-just a quick authors note,I hadn't realized that I didn't publish the second part for the special until the 27th so yeah my bad. Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Alright let's get on with this-

As January rolled around, it got much colder than December. The squad had to sleep in the T.S.S ("told you those mattresses would come in handy!" John had said) because it was too cold outside. They had raided people's houses in search of warm clothing and they stocked up on food for less visits to the city.

Alexander however, had his own problems.

George had been nagging him about food ever since Christmas. The animals that he usually ate in the fall, like moles and rabbits, were either hibernating or deep in the forest, which Alex couldn't get into. Even worse, his thirst for blood (or George's thirst for blood) was starting to show in his behavior. He isolated himself to avoid the craving of flesh and ate more than usual.

His friends (and boyfriend) worried about him, but they didn't say anything for fear of upsetting Alexander. They figured it was like progress, just Alex  converting back to normal.

They were very wrong.

-ALEXANDER'S POV! FIRST PERSON -

I hate this. George is fucking annoying, it's hella cold, (Yeesh, sorry, there's now a cursing warning for this chapter 😅) and no one seems to notice. At the moment, I am hunting down the mole I swear I saw. Although they keep telling me otherwise...

We've been chasing this "mole" for HOURS now, can we please try to find some lizards?

I hate to admit it, but I agree with George on this one.

I'm panting and running after it and I can see it's snow covered figure running through the snow like it's life depends on it (because it does) but so does mine. Sort of. Then the figure reaches the edge of the forest and I halt to a stop. I mutter a curse and sit down crisscross apple sauce in front of the bush.

Well that was pointless. Yes it was, now can we go back now? It's freezing! ....you know what? I'm staying right here. Alexander that is the STUPIDEST idea you've ever come up with. Well do you have a better idea? ....well, we could go in the forest... OR WE COULD DIE! Angelica, I swear on my mother's grave that I SAW THAT MOLE. It's the only way! It's not, it's really not. But sure, be the main character and run after the mysterious thing which will TOTALLY lead us on an awesome adventure, most of which will put our life on the line, and gather lots of friends and an enemy on the way why dontcha? 

....THATS A GREAT IDEA!

WAIT I WAS BEING-

But before she could finish her sentence, I ran into the forest in search of the mole.

Sarcastic....

(Little did he know, Angelica was partially right....)

-Time skip brought to you by my jamilton fanart-

-THIRD PERSON! NARRATOR! AKA MEEE-

As Alex ran through the forest, he only had his mind set on one thing. That fucking mole. He was going to catch it, and when he did he was going to eat it and be rid of his hunger for the rest of the month. As he looked around for said mole, he noticed the wonders of the wintery themed forest. The leaves had fallen off the trees, making room for icicles. The bushes were covered in beautiful white snow that glistened in the sunlight. Occasionally, he would see a sparrow flying from tree to tree. He didn't seem to mind the cold. However sooner or later, nighttime fell, and Alex had no idea where he was.

He had planned to follow his footsteps back to the camp, but he couldn't see them very well in the dark. At the very least he had his sense of direction, so he turned around, and trekked back the way he thought he came from. Then all of a sudden, he heard a scurrying amongst a nearby bush. You'd normally run away from a noise in a bush right? Well not main characters. Especially not Alex, who had came all this way to find a mole that he had followed into the forest. At the very least he would find what he was looking for.

And sure enough, he did.

The mole lay nestled in some branches and seemed to be sleeping. Cautiously, Alex moved his hand towards the mole and picked it up. It was then the mole woke up. It scrambled out of Alexander's hand and ran into a cluster of trees. Groaning, Alexander ran after it. His face was scratched by multiple branches, and he stumbled a few times, but all the while he had his mind focused on that mole.

WATCH OUT! Angelica screamed.

He came to a halt, rubbing his head from the headache he was given. What the fuck was that for! Look down dingus. Alex did as he was told, and found he was standing on the edge of a frozen pond. Startled, he stumbled a few steps back. 

