Saturday August 8, 2026 [8/8 +0]
Arlington, United States of America
Sheridan breathed in the cool morning air as she jogged back home from her morning workout. The metropolitan area of Washington D.C. was bathed in the late summer sunshine, steadily warming up the day.
She was excited about the day ahead. She had a bit of business to do in the morning—the Secretary of Education of the United States of America is technically always on duty—but for the remainder of the day she planned to go to the National Zoological Park with her two kids, William and Victoria.
Always have to maintain balance in life, Sheridan thought. All work and no play makes Sherri a dull girl.
She laughed at that last. Sheridan Kelly was hardly a young girl anymore. At age 41, she was already starting to feel the creakiness in her joints. Especially from her knees and ankles, and especially when she was running like she was now.
In recent years she felt the need to slow things down a little. Her hectic schedule had driven away her frustrated ex-husband, which was her greatest regret in life. Aside from that, things were looking up.
Her position as a Cabinet member was reasonably secure and promised future career rewards. She had had her kids. She actually could enjoy a weekend like she was about to today.
Rounding about the corner, Sheridan jogged up to her house. She felt lucky to be able to live in Clarendon, the posh neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia. The area was expensive even for the Secretary of Education. She climbed her front steps and entered her house, where her two young kids were glued to the TV set.
“William, Victoria, remember that I said that watching TV in the morning is ok, just not so close to the screen, right guys?”
“But MOM, look at what’s happening!” 7-year-old William exclaimed.
“Ya, whass happening!” 3-year-old Victoria burbled.
Sheridan stared at the screen, which showed a news report with the screaming headline:
What the hell is going on? Sheridan’s mind was spinning with this apparently apocalyptic news. Is it some biological or chemical weapon?
The news anchor was saying something about the unconscious being concentrated in prisons…
A harsh and insistent buzzing sound came from the kitchen counter. The red LED on her phone was blinking furiously, clamoring for Sheridan’s attention.
Sheridan picked up her cell phone and stared at the thirty-seven messages that had flooded her message box in the past hour. She had always left her phone at home during her workouts (to the chagrin of her staff) as she thought the presence of her phone messed with her energy at the gym. Today, she felt like it might have been a good idea to have had it on her.
The third-most recent message was sent three minutes previous and was the most alarming:
Oh my God, what happened?
