Cindrac Read online

  If Cin was reading the information correctly, Loquan had an undiagnosed brain anomaly that made her susceptible to mental instability. The nanites, programmed only to enhance the brain and other chips, didn’t heal the problem but made it worse.

  Years of self-control enabled Cin to hide the horror of his discovery from the powerful psychopath across from him. As much as he felt sorry for the woman, Cindrac refused to allow her to destroy him or take away the only peace and beauty he’d ever known.

  While Loquan studied the information he already knew, Cin allowed his nanites to travel the elite computer systems, learning as much as possible to keep her from having an advantage over him.

  Cindrac knew the second Loquan didn’t think he’d be useful, and she would kill him. More data flashed behind his eyes, and Cin was awed by his new ability to comprehend it all.

  “We are one now,” came the oddly comforting voice. “We must make sure we are stronger than Loquan. She can’t integrate as thoroughly as we have.”

  Only hours earlier, the cryptic response would have confused Cin. Now, he understood and encouraged the being to teach him more. By the time Cin looked up from the information still scrolling through his mind, it was to see Loquan staring at him from across the bar.

  “What have you learned? Where should we strike first?” Loquan wasn’t smart enough to hide her malice from him.

  The woman was testing him, and Cindrac wasn’t going to play her games, nor would he give away how much he had learned.

  “We strike here, in Atlanta. They have the vehicles we need, and all we have to do is use the kill switches to render the soldiers unconscious,” Cin suggested, studying Loquan’s expressive face.

  “Why should we care about the other slaves?” Loquan spat. “No one ever cared about us!”

  Cin didn’t need the collective voice of his nanites to tell him that Loquan was mentally unhinged. It didn’t frighten him because he could feel knowledge and power rising within him every moment, but Cindrac wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating or trusting her.

  “In war, there is strength in numbers. As a soldier, I know this to be fact, but my knowledge increase proves its validity. I fought beside some of those warriors, and if we prove we can kill the overlords, they will help us fight.” Cindrac knew Loquan hated the idea, but she also knew he was right.

  As powerful as they were, they were still learning, and taking on the whole world was a big task. Cindrac’s only use to Loquan was his battle experience and knowledge, and he hoped to convince her to do this his way until she felt she could go it alone.

  Cin had no delusions that Loquan would be an ally or friend. He was the only thing on this planet that stood between her and the absolute rule of the world. At some point, Cindrac knew he would have to kill her, but for now, he would use her to free the other humans from their slavery.

  “Fine. When do we leave?” Loquan was terrible at hiding her contempt and didn’t care.

  Cin used his connection with his nanites to turn on the TV and watched the news for a few minutes. It didn’t escape Cin’s notice that it was becoming easier to call on the power of his nanites and the technology that existed all around them.

  Loquan sneered at the footage of the destruction wrought in the lab that the reporter was calling a terrorist attack committed by Loquan and Cindrac.

  The overlords were giving a reward of extra food, entertainment, and electricity rations to anyone with information regarding their whereabouts. For a nearly starved society of slaves, it was a hefty bounty on their heads.

  “Speaking of extra food, I’m starving,” Loquan stated. “Is there anything else to eat here?”

  “Yeah, we should do it again before we leave,” Cindrac agreed.

  He didn’t think it would take long for Loquan to figure out that their now energy fueled bodies required more nutrition. Though he wondered if she was learning as rapidly as he was, Cin wasn’t going to ask, knowing she’d only lie to him.

  Moving into the pantry, Cindrac grabbed a couple more pouches of food and put them on the counter. He looked over at Loquan, who glanced at the bags before turning her attention back to the TV. She made it quite clear that she had no intention of helping him prepare it.

  Unwilling to let Loquan’s attitude ruin his newfound happiness and freedom, Cindrac set about making dinner while continuing to learn through his nanites and listening to the news. When the food was done heating, he silently slid a bowl across the counter for Loquan.

