As noted before, the light place was as lit as ever. Early on, they had found the house stocked full of usable lumber, ready to be burned for their delight. Troy himself would have preferred modern heating, but that had been in short supply as of late. At the current point, he was just happy not freezing to death.

“How are you two holding up?” Troy asked, trying to set the mood high for the others. Charlie wasn't smiling. Dr Hale… she hardly even looked in his direction.

That was fair, Troy supposed. She was hardly awake right now. She was hardly awake ever. All weak, needing to rest at any moment that she could get away with it. Their journey through the country had been slowed because of that.

Even now, she was forced to a strained slumber on the long, black sofa, Charlie sitting on the floor next to it, watching over her to make sure that she was doing alright. As the only one between him and Troy who could perform anything medically related, that had been his role for most of their time. He would care for Dr Hale, and Troy would go out and find what was needed to do just that.

“Did you find it?” Charlie asked, not taking the time to do a proper greeting. He just wanted to know if it was a success or not. Charlie was supposed to smile at him. That had been what he used to do.

He used to smile so much. He used to laugh, joke around, and mess with the people he was with. Now… now he just sat by somebody he hoped to protect, afraid of what would happen if they perished as well.

Troy knew that much just from his ears. He never admitted he couldn't sleep through the muttering, the crying that came every time Charlie thought he was the only one awake. The man was not what he used to be, a shell that only looked to be there. A facade that broke away at the slightest touch. What he would give to be able to tell him that it was okay, that he didn't need to act emotionless when with others.

“It was sold out weeks ago,” Troy began. Already at that, Charlie looked away, seemingly satisfied with the answer. The young man continued his explanation, however. The room needed sound, and he would be the one to bring it. There was no desire to know how long Charlie had spent in silence, just staring at somebody who was barely alive at this point. “It wasn't on the shelves. There might have been some in the back storage of the store, however. I didn't get a good look at them.”

That turned the man’s gaze back on him. They were not angry, per se. Only… focused. That was the closest that could be gotten to it, though. Charlie did not seem to focus on many things nowadays, his eyes glazing over at the slightest bit of routine. How many of his actions were due to his body doing them automatically? How much would be lost the moment that the body stopped providing help? Troy had worried about weight loss himself, yet he knew that the larger of the two had it harder. The muscle had started to disappear by a bit, the arms starting to look a bit thinner than before. Even his face had begun to grow more shallow. He wasn't eating right.

“Why did you not look for them? You realise what will happen if you don't find what we need,” Charlie said. The man would likely begin to argue about him going out there and looking for them himself. Troy had refused to let that happen from the early beginning. One tour had been enough to make him and Dr Hale agree on that. With one of the three out for the count right now, Troy would be outnumbered in his voting.

Adam supported the matter in Charlie’s favour. The AI believed that the man could identify it better himself, that it would be easier for him to do it. The two had discussed the matter so many times in private. Troy had tried to make him understand that he would be too recognizable, that it would take one look before they would be located by the more powerful hunters after them. The first tour should have been proof enough for that. Still, the AI saw it as a worthy chance, that the rewards would be worth the risk. He was too stubborn to realise the danger. He did not understand the consequences, blinded by simple greed.

“I know what will happen if I don't hurry, yes,” Troy said, forcing himself to not raise his voice. It would make more sense for both of them to share information before they began to get emotional. Or, for Troy to get emotional. Charlie would never do that in front of him. Even now, that stare was the most he had gotten out of him in the last couple of days. “But, I was stopped from staying there too long. I was almost caught by the cops.”

A hiss came from behind Charlie. Both turned their attention to the source, Dr Hale having trouble getting up from her lying position. She had trouble with most movements as of late. Without being asked, the two others helped get her into a more comfortable sitting position.

Neither had to be asked to do it. After so long, they knew the movements on how to do it, only holding her up in places where it wouldn't hurt. Troy was not happy about having had to learn it. How long she had suffered… It was akin to torture for her. And there was not a moment she showed it on her face.

“Did you not say that Adam could stop the alarms from revealing your intruding?” Dr Hale questioned, having gathered breath for the question. Her voice was a bit on the raspy side as if her throat had dried up dust. No amount of liquid helped quench the apparent thirst. Troy was sure about that. They had tried too many times to count. “Did the AI overestimate its own abilities?”

