KATANA: Chapter 3

Shawn had been walking for hours. The sun was beating down on him, and it didn’t help that the sun that didn’t hit him was being reflected off the sand. He was just about to give up hope when he saw a roof in the distance. It’s just a mirage, he thought. It’ll go away soon. But as he kept walking, the roof kept getting bigger. Soon, he was able to see the whole house. A house in the middle of the desert?, he thought. Better go have a look. In spite of his tired body, he began to run toward the house.

But suddenly, he heard a humming noise coming from behind him. He would know that sound anywhere. A KATANAbot. He turned around and waited. Every second, the K-bot got closer, and the humming noise louder. He waited until the K-bot got right in front of him and ducked. It missed him by mere centimeters. Before the K-bot could alter its flight path, he smoothly pulled the katana on his back from its sheath and sliced the bot in half.

He picked up the camera that served as its eye and looked into it. “I hope you have something better than that.” He then threw it on the ground and smashed it with is foot.

Shawn looked up and saw a small family. “Hello? Do you understand English?” The man, presumably the father of the two small children, yelled out his reply in Japanese. Time to put that Japanese I learned in the compound to good use. “”

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The man, who didn’t seem to notice his slight hesitation, carried on the conversation. “”

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“”

The man motioned for him to come inside. When Shawn made it inside, his nose was instantly grateful. After smelling sand for hours, even the simple stew on the stove smelled amazing. “” the man’s wife said. She passed out the stew to the family and Shawn. Shawn, never one to complain about food, especially now, gratefully accepted it. “” While eating, he spied a Yamaha motorcycle that seemed out of place in the simple house. He shrugged, thinking nothing of it.

Later that night, he lay awake on a bedroll that the family graciously lent him. Katherine betrayal was still fresh on his mind. He knew it wasn’t his fault, but he was still, for some unknown reason, overtaken by guilt. But he knew he had to stay aware. He couldn’t let the feeling take over him. And with that thought fresh in his mind, Shawn fell asleep.

At dawn, Shawn woke up. It seemed like today might actually be a good day. The mother, who he knew as Mrs. Lao, was up and had already started on breakfast. The two boys and their father soon came in as well. About ten minutes later, they all sat down and began to eat. “

“” Shawn replied slyly. “” Mrs. Lao asked. “

He was there in seconds. His attacker was on the ground. The word “KATANA” could clearly be seen on his left breast pocket. “Why did you kill those innocent people?” Shawn demanded. “They had outlived their usefulness.” the man calmly said. “Usefulness? They were working for KATANA?” Shawn said. “Where do you think they got that bike?” the man said.

Shawn bent down to grab a throwing knife from the man’s belt. “I should use this to kill you, but that wouldn’t make me any better than you, would it?” With that, he threw it down. It barely missed the man’s ear. Shawn geared up the bike and drove off towards the town he had been told of inside the compound.

Meanwhile, at the compound, Katherine and Ani sat alone in a conference room. “We trained him too well.” Katherine said. “He’s too good and too smart to be caught now.”

“Too smart? I wouldn’t say that.” Ani said. She pulled out a small device, which looked very much like a cell phone, and turned it on. A red blip could soon be seen on the screen. “What is that?” Katherine asked.

“Or more accurately, who. My dear, that little red dot is Shawn.”

** In comics, the signification for talking in a foreign language is the symbols '<' and '>'