God, it hurt! Troy could feel blood leak out of his side. The skin had been torn off by friction. Oh, it hurt so bad. Putting his hand on the wound, he brought it up to his face. Red liquid met his eyes. This was not good. Was he getting dizzy? There was a desire to vomit his insides out.

‘Get up!’ Adam shouted at him. The loud voice made Troy do what could only be called a spastic twist, his legs stretching out on pure instinct. It propelled him up enough to let him stand, yet the movement brought with it more than a little pain. His wound was being stretched, and it did not feel good. The skin was continuing to tear, each second air travelled to his lungs. How he wished to hold his breath, if not for the immense pressure already felt. He could hardly keep his mouth closed.

Troy understood he had to keep standing, yet his legs were already swaying in the non-existent wind. He had trouble with balance, his mind too preoccupied with the pain. What he needed was something to block it out, yet he knew there was nothing he could really use for that.

“Quite the sturdy one,” the old officer said. Troy looked over to see him going through the front door. Was the window too fine for the likes of him? Heh. Even in a state of pain, the young man could not help but critique that self-liking expression. If only he could slap it. That expression was almost begging for it. “Any enhancements in that body of yours?”

“Nothing but pure will, I'm afraid,” Troy answered, delaying the contact by as much as he could. He was weak. If he tried to run, he would fail no matter what. He just had to keep talking.

“You better be,” the officer said with a smile. There were gaps where teeth should have been. Disgusting. Something to comment on if needed. “That face of yours… might you be the prey that we have been looking for for so long?”

His face… there should have been no places where his face could be. Troy had looked. There had been no official messages about their escape. Everything had been kept under the wraps.

“What are you talking about?” the young man questioned, taking a few stumbling steps backwards. Though, they had been purely intentional, allowing him to create a few more meters of balance. If he tried to run, the officer would go in for the catch. If it seemed like the man was in control, Troy would be able to get a few more meters in distance.

“That pure screen of white. I didn't believe it when Cass talked about it, yet I really can't see anything. It's giving me a headache. Only one way to fix that,” the man said. He put one of his hands onto his left side, before stretching it out and-

‘Duck!’ Adam shouted. Troy’s body moved before he even registered it. What he did register, however, was the woosh of a small needle flying by his cheek. It had been aimed towards his heart. ‘Run!’

No need to be told twice. One glance told him that the man was packing away the weirdly shaped gun. It would take a second. A whole second left to get a good distance. Troy took that opportunity, going directly towards the tree-line.

One good thing about the dense forest was how it incapacitated any enhanced people. Sure, they could get up to incredible speeds, but even they had to accelerate little by little. No chance to do that when there was a tree in the way every third second.

That wasn't to mean that Troy was any faster. He still had to swerve every few seconds. Only… he always got close to his top speed. There wasn't much of a hindrance for him. In terms of overall speed, it allowed him to almost equal most users in that regard.

Then again, the ‘most users’ part did need to be stressed. Troy had heard horror stories about people focused entirely on their dexterity, able to perform moves normally reserved for badly-made action movies. And sometimes… sometimes reality was so much worse.

‘He is ignoring the trees,’ Adam informed Troy dutifully. The AI’s tone had returned to its regular dull voice. Life had been lost yet again. The young man could not find it within himself to currently give a flying damn about it.

“No shit, sherlock!” Troy shouted, doing his best to make his legs beat faster. Every step was done with the utmost pressure by his thighs. There was not a moment where they did not burn intensely, yet he likewise did not dare falter. His eyes were on the ground, constantly making sure he did not fall. He just needed to get away.

He just needed to get away from the police officer who was making it very clear that he could ignore trees. Not meant in the way that he was able to avoid them. No… it was very clear what was meant.

“Stop right there, young man! I have to arrest you!” the officer shouted, as what sounded like yet another young tree was ripped out of the way. How was he even doing that while keeping pace? More importantly, why was he sounding like he was getting closer? It was not comforting!

A stump was jumped over. Only two seconds later, Troy could hear it cracking from the pressure of a boot stamping on it. Oh god, this was not good at all. How much power did the man have? He had thrown him through a window with ease. Just what would be done if he was caught?

The fear of the unknown made him increase his speed. Troy needed to get away. The officer was catching up. He just knew it. Even if he did not dare look back, those rhythmic beats of feet hitting the ground were more than enough to guess. It only furthered the adrenaline being pumped into his blood.

The pressure was at an all-time high, and the terrain just had to change. The starting distance was still holding up, but it was put to the test when the ground began to grow. Slowly but surely, Troy started going up a hill. His legs burned evermore. Yet, he could hear that the one behind him had a similar problem.

A weakness! An opportunity. While the officer was clearly strong, endurance was something that was lacking. That could be used. Troy would use it. He had more fortitude than most could ever dream of. It had been a requirement to even get as far as he had come. He had forced himself through thin rock-formations, braved endless stair-cases, and had withstood the force of being pushed harder than anybody had the audacity to survive. Troy could do this.

The hill just continued. The trees obscured the size of it. Yet… it could not continue for long now. They had run so far. Troy’s breathing was forced to be full, and the officer was clearly gasping for air. However, either of them had not yet given up. The young man understood that he would be caught the moment he stopped.