“Adam’s abilities are not in question right now. He said nothing would make the alarms utter the slightest warning to anybody, and there was nothing wrong with those words. Anyway, if that was the problem, we would have been caught a long time ago,” Troy answered in a long draw. It was nice having a third person to talk to. It brought up the mood a bit. Even cutting words meant that emotion was filled in. “Something has been changed. They are beginning to catch on somehow.”

“Maybe you were too slow?” Dr Hale suggested, taking a long couple of blinks. A few tears came down her face. Not from pain, but from the body protesting anything but rest. Her flesh was tired, and it did not like the simple act of talking. “No amount of silence is going to stop regular patrols through town.”

That was an idea. Speed was key in their operations. Normally, the two would have spent less than a minute or two inside each building. Here, they have spent close to ten. Troy had been forced into making sure that it wasn't there. And… there had been slight trouble with the door. Adam had said that he needed to make sure nothing got out while he did it, causing them to have more than a bit of an initial delay.

“Maybe… I will have to remember it tomorrow when I go back,” Troy said, sneakily putting in his intentions for the next day. If he was lucky, they would be too tired to do anything but ignore-

“Oh, no you will not be doing that. It has too many strings attached,” Dr Hale said, shooting down any shot that the man had for himself. Likewise, Charlie did not look happy about the idea. Well, he never looked happy about anything. It was more the small shake of the head that made his opinions clear. Anything that would bring a high chance of them getting down was out of the question. Not to say the man wouldn't have done it himself gladly. Troy hated that idea.

He hated a lot of things as of late. He hated how Charlie was so silent, so stoic, so much like the emotionless people he met in his youth. He hated how Dr Hale kept her cutting edge as she slowly withered away, becoming the martyr for their escape. Yet… even that was beginning to be ruined. They hadn't really escaped, no matter how much it looked like it. That was what Charlie always said. He reminded them of that fact nearly every day they sat in the small house in the middle of nowhere. Was it really them that needed to be reminded of that opinion? Or did the large man need to delay his breakdown for just a bit more?

“There is still a chance that what we need is in there,” Troy replied, trying to make the two others see reason. Not all the boxes had been checked. If they went inside again, this time without being caught, he was sure that they could all be looked through in time. If the item was there, they would be able to make everything that much better. “It is one of the last places that can possibly have it. Not looking through fully is the epitome of stupidity.”

“Stupidity is what you are showing off,” Dr Hale said back, having to cough from once again raising her voice. Blood fell down from the side of her mouth. Charlie dabbed at it with a piece of tissue. He was prepared for it. He had cared for the woman for a long time now.

“If we lose you, Troy, nothing can be done. If you are taken in, we lose the one thing we have done all this for,” Charlie stated, studying Mara’s face to make sure there was no more blood coming up her throat. Choking in her sleep was one danger, the woman too weak to notice while not awake. Constant vigilance. Sometimes, Troy had to look over her, so that Charlie could sleep for a few hours. It was hard work, with it just being the two of them. Adam couldn't do it, after all.

How fun it was, risking everything every time he went out. Troy had to scavenge, had to search for the one thing they needed while knowing that him being captured would spell doom for the two others. The moment he was captured was the moment everything was lost. The only real defence he had was the fact he could not be easily identified. Especially not with Charlie’s tech to help him along the way. It helped obscure his face and likeness from everything in the city, safe for the people within it. That was one fear he had now, actually. The police officer had seen his face, if only for a brief second. Would she be able to identify him?

“I understand,” Troy said, giving up on the idea. He could still do it if he so desired. It wasn't like the two others could do anything to really stop him. He was the only one who left the house. But… he wasn't that kind of person.

They needed to find it. It had been talked about already. Without it, Dr Hale would not survive getting over the border. Charlie doubted she would really survive going anywhere at all. If needed, they would try another border city, but the chances of her surviving were even slimmer at that.

Troy needed to find it. He needed to stay strong. After saying good-night to the two others, the young man grabbed a bit of an MRE before going over to his sleeping place. It was where he kept the pillow he called a bed.