The Regime Read online

  Everything around him turned black; nothing seemed as it was. The trees all began to gnarl and sharpen; the ground began to quake as a shadow began to envelop the surface. Freddy realised he was losing his mind, but how? He was just a young man he would have plenty of opportunities to find love again. He discarded that thought, he didn’t want to love again; he wanted her, and only her. His lust and anger began to swarm inside him like a horde of locusts; he looked around as the sky turned red. He began seeing faces in the rainclouds. He couldn’t make them out, but they were familiar. He began to get scared, and tried to flee his emotions.

  Freddy ran down the street as it began to rain harder, almost as if God realized his sorrow and anguish. He ran and ran, ignoring the growing pain in his entire body, but stopped as he noticed something. He saw a sign outside the local bar; the FEC was recruiting new soldiers that night. Freddy went against his beliefs, and entered. He looked at the recruitment officer, and signed his name on the clipboard.

  In the following days, Freddy was nowhere to be found. He stopped going to school; Greg was getting scared that the worst had happened. He tried looking for him, went to his house, and called his phone, but got no answers. His parents hadn’t seen him, and were searching for him with the police.

  Greg feared he had killed himself, or was trying to flee the country or planet. Greg began to feel pain inside his chest, the worst pain of them all, guilt. Prom night finally arrived; Greg and Lacey showed up with all the other seniors, happy, many in love, with joyful thoughts dancing in their heads.

  Quite a few of them were wearing Freedom Fighter uniforms, for they were to be shipped off to the front lines the next morning. Greg was sitting with his prized girl, discussing recent events, when a familiar face, but an unfamiliar uniform, approached. Freddy stood there in front of the man who stole his love; he stood there, stern, wearing his FEC uniform, the only FEC uniform in the entire gymnasium. The entirety of the graduating class all stopped what they were doing, staring angrily at the traitor wearing the emblem of the enemy. They could kill him now, and save the bullets on the battlefield, but they all came to the same conclusion. Let him live. It was too happy an occasion to shed blood.

  Greg began to speak, but Freddy stopped him, “You do not need to speak. This is my decision. Perhaps I can find happiness without either of you”.

  “I meant to tell you Freddy,” Greg replied.

  “Well, you were too late, and even if you did tell me earlier, it does not excuse you betraying me so,” Fred sternly stated.

  “Why are you doing this? It wasn’t meant to be, why can’t you accept that?” asked Lacey.

  Freddy did not even respond; his silence answered the girl’s question better than words could. Freddy shook Greg’s hand, and wished him luck, then turned around and left. Greg just sat there, silent, hanging his head in shame. The girl grabbed his hand and tried to comfort him, but Greg knew this would damage him for the rest of his life.

  CHAPTER 3

  A year passed. The memories of high school were beginning to fade, but not in Freddy’s case. He found himself in a warzone, surrounded by death and destruction, fighting on the frontlines on the outskirts of Washington. He sat in a muddy, soaking trench, gripping his rifle tightly in his hands, pondering the choice he had made. Would it have made a difference to the people he knew and loved?

  He had not told his parents about joining the enemy of the US. He disappeared off the grid and was now staring death in the face. Sitting, along with a bunch of European men he had never met before, all ready to die at a moment’s pause. He was stationed next to a very eccentric German fellow who had a bloodlust unlike anything he had ever seen before. The man holding his two handed machine gun peppered the horizon beyond with a sadistic smile on his face. He turned to Freddy who hunched up cold and scared and exclaimed, “Come on you fucking woman! Get a taste of battle!”

  Freddy looked back up at him and said, “How can you be excited at a moment like this? You could die at any time!”

  The man turned and lowered his weapon. “Haha you are funny, death is another battle we must face… but not yet. The battle is out there! Come little man let us shed blood in the name of… whoever the hell is paying me to make widows and orphans today.”

  Freddy sat up beginning to admire this man’s zeal. He raised his rifle and asked, “What is your name?”

