The Great Chaos

“Sir, we have a problem here!” A technician stated as he was observing a monitor with an image of the sun in the middle, and a large protrusion which had an on screen red box around it.
“Shit. Send a priority one message detailing Code Red, Level Omega. To all commands, with orders to shut off all priority electronics ASAP” The commander barked, sending the situation room into a frenzied state.
“Alice, could you hold my calls for today, I would like to get a couple things done” Michael told his secretary as he walked into his office. “Sure Michael” the secretary replied.
Michael sighed as he walked into his corner office in the History Department wing of New York State University. ‘Good lord, look at all those fucking tests I have to grade… Grrrr… Oh well, it must be done’ He powered on his computer, and turned on the holographic widescreen monitor, then sat down at his desk. He was about to log in when his phone buzzed. ‘Damn that woman! Doesn’t she EVER LISTEN!’
“Alice, I thought I told you to hold all of my calls!” Michael said into the receiver, his voice the consistency of 1 molar hydrochloric acid.
“I realize that sir, but it’s your wife, and you know how she gets when you don’t talk to her…” she replied, taking the acid and countering it with an equally strong base.
‘Damn, she does have a point… ok’ “Yeah, you’re right, put her through” Michael replied, as the secretary did so. “Hey hon, what’s up?” Michael asked.
“Not much, I just wanted to remind you to pick up Neville from school this afternoon” Catherine replied matter of factly.
“Alright, will do. Would you like me to get some sushi for the dinner party tomorrow?” Michael asked, remembering the party was tomorrow.
“Sure that would be…” and the line went dead.
Though it wasn’t just the line that went dead; he looked at his computer, the screen was flat black, and the indicator lights were off. ‘Shit… what is this?’ “Honey, you still there?” Michael asked, knowing there wouldn’t be an answer, but making sure. He then looked out the window and noticed that the lights everywhere were out. He got up and walked out of his office, getting nearly knocked over by the secretary, who was afraid of the dark, and being alone.
“Jesus! Alice, don’t worry, I’m right here beside you” Michael replied, regaining his balance, and taking her hand.
“I’m terribly sorry Mr. Halifax, I didn’t mean to almost knock you over” Alice shrieked.
“That’s fine, now let’s get out of here, because I have a hunch that the school is closed for the day” Michael said matter of factly, his hunches usually turned out to be true.

“Michael?! Michael?!? Are you there, can you hear me?!” Catherine screamed into the phone in terror, worried something had happened. She put the phone back on its receiver and looked out the window. All the lights were off. ‘That’s odd…’ Catherine thought to herself. ‘The only other time… 2003… Shit’ Her first thought was to find her son and her husband and make sure they were safe, she got out of her chair and walked out of her office.
On the streets of New York, people were panicking and running around. Everyone had their cell phones out but they didn’t work, others were in their cars trying to get them to start but they didn’t. Still others were cussing at their laptops, and throwing their pda’s at the ground in sheer anger. Nothing worked. For awhile, people were fine, they had been through this in 2003 when a squirrel got zapped on a power line in Canada, blacking out every city from southern Virginia to northern Maine, from Lansing, MI all the way to New York. But then the airplanes fell out of the skies. The first one struck the Empire State building at an extreme angle, bringing it down within seconds. Another hit the Manhattan Bridge in the middle, shearing it in half. Another crashed into Times Square, exploding in a huge fireball, and throwing glass and metal everywhere. People panicked then, and began to run, where they did not know, their instincts were taking over; adrenaline was coursing through their veins. So many people were trampled in the first hours of the chaos, that afterwards, the streets were permanently stained red. But the United States wasn’t the only country that was hit…