Nodding to nothing other than himself, Troy was on the move. Gliding a hand across his back, he made sure nothing had fasted itself on the tree’s bark. If Adam was to be trusted, their goal was right behind him. If he messed it up now, he would be suffering from it. Not just form the AI but also himself.

Feeling nothing, which hinted at any hang-on clothing, he bent his upper body slightly forward, removing the last parts from the grasp of the bark. Now, he just had to be quiet, while getting himself a better vantage point.

Looking downwards, he realised such a thing would be harder than anticipated. The ground, as perfectly simulated as it was, could have been even better, if it had refrained from adding a rather hampering detail. His feet had sunken slightly downwards, the damp earth, closest to the roots not having absorbed the last rain, as well as it should. With the sun-rays never touching the nearest surroundings, nothing had forced the near-liquid to evaporate, letting it stay for gods know how long.

This was a problem. If Troy simply lifted his feet upwards, it would make a suction noise, as the air rushed back in, to fill the unequal pressure. As the air had been pressed out the sides, when he had been pressed downwards, he was sure, that it would be louder, than what was acceptable.

What could he do? With his current footwork, he wouldn't be able to twist himself around to see and much less to it silently. There had to be something, which would fix it all. Anything, that he could do, that would allow him to not screw all the progress up. Troy had put way too much work, into getting there silently. He would not be screwing it up now.

Behind the tree, the sharps steps continued. From the lesser taps, the creature was obviously alone. With the slowly decreasing volume, it was obviously moving farther away. While such actions were good in the short term, allowing Troy to breathe slightly more heavily, it also bore the risk, of the animal getting too far away. If he was to fulfil the optional request, he was still expected to touch the thing. Couldn't do that, if it wasn't within touching distance. Which, it definitely wouldn't be, if it came down to a race. Troy was a man of many talents. Outrunning wildlife was not one of them.

For a single second, he was about to ask Adam for assistance. While he did immediately retract himself from such thinking, the AI had apparently picked up on his intent. He still wasn't sure, how the heck he was succeeding in doing so. There shouldn't have been any visual cues to indicate such things. Well, not in the amount of progress, he had made on speaking, but still.

'Keep your tongue still. While I can observe, that you successfully stopped yourself, from speaking, it was closer, than it should have been. In the future, please be more careful. These situations, where being soundless, might be rare, but, when they happen, they will undoubtedly be vital. On the subject of not emitting any sound, I believe this is a fine time, to begin non-verbal communication. Due to your lack of progress, after having removed yourself from the tree-trunk, I am lead to believe, that you are experiencing problems. This might be an understanding, due to wrongly interpreted body-language. To make sure, that my personal deductions are true, we will begin our first attempt at non-verbal questioning. Here, we will use the standard method of confirming or denying a question. I believe, that you are already accustomed to using nodding and shaking of the head, to showcase these answers. Let us begin, with a repeat of my earlier question. Are you currently experiencing a problem?`, Adam sent, having guessed Troy’s current problems perfectly.

He nodded slowly, making sure the only motion was with his head. No sudden movements, with his neck, were currently safe. The known pressure, of a joint needing to be popped, was coming along. While it would disappear by itself, if it wasn't dealt with soon, the sound would still have the chance of being loud. By not moving, he minimized the chance of an unfortunate failure.

'Good to know that we can move this technique up to proof of concept. In the future, we will need to make more complex signs. But, such will take too much time, to currently do correctly. In the meantime, we will be continuing the current system. To further delve into this problem, is it something which you will be able to fix yourself?`

Troy lightly shook his head, in denial. While, yes, would probably be able to fix it, given enough time. Yet, as time was of the essence, doing so would only be a waste of potentially used resources. And, the AI was definitely someone, who wouldn't mind being used to his fullest.