  Without a word of thanks, Loquan took the bowl and looked back at the TV while Cindrac turned his attention to the target for tonight. If Loquan weren’t pushing him to act, Cin would have stayed hidden here while learning all he could before planning a war against the elite.

  As it was, Cindrac wouldn’t be able to hold Loquan off for much longer before she struck out on her own, wreaking havoc in her wake. Cin couldn’t care less if the woman got herself killed, but he was concerned that if the scientists got hold of her body and figured out what happened to him, they might somehow reverse it. Or worse, create more of him.

  Cindrac didn’t fear others like himself because of death; he was terrified of more Loquan’s who only wanted to destroy out of hate. In his forty-two years on this planet, Cindrac had known many things.

  He’d known starvation, indoctrination, sadistic laws, and endless wars. Cindrac wanted nothing more than peace. Not just for himself, but for everyone who suffered from birth at the hands of the elite overlords.

  Looking out at the pristine beauty he’d only known from pictures and TV, Cindrac didn’t want the world to burn. He wanted to give it, and all its wonders, back to the people and live in peace.

  With his nanites alert to Loquan, Cin saw the moment she started to turn towards him with her empty bowl, and he switched a map onto the TV. He gestured to it as he walked towards the big screen.

  “This is Atlanta, the biggest city closest to where we are right now,” Cindrac explained. “This is where we’ll find vehicles and aerial craft that can take us to the other locations around the world where the elites live.”

  “Do we just drive in there? How did you get us out of the lab?” Loquan’s eyes dared him to tell her the truth.

  “I shut down the power systems, which is what we’ll do when we hit the city limit,” Cindrac admitted.

  Cin knew there was no reason to lie to her about what happened at the lab. There was a video of it somewhere, and she could quickly find it with her connection to the worldwide computer systems through her nanites and AI.

  “Then what?” Loquan seemed to calm herself.

  Cindrac blinked and changed the TV screen to half a dozen split-screen images.

  “Those are the labs and data centers we need to hit and the bunkers of the elite in Atlanta.” Cindrac gestured to the TV.

  “Why do we care about labs or data centers? We need to take out the damn overlords first,” Loquan snapped in impatience. “Once the overlords are gone, we won’t need to worry about the rest.”

  “I destroyed the lab and computers where we came from,” Cindrac stated calmly. “That doesn’t mean other labs can’t create more of us or find a way to destroy us. The data centers give us more knowledge that we can use to find the targets and defeat them for good.”

  Cindrac wasn’t about to tell her of the amazing things he’d discovered in the lab computers before he destroyed them. Not because he didn’t want to share the wonders of the universe and the other more intelligent beings out there.

  Cin feared that if he couldn’t stop Loquan, she would set her sights on conquering all there was in existence while he only wanted to learn more and live in peace. If Loquan survived, it would mean endless wars in her quest for power, and Cin couldn’t allow that to happen.

  “I can see where you’re better at this war thing than I am, but I’ll learn quickly.” Loquan’s voice held a blatant warning. “OK, we’ll hit the labs and data centers, but I think we need to kill the elite in
their homes.”

  “We hit the labs first, then the data centers,” Cindrac insisted. “Once we take over the first lab, soldiers will be rushing the elite to their bunkers. By the time we finish with the data centers, they’ll be easy targets in what they believe are impenetrable shelters. Psychologically, accessing their safe havens and executing the elite inside them will shake the foundation of the entire elite society.”

  “A mind fuck,” Loquan laughed evilly. “Oh, I love it. You keep thinking like that, and we’re going to get along great together.”

  Cindrac smiled in return and hid the fact that she made his skin crawl. Even his nanites were on full alert and programming his brain with ancient and modern forms of warfare learned from the elite databases of information. He’d easily broken through the security hours earlier, and his mind consumed the data like a starving man.

  Loquan huffed impatiently at the darkening sky. “When do we leave?”

