Unlike the other doors, Chiro's was closed. Sam knew he might have already headed down, but they always walked together, so that seemed strange.

"Chiro?" He called out quietly as he rapped at the door with his knuckles. There was the sound of something heavy being moved across the floor, and a moment later, the door opened a crack. It closed quickly and then more dragging noises before it opened all the way. Before Sam could ask what was going on, Chiro threw his arms around his friend and squeezed.

"Hey, it is alright. It is morning." He said as he rubbed circles on the trembling back. "Someone must have gotten sick last night, but they only break while others are a sleep, so we should be fine, right?"

Chiro did not speak, or maybe he couldn't because he seemed to be fighting back tears when he pulled away. His eyes dropped to the floor as Butler came back from pulling everyone out of their rooms. Sam furrowed his brow and looked at Chiro's door. His had been the only one still closed, and it would have been one of the first opened.

"Come on," he said, nudging Chiro toward the stairs. "Butler said if we don't get downstairs, then we don't get meal."

Sam kept a close eye on his friend as they negotiated the steep stairs. Even tired, the boy had this exhausting energy and didn't stop talking. All that was gone. His thin arms were crossed tightly across his chest, shoulders pulled inward dramatically. The blood seemed to have left his face, leaving it pale and his eyes as dark as a moonless night in comparison. He sat down in his chair at the table when Sam pushed lightly on his shoulders. Getting him to eat a spoon of oatmeal took the same effort, a hand guided to the bowl.

Sam looked up to check for Butler, but the man had not entered the dining room with him. "That noise was ready scary, wasn't it?"

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Chiro didn't respond beyond setting his spoon down against the side of the bowl. His eyes darted around to all of the faces trying to hide in their breakfast. His 00lips pressed tightly together, and he did not touch his food again.

At each meal, Sam tried to get the boy to eat something. A few times, it worked, and food made its way into his mouth to be chewed and swallowed. When Sam was not actively guiding him, Chiro sat limply and stared at nothing. This lasted through dinner when Chiro reached his hand out suddenly and wrapped it around Sam's wrist. "I need to talk to you when you are done, don't be scared if you see me." Then he darted out of the room and out of sight.

Sam watched the doorway for a minute, his lips pursed, wondering if he should go after the boy. More than anyone else, he was horribly shaken by the previous night's incident. After breakfast, the whispers around the table stopped. Everyone settled down and worked. The new serving woman was less confident in her movements, perhaps, but her shoulders were straight once more. The work was done efficiently, and after cleaning the dining room, she moved toward her room without obvious fear.

Cook did not loiter when his work was done. Before leaving for the night, he slipped a small, round fruit into Sam's hand and patted his shoulder. Sam stared at the little red fruit and felt a smile trying to worm its way out at the gesture. The smile died before it manifested. Alone, the room seemed too big. The strange hum from the ice chest, which Sam now knew was a motor that helped keep the chest cold without ice, startled him when it began abruptly. He moved as quickly as he could and finished his work faster than he ever had before.

When he entered his bedroom, he was out of breath and panting hard. The door latch catching behind him helped his fear only a little, the feeling of safety brought by a closed door not what it once was.

After a little while, his breathing was more even, and if his heart still raced, he thought it understandable. He quickly changed out of his uniform and sat on the bed until the lock clicked. Pulling the sheet up over his body, he laid down and tried to get his eyes to close. He wondered how Chiro was doing. He must have been thinking too intently about him because he heard Chiro's voice from very nearby.

"It's me, Sam, don't scream."