The New Regime

"So how'd everything go?" Devin asked as Amanda walked into the living room - she'd told him of the possible chance that she was pregnant, and he was quite concerned.

"It was good. Definitely not pregnant," she answered with a smile.

"Well there's some good news for the day.... You might want to see this," Devin said, nodding toward the television. Confused and yet nervous about what might be happening lately, Amanda took a seat on the couch next to him. Looking at the screen, she felt her stomach flip over.

There on the screen, standing at the President's podium that was set up on the steps of the Capitol Building, was one of those straight-faced freaks in a grey suit. All of the reporters and attendants that could be seen in the shot were calm and smiling, the expression on every face the same as the next. And standing in line behind the man at the podium, facing the cameras, were more straight-faced, grey-suit-wearing officials. Along the bottom of the screen the caption read "New Regime Instated".

"Can they do that?" Amanda asked, eyebrows furrowed in confused.

"Doesn't matter, because they just did. This 'New Regime' has already taken up the White House," Devin explained. "Do you see how...in-charge they are? Maybe this is just what we needed."

Opening her mouth Amanda was about to remind him of something rather important when Devin stood, stretching and crossing the living room. "Where are you going?"

"I was gonna head over to my place. Bang around on some drums in the basement," he said, turning to face her while backing toward the door.

"Oh...well, okay. Maybe I'll come over later tonight," she replied.

"Okay. See you later," Devin smiled, and then headed out the door. Sighing deeply, Amanda looked back at the television. It seemed Devin had completely forgotten that those grey-sited folk, from this 'New Regime', were up on Foster Hill leading whatever crazy stuff was going on. And ever since the first time she'd seen people levitating up there, Amanda noticed that the very people she's seen had disappeared. The town was dwindling away to nothing.

She had to get to the bottom of this.

Grabbing her keys off the coffee table in front of her, Amanda dashed out of the house and into her car, revving the engine and speeding her way across town. Heading up toward Foster Hill she finally slowed down, pulling her car along the side of the road on a flat stretch. Getting out she quickly made her way up the road on foot. If she wanted to catch whatever was going on, she would have to be stealthy and sneak around.

Reaching the top of the hill, Amanda ducked into the clustered line of trees on its edge, creeping her way toward the center. Meeting the field through the trees, she hid behind a bush. Eyes scanning the sky over the field, she caught sight of a group of levitators, slowly making their way toward the center.

Heart pounding, she watched. Once they reached the middle of the field, floating hundreds of feet above the grass, they stopped and for awhile, nothing happened Just five or so of the town's citizens, accompanied by those same two Regime members, clad in grey.

But then, something happened, and if Amanda hadn't been watching so attentively she'd have never believed it. A light began to glow all around the group floating above, and when a pop, the five townspeople were gone, leaving the two New Regime members to slowly descend down to the ground. Amanda didn't wait to see what happened next - she sprinted through the line of trees and back down the road, heart pounding as she got in her car and gunned the engine. Tires squealing, she turned the car around and flew down the hill. She didn't care if she got a speeding ticket. She wanted to get away from Foster Hill as fast as she could. People everywhere were disappearing, and she wasn't about to join the rest of them that were in line to go next.

As she hurried home, Amanda tried to think of what was happening. Were they trying to control the population? Human reproduction was out of control, but the way it seemed, this New Regime was intent on wiping out the entire globe. Were they an entire separate alien race that had decided to take over the planet, disguised as humans themselves? It was a stretch, but after what she had just seen, Amanda would believe anything. If she didn't know any better, she'd think the New Regime was taking them all to their mother ship. Or maybe they were some sort of sacrificial cult. Whatever it was, Amanda had to everyone of what she saw before it was too late.

She found herself parking outside Devin's house, and as she threw open the front door she could hear him playing his drums. Rushing downstairs to the basement, she stopped to catch her breath. Devin saw her explode down the stairs and stopped playing, a calm smile on his face.

"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Devin...we need to get out of here. Now."

"Is everything alright?" he asked, and Amanda shook her head.

"The New Regime. They're...they're a cult, or aliens. Something. Something's not right," she gasped out.

"Baby, calm down! What's going on?" Devin asked, taking Amanda into his arms.

"Foster Hill. Remember? We saw that...insane shit going on? People flying...," she said, trying to slow her words. "...I went back there today and I watched what they were doing. And everyone disappeared. This New Regime is...is trying to get rid of us! They're sacrificing us, or sending us up to their freaky alien mother ship!"

Devin looked at her quickly before smiling, breaking out into a laugh. "Amanda, don't be crazy. I'm sure you were just imagining it," he said, playing the voice of reason.

"No! I know what I saw!" Amanda nearly shouted.

"Calm down. I think maybe you need to go lie down or something," Devin replied calmly, turning her around and slowly guiding her up the stairs, her protests falling on deaf ears.