'I see. This will complicate matters. If you would have been able to do so, without my assistance, I would have been able to ask for time estimates, for it to be completed. Now, though, we are forced to do something more abstract. Due to you not being able to vocally specify your problems, we will be forced to do outright pointing with your fingers. You will point at the general area, where the problem resides, and I will attempt to guess the problem. If the delay is caused by something physical in general, don't point anywhere. And, don't worry about me not being able to see the finger. With the data, which I have gained, I should be able to triangulate the points at a position easily.`, Adam sent. Troy almost just wanted to try muttering the problem, it seemed more likely to let them succeed. Their prey was escaping with every second passing, and, by this point, even he was having trouble hearing its footsteps. The creature had to have been more than a few meters away. With such distance, it should be able to hear a quiet word or two.

He decided against it, though, taking his chance with Adam. While the AI might have been clueless, in some ways of life, he was absolutely dominant in others. One such thing was situational awareness. Or, at least, that was what Troy hoped for, as he tapped one of the fingers, on his right hand, straight at his feet.

The answer came in almost immediately.

'With the rather obvious pointing direction, I am led to believe that the problem resides in your feet. With no unorthodox sensations, the problem is not due to any painful feelings. Therefore, the delay, from continuing your task, is likely due to something else. Just to be sure, though, I will ask, if the problem does reside inside you physically?`, Adam sent back, giving the man hope, of this being done with swiftly.

A swift shake of the head followed. It was regretted, as a rather audibly crack came with it. The sound made him tense, but Adam continued with his investigation as if nothing had happened. If such an action was positive, or not, he wasn't sure.

'So, it is something on your foot, but not directly because of it. Good. This increases the chances of this being an issue, which can be dealt with swiftly. Going back to your earlier movement, before stopping completely, you were able to move it, so no immediate paralysis, due to outside pressure, is causing the problem. Is the problem, your lack of suitable foot placements, when turning around?`

A shake off the head gave the AI the needed clarification. Troy was not having such an issue, in the least. Looking down, though, it could have been a problem, if Troy wasn't sure in his movements. While it would require move stylized footwork, without more practical functionality, he should still have the capability to move around. Practising the art, of not being heard, when leaving the house, had finally paid off. With his practical eye, he was able to pinpoint possible noise-makers. While some places might have looked, as if, they only contained regularly-maintained grass, there were more than a few fallen branches strewn about. Stepping on one would entail a large disaster. Luckily, he had been able to avoid them for now.

'Even better. This leaves the potential problem, as you had something stopping you from moving from your current position. It is not the promise of pain, or such a thing would have been physical. It's centred around movement but isn't an inability to move. Something is making you hesitate. With the softness of the area under these trees, the true reason has likely revealed itself. Are you stopping yourself from moving, due to the potential sound, taking your feet upwards would make?`, Adam sent, having finally guessed it.

Troy was elated, as he was finally able to nod in affirmation. While his spread legs were not in pain, his slightly hunched position was putting all the workload on his hips. It was not the largest of weights, but it still required a sizable effort to maintain. If the issue was not fixed, in a matter of under thirty seconds, Troy would not be able to confirm his needed dexterity.

'I had hoped for something simpler to fix. And, with the lack of noise in hearing, coming from behind the tree, it seems the animal has noticed your unexpected noise. My current advice, before we get started, on figuring the conundrum out, is to remain absolutely still. If the animal tries to investigate, we need to be ready, when it comes to striking. The optional task is still within reach if our figurative cards are played correctly.`, Adam sent. A quick thought to the lower-than-usual volume of his words was noted before the reality was sent down upon him.

Troy had been heard. Without being told, he knew that the creature was currently deciding whether or not to investigate the source. The usual response, with smaller herbivores, should have been to run, at the first unnatural sound. Not this animal, though. These goats were large enough to take on most smaller predators. Only a few had the mass to even hunt them, and they needed to do so in packs. How did Troy know such things? One thing in college, which everyone did, was to dedicate their learning to everything but their needed subjects.

This left the animal to be more relaxed than Troy thought it had any right to be. The sound of unknown beings, and not part of the environment, must have been an interesting thing to hear. It would be so for everybody. And, for all that he knew, the goat might even have taken it as potential food.

