Welcome to the last chapter of 2016! I don't care about all the celebrity deaths, honestly. People die. That's how things work.

Have not been able to write due to poor Internet where I am. Will start up again once I'm back at my home.

This chapter is going to introduce an OC given to me by a user named Zaravan. I hope that you enjoy reading about him at least as much as I enjoyed writing about him, and I hope that you review in order to tell me if that is the case. Constructive criticism is much appreciated!

LUCAS'S POV

I became aware of my surroundings once again some time later, probably not more than an hour or so. At least, the clock on the wall across from my bed told me as such.

I assessed that I was still in the hospital wing, still tethered to an IV, and that Dr. Howler was coming back in. And yes, she was bringing me some lunch.

My stomach growled once again. I had not eaten anything for at least 28 hours, if my math skills were still intact. And I had every reason to suspect that they were.

"Hey, Lucas. I brought you some food from the dining hall. If you eat it and keep it down for an hour, I will take your IV out. We'll call it a deal?"

"Deal" I said.

What she brought me was a bowl of chicken and gnocchi stew with a slice of bread and half of a sliced apple. It all looked very good, and I had no doubt that I would be able to eat all of it.

"Just be careful not to spill it" Dr. Howler said.

Even though I still felt sluggish, I was able to finish my food fairly quickly. Not at my normal pace, which is kind of like an animal, but it didn't hurt that the food at the Grey Clouds Flight Academy was world-class.

"You ate that pretty quickly, Lucas. I hope you don't puke it up, but I'll keep a bucket on your bedside table just in case".

Sure enough, Dr. Howler placed a metal bucket that my head could have fit comfortably in on the granite table on the right-hand side of my bed.

The thing is, when a barf bucket is placed next to you, it seems to make you want to toss your cookies more. Not that anyone ever wants to vomit.

Even so, I managed to endure the whole hour. Endure is the wrong word, really, since I didn't even feel sick to my stomach at all.

At the end of the sixty minutes, the Bengal tiger took out my IV, just like she said she would. You would think this would be a sign that I could go, right?

"Nope, Lucas. You've still got to stay the night. I just want to make sure you get better rest here than you would in the dormitory. I feel that there would be so many people badgering you with questions, when you're not fully recovered yet. You do understand that, don't you?"

I nodded my head, although I knew that this would only delay my being forced to tell the story for a little bit. After that, I would still get hounded by people who claimed to be my friends but only wanted to know my side of this tale. A tale that involved me nearly dying.

After that hour was gone, Dr. Howler left me to do some paperwork at her desk, and I was left to stare at the wall until I fell asleep once again.

WILLOW'S POV

After I watched the unconscious Lucas get sent into the hospital wing, Dr. Howler insisted that I go to my usual classes for the rest of the day. I tried to protest, but until they woke him up it wasn't like there was much I could say to him and have him hear me, so that was what I did. Besides, you did not want to anger a Bengal tiger with a syringe.

Man, that is a very disturbing mental image. I apologize.

In any case, I managed to get through the day well enough, and yet I still had to get something off of my chest. If Lucas had indeed come to, I wanted to be the first person to speak to him. Of course, he might not have, but that was something that I had no control over.

It was only during shower hour that I got the chance to visit him. The secretary of the infirmary allowed me in once I told him that I had known Lucas from Maine. The anthropomorphic rooster was eager to do it, in fact.

Lucas was sleeping peacefully in one of the beds near a window. His IV had been taken out, and he looked a lot less pale. Clearly, he was doing a hell of a lot better than I had seen him this morning.

I went over to his left arm, where Dr. Howler had placed a Band-Aid, and tapped him on the shoulder.

I assumed that it would be difficult to wake Lucas. I was wrong. No sooner had I lifted my hand than his eyes fluttered open.

"Hey, Willow" he said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "What's up? You're visiting me?"

"Yes, it's shower hour. Do you remember what happened?"

"Yeah, I woke up earlier. I was out for about eighteen hours total, she says".

"Wow, you look a hell of a lot better now. You must be well-rested" I said.

Lucas laughed a little bit. Then, his face turned far more serious.

"Look, I'm sorry! I did what I thought I had to do, and it ended up not working out too well! But I just wanted to save those innocent people".

"And now they're all dead, and not only that, but you almost died too!" I said. I really was pissed off at Lucas for doing something so dangerous.

"The other Cornerians would have died even if I hadn't gone, and I am completely fine now. It's not like my not being in that group would have changed anything".

I couldn't believe it! He was missing the point completely.

"Look" I said. "You don't have the right to do this, and keep scaring me like that. You do realize that, right?"

