The New Regime

The wind rushed all around Amanda as she fought to keep air in her lungs. The footsteps pounding behind her seemed to be getting louder -- her pursuit or was gaining on her. As she ran, dodging around parked cars as she moved quickly toward the edge of town, she dared a look behind her. She caught the face of the Regime member chasing her -- it was the young handsome Asian she had seen a few times previously, and if looks could kill she'd already be dead. Amanda could see the strong look of determination in his eyes, and then she turned back around.

Thinking about what her mother said about the serum, Amanda took a few more strides before planting her feet into the ground and pushing off as hard as she could. In a matter of seconds her body was catapulting through the air in a steady streamline, the ground getting smaller and smaller below her as she rushed forward.

Just as she was beginning to feel euphoric from the rush of the flight, Amanda felt a hard body collide into her. She'd forgotten one thing: the Regime could fly too. Feeling the man's grip around her waist tighten, Amanda knew this was finally the end -- there wa no more running. Soon her body collided with the hard ground, her face in the dirt as the young man held her down.

Pulling out a fresh syringe, he aimed it right for the back of her neck and stuck her. Amanda screamed, feeling the bone on her neck crack and the stinging feeling invade her entire body. But the stinging soon turned to numbness, and all sight, sound, and feeling escaped as Amanda lost consciousness.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When she came-to, her vision blurry but clearing rapidly, Amanda realized that she was lying face down on the dirty floor of a holding cell in the police station. Startled, Amanda hurriedly got to her feet, seeing the young Asian and the plump woman staring at her from the other side of the bars that were caging her in. If she thought she was trapped before, it was an understatement Now she was trapped.

"Let me out of here...," she said quietly, but the two Regime members just continued to stare at her. When they didn't say a word, she felt both anger and fear build up in her. "What do you want from me?!" she practically screamed at them.

"We want to make you one of us, at least for the time being. It makes getting rid of you that much easier," the plump woman said.

"But I don't want to be like you!" Amanda screamed back at them. "Why are you doing this to us?"

"The chaos that consumes your race is leaving your planet in ruin. So we knew we had to step in and save it, and if you needed to be eliminated during that process, then so be it," the young male said calmly.

In a fit of rage, Amanda grabbed the metal bars separating her from the rest of the Regime. "That's not fair! This isn't your planet to save!" she yelled, trying to rattle the bars. "Newsflash for you, your stupid serum didn't work on me. I'm still just as pissed as I would have been without it," she sneered, feeling the rage in her at high intensities.

"We know this. We knew this when you were the only one to fight back. There is something different about you. Something that's keeping you from changing over. Something that is only going to get in the way of our plans for this world," the male said, stepping forward and unlocking the barred door of the cell, pulling it open. "Which is why we're letting you go free."

Eyebrow cocked in suspicion, Amanda looked at the two before her. Their faces were unreadable, but she knew there was something more going on. Why would they let her go so easily? She wasn't sure of the answer, but she knew she would take any chance of escape.

Quickly, Amanda squeezed by the plump woman. She and the young man followed her out of the police station and out to the street. Amanda shot one last look at them, still feeling skeptical.

"Walk straight out of town. Do not look back," the woman instructed, and Amanda nodded, turning her back to them and hurrying toward the edge of town. Her worries were beginning to trickle away and a sense of relief began to wash through her.

The plump Regime woman turned to the young man next to her, nodding her head. The man slowly raised a pistol, aiming for Amanda who was just off in the distance.

"Fire."

With on deafening bang of the gun, the bullet met its target, Amanda's limp, dead body falling to the ground.

Like they said...she was going to get in the way of their plans. So they did the only thing that ensured the success of the Regime. They took her out.