  “Me? I am the butcher! Rudolf Fleischer, the only reason this battalion is still winning since I am the only one who is still fucking shooting!” he exclaimed while looking around at his fellows with a snarky grin. “Just put your mind in a good place, a place that gives you strength, you will taste the glory of death in the mud out there! Will it be your death? That is for you to decide”

  Freddy then stood all the way up and closed his eyes. He tried to put his mind into a good place like Rudolf said.

  He thought about returning after the battle had passed, to mend the damage to his friendship with both Greg and Lacey. He wanted to apologize. He had been a fool; he had overreacted. He was young; he would find love again. Why would he throw away his great friendship with Greg, just for one girl who would end up being alone herself for her treatment of men. He figured this was not meant to be, and so perhaps there would be a perfect girl for him in the future. He felt a sudden weight lifting off his shoulders at the thought of reconciliation, and his bravery increased.

  At that moment the officer in charge ordered the regiment to jump over the trench and attack. Freddy put on his combat helmet, lifted his rifle above his head, and leapt over the cover, running with all his might towards his objective. He ran as fast as he could through the smoke and dirt flying through the air. His armor and equipment rustled around on his body as he sprinted for the enemy. The terrain was treacherous, pounded by countless artillery shells and grenades. It was still wet from the recent rain, and the blood of fallen men. Bullets were singing as they flew past his head, many of their songs ending as they struck his comrades. He could see Rudolf out of the corner of his eye pounding a wounded enemy’s skull into the mud but he kept running through the hail of gunfire.

  One singing bullet sounded louder than the rest. His newfound bravery was short lived, as he felt a sudden pressure being applied to him. It felt almost as if he had been hit by a car with a deep pounding thump to his ribs. He looked down to notice he had been shot in the upper chest. He had been shot in the heart, and all he could do was laugh at the irony. He collapsed to his knees, took off his helmet, and roared with laughter.

  The enemy saw him, and stared blindly, dumbstruck and somewhat frightened by his maniacal behaviour. Freddy’s hysterics were halted, as a whistling sound rang in his head, and a large metal shell landed in front of him. It was an incendiary explosive. He was alarmed, and scrambled to find his helmet, but he was too late. He shook with fear, as he knew what was about to happen.

  The explosive detonated; hot shrapnel and scalding flame erupted in all directions, riddling his face with sharp, jagged metal and scorching fire which began to melt the flesh off the bone. His face began to pulse with searing pain. He couldn’t even bear to hold his wounds, because the pressure caused him more distress. Never had he been in such physical pain in all his life. He screamed with agony before some of his comrades emerged from the dust and smoke, picked him up by his arms, and dragged him out of enemy range.

  Freddy opened his eyes suddenly. His vision was slightly blurred, so he rubbed his eyes to regain their focus. He looked around to see that he wasn’t in a familiar place. He found himself in a large white room, with a view of a beach. The air was warm, and he felt more comfortable than ever. The sea air brought a calming scent through his nostrils, and he smiled with satisfaction. He stretched his back, and ran his fingers through his soft clean hair. He saw he was wearing white robes, hospital patient’s robes. He must have been in some special military recovery hospital. He stood up, and walk
ed towards a mirror. He saw a handsome face staring back at him; he sighed with relief that he had not been scarred.

  He continued to look around this paradise, when he heard a door open. He looked at the doorway, and there was Lacey, the girl of his dreams, standing in the doorway, looking absolutely radiant. She was wearing a flowing white dress, her long brown hair down and stirring in the wind. Her face looked soft and gentle. The expression in her eyes told a million stories, but at that moment, he knew her eyes were telling him she was in love. She came up and kissed him slowly on the lips; he never felt so happy in his life. She looked entrancing, in her bright vibrant dress. He wrapped his arms around her, and held her tight, rubbing his hands up and down her soft precious skin before leaning in to kiss her. Her lips felt so soft, so warm. He enjoyed the moisture and wetness of their locked lips, and he closed his eyes.