"Relationships don't work like that!" Lucas said. "You can't just make up a ton of rules!"

"Sure I can" I said.

Our row was interrupted by the nurse appearing once again. Dr. Howler had a very stern expression on her face, and I knew that she meant business.

"Lucas, I get that your girlfriend is not happy with you, but chill out. And, you too, Willow, please just stop fighting! Lucas's body has been under so much stress already, and this isn't what he needs right now".

I looked back at Lucas before the Bengal tiger forced me to leave. I walked out, feeling thoroughly irritated.

I wasn't going to break up with him unless he did the same to me. However, I really did feel like he had no right to almost die on me, when we were both at the ripe old age of 16. He had barely even taken my opinion into account in his decision to risk his life.

And then, I had an epiphany. I realized that it wasn't my place to decide what Lucas could or couldn't do. I might have just seriously jeopardized our relationship, and I only had myself to blame. I didn't have to visit him, and I had been the one to start that argument.

I couldn't help myself from crying all the way back to my dorm room.

LUCAS'S POV

Dr. Howler kept me in the hospital wing overnight before releasing me with the instructions to not take part in any of my classes today. I was okay with that, because I didn't know if I felt physically capable of doing so.

I still felt sluggish, partly because of the fact that I had been chilled to the bone and then reheated. As such, I tired easily as I walked to the dining hall for lunch. I'd eaten breakfast in the infirmary once again, but I had an easier time staying awake now.

Cole and Will were still in the usual spot, having saved my usual seat for me. I noticed that Mike wasn't with them, but I didn't think too much of it. Getting nearly frozen to death is pretty distracting.

"Hey, Lucas, are you feeling any better?" Will asked me. It was the second time in a month that he had asked me that question, so that illustrated just how dangerous my new life was.

"You know what happened?" I asked.

"I told him" Cole said. "We're both glad that you're all right. The last time I saw you, you were unconscious and had a body temperature of 88. It's only been two days, and you look a hundred percent again!"

"Seriously, Lucas", Will said, "Cornerian medical technology must be 211Y or something!"

I snorted. "To tell the truth, I still don't feel like I could do any of my classes, even if I wanted to. I still feel kind of sluggish, like I'm sick or something".

You know that feeling when you have been sitting next to a heater, and when you stand up after a while without drinking water your vision darkens for a bit? That was what I felt like initially after leaving the hospital wing. Now, I merely felt like I had a slight fever.

"That's an outrage, still, that they can just bar you from your classes!" Will said.

"Will, you don't understand, you weren't on this trip. You didn't feel how cold it was. You didn't have to dig through the glacier to rescue Lucas Enfield" Cole said matter-of-factly.

Will looked like he was about to respond, and I was going to have to mediate between the two of them. Thankfully, I was saved from that by the usual occurrence of our food rising on its tribute plates.

On the menu today? Steak and vegetables, steaming hot from the oven. There was also root beer available, and it all looked amazing to me.

I helped myself to some steak, and I relished being able to eat as much as I wanted again. I wasn't necessarily a glutton by any means, but I wanted to be able to choose how much I ate, not have Dr. Howler just bring some food to me.

Cornerian steak was better than Earthly steak, for sure. I didn't think that there was some supernatural difference or anything, it just tasted better. Once I was done, and the lunch period was not yet over, I asked Cole and Will where they thought Mike had gone.

"I don't know" Will says. "Mike seems to have been isolating himself more and more ever since you went on the mission. He hasn't eaten with us ever since you came back yesterday morning. Don't know what that's all about".

"Who cares, though?" Cole says. "The food's great, our classes are getting easier for us, and Lucas is safe. Everything is wonderful now".

"Thousands of people died as a result of that bomb, so please don't tell me everything is wonderful now!" I said to Cole. It came out more harshly than I meant it.

Cole seemed to be fine with that, though. He just shrugged it off, and then we all went to our rest hour. And then, we had our first afternoon class.

It was an exceedingly boring afternoon, but what else did I expect when I was still not considered healthy enough to take part? It wasn't as though I felt back up to my full physical capabilities.

In addition, I noticed that Mike was getting more and more apart from the other two boys. In Engineering, they barely even spoke to each other, for instance. Normally, I would have just been focusing on the insane amount of Engineering I had missed out on, but luckily we didn't have to do any homework outside of classes. That would have been very cruel to those who had gone on the glacial goose chase.

However, there seemed to be more to this. It was like he had something to hide, like he was deliberately avoiding their company. Maybe he was just jealous that Cole had gotten to go up to the mountains, but that wouldn't explain that Will was behaving perfectly normally.

