America Stranded in a Fantasy World

Chapter 2 "Damage Control"

June 16th, 2040: United States White House

"Good morning Mister President." His secretary smiled at a worse for wear John, running on nothing but a couple hours of sleep and caffeine.

"Morning, what's on the agenda?"

"Well your advisors are all in the oval office waiting to debrief you on a whole range of topics, the press is requesting or I should say demanding, a conference at your earliest convenience. The internet is buzzing with all sorts of news and conversations." The two began walking down the hall.

"Oh? What are they saying?" John perked up hearing that the internet was back up finally. He knew better than anyone that if it was down longer than a few days, riots would have started.

"Most are talking about the sudden country-wide blackout but there are a few forums and threads talking about how the night sky has changed completely, missing constellations and much more. People are already starting to catch on, Sir." John simply sighed, putting his head down. This was slipping away from them faster than expected.

"John! I need a moment." Harold called from a corner office, waving him in. Shooing off his secretary, the two stood alone in a conference room. "What's up?"

"I took the liberty of attempting contact with our embassies and... Well it's something all right." Harold took a deep breath, leaving John even more confused.

"All foreign workers inside of them just vanished. But what's more worrisome and quite honestly terrifying is what the cameras caught. In the final frames where the workers are, something round and dark appears underneath them. The terrifying part is what some cameras caught on the last frame." Harold pulled out a photo from his suit, handing it to John whose eyes looked ready to leave his head.

"By God, what the hell is that?" John stared at the photo. Opaque black hands reached from the dark mass suggesting that they were pulled in. "Have the CIA and the FBI look into this."

"They already are, and so far have nothing to show. Whatever did this, probably is responsible for us not being on earth anymore." Harold watched as John blinked a few times before responding. "I--wa--What?"

"Our worst fears have been realized, unfortunately. NASA along with our own observations have concluded that the alignment for the stars is all off. Even the moon, though at a glance it looks the same, with a telescope you can spot the differences. We are not on Earth anymore John." Harold's voice grew cold, making John shift uncomfortably.

"Who else knows about this?" John tightened his expression, the gravity of the situation hitting both like a freight train.

"In the interest of the country, everyone who needs to know, including your advisors that you are about to speak with...good luck." Harold simply smiled, handing John another cup of coffee before walking him out of the office. "If you need me just ask. I'll be in my office."

Taking a moment to collect himself, John tightened his posture and made his way towards the oval office. Already he could hear them arguing over what course of action to take for whatever policy they were yelling about. Opening the door the room immediately fell silent as he took his seat.

"Please proceed." Taking a large swig of his coffee he prepared himself for the hail storm.

"Mister President, I highly advise that we close all banks and freeze the markets. If the people--"

"Are you seriously advocating keeping people away from their money in the midst of a crisis?" The two advisors locked eyes, both not giving an inch.