Murder Drones: Death-Sides

Chapter 6: The Low Eyes Party

Seeing that his enemy's spirit was in tatters, the stranger forced J to her knees. J initially found herself gazing into the oil-drenched snow where she lay but slowly looked up at her executioner. Hacking up some more fluid, J breathed, "Who... are... you...?"

The man looked down at J with his ice-cold stare for a moment. Then, he slowly reached for his bandana and untied it before dropping it to the ground. From his mouth – which boasted a formidable, leaden-colored beard – he slowly answered with his chilling voice, "I... am... Low Eyes."

The next thing V and I knew, he struck J with a mighty blow from his blade with such speed and precision that I didn't even know whether he had landed the blow – at least, not until J had fallen over, her head tumbling off toward me and V. V and I heaved a sigh of relief, glad the fight was finally over.

Wiping his blade clean, the man named "Low Eyes" sheathed his katana, picked up his bandana, stuffed it in his front jeans pocket, and walked over to the two of us. As he did so, he helped us both to our feet, saying in his disembodied voice, "I suppose I should thank you both for helping me claim my vengeance on these two... even if one of you is a Murder Drone."

"Murder Drone?" said V, seeming a little offended.

"Well, it's a name befitting your nature, is it not?" Low Eyes said nonchalantly. "To kill until nothing remains."

Sensing V's rising anger, I said, "I believe I should be thanking you, if anything. You saved my life, and I thank you for that."

The man chuckled as he took my hand and shook it. "It was my pleasure, mister."

"Please," I said in an attempt to sound humble, "just call me–"

"GENESYS!"

I turned on my heel and beheld everyone – Doll, Lizzy, Uzi, Thad, the guards, my other classmates, and some people I had never taken the time to meet had run out in an attitude of celebration. They all started clapping for me, some coming up and giving me hugs, high-fiving me, and shaking hands with me. (Doll even became bold and tried kissing me, but I withstood her attempts.) For a moment, I was encapsulated in the euphoria of being the center of attention, and the world seemed to slow down just for me.

Amid this chaos, a distinct voice cleared its throat, and silence fell over us all. The mob of Drones all parted to reveal Khan, who had his arms folded in a businesslike way. For a moment, he didn't speak. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out; his words seemed to be failing him. I decided to take the initiative to get something out of him, seeing as I was never a huge fan of awkward silence (I mean, who is?). "Is there something you'd like to tell me, sir?" I asked.

Khan huffed a sigh. "I..." the words died again in his mouth.

"What is there to be said?" came Low Eyes' voice from behind, clapping me on the shoulder. "Khan, my dear friend, this young lad of yours is a fine warrior, to say the least."

"Thank you," I said. Nevertheless, I added, "I couldn't have done it without you or V by my side."

"Wait – how do you know his name?" V said, puzzled. "Why'd you call him your 'dear friend'? Do you two know each other?"

Low Eyes scoffed. "He hasn't told you?" he said with a laugh as he took Khan by the shoulder and held him close, though Khan didn't seem to appreciate the closeness. "He and I used to be very close friends. We fought alongside each other the day that the people of the bunker went underground."

Khan seemed to tense up at the mention of that day. Seeming to have noticed this development, Uzi decided to change the topic. "If that's the case, then why haven't I seen you around the bunker? I haven't had the pleasure to meet everybody here, granted, but I know everyone's faces in the bunker."