Who did that woman think she was, drugging him with such inferior products? Honestly, the quality of the police had fallen to new lows, in Troy’s eyes. Here he had been, being the god and cop-fearing man that he was supposed to be, and then he successfully outsmarts a trained officer through what he still saw as the most stupid of plans he had ever heard.

“I still can't believe that actually worked,” Troy muttered, giving himself a moment to rest against one of the nearby trees. Even if the sedative isn't working anymore, the human body was still working against him. One could only jog for so long before it became a problem.

Pulling out the needle had been the hardest of his quandaries, really. The muscle tensing as the long rod was pulled out of him… it made him shiver in disgust. The feeling of something inside of him was not on his list of desires for any day of the week. Much less did he enjoy that needle, filled with that awful stuff. It hit hard in the start, yes, but everything after had been a pure act of his. Troy was still a bit proud of the last shout he made. Really did seal the deal on that trade.

‘Did I not say it would work?’ Adam questioned, the AI sounding a little feisty. And, yes, he had said it would work. Even though the ordeal, Troy had to bear through him being assured again and again that it would work. Halfway through, he had begun to doubt who it was that was being reassured in reality.

“You say a lot of things,” Troy threw back, his lungs slowing down its intake of air. The decreasing temperatures were making it hard on him. The winter had not yet come around, but it was nearly there. Just their luck for being in an area capable of snow. The meteorologists had not yet sent out the predictions, but nothing was looking good. It was too cold for the current time. “Doesn't mean that all of them are true.”

Getting back up from the helpful tree, Troy tried to get himself back into the previous speed. His legs were not happy about it, but he had learned to deal with that minor pain. It had lessened as of late, actually. Perhaps the constant running around was finally doing him some good? God, he hoped it did. No way was he going to accept another batch of weight loss.

‘Every prediction I have made throughout our journey has been correct ninety-five per cent of the time. Not trusting in my words will only hamper future progress,’ Adam stated in his defence. It had been used a couple of different times now. The AI must have thought that repeated information made him seem more informed. In actuality, it just made Troy ignore his defence even more.

“And the times they don't are where we are in big trouble,” Troy said. One of those faulty predictions had been during their first scavenging run into the city. Adam had thought himself a worthy opponent of one of the local security alarms. Troy had tried to push back against the idea but had fallen into obedience when the rewards were mentioned. That had been one of the few times where Troy had run all the way back without ever pausing. Not the most fun of times, but it did teach the lesson of willpower playing into endurance. And, of course, that the AI could be extremely wrong at times.

Though, it was during those first couple of runs where they learned to find workable alarms. As it turned out, some of the older models ran on closed connections. That was Adam’s area of expertise, one could say, and that had allowed them to get in without too much trouble. If they actually got anything out of the ordeals or not? That was a whole other topic. One that Troy didn't like to think too much about.

‘My factoring has been adjusted heavily. If we take away the first data-inputs, you will see that the track-record is much better.’

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‘So if we remove all the evidence against you, then there isn't that much evidence against you?” Troy suggested as a rewording.

‘My words exactly,’ Adam confirmed, possibly thinking of it as a good thing. That certainly caused a bark of laughter out of the man.

As one would have had it, Troy and the crew were not really situated in the city. That had been one of the ground rules established during their first few days out on the run. It might have been seen as a needed act, seeing as they had certain equipment that they needed every few days at the minimum.

Still, both requirements had been filled until now. As one would have had it, there was a surprising amount of medical equipment lying around in abandoned lots. Not the newest, but most definitely something that Charlie had been able to work with. It had helped make many things so much easier, even if the improvements were only temporary.

If only they had been able to stay at some of the older ones. But, no, they had to keep moving. They had to, else they would be captured before they could get a moment to blink.

And… all that luck that they had had at their disposal since the near start had finally begun to run out. As they got more away from the centre of the country, the scarcer any working technology became. People were more greedy with their devices out here, and there was nothing that could be used while still being far from the city.

But still, they had to move on. They had to work with what they had. And so… Troy had to get out of their hiding place and run to the city in the hopes of finding what they needed. They had enough pills, bandages, and temporary cures to last them a year, but it would never hold it off for long. Charlie had said he could delay it close to permanently if he had access to some of the equipment back at his base. So, that had been what Troy searched for every night. Each journey yet had been without luck. Maybe the next one would be better.

…

God, he hated the cold. With all his clothes on, the only real parts of his body being hit by it was his hands and face. Yet even they felt the coldness worthy of whole-body exposure. Troy had never been a kid to go outdoors at this time of year. Maybe that was why he felt so damn cold. He just knew that he hated it. There wasn't even snow dropping yet, and he was still going around looking like a frozen popsicle.

‘I would advise that you pick up the pace. You will be sick if you continue enduring this coldness,’ Adam stated. Troy knew that he was just being helpful, but that little thing couldn't really understand how it was having a body.

When it was cold, the muscles began to stop working properly. They would still move when called for. It was just… they would be a bit more sluggish about it. There wouldn't be as much power, as much jazz behind each swing. Troy honestly doubted he could properly run now. Even jogging was hard for him.

How long was left before he would reach the house? The road he ran on was hardly what the name suggested, but at least it served as an alright identifier. The closer it looked like it was properly taken care of, the closer he was to reach the house. Currently, the so-called path looked like nothing more than a place with slightly less grass… That equalled that there would be more than a few minutes of jogging left. How nice.

…

Troy picked up the pace a bit. He could feel the cold in his bones now. His fingers had started getting a bit paler than he liked them to be, and the sensation in them had almost disappeared entirely. It was only a great thing that he could still feel pressure with. If only he had some pockets to keep them warm with.

But, he supposed one should not have been too choosy when running around in stolen clothes. One of their earliest adventures had been to get a wardrobe of discardable clothing, to stop anybody from putting their style in as a description. They were wanted, after all. No reason to make it easier for possible bounty hunters.

Finally, after the longest of times, Troy did reach their humble abode. Through the front window, Troy could see the light from the fireplace. They had one of those this time around. A great luxury. If only it also held up in the other regards. The house was older than it looked, having been abandoned for a good part of the decade. Water still flowed in the pipes, but it was not clean enough to drink. And food… they made do with others sources. There had been a good deal of canned foods, but none of them had been touched yet. A shame, honestly. He had always wanted to try pickled meat.

Walking inside, Troy got off his outer layer of clothing. It was hard to do, his fingers feeling stiff from the sudden temperature change. Not that he minded it too much. The heat was always acceptable in his eyes.

There were no calls from the inside about him entering, no greetings shouted. It was silent, just as he remembered it. It almost made Troy want to sigh.

But he didn't. Instead, he walked into the living room, prepared to see a sorry sight.