Yet, as time passed, he began to grow weary. No sound came. No footsteps could be heard. Why wasn't it moving? Staying still, for extended periods of time was not in the mind of any prey. Even Troy knew such things. So, what reason was there for no sounds heard?

The seconds passed down to the minutes. Three, to be exact. He had counted them carefully, to be sure, that he wasn't imagining the time taken. Had the goat moved further away, without them realising it? Troy not having noticed wouldn't have been too much of a shock, but the same couldn't have been saying for Adam. What was going on?

The AI didn't seem to have any need to answer this to Troy.

'As I am not hearing any developments, on this particular front, I believe it would be best if we continue our problem-solving. First and foremost, a better look at the shoe placements should help us locate possible methods of fixing it. Please, as carefully as possible, squat downwards. Make sure to keep your heels on the ground. And, while minimizing viewing distance is a priority, it would be best to not over-extend your balance. Falling on the ground will be anything but silent. Go on, and fulfil the first step. With care, your chances of succeeding are more probable, than that of the average person.`, Adam transferred over, in his new hasty speed. While having used the quick word per the second function earlier, it was still not fully integrated into Troy’s mind of the standard definition.

Not feeling any intention of hesitating, he began the process of getting downwards. Just his luck, that his left foot wasn't pointing as forwards, as the other. Instead, it had shifted itself, when he had originally set it down, swinging its tip to the side. If he wasn't careful, getting downwards could have caused more than slight pain in the knees. Damage could always be gained. Even more so, when was not positioning their feet correctly.

Putting most of the weight on his right foot, as a necessary alternative, Troy was successfully able to get down. While still a few centimetres off, from the traditional standard of a correct squat, if he went any further downwards, he had the risk of falling. Balancing on one foot, in the current body-position, had not been on the list of trained activities.

Refraining himself, from backwards, had also forced him to get his head as much forwards as possible. He could feel the lower end of his neck straining, as he forced it closer to his feet. It was anything but comfortable, but he would easily be able to hold it, for a minute or two. After that, though… He hoped it wouldn't come to such a scenario.

'Good. Having gotten a better look, I believe we might be able to avoid getting noticed even more. As you may have already guessed, with your lack of causing problems, the air will immediately try rushing into the void, when you raise your shoes. While it would not cause problems normally, the size of the hole will cause a higher rate of air moving. This will further cause a near-whistle, as it is forced into a narrow passage.

The easiest solution to solve this problem would be, to remove your shoes. However, I do not believe you capable of exposing your skin to gravel, without causing larger volumes of sound.

The other presumed method of lowering the sound, when movement is a constant need, Is to get your fingers dirty. And, literally meant, you are hereby in need of digging your fingers through the edges of your shoes. openings need to make, in multiple places, to even out the eventual pressure. With no focused placing, the speed to create noise will not be able to be generated. If, of course, you raise your feet slowly, after the fact, no problems should have appeared in the current plan. Please, perform the next step. Be sure to keep your current position, when it comes to the main mass of your body. Most of your weight is directed towards the backside. Even a gentle push has the potential of making you fall.`, Adam sent. The warning at the end of his speech was unneeded. Troy had noticed the problem, the moment he had sat himself down. Even if he had been only warned about moving his main-body, even the arms could ruin his current tasks. A sudden movement could shift the balance too greatly.

Carefully, maybe even more careful than he really needed to be, he pressed his right finger through the ground. Slight wetness was felt, as his finger became grounded. The first couple of centimetres offered no resistance to the pressure, letting him get inside easily. Only after the first five, did he feel anything akin to a pushback.

Not that he needed to go so deep, but it was good to know. Having already started, to the side of his left shoe, he glided the finger trough the edges of it slowly. While Adam had not mentioned how many holes around the shoes, there needed to be, he had decided to not take any chances.

The incisions were made quickly. With the softness of the dirt, no sound came from it. Only the pieces, which were falling off his fingers, upon leaving the fluid-filled earth, made any indications of their existence. Not taking a second pause, Troy gave the same treatment to the area around his right shoe. Not gliding it across the edges, he instead made over fifteen individual holes, around the sides.

