The correct answer to the puzzle from the last chapter was: H-12! My thirteenth follower and self-proclaimed 'puzzle ninja', Nazo-nin, was the only one the answer the puzzle correctly! In fact, he (or she) was the only one to even attempt to answer the puzzle at all... In over a week, only one response... Go figure...

It was nearly 4 PM now, and the conditions in the encampment haven't improved. Flora was basically very anxious to see the professor again after everything that happened, and Luke doesn't want her to be mentally scarred even more than she already was... And Travis, well, he's still in a morphine-induced stupor, although it's starting to wear off...

After hearing what the American government's theory is about many buildings in New York being destroyed and the sky going dark, Luke was trying to put together what had actually happened. It's not that Luke or anyone else thinks that the government was actually involved, but no act of 'terrorism' could make the sky go as dim as it is in the middle of the afternoon...

These are the following facts that Luke knows about before everything became a living hell:

There was an Akashic Point underneath the Snow Tower, where what appeared to be the spirits of the deceased were residing.

The supernatural hunting animal, Travis, was left for dead by his employer, Silver Queens. His eye had also been plucked out of his skull. At least, that's what Travis told him...

A large portion of New York City was now in a desolated and ruined state and the sky around it had become very dim. It's important to note that the Snow Tower is around the very center of the destroyed portion of the city, like the radius in a circle. Areas further away from the Snow Tower were less affected than areas closer to it. This may indicate that the Snow Tower and the destruction are linked in some manner.

While Luke was busy pondering these events, Flora was having total sympathy and concern for Travis's injured state, despite her own injuries, "Travis, would you like some of my special cucumber sandwiches?"

Travis was showing visible discomfort, which meant that the morphine is starting to lose its effect, "Ugh... The last thing on my mind is... food. What I need... is more of that... needle... to take the pain from my head away."

Travis took a good look at Flora's burned and injured face, "H-hey, what are you wearing that... uh, mask for?"

Flora actually had tears in her eyes from Travis's question, "I-it's not a mask!"

Travis didn't seem too concerned with hurting Flora's feelings, since he immediately just tried to get himself off the bed and on his feet.

Luke gasped in response, since Travis should still be resting right now, "Travis! What are you doing?"

The doctors nearby, as well as Flora, had also reacted immediately and tried to restrain Travis and keep him on the bed. Travis reached for one of the morphine needles that was in one of the doctor's coat pockets and grabbed it.

He tried to inject himself with more morphine, but one of the doctors caught his arm and stopped him, "No! Talking bear, stop it!"

Travis was actually begging, which was a huge difference from the normally cocky personality that he had, "But... I need more!"

The doctor had a stern tone of voice, "Your body can't handle any more morphine!"

Travis was still in a pitiful and pathetic state, "Don't... tell me... what I can't handle! I went to college!"

The doctor was unfazed by this and wrestled the morphine needle from Travis's hand, "If you keep trying to inject yourself, you could die! You're going to OD from this!"

Travis was basically reduced to a blubbering wreck, "But... head... pain... BAD!"

The doctor had his hand on Travis's furry shoulder, "I'll get you some ice."

Travis continued to moan in pain, while Luke and Flora helplessly watched with tears in their eyes... One of the other doctors just led the two away from the suffering animal, so they wouldn't have to see any more. They were pushed north, from the T Row toward the H Row of beds. By chance, Flora happened to get a glance of Bed H-12, where the professor was resting, along with a very young girl holding a basket of flowers.

Flora gasped in surprise and rushed over to the professor immediately, without taking any notice toward the little girl, "Professor?!"

What Flora saw at that moment was not meant for innocent eyes... The professor's body was very pale and deteriorated, and his veins were actually visible to the naked eye on his hands and face! He still wore his signature brown coat and hat, which was unusual for someone in medical care, but supplies were very limited at the time, and his clothing was mostly undamaged.

Flora made a futile attempt to wake the professor up by grabbing and shaking him repeatedly, "Professor! Professor! Wake up!"

What Flora felt did not feel like normal skin either... The professor's body was very cold to the touch, and his joints felt stiff! He wasn't responding to either Flora's voice or nudging...

The little girl nearby Flora started dropping flowers, such as roses, and marigolds, and had an unusually cheerful look on her face. She had tiny pigtails and looked no older than a preschooler, and it was very likely that she didn't comprehend the seriousness of this situation. The little girl handed Flora a flower, as if to cheer her up. Flora smiled with a tear still in her eye and grasped the flower.

The little girl shook her head and snatched the flower back, "No. No. Here!" She threw the flower on the professor.

Luke didn't fully understand, "Excuse me, why are you dropping flowers on the professah?"

The little girl had a very high-pitched voice, "My dah-dee says dat putting fwowers on dead bahdies poo-rifies them. He said dat it's a ain-shent Hindu rit-yu-al."

Flora shrieked in horror, "Dead body!?"

Luke went toward the doctor that was monitoring the professor, "Is the professah really... gone?"

No doctor ever like to deliver this news, "Well, this isn't easy to say... His body had lost a lot of its heat from his limbs and face, which would indicate that he's been dead for a while now."

Luke could hardly believe it, but before he started mourning the professor, the doctor continued his explanation, "But... According to the thermographic pictures, there's still a small amount of body heat in the very center of his body, where his heart is."

Luke felt somewhat reassured, "So, the professah's alive?"

The doctor had actually looked dumbfounded, "We don't know. He looks and feels like a dead man already, but at the same time, it's like there's something in him. It's like... there's something in his body, trying to keep the man alive. In my years with a medical degree, I've never seen anything like it!"

Luke had remembered something from earlier, and had an idea to confirm it, "May I see the pictures?"

The doctor looked confused for a moment, while Luke asked again, "You said you had thermographic pictures. May I please see them? I think I might know what happened."

The doctor had no reason to think that a child could figure out what a team of doctors couldn't, but there wasn't anything to lose anyway, "Go right ahead."

Luke examined the pictures closely, and noticed the small pulse of red and yellow in the otherwise blue thermographic picture. A healthy body would have the entire body pictured in a red and yellow coloring. But, just as the doctor said, only the very center of the professor had any heat. Luke recalled the moment when he saw him trap another spirit within his own body, and thought that the two might be related.

Then, Luke walked over toward the professor and put his face very close to the professor's heart, as if to speak to whatever was inside it, "Professah... When the professah saw you... He thought you were the spirit of his lost love... Are you really her? Are you the one that trying to keep the professah alive?"

There isn't much else to say, except that the doctors really are very competent individuals. It's just that the situation is even more difficult than most trained professionals can handle... As always, feel free to review!