  “When it’s dark. Again it’s psychological. No one likes fighting when you can’t see, so we’ll cut the power to the entire area and use the kill switches to knock everyone out.” Cindrac was grateful to whatever nanite was helping him keep his patience with her.

  Loquan’s snappy, hateful, and arrogant attitude grated on his nerves.

  “OK, I get it,” Loquan smiled. “Have you figured out this one yet?”

  Cindrac tried to feign surprise when Loquan’s body shimmered for a moment before her clothes changed into all-black leather.

  “Nice trick.” Cindrac couldn’t care less about her vanity but played along and changed his pants to match hers and added a jacket over a black T-shirt.

  “You’re right about not letting them create more of us,” Loquan surprised Cin by saying. “I’m going to take a long, hot shower, and maybe we can leave when I finish.”

  Cindrac merely nodded his head and stepped out onto the deck off the living room. The screech of birds and howl of what he had learned were coyotes in the distance made him genuinely smile.

  This peace and beauty were what he’d dreamt of his whole life, and he vowed to protect it and come back to it. It was his and humanity’s by right, and Cin would make sure it was returned to the people.

  Chapter Three

  Reaching speeds of up to three hundred miles per hour in the stolen pursuit vehicle, Cindrac easily navigated the roads to Atlanta without using the headlights. He enjoyed the freedom of driving and tried not to smile at Loquan’s white-knuckled grip on the car's interior safety bars.

  “Was it necessary to reprogram the engine to go this fast?” Loquan complained for the fourth time since they left the peace of the cabin.

  “The faster we go, the harder it is for them to spot us since I’m using my night vision instead of the headlights. The soldiers and elites also can’t go this fast and will never catch us unless they use aerial craft,” Cindrac repeated the same thing he’d told Loquan each time she’d asked.

  Another hour passed before they reached the outskirts of Atlanta, and Cin looked over at Loquan. “Are you ready? Remember, you take out the power to the area, and I’ll take care of the soldiers.”

  Loquan nodded and smiled when moments later, the entire city went completely dark. By the time they reached the security checkpoint leading into Atlanta, the soldiers were all passed out on the ground, and Cindrac flew right through the flimsy barrier.

  “Oh, this is going to be so easy,” Loquan boasted, getting excited.

  Cindrac didn’t bother to warn her about getting too cocky. He hoped she didn’t make it through this first mission because it would save him from killing her later. Instead, he kept his mouth shut and concentrated on disabling the vehicles coming after them from other parts of the city.

  The excessive display of pursuit didn’t fool him. Cindrac knew it was a cover for the teams evacuating the elite into their mountain bunkers. He ignored the parking lot and drove right up the lab steps and parked in front of the doors.

  Cin and Loquan jumped out of the vehicle and headed confidently in the double doors of the lobby. Unconscious soldiers littered the floor while lab staff ran or hid in the dark. Cin smiled as his night vision chip, enhanced by the nanites, allowed him to see clearly in the building's darkness.

  Ignoring the panicked slaves fleeing in the dark, Cin strode to the elevator and used his control over the building's computer systems to open the doors.

  Loquan stumbled around for a few minutes before figuring out how to get the information needed to see in the dark, and it told Cin everything he needed to know about his future enemy.

  Loquan was learning only what she had to for revenge and power, where he was trying to learn all that he could to create peace and a better world. He hoped that would give him an edge when it came time to kill her.

  Once Loquan joined him inside the elevator, Cindrac ordered the car to the floor he wanted and waited for the short ride until the doors opened. His nanites already pulled up the security cameras, and information was scrolling through his mind as Cin headed down the hallway.

  “Where are we going?” Loquan snapped. “Let’s just blow the fucking place up!”

  “I’m going to make damn sure the computers can’t be salvaged,” Cindrac shot back and pointed at the first lab. One that didn’t have what he wanted. “Unless you want to fight clones of ourselves, start destroying everything in there.”