  When he opened his eyes again, all he could hear were screams and roars of pain and horror. He looked around quickly, as the white turned to gray, and the beach turned into a smouldering city ruin. He looked down at himself, to see his robes begin to be ripped and torn. Lacey began to be pulled away, back through the door. He grabbed her hands, and held as tight as he could, but all the strength in the world couldn’t help. She was swept away like a leaf in the breeze. He wept, and roared with anger, and closed his eyes once more.

  Later, when he came awake, he realized he was on a bed, his combat vest and shirt had been removed to reveal countless gashes and holes. Blood was seeping through dozens of openings on his chest and stomach; his arms were numb and blood soaked. He began to groan as he realized the white paradise and Lacey were but a mirage in this horrible reality. He fell unconscious with shock.

  Several hours later, upon reawakening, he had been bandaged and repaired. His wounds were sealed. The medical officers informed him he was relieved of duty if he wished. He stood up, and brought his hands up to his face. He felt rough bandages everywhere, even on part of his eyes; he gasped with fear. He quickly ran over to the mirror and saw what looked like an Egyptian mummy staring him in the face. He nearly cried at the thought of his face being mutilated. Lacey would never take him back if he looked like a monster.

  Freddy began to unravel the bandages, keeping his eyes closed, not wanting to believe what he already knew. When he went to close his eyelids, he found that he could not; he couldn’t feel them at all. He touched the smooth soggy texture of his eyes to realize he had no eyelids; they must have been burnt off. He tried to cry but he couldn’t; he just continued to unravel the bandages.

  Once the bandages were all removed, he stroked his fingers across his face, but his face had no feeling; all he could feel was the rough dead feeling of decay on his fingers. Freddy moved his hands all around his face. It felt like the rough crust of a dried piece of magma. He stared into the mirror, and a monster stared back at him. The most hideous grotesque image he had ever seen peered back at him, and he screamed in horror. He had no more hair; his skin was nearly all melted off; and he could see his muscle tissue through the holes in his face. He had a small amount of lip on the right side of his mouth, a few teeth were missing, and his tongue was badly burnt, hindering his speech. A mixed image of muscle and bone was all he could see. His eyelids had been destroyed, and the medical officer had to apply special light sensitive goggles to keep him from going blind. He collapsed, shivering in disgust, trembling about what he had become—a beast.

  Freddy was shipped off to his home the next day, and his parents were as shocked as he was to see his face. He wasn’t the same Freddy; he wasn’t the regular innocent, cute high school kid that he once was.

  Freddy escaped to his room not willing to speak to anyone. He saw on his desk a large pile of letters left behind after prom, and he had countless messages from two of the people he had expected. He checked all the apology messages, the ‘where are you?’ messages, the ‘don’t go!’ messages, until he came upon the one message that was dated that day. It was from Lacey; she wanted to see him. She had heard he was back from the war.

  He figured to himself that it was nothing, so he called her. They talked for hours; reminiscing about the war, telling stories about the places he had seen, about the people he had met. Finally, she interrupted, and told him that she now believed he was the right one for her. He tried to smile with happiness, but looked at a picture of himself on the wall, and remembered what he had become. He thought this was the perfect test. If she truly loved him, she would accept him no matter what he was.

  He went down the same road he took a year before to ask her to the prom. He knocked on the door and waited, smiling for the first time since he stood in the same spot the day before prom. He was wearing his bandages, hoping she wouldn’t be alarmed. She opened the door, and yelped with joy, giving him a big hug. She tried to give him a kiss on the cheek, but found herself kissing bandages. She was very puzzled, but led him inside. They sat down next to a warm, lively fireplace, and talked.

  “My God, Freddy, it really is good to see you again. But what happened to your face?” she asked.

