Murder Drones: Program Anomaly

Chapter 1

Run, run, run, run, run-

Footsteps pounded on the ground, leaving steps in the snow. A worker drone panicked, trying to find their friend as the sound of giggling was heard behind them. Looking back, the fear-inducing yellow glow was seen through the snowfall.

That idiot. I swear if I actually make it out of this-

They screeched as the sound of a gun blast hit the rock as they sharply turned, all the while tightly holding something to their chest. Unfortunately for them, the disassembly drone was done with the play. She dropped from the sky in front of the worker, showing off her claws as she backed them against a rock.

They squeezed their eyes shut and cowered, still clutching something, until a recognizable voice was heard shouting.

"Don't kill them!" A male drone ran over, having heard the commotion and got worried when he couldn't find his friend. "They're with me."

The disassembly drone paused and looked over at him. She examined him as her face and hands went to normal, and became incredibly confused at his appearance while the worker drone weakly waved at their friend.

The female drone walked over, examining him closer. She pulled back the sleeve of his shirt to look at his arm, looked at his hands, and glanced between him and the worker drone. Their height difference was very noticeable.

"You aren't like me," she observed. "You have the tail and headband but have a whole different body."

"I know."

"What exactly are you?"

He shrugged. The female backed up squinted. The shorter drone ran to their friend and stood behind him.

"I'll figure out the deal with you later, even my system is confused. Whether you are someone I should be killing or not. And no, I'm not gonna hurt your little friend there until then. For the time being, you're both sticking with me."

His eyes stared at her with an unimpressed expression.

She grinned as if nothing previously happened, holding a hand out. "Well, I'm K. Nice to meet you."

The male drone paused before shaking her hand. "Tecno."

K looked at the other drone, who glared and didn't shake her hand. "I'm Azra." They relaxed their grip on the object in their hands. "This is my baby, Cassie."

"How long have you two been out here?" she asked.

"A long time. It's mostly a rundown shack we tend to stay in," Tecno replied. "For the majority of our time, we wander about and explore. Not much to do. Thankfully I don't need to worry about killing anybody to survive." This was said in a particularly mocking tone.

"Sounds boring. You should explore the real world instead. Let me see this shack though."

The friends glanced at each other, making a silent decision to listen without pushing back.

Before they began walking away, Azra kicked Tecno in the shin. He let out a noise that was a mix of laughter and discomfort.

"That's for leaving me alone out of nowhere and not saying anything."

"Fair enough," he replied, holding a hand up in defense.

K stared at the two, then ordered them to start moving. As they walked, Azra demanded for K to explain why she was alone.

"Are your buddies secretly following us? Waiting to ambush?"

"What? No. I'm on my lonesome. Have been for years," K answered, saying nothing else. She got a suspicious glare in response.