"So, where did....the mole...dammit." He said aloud.

The mole had scampered across the pond, taking advantage of its weight. He watched as it continued running into the snow and soon disappeared from sight.

"Well what do I do now!? I'm stuck in the middle of a forest, in winter, with nothing to eat, and no one knows where I am because I didn't even tell anyone where I was going!"

Well that last part is kind of your fault...GEORGE! What we need to do is come up with a plan. I'm sure we can find some hibernating animals around here, and if they're sleeping, we can surely sneak up on -

And then out of nowhere, the poor boy started sobbing.

Or....or you can bawl your eyes out I guess.

So he cried and he cried until he could cry no more. How he longed for contact. For someone to come tell him it would all be okay. But no one was here to save him, and at the moment, nothing  seemed like it was going to be okay.

~THIRD PERSON! HAMILSQUAD AND THOMAS THE DANK ENGINE!~

The others were worried sick. No one could find Alex, he hadn't left any hints as to where he ran off to. "We should've followed him..." John said. "Yeah, there's no telling what he'll do. He's ALEXANDER for fuck's sake, he could be attempting to cross a chasm for all we know!" Hercules exclaimed. This statement made Thomas worry even more than he already was. Alexander had done this before, and they had managed to find him, but he had been sleeping in a mud patch with a zombie child. Worst case scenario was that Alexander had gotten himself killed. They prayed and prayed that wasn't the case.

They were gathered around the campfire discussing what to do about the situation at hand when Lafayette stood up.

"Okay, we need to split up if we are going to find him. Find any clues zat you can of where he could possibly be, and shout.....rubber duck if you find anything worz investigating. Okay? Okay."

The others listened intently and nodded their heads.

"Okay, John, Thomas, you two search near ze high grass and woods. Me and Herc will search in ze  direction of the city. OH! And don't forget to take weapons! We don't know what we might encounter..."

With that, they all walked to the T.S.S and grabbed weapons. Then they split into their respective groups and the search began.

\time skip brought to you by Puppy Dog Pals/

"Thomas look!" John said. He'd been examining an area near the edge of the forest and found some footprints. "Woah....that's a human foot right there. But what's...that?" Thomas replied and pointed towards something that looked more like a messed up circle. "I don't know, but they're placed right next to the footsteps, like someone was walking here..." John said. They thought for a minute, and then it hit them.

"Alex is missing a foot!" They said in unison.

"RUBBER DUCK!" Thomas shouted. "I REPEAT RUBBER DUCK! RUBBER DUCKY!" Sooner or later, they heard footsteps coming in their direction, and Lafayette and Hercules showed up. "What's up?" Hercules said. "Look." John said, and pointed towards the steps. They examined them and said, "This has to be Alex.". Then, (conveniently enough) Thomas spotted a trail of the markings in the snow.

He was scared when he found they lead directly into the woods.

"Alex went into the woods..." Thomas said. "But...why?" John asked. They all looked at one another concerned. What would Alex possibly want in the woods? Then Thomas stepped forward and said, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!". But he was stopped when Lafayette put a hand on his shoulder. "Thomas no, I know you're eager, we all are, but Alex is smart. He probably thought he could find his way back using a trail he left behind. I'm not sure what it was, but knowing him he came up wiz something. But....but zere was a flaw in his plan. There's no way he was able to find his trail by night... which is why if we go now, we'll fall into the same situation. We have to go in the morning." He explained. "But Laf, Alex could be in trouble! Or hurt! Or....or.." dying, dead he finished in his head.

Lafayette only shook his head and began to walk away.  Sure enough, the others followed suit.

Thomas didn't sleep that night.

~time skip brought to you by PBS kids~

When morning came, the group packed what they needed and set out for the forest, following the trail left by Alexander. They just hoped they could get there fast enough.

=FIRST PERSON! A. HAM SANDWICH=

I fell asleep in the exact same spot I was in last time. Now my back hurts and there's leaves in my hair, and my shirt is dirty af (as if I wasn't dirty enough already) and I'm practically dying of starvation.