There had to be some other explanation. And, later that night, my mind reached one.

First, though, I had another conversation with Willow.

I hadn't seen my girlfriend ever since our fight in the infirmary the previous day. I felt that I had to help to take care of it, because it would be very awkward if Willow became my ex-girlfriend when we were still trapped at the same flight academy, going to many of the same classes. That would not be a pleasant situation, and so I wanted to avoid it if possible.

Drawing on my knowledge that Willow frequently lingered in the dining hall during shower hour, I decided to do the same, in the hopes that I would encounter her.

I was not disappointed. Within five minutes, she appeared, looking a little surprised to see me.

"Hey, Willow" I said, trying to keep my voice level. I didn't want to make it sound like I desperately wanted her to forgive me.

"What is it, Lucas?" she asked, turning to face me. I noticed the curve of her face, and knew that she was still a little pissed.

"I was just wondering if you were still mad at me for going on the mission" I said. There. I'd said it. Now, I was just waiting for her reaction.

"To be honest, Lucas, not really. I'm sorry that I made such a big deal out of it back in the infirmary. It's just...you were unconscious for eighteen hours, encased in ice for most of that time. I can't believe you survived".

"I'm glad that you said that you're not still furious. Are we still together or what?"

"Yes, we are" Willow said. "And, I'll go one step further".

She took me into her arms and kissed me. It wasn't the full-on romantic one on the lips, just on the cheek, but that wasn't nothing. It showed that she really did care about me.

As long as I still had Willow, the one remnant of my former life, in here with me, that would help to keep me sane.

KONSTANTIN'S POV

It was an ordinary day, but it was also an extraordinary day.

The winter sun rose a little later than usual, but it still managed to wake me up with plenty of time. I had to get to my destination by noon today, or else I would be in trouble with the scholarship committee.

My Astros jersey still hung on the wall, which was what I had decided I was going to wear today. The admissions process had gone completely without incident, so I had no reason to assume that I would have to dress formally. I could just wear pretty much what I wanted, so I was going to wear that underneath my standard black Greatcoat. I never took that thing off.

The reason? I was overweight, and my fatness was far less pronounced if I hid it behind my large overcoat. Plus, the jersey made me look somewhat athletic, so that was the impression I decided to make on my fellow students.

The University Of Texas at Austin had offered me a scholarship for my abilities in history class, so we didn't have to worry too much about money. Our apartment, on the other hand, did not look like one that a well-off family would live in. It was small, and my mother always said that she would like a little more living space. But as long as we had each other, it was okay, she said.

I lived with my grandparents, mother, and younger sister, who was 15 and a freshman in high school. Kellie might have been snobbish at times, but she was still my sister. I loved my mother and grandparents dearly, because they clearly cared about me. It didn't matter if I was only average in school or slightly overweight.

My father, on the other hand, was not present. He died of a heart attack when I was only twelve years old. I was very close to him, and it had definitely given me some more incentive to try to lose a couple of pounds. I used to be a lot fatter than I was on the morning I went off to college, so it should not need to be said that I was successful in my efforts.

After having toast, eggs, and bacon, a nice hearty breakfast for my last one at home, I bade goodbye to my family. Then, I took the stairs down from the fifth floor to the first floor.

After all, who needs stairs? Certainly not me! Any amount of exercise I could get was a positive contribution to my day.

Since I lived in Houston, the streets were very busy at this time of day, what with people needing to get to work and such. I didn't have to go to work today, I was going somewhere that would determine what work I could get.

My apartment building had a special parking garage, so I went up to level P3 and recognized my license plate. Not that you even needed a license plate. My car stood out like a sore thumb for being an army green Jeep. You don't see too many of those in modern-day Houston!

I got in my car and drove out of my parking garage. I was now looking towards the future.

Little did I know, my future would not consist of going to UTA. But we'll get to that later.

It's a long drive from Houston to Austin. In the best of circumstances, it takes about two and a half hours. Most of the time, you're passing boring farmland and endless pine forests, much like in the rest of the southern United States.

The only reprieve I got from the endless boring scenery was the occasional towns and cities I would pass. And this was one of the least rural parts of Texas, the other major part of the state where people lived being Austin and Dallas. Everything else was cattle country.

There are 254 counties in Texas, most of which are named after historical people or whatever. And most of them nobody has ever heard of, too. That was one of the harsh realities of living in the second largest state in the USA by area. A lot of places were forgotten.

Not today, however. The traffic was crazy heading out of the city and towards the suburbs of Fort Bend County. I mean, a lot of people lived there, so it was understandable. Even so, I had to be at college by noon. I'd left around eight thirty.

