painted in inky shadows, was the Master of the estate.

Or maybe it was him no longer. His white blonde hair was loose, the front strands sticking in the red liquid that covered his mouth and face, the same liquid that dripped from his long, slender fingers. His eyes were black without a trace of white. As he tilted his head to the side, Chiro thought it looked as though two heads were moving at once, a subtle blurring of motion. In that moment, Chiro understood everything. They never stood a chance.

The nobleman stepped inside the airlock, flexing his fingers lazily at his sides. And he smiled.

*End*

Thank you for taking the time to look through this little window into Sam and Chiro's universe with me. There was no happy ending this time, we can't always control what we will see when we look through a window. Maybe the next time will end better...