It was completed before he knew it. Not waiting for Adam’s permission, Troy got himself up to his regular height. With all the walking, he really had been gambling with the endurance of his body. While he still had more in the tank, he hoped it wouldn't be like the current, with the other two environments.

'Good job. With the preparations done, you should be able to extract yourself. Make sure to do so slowly, as stated before. With how far, we’ve gone, to make no sound, doing so now, due to clumsiness, would not go down well.`, Adam finally sent.

Not feeling anything like clumsy, Troy slowly lifted his left foot. It had been positioned wrong, for so long, that circulation had begun to be cut off. Letting it doze, for any longer, could have created a disaster in the making. Nobody could control an asleep limb.

Starting at the heel, it was raised. As the first part was off the ground, no lick of sound was created. The only thing to be heard was the dunking of his heartbeat. He hadn't been able to keep it under control. But, he could deal with it later, as the effects would only show in twenty seconds, at minimum.

With nothing but a single movement, the foot had been freed. Turning it on to its natural position, Troy was hit with a wave of relief. His ankles had not been enjoying the earlier method of standing. Now, he felt as if he could on for much longer a time.

Using the same methods with the other foot, it came free in the same manner. No sound was heard. Though the left foot had come out easier, due to the larger amount of dirt pushed away, the right foot had been able to be prepared much quicker. A balance would be made, the next time as a similar scenario came forth. An unlikely one, but, knowing those two doctors, he didn't doubt the chance of it.

Now done, he carefully extracted himself from his current direction, and, as had been asked, twisted his body around the tree. Not while touching it, of course. Only his hands came in contract with the bark. keeping a small distance between it and his clothes.

'Move your body more forward. The creature cant has moved far, with the earlier footfalls. It is most likely somewhere, just out of sight.`, Adam encouragingly sent. Taking a glance down, Troy made sure nothing breakable was stepped on. If he was to come further forward, he needed more proper footing.

The new positioning was successful, letting him see so much more. However, a certain characteristic of the environment was missing.

The life.

Before him, a goat lay on the ground. It likely hadn't done so by choice, with how much of its stomach had been opened. While the insides weren't viewable, due to them looking form it is back, he was easily able to see the tears in the skin. Troy was slightly afraid of Adam getting a reaction akin to the one, in the earlier test. Yet, from the words, that did not seem to have been the largest concern.

'It is dead.`, Adam simply stated.

Troy, not seeing any reason to keep quiet, answered the statement. The one, who he was keeping himself quiet for, was obviously not of a mind to care about hearing them.

"A fact of life," Troy said. "Want to try finding another?"

There had to be more around there. Maybe, they weren't close, but they were still likely to be on the hill. It was a shame, that they hadn't noticed the corpse earlier, though. With the lack of smell, inside the environment, seeing it would have let the waste much less time, when it came to being still. If only-

'I don't think you understand, Troy. The goat is not able to make any intentional sounds. It is dead.`, Adam said repeating himself. The man had already gone over this! Repeating information would not-

Oh. Troy understood.

"The goat did not make any sounds," Troy said, realising it all. "But, we heard something walk."

'Indeed we did. And, it is still here. Don't make any sudden movements. The goat was felled not long ago. We walked in on the creature enjoying its meal. If we can get away, without giving it a reason to hunt us, we will come out of this unscathed.`, Adam slowly said, from inside the man’s head.

"Sounds like a plan", Troy numbly stated, doing his best to not flinch. The hunter of those he had been worried about being hunted by. There was always a bigger fish. And, it was just hanging around somewhere near him.

Slowly taking steps backwards, his mind ran on the upturn. The events, which had happened not more than five minutes ago, repeated itself in his mind.

Troy had heard it walking around, behind the tree. Adam had heard it all, as well, not putting any chance of it being fabricated on the potential list. Knowing the corpse of the goat was there, it was likely to have been finding itself the best starting positions. Eating from the same spot would not equally empty the prey’s body. Some parts of the body were much more nourishing than others. The predators knew it.

