Cindrac - Mikayla Lane Page 0,1

the world government, and the elite wouldn’t let it happen again.

At one point, so many died from intentionally trying to remove the kill switch chip that the government reprogrammed the devices to put the person into a coma if they messed with it. Mass casualty events were rare these days, but not from lack of trying on the part of the slaves.

For that reason, the elite banned anything sharp except for the slave classes that required their use to complete their duties, and soldiers like Cindrac heavily guarded them. He’d always wanted that assignment, convinced he’d be able to kill himself with a chef’s knife or welder’s torch before anyone could stop him.

A buzzing sound went off in Cindrac’s head, and he knew it was time to go to the re-genetics lab. Smiling for the first time in recent memory, Cin stood and looked around the sparsely furnished apartment assigned to him when he completed Army training at fifteen.

A single ragged chair sat facing the large TV with remote, and another chair was bolted to the floor between the legs of a built-in dining room table the size of a serving tray. The kitchen consisted of nothing more than a small fridge and microwave.

A bed took up another corner of the room while a toilet, sink, and shower were crowded into the other. There was no privacy allowed for slaves, and the open design ensured the cameras could capture your every move.

After twenty-seven years, there was nothing here or anywhere that Cindrac would miss. Like all slaves of the world government, he wasn’t allowed to own anything or have friends and had no family that would care what happened to him.

Shutting the door behind him, Cindrac was thrilled not to have to look at the bleak apartment any longer and went down the hallway to the stairs. Soldiers Cin had served with in battle came out of their apartments and nodded in respect, unable to show him any other support without fear of reprisal.

It made Cindrac sick to think that even those, like him, with the deadliest of skills, were terrified of their brutal elite overlords. Nodding in return, Cin continued down the hall to his death.

Cindrac reached the street and got into the driverless military shuttle waiting for him in front of his apartment building. He looked out the window and hated the defeat and desolation in the eyes of the slaves they passed on the street. Cin knew how they felt and wished things were different but knew there was no hope for change. That time had long passed.

Cities around the world were nothing more than prisons for the working class slaves. Only the elite and powerful were allowed to own property, have and raise children, or enjoy any freedom. Everyone else was considered replaceable and used solely to better the lives of those in power or entertain them.

It was a world Cindrac cursed ever being lab-created into and was excited to leave. Cin didn’t fear pain; he’d suffered enough through the decades of wars he’d fought and the injuries that came with it.

The wars were nothing more than a live battle game among the elite, who fought with one another over petty land, slave, and resource disputes. Soldiers like Cindrac were drafted to one side or the other and forced to fight to the death to determine who got an extra hundred feet of prime coastline or the best sex slaves.

As Cin faced his impending death, he only feared surviving the procedure and losing what little bit of humanity he’d retained. It was the one thing the elite hadn’t been able to take from him, and Cin didn’t want to lose it now.

The dismal and decaying buildings of the slave section drew Cin’s gaze before it quickly faded into the distance. The cleaner, well-maintained area, used by the elite and their minions, came into view and held Cin’s attention.

The pristine sidewalks, café’s, and shops were only for the elite, and it was illegal for slaves not employed in the area to be there. Driving past was the only glimpse the slaves had into the world of the elite overlords and the minions who aided them.

Seeing the freedom enjoyed by only those in power angered Cin, yet it always surprised him that he couldn’t summon hate for the overlords' children. Even seeing their joyful faces and innocent smiles made him grin as well.

Cindrac truly believed they were also slaves of the overlords, only with gold and platinum leashes