Saturday August 8, 2026 [8/8 +0]
Washington D.C., United States of America
Sheridan Kelly strode towards the three men seated at the end of the large, mahogany table in the Cabinet Room. She observed that they were not going to be seated in their officially designated chairs, as indicated by the small brass plaques affixed to the top of each chair. Too small of a meeting to bother, apparently.
Finally, I can get some answers, she thought.
She knew all of the three men present at the table.
Desmond Hawking, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, was an elderly gentlemen who had always been kind to Sherri as she was getting up to speed when she joined the administration.
Mark Melanger was the White House Press Secretary—he looked extremely stressed out at the moment.
And finally, there was Andrew Watson, her trusty aide-de-camp and deputy.
“Gentlemen, good morning. Considering the urgency of the situation we find ourselves in, can we get right down to it?” she asked.
Mark Melanger shakily took a slug of coffee from his mug and set it down. “Sherri, as you may have heard, the President is currently—incapacitated. He is being treated right now in the President’s Bedroom, we thought it wise not to move him at the moment.”
“Mark, is he a victim of this unconsciousness phenomenon?” Sheridan asked.
Mark took another swig of coffee. “It may appear so, but we are not certain as of this moment.”
“Mark, tell her what we’ve released on this to the media.” Andrew said.
“Right… well…” Mark stammered, “as we do not know the full extent of the President’s condition, I thought it wise to assure the American people this morning that the President is doing all he can to get on top of this… worldwide phenomenon that is going on right now.”
Sheridan was stunned. Desmond rubbed his wrinkled forehead and winced slightly.
“Mark, you just lied to the American people! Why on earth… we should be invoking the 25th Amendment at this time!” Where is Edwyn? Where is the Vice President? He should be sworn in while President Rhodes is incapacitated.”
“Sherri, it’s more complicated than that,” Mark Melanger said. “It’s not just the President who has been affected…”
Sheridan stared at him and quickly glanced at Andrew Watson. Andrew nodded and said, “The Vice President… the Secretary of State… so far it looks like you two are all that remains of the Cabinet.”
“Wait a minute. You’re saying that no one else woke up this morning?” Sheridan asked incredulously.
Mark nodded slowly. “Theodore Crane collapsed while working out this morning in his basement. John Crawley, during breakfast. The Vice President also collapsed during his breakfast. This phenomenon… it has taken out nearly the entire top brass of the White House administration.”