  “I was with the 252nd Munich Regiment, as they took a portion of land outside of DC. I was ordered to charge over the trenches into no man’s land, and I was shot. As I collapsed, an artillery shell landed in front of me, an incendiary round. It detonated, and, since I was in the immediate detonation area, I suffered grievous wounds to my face and chest. I was unconscious for a long time. The entire time I was in a dream world, the vastness of my imagination.”

  “What was the dream world like?” asked Lacey.

  “It was beautiful; it had everything I needed. It had sandy beaches, wide meadows, and it had the most important thing of all. It had you,” he replied.

  Lacey blushed. She loved the attention she got. She smiled, and then asked, “What was it like in your paradise with me?”

  “It was everything I could ever want. We were all alone in a vast expanse with nothing to bother us, nothing to take you away from me. Our castle was made of glass; the trees all blew away from us in the wind. I would gather food from the gardens, and bring it back to our room where we would feast, and then spend every last minute of the day locked in passion. The sun was always shining, unless we wanted to see the moon. Every day we were refreshed; we were healthy; we were immortal. Every day we would look into each other’s eyes, and speak of how much we loved each other,” said Freddy, who almost lost himself to his dream again.

  Lacey smiled, and began to tear up. She had never heard anything so beautiful spoken about her before. Freddy wiped the single tear from her cheek, and she reached to unravel the bandages from his face.

  Freddy helped to unravel his bandages and revealed his true face to her, to gauge her reaction. She stared blankly at him, her eyes and mouth wide open. The last of the bandages fell to the floor. She gulped, and turned away, for she could not bear to see him. He just watched her, hoping she would look back and accept him, but she did not.

  “You have to go now. I don’t even know who you are. You are not Freddy Rickson, you are some kind of… thing,” she said quietly, keeping her eyes away from his face.

  This reaction did not please him; she had led him on once more. She told him she finally thought they could be together, only to deny him all because his face was lost. He looked back at her with tears trying to emerge from the decayed holes in his face. She stared at his skeletal, charred face, trying to get past it, but she couldn’t. She apologized again, but he knew she was not sorry. He stood up and looked at the fire.

  “After breaking my heart, you betray me. You then give me hope, only to break me once again. But I don’t suppose it is your fault; my best friend is at fault here… He has killed me. Freddy Rickson is dead!” he said.

  She could not answer, she was speechless.

  “You are a plague on this earth. How can you move on so easily, when you have destroyed my life? Now that I have return
ed; you reject me just because I’m not attractive enough for you. If this was truly love, if this was truly meant to be, you wouldn’t care if my face wasn’t that of a normal man’s. You would keep me for what I am. I am a loyal and loving man who would do anything for you. I would die for you. I have died for you. Well, if I cannot have you, then no one can. You won’t hurt anyone anymore,” he said.

  Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out the pistol that he was given in the academy. He cocked it, and pointed it at her. He stopped trying to cry. His weak knees strengthened. The next decision he made would shape his entire future. He was jealous of her happiness, jealous of the guys she would date when he was without her. He figured if she was gone he wouldn’t have to worry about what she was doing. He wouldn’t have to worry about who she was with, or if she was happy, or if she was lonely without him.

  He looked her in the eyes and said, “I will not have to love you anymore, for you will not be here to love.”

  A large banging sound rang out, and birds in the nearby trees shuttered and fled. The thump of a person’s body hitting the floor sounded the beginning of a new life.

  Fred put the smoking gun back into his coat, and walked towards the fire place. He took one of the flaming logs, and threw it on the couch where he sat. It quickly ignited. He walked outside the house, and looked back as the house began to light up in a full blaze. He felt nothing. He continued down the road, and looked at a pamphlet he held in his hands. It was an immigration ticket to the FEC colony of New Berlin in Omega sector, where he would continue to serve the Admiral.

  He boarded the next available shuttle and vanished, leaving Earth behind.

  CHAPTER 4

  The present became the past. The FEC was victorious; earth was subjugated, and the colonies in space flourished. All memories of earth had been forgotten, and relations between mankind and alien had reached peace for the time being.