Troy Austin (Rise)

Troy Austin was a survivor of the outbreak in Rise, and a main character in the first through fourth seasons of the series. He is first encountered by Jessica Callis and Katie Dawson on the highway at the beginning of the apocalypse, nonchalantly eating a meatball sub sandwich on the trunk of his car as the highway is stranded in dead-stop traffic. Shortly after Jessica and Katie walk off further down the highway, they are spotted out and attacked by a horde of monsters causing the traffic-jam, but are saved by Troy as he picks them up and drives off. After camping out at the end of the first night of the apocalypse, Troy appears to be a mysterious figure, but shows an ability to be very attentive, correctly pointing out Jessica as a married woman with a child based on her posture and physical mannerisms as the group surrounds a campfire, taking notice of her motherly-instincts. Later in the first season, Katie and Jessica follow a path alongside Troy in search of another method of transportation, eventually finding one before the small group is overrun by a small group of encroaching monsters. To throw the monsters off of the trail of Katie and Jessica, Troy rushes off into the woods and distracts the enlarging horde before finding an abandoned cabin on top of a hill of dirt, where he hides away before climbing a tree and using a back pack and pile of rocks to distract the monsters. Returning to the highway, Troy is greeted by John Callis and Emilio Vasquez, who inform him of their search for Jessica, which leads to Troy helping them. Troy then regroups with Jessica and Katie after he ordered them to leave him behind, eventually conjoining the groups to save Jack O'Rourke and Shauna King from their school-shelter being overrun by a large horde of monsters. After returning with Jack and Shauna to the Foxwood Shipping building in Bridgeport, Connecticut; he is a part of the group that meets The Man and Charlotte Walters. After Charlotte orders her soldiers to destroy the Foxwood Shipping building in front of John, Troy and the rest of the group find a way to evacuate the building before it explodes at the conclusion of the first season.
== Representation ==
Alongside his pet snake Laurie, Troy appears to be a highly-intelligent and highly-attentive individual, who keeps much about his life before the apocalypse private, other than the fact that he named his snake after the actor that played "Dr House" in the TV series House, and that he was in high school at the start of the apocalypse. Troy is shown to be a critical reason for Jessica and Katie's survival, informing them of the outbreak and sharing with them the strategy of going into situations with every outcome in mind other than simply the typical "guns blazing" approach. When Jessica and Katie are forced to tight-rope along the top of a chain-link fence away from monster hordes, the two use Troy's tips of keeping their attention away from the factors not at play to keep their focus away from the horde trying to get towards them, simply focusing on getting to the end of the fence pathway. Despite his mysterious nature and usual liking for privacy, Troy is willing to put himself on the line to protect the people important to him, as well as the people he deems to be good people and worthy of a chance to survive in the moment.
== Appearances ==
=== Season One ===
* It'll Grow on You
* Remnants of the Same
* Novocaine
* Closer to Home
* King of the Clouds
== Trivia ==
* Troy is one of the first two main characters in the series introduced after the events of "Day Zero - Part One" and "Day Zero - Part Two". The other character introduced as a main character after the events of the pilot is Katie Dawson.
* Troy is the first character in the series to be shown having a pet, as he owns a pet snake he names Laurie.
* Troy is the first character introduced in the series to have been a high school student at the start of the outbreak.