test of how well the elite had programmed humanity through subliminal messaging, propaganda news, and fear. Only the elite and minion owned businesses were allowed to remain open, shutting down all other competition and small businesses.
Next were the riots that destroyed mostly the shuttered small businesses while the elite owned corporations remained almost entirely safe and raked in historic profits. Between the shutdown, only applicable to small businesses, places of worship, and entertainment venues, along with the riots, the gap between the wealthy and the poor was growing exponentially.
Still, millions of people were blinded by ignorance and fought friends, neighbors, and family instead of the real enemy laughing at them while they did the elite’s dirty work. It was maddening for Cin, who couldn’t understand how rational people couldn’t see the truth slapping them in their masked faces.
Feeling a little disheartened and needing to get to work, Cin was stomping along the deck in frustration, wondering where the cat was this time.
“Bob? Where the hell are you?” Cin called out.
Cin refused to leave until his friend and companion was home and finally called on the nanites he created and installed in Bob three years ago when the cat became terminally ill. The vet’s barbaric and cruel treatments for Bob’s cancer were something Cin refused to put his friend through.
Instead, Cin had studied what he needed to ensure his devoted friend's health and well-being and created nanites specifically to attack Bob’s cancer and ensure he would have a very long and healthy life.
Using the nanites in Bob, Cin looked through the cat’s eyes to see where he was and what was keeping him from coming home. What he saw had Cin jumping over the railing on the back deck and running full out down the mountain. Cin was halfway there, flinching with every blow he saw through Bob’s eyes when he told the cat to attack.
Bob’s nanite-tipped claws raked into the flesh of the man’s back, producing blood from the deep marks and stopping the guy from striking another blow to his helpless victim. A string of curses followed, and the attacker turned around and faced what mauled him.
The man was getting ready to kick Bob in the face when Cin ran into the small clearing, startling the guy. The stranger pulled a gun from his waistband, looked at the crumpled body on the ground, Bob, then Cin before running like a coward towards the road.
Bob went to follow until Cin called out, “No!”
Turning his attention to the female on the ground, Cin knelt at her side, terrified that he’d gotten there too late. He picked up a delicate wrist, trying to ignore the bruises forming on it while he felt for a pulse.
Once he was sure she was still alive, Cin picked up the petite woman and made his way back to the cabin, with Bob hot on his heels. He didn’t need to talk to Bob to know the cat wasn’t too happy about the woman going home with them. If anything, Bob was more paranoid than Cin about keeping their home private, and the cat didn’t take well to strangers.
Cin quickly made it to the cabin and laid the woman on the couch. She still hadn’t awakened, and Cin became concerned that there may be brain damage from the beating she’d taken to her face from her attacker.
Moving into the kitchen, Cin got a washcloth and wet it with cold water. He placed it over the woman’s swollen face, then took her wrist in his hand. Sending out his nanites, Cin allowed them to collect her vital statistics before pulling them back into himself.
Cin stood and reviewed the information before looking down at the battered woman. He considered calling the sheriff and having Robbie take her to the hospital, but Cin was afraid that the woman’s abuser would find her there if he did.
Unable to tell what the lady looked like through the swelling and bruising on her face, Cin felt an odd connection to her and didn’t want to see her harmed more than she had been. Leaning down, he brushed her shoulder-length dark hair away from her face and began programming nanites in his head.
Bob let out a yowl of warning, and Cin refused to look at his friend. “We can’t let the poor thing go back out there injured like this. Don’t give me shit about it either because you’re the one who found her. You could have come home when I called you the