Yet, it had been walking away, until the moment, where Troy accidentally emitted sound in his neck. What had before been getting softer and softer disappeared entirely. It couldn't have been due to the distance. Such a thing would have taken much more time.

He stopped in his movements, his body tensing. An epiphany was had.

The steps were getting softer and softer… But, it wasn't moving away. It was moving around. This was a predator they were talking about. With how close it had gotten, no amount of breathing technique should have hidden Troy. His neck making the sound wasn't the trigger.

It was what sealed the deal. The predator had moved from feeding to protecting its food. It had heard prey and slowly moved to its hunting movements. Silently walking, instead of casually doing the same thing. A more obvious sound had simply put an early trigger of the full thing.

But, then, where was this predator? It wasn't on the ground, and it had been making its way, closer and closer to Troy. Could it have moved around the tree, in the same fashion as Troy?

No…

'Don't look-`, Adam began, but his action was already set in stone.

Taking a long glance up in the branches above him, Troy saw glinting eyes meeting him. Its pupils widened oh so slightly, as the eye-contact was made.

'Troy`, Adam concisely sent, after the contact had been made.

"Yes?" Troy asked, not daring to blink.

'Walk backwards slowly, while not losing constant sight of the creature. Its instinct stops it from attacking before the opportunity shows itself. Any form of not being seen counts as an opportunity. We have already done the required tasks, and the chances of us completing the optional one are looking slimmer. We have already done a different optional task, though, so this is an acceptable loss. Right now, our priority is to safely make our way back to the starting point, without being attacked. The predator already has food. As long as you don't seem to want the carcass, it should likely leave you alone`, Adam sent, the sheer length of the message not helping Troy keep his calm.

What had earlier been called a high pulse, had nothing to show for this current one. His body was seeing the danger, and reacting to it. Epinephrine was being sent in droves. It was a flight or fight scenario, and his body had clearly made a choice. A choice, which he, for once, would not be disobeying.

What he now identified as a feline of some kind, the predator stood over two meters long. As it jumped down the branches effortlessly, Troy was able to see the corded muscles, normally hidden by the fur. This thing could outrun anything. If it decided to attack, he would only be safe for so long.

His body didn't need any commands before it moved. Having still not blinked, in any way, he started moving backwards. If amusement could be shown on such an animal, Troy was sure he saw it. The predator knew the situation, just as much as him. It knew his chances of escaping. Right now, it was just decided, if he was worth the effort. Protecting the corpse from his hands? It was more likely hoping to add another to the pile.

'Deep breaths. Keep the pace.`, Adam advised, from inside. Oh, he did not understand the current situation. How could he? Being safe, inside his own little world, gave one such an outlook surely.

And, he was keeping pace! The predator was doing so, as well, in fact. It wasn't getting closer, but it wasn't getting farther away either.

Then.

It pounced. If it was doing so fully, or not, Troy wasn't sure. What he was sure of, was that he was currently running. It had not taken any conscious thought, for him to start sprinting.

'Keep calm, Troy. You can't outrun it.`, Adam sent. It was a miracle, that he was able to hear it. The constant, hard breathing would have tuned it out, if not for it coming from inside.

"See me try, and we’ll see just how fast I can run!", Troy spluttered, not being able to fully form the words. It came out in gasps.

'Trust me. This predator is far better than you when it comes to-`

"Oh, don't you even dare praise the thing currently coming after my behind, thank you!"

After his outburst, Adam went quiet. Troy wasn't too sure, of the reasons why. He didn't have any energy to really care.

What had taken twenty to minutes to walk, only took five to run. It was amazing how fast one could get when running downhill. It was a real showing of his luck when he didn't fall even once.

Having finally reached the starting-point, he sat down behind the barrier. Taking a look back, he saw no hunter tracking him down. For how long, had it decided he wasn't worth it?

Troy would never know.

Outside the barrier, the environment changed, likely to never be seen again.