Okay, you are NOT DYING. You've literally only gone one day without food.

Like I said. Dying. Starvation. Anyways, I have officially decided what to do. I'm going to cross the pond like a boss. I know it's a bad idea, but it's worth a shot. Plus, if I succeed I might get to that mole! But it's not going to be easy. I have to tread carefully, because the ice looks thin...

Alright well, what are you waiting for?

I was kind of hoping Angelica would tell me off.

To be honest, I'm absolutely done with your shit at the moment. Go ahead, no one's stopping you.

So with that, I inched towards the pond. And finally, my foot connected with the ice. Carefully, I shifted my weight to my right foot (which was on the ice) and put my left foot on. Itty bitty cracks were showing, but it didn't look like anything too serious. So I start walking. 

Slowly....

                     Carefully....

                                               Very....

                                                               Cautiously...

At some point I started to get the hang of it. Just itty bitty cracks that's all..nothing to worry about... so I started going a bit faster....

Step...

              By step...

                                   By step...

                                                        By step...

I was walking at a normal pace now. The cracks got a bit bigger. But I was almost there...so I started speed walking.

Step

By step

By step

By-

Shit.

My foot cracked through the ice and was in the water. Even worse, it was stuck. I tried pulling it a bit to get it loose, but the crack just got bigger, and a bit of my leg fell in. Now I was panicking. Okay Alex, what do we do in these situations?

Breathe....

In..

Out..

In..

Ou-

My other foot(or what's left of it) had been on the ice too long. It also made a crack in the ice, and that foot fell in too. And with no support, I fell in.

I tried to stay surfaced but holding on to the ice above, but it just cracked under the weight of my hand and floated away. And with nothing to hold onto I sank underneath. I panicked and thrashed and attempted to get back to the surface but the only time I've ever had to swim was during the hurricane, when I was fighting for my life. Why is this pond so damn deep?! As I resurfaced for a fraction of a second I got a glimpse of just how big this "pond" was.

Holy shit, am I in the Black Lake or something!?

I gasped for breath as I fell under once again. The cold was biting in my skin, and my winter clothing was making it hard to swim. I'm not gonna lie, even though I kept going, drowning is...kind of peaceful. Wish I could've done this the first time.. there's no sound underwater..so calm...I curled up into a ball and just excepted my fate..

*Flashback*

The water was rising faster than Alex had ever seen it rise. His house had collapsed on top of him and he couldn't get out. But if he didn't he would die, he wanted to live, he wanted help. He clawed  out of the debris and tried to swim towards the surface but a log smacked him in the arm, making it hard to swim. But nevertheless, he made it. He took a big gulp of air and then was thrown underwater again.

He dared to open his eyes and he was surrounded by a bunch of blue and brown and black. He caught little glimpses of red and almost gagged. As he resurfaced once again he screamed for his life.

"PLEASE! SOMEONE! HELP! JAMES! MOM! ANYONE-"

and he fell underwater again. He decided to swim towards whatever he could find, any signs of human life. It was quite the struggle. The odds were against him, but he kept swimming. He came back up for air, scrunched his eyebrows and dove back under the water again. This orphan was gonna survive. Even when his father didn't want him, his cousin didn't care and his mom was gone to glory this motherfucker was gonna live. He found a tree (or more so it found him) and he clung on for dear life, not letting the water rip him away.

"I'm gonna live." He said in his head.

"I'm gonna live." He murmured to himself.

"IM GONNA LIVE!" He screamed against the wind and rain, against the universe.

And sure enough he did.

*flashback over*

FIRST PERSON! THOMAS POV!

We found him in the lake nearby. We had seen the splashing and I raced over there, and god Alexander why do you do these things to me!? I saw his head go under the water as he curled into a ball and just seemed to lose all his will to live. Not this time.

I am not losing another person I love.