And, that was just about the time he hit the top. There were no trees up there, making it possible to see far into the distance. Then again… the reason for the lack of trees was what worried Troy so much.

The hill ended up as a cliff. Literally. Troy could not tell the distance down, yet he knew that it had to be over thirty meters. It was frightening to stare down. The man ran as far as he could beside it, yet it ended up as a dead end. Not good. Behind him, the officer was smiling.

“Nowhere to go now, boy,” the officer said, cheeky smiling at him. He was clearly enjoying the moment, while also getting his pulse back under control. Troy used the time for the same, glancing at just what was around him.

Beneath but of them, a stream ran. A river, one could say. The same that Troy used every day to get water. Since they had run away from the sun… the force would lead over to where they lived. Yet, the distance was so far.

“If I jumped,” Troy began carefully, making sure his eyes met the officers. “Will I survive?”

That caused quite a reaction. The posture changed, the man becoming on guard. Was it such a threat? Troy only proposed the idea of throwing himself off a cliff.

“Do not try it, son. Nothing good will happen from that,” the officer answered. The clouds parted for a few moments, letting the sunshine down on them. It got in his eyes a small bit. Troy ignored it though, just like he ignored what the man had said. Somebody else’s opinion was weighed higher.

‘With the clothes able to dampen the pressure, combined with the distance, you will have a greater chance of drowning. Can you hold your breath for over a minute?’ Adam sent an answer. Troy was elated by that. He might just have it in him after all. Still… It was a fair height. It would almost make him dizzy yet again.

Maybe a few careful steps backwards? If he could not see when the edge would be there, it would be a surprise for him. It would certainly calm him a bit. Though… after the first three had been done, that officer did not look happy.

“Don't you even dare think-” the officer began, but Troy never heard the finished parts. The older man had begun moving towards him, startling the younger man into taking a few more rapid steps back. It was around the fourth or fifth that Troy realised the lack of stone beneath him.

As gravity began to take its toll, the only thing the man could do was to brace for impact. He straightened out his body, as the wheezing of air reached his ears. It took less than five seconds before he felt-

Jared stared down at the river. He had never thought the thief would jump. For a full minute, he had observed the water, waiting for the young man to resurface for air.

…

That moment never came. No matter how long somebody could hold their breath, the stress of the situation would have forced the water into the lungs by that point. The only way he would find the criminal now would be by the help of scuba gear. How deep was that river anyway? Jared had always been warned about going into it when he was younger, but that was more due to the fish inside it. Those things could bite when they wanted to.

The man had to sigh, as he began walking back to the car. His legs felt weak. It was not every day that he was made to run for so long. Was he getting older?... Nah, it was just him not training enough. Those fancy cardio routines had never been his favourite dish, but Cass apparently found them helpful. Maybe he should ask her for advice?

An idea perhaps. Though, the details would have to be noted down. In that department, he was in luck! The badge gave access to so many gadgets, an internal notepad being a part of them. Sure, some nostalgia from using the physical ones impacted the decision, yet even Jared could not help but sigh relief. No tired fingers from that anymore.

It was during that time spent noting down ideas that he got back to the shop. The window was… still broken. Jared was still surprised it had broken in the first place. According to the building info, it had been supposed to have been able to handle multiple hits by a sledgehammer. Had his throws gotten more powerful as of late? That was a nice thought. But, there was a better chance of shoddy notations. Those cheap skates had likely written down a higher quality of glass in an attempt to get cheaper insurance. Wasnt the first time he had seen it.

Though… what was that? On the ground, a few meters away from the broken glass, was a box of some kind. It was not too wide or tall, most of its size coming from the length. Picking it up, Jared took a glance at the code on the side. According to the systems, it was one of the products found inside the store.

Had it gotten out accidentally? Jared could not specifically remember doing anything of note that would have made that happen. However… had not the thief been carrying something? Jared could remember there being a bag, but something had definitely been in the criminal’s hand as well. Could this be it?

If so, then it was evidence. And evidence had to be brought to the station, even if the aforementioned runaway had drowned. Maybe the other two would be happy about it. Even if one of them had been taken care of, there was at least one more to capture. It had become clear that that earpiece the criminal had worn really was a transmitter of some kind.

That was a nice thought. Jared kept thinking about it as he got back to the car. Inside sat the automation, however, instantly able to reverse any happiness that had been generated.

“Why did you not run after him?” Jared angrily questioned. “You could have catched him!”

“You ordered me to stay inside the car,” the automation answered. It had told him it had a name, but Jared couldn't give a single fuck about that. It was an automation, and nothing more than that. “I was only doing what was-”

“Who gives a half-ass about what I ordered. You could have gotten him. So? Why didn't you get him?”

“The last time I did that, you shouted at me for disobeying-”

“Shut up!”

How he hated those. If not for those rules, he would have made it sit in the back. That thing would never replace those he had worked with. It was nothing compared to them.

After writing up a damage report, Jared began the ride home to the station. Now… How was he going to break the news about the death? It wasn't every day somebody chose death over being captured.