I didn't worry too much just yet. After all, once we got outside of the Houston area, the traffic would surely ease up. And then, I would start to make up the time that I had lost.

As I passed through some more counties, I grew increasingly desperate. Time was running down, and I didn't know if my excuse for not arriving at college on time would be accepted by Mrs. Holloway, the woman who would be admitting me into the school.

Mrs. Holloway, I'm sorry. I got in a lot of traffic on the way. It was seriously bumper-to-bumper, and there was no way I could have arrived on time. I really hope you can forgive me for that. I left as early as I could have.

Probably, she would be okay with it. But there was only one way to find out.

The traffic had been bad for three hours. But when I reached Bastrop County, the last one before I got to the city of Austin, it reached an absolute standstill.

The highway had turned into a parking lot, essentially. I didn't know why that was, but I knew that my making it on time would be severely jeopardized by this.

It was a very risky idea. I'd done it a few times before when traffic was horrible. But nobody tells Konstantin Brockenbough what to do.

I got out of my Jeep and began to walk down the lane. Sure enough, nobody else was moving. The traffic was at a standstill, so I tried to use the tactic of attempting to direct traffic. The whole time, I tried to keep an eye on my army green Jeep, in order to make sure that I didn't lose track of which vehicle was mine.

The day was mild, yet somewhat warm. I could tell that wearing my overcoat was a mistake. But why wouldn't I be wearing my overcoat when I didn't want people to know I was fat?

After a couple of minutes of walking, still remembering my vehicle, I reached the crest of a small hill. Then, I looked over, and I saw a sight that shocked me.

It was as if time had stopped in the middle of a massive tailgate party, except without a party. And everyone was inside their cars. Not a single vehicle was moving. It looked like, maybe half a mile ahead, there was something that was blocking it, because traffic seemed to be moving fine on the other side of the jam.

There was what seemed like a massive tank, with the emblem of a red flying pig on the side. It was straddling all four lanes, and nobody was going past it. There was no way that anything could pass it, it was so massive.

Well, I'm gonna have to put this guy in his place, I thought, putting on my boxing gloves. They were in the pattern of the American flag, at least the right one was. The left one was the Texas flag, with the navy blue left side with the lone white star.

Finally, I put on my DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS cowboy hat, just to make sure that whoever manned this tank knew that I meant business.

Looking at it from an outsider's perspective, I would have looked absolutely ridiculous. However, I was a young man with a plan; to get to college. And I was going to run half a mile down there in order to achieve that.

It took fifteen minutes for me to reach the bottom, mainly because I had to weave in and out of cars, looking for openings to make it through. If the tank decided to move before I reached it, I might as well be committing suicide right now, because there would then be no way I could get back to my Jeep.

Luckily, that did not happen. I saw the tank in front of me, and I was hoping that I would be able to take the driver in a fight, if that was what it came down to. I definitely felt mentally and emotionally capable of socking that person in the groin for making me late.

Finally, I got to the side of the tank, which was actually quite impressive to look at. However, I felt very irritated at the thought of the person inside refusing to move.

I tried to climb the tank, in order to maybe sneak inside or something, but they don't make those things metallic for no reason.

The instant I got onto the "wall" of the tank, a siren went off, and I was thrown off. I flew seven feet in the air and landed painfully on my back.

I got up. Thankfully, nothing was broken that I could tell. Not thankfully, nothing in the tank had been broken either.

A woman stepped out of the tank. Except...she wasn't a "woman" in the way you normally would define the term. This woman seemed to be an anthropomorphic owl, but somehow I could tell that it was female.

The owl looked at me suspiciously, raising an eyebrow, as if she thought I was lying to her. It almost made me want to laugh. Had she been the one driving the tank, and parking it right in the middle of a Texas highway? What was wrong with her?

The answer was, quite a bit. You see, the woman was holding a bow in her hand. She pointed it at my leg.

Then, she seemed to ease up a bit. "You are Konstantin Brockenbough, yes?"

"Yes" I said. Really, how many other people have that name? Show me just one in the United States, and I'll give you five thousand dollars.

"Sorry" she said.

Her right hand released the arrow, and it plunged right into my right thigh. I couldn't believe it. She had just shot me with an arrow. What was going on?

I didn't know why at first, but I started to feel dizzy. Without realizing it, I passed out.

For the record, I have been to the only state larger than Texas. On the leg where we drove from Anchorage to Seward, the scenery was NOT boring in the slightest! There was the sea, and lots of woods and cliffs, with fjords.

At the time I am writing this summary, the outline for Chapter 15 is complete. I'd say that this may end up being 20 chapters or so.