Without thinking, I threw my clothes off and told Hercules to grab my hand. They all formed a chain holding hands and I jumped in. Alex was there, curled up in a ball and sinking to the bottom. I grabbed hold of his mittened hand and hauled him back up. Poor thing was shaking, but his cheeks were puffed out.

He was still holding his breath.

He was still holding on.

I shook Hercules' hand and hugged Alexander close as we were hauled back up. I was still hugging him close, despite the fact that it was the middle of winter and the only thing I had on was myboxers. John told me we had to get him back to the tent site fast, or he'd die of hypothermia. We rushed back to the camp, with me carrying Alex and silently praying he'd survive.

Unlike Alex, we were able to find our way back, because it was still daylight when we left. When we got back, we first made sure he wasn't bleeding anywhere. Luckily, there were just a few scratches, nothing a band-aid or two can't fix. Then we had to well...take off his clothes. Yeah, that was a bit awkward. But I guess in the heat of the moment I didn't care. John brought out some oil and rubbed it on him, saying it would warm him up. He dried him off and gave him some new clothing.

Then, we pressed on his chest to make sure he could still breathe. He coughed up a bit of water and groaned, giving us a sign he was alive, but I checked all the places you can check a pulse just in case. John told us we were gonna have to wait a while until he was fine again, seeing as we didn't really have all the proper supplies.

So I got tended to, changed, and waited by his side.

~time skip brought to you by me about to finish this chapter at 12:00 am also, THIRD PERSON! NARRATOR!~

Thomas was sitting by Alexander's side, humming a familiar tune. Suddenly, Alexander started coughing, and Thomas gently rolled him on his side. It was then that Alexander's eyes fluttered open.

"...Thomas?" Alexander said, his voice raspy.

Thomas nearly cried at the sound of his lover.

This part is mainly gonna be monologue, soo

Thomas's font is normal 

Alexander's font is in bold

"ALEX!"

"Hi."

Thomas pulled Alexander into a deep hug, though not too rough so that he didn't get hurt.

"Oh my gosh, Alex you scared me! We were worried sick! And then when we found you were drowning in a lake!? Do you have any idea how scary that is for me!?"

"Sorry Thomas, I was....oh, you're gonna hate me for this, I was being stupid."

"Is it that bad?"

"....if I said I was chasing after a mole, would that be bad?

"Uh- ALEXANDER HAMILTON, YOU DID NOT GO DROWN IN A LAKE CHASING AFTER A DAMN MOLE!"

"I know right? I didn't even catch it!"

"I am extremely disappointed in you."

"Aw man....what can I do to make it better?"

"Absolutely nothing."

So, Alexander grabbed his shoulders, pulled him towards him, and closed the gap. Thomas let out a little noise of surprise and amusement and kissed him back. Alexander had been longing for this contact for a while now, and he finally got what he wanted. Even though Thomas dominated the kiss, it was still worth it.

"Better?"

"You sneaky little gremlin."

Alexander merely stuck his tongue out at him.

"Tch, whatever, I'm still dominate."

Alexander blushed that pale blush that Thomas adored so much.

"H-hush you."

"Awwww, flustered much?"

"No..."

"You're so cute when you're flustered."

"N-NO IM N-NOT!"

"Tsundere hmm? Well, no matter, I always win you over anyways."

Alexander was so pale you'd think he turned human again. He flipped Thomas off (whilst smiling uncontrollably) and turned over on the mattress. Thomas just laughed at his boyfriend's antics.

"Love you my lil lion~"

".....love you too, jerk."

~CHELLO! Sorry this took a while, I literally just finished it today because my keyboard was acting up yesterday. Also, thank you to those who put my lil book on their reading lists, it means a lot to meeee you wonderful people know who you are. Anyways, I'm in Tennessee this week (not that anyone cares) so yeah. Also, winter break is over one Monday for me so I might not be updating every so often (not that I already do) thank you all for getting this book so far even though it's my first one, and I appreciate y'all greatly. Now good bye, I am TIRED. Eonjedeun Mannayo ✌🏽~