  Loquan huffed but headed into the dark lab anyway, and Cindrac continued down the hall until he reached the heavily secured one he wanted. Easily disabling the security protocols, Cin stepped into the room and threw up his arm to block a chair coming at him from the left. He rendered the scientist unconscious and went right to the bank of computers against the wall.

  Cindrac reached out with his hands, and the nanites pulled the information from the computer systems and into his mind. While his brain filtered the data with his nanites' help, Cin smiled at what he discovered was hidden from the world.

  Like the last lab, the computers in this room weren’t connected to the worldwide systems and held information Cindrac didn’t think would be found elsewhere. They contained knowledge from alien species that Cin hoped would allow him access to those otherworldly beings' data systems.

  Once Cin got everything he could from the computer, he destroyed it before Loquan could retrieve the information and made sure nothing else was of interest before meeting her in the hallway. His jaw dropped open in surprise when he saw the lab she’d gone into was on fire, and bloody bodies of scientists and other staff littered the floor.

  “What the hell happened?” Cindrac tried not to grit his teeth at the senseless loss of life.

  No one here posed a threat to either of them, and Loquan could have just as easily rendered them unconscious through the kill switch chip. She’d killed for nothing more than the thrill of doing it, and it made Cin sick to be around her.

  Loquan shrugged and grinned. “They looked like they were going to attack me.”

  “You think they saw you? In complete darkness?” Cindrac knew she was lying and wanted her to know it too.

  “I got scared.” Loquan shrugged and headed into the elevator. “You coming or not? We have a lot to do.”

  Cindrac didn’t look in the lab as he passed. He’d already seen the security video of what she’d done flash through his mind. He wouldn’t give Loquan the satisfaction of reacting to her gruesome and unnecessary violence.

  Entering the elevator, Cin sent it back to the ground floor and knocked out the dozens of new security soldiers waiting for them in the lobby. He’d give Loquan no reason to kill more people randomly.

  Swarms of soldiers waited for them outside the building, and Cindrac waved his hand, flipping their kill switches to render them unconscious. With bodies littering the ground, Cin knew there would be no way of escaping in the vehicle they came in without running over dozens of people.

  Already noting the problem, his nanites searched the area and discovered another vehicle that would better s
uit their needs. As Cindrac passed the car they’d used to get here, he raised his hand, reprogramming it.

  “Why aren’t we taking the car?” Loquan huffed out.

  “I found a better one,” was all Cin would say as he ran down the front steps of the lab. “You might want to hurry; there isn’t much time.”

  “What the fuck was wrong with the other one?” Loquan didn’t believe him.

  Cindrac didn’t even flinch when the car exploded behind them. “That.”

  “Why did you do that?” Loquan growled while her eyes blazed with fury and distrust.

  Cin stopped in front of the overlord's latest transport creation and smiled at her over the vehicle's roof. “Because this one flies too, and I didn’t think we wanted the overlords to pull up the files on that one and figure out how I hacked it.” Cin slid into the new car, excited about taking the fantastic creation airborne.

  Loquan reluctantly got into the passenger seat and smiled at the upgraded interior of the new vehicle. “Not bad. But you really should keep me informed of what’s going on.”

  “Information is coming at my head so fast, and I don’t even realize what I’m doing until I’m doing it,” Cindrac only half-lied. “You can’t tell me you aren’t going through the same thing.”

  Loquan looked out the window and refused to answer, which told Cin that he was right. He didn’t tell her that the more information he processed and learned, the easier it was getting for him to keep up with what was going on around them.

  With a whoop of the first excitement he could ever remember feeling, Cindrac launched the vehicle into the sky at dizzying speeds.

  “Stop!” Loquan screamed in fear. “Damn it, I said, stop! Right now, you bastard!”

  Cin felt her trying to seize control of the vehicle from his mind, and he quickly leveled out and slowed down. He didn’t want to fight her over control of the thing and display how much power and knowledge he was quickly gaining.