The Extra becomes the Villain's Bodyguard-Chapter 30: News of Panic

[4 months later]

NewsRoom

Reyes adjusts his tie, his eyes darting to the side as if searching for an escape. The questions come fast and relentless.

"Congressman Reyes! The public is seeing unprecedented military movement, unexplained disappearances, and now a no-fly zone over the coast. Has Congress authorized military action the public doesn’t know about?" Reporter 1’s voice cuts through the din, sharp and demanding.

Reyes clears his throat, his voice measured but lacking conviction. "I can’t discuss classified briefings. What I can say is that the situation is under review, and the administration is monitoring developments closely."

The crowd erupts in frustration. Reporter 2 shouts over the others, her tone accusatory. "Monitoring? People are vanishing! Ships are sinking in freak storms! Why is the White House silent? Is the President even in control right now?"

Reyes hesitates, his jaw tightening. "All I can assure you is that every necessary measure is being taken. The public will be informed when—"

Reporter 3 interrupts, his voice tinged with anger. "When it’s too late? There are reports of entire coastal towns being evacuated. Are we at war? Is this an attack?"

Before Reyes can respond, the ground beneath them trembles violently. The third earthquake this week sends the crowd stumbling, cameras shaking as windows rattle ominously. A distant boom echoes from the direction of the docks, followed by the faint but unmistakable sound of gunfire. The reporters freeze, their faces a mix of fear and confusion.

The tremor subsides, but the unease lingers. Reyes’s aide rushes to his side, whispering urgently. His face pales, and he nods curtly before turning back to the podium.

"I’m afraid I must cut this short," he says, his voice strained. "I urge everyone to remain calm and follow official instructions."

As Reyes retreats into the building, the reporters scramble to piece together the unfolding mystery. Social media explodes with unverified footage: military convoys rolling through city streets, helicopters hovering over residential areas, and naval ships stationed ominously along the coast. The hashtag #WhatIsHappening trends worldwide.

#WorldAlert: Global Military Mobilization—What the Hell Is Happening?

@TruthSeeker77:**

"BREAKING: Germany, France, and Poland just activated Article 5-level defenses. Tanks rolling through Berlin. UK sealed its borders—NO ONE in or out. Are we at war?? #WW3?"

@SurvivalistJen:

"My cousin in Tokyo says JSDF (Japan’s military) is setting up checkpoints. They’re scanning people like they’re looking for something. Not viruses. Not weapons. Something else. #Lockdown"

@ConspiracyDaddy:

"All major governments are hiding something. Why else would Russia, China, AND the US all go dark at the same time? This isn’t war—it’s containment. #SomethingGotOut"

@FindSarahK:

"My sister vanished near Dover Coast. Last text: ’The water is moving wrong.’ 200+ missing in UK alone. Police aren’t investigating. #WhereAreThey"

EuroNewsBot:

"Italy reports 3,000+ missing in 48 hours. Entire fishing villages... gone. No storms. No wrecks. Just empty boats drifting. #MassDisappearance"

RELIGIOUS UPRISING: "THE END IS HERE"

@ProphetMark_Revelations:**

"Scripture foretold this. Earthquakes. Nations in chaos. The seas turning against man. Repent now—the Sixth Seal is broken. #EndTimes"

@ZenMasterLi:

"The ancients warned of the ’Black Tide’—when the ocean would spit back what we drowned. Pray. Hide. Do not look at the sky after dark. #CelestialWarning"

@DebunkerPrime:

"Y’all are falling for AI-generated panic. Look at the ’tank’ footage—shadows are off. This is a drill or a psyop. #WakeUpSheeple"

@CyberSleuth:

"Funny how ’AI glitches’ only happen when people post about military movement. My feed’s getting scrubbed. They don’t want us comparing notes. #DigitalBlackout"*

@NYCfynshit:

"Internet’s lagging like crazy. Cell towers overloaded or being throttled? My VPN won’t connect to European servers. They’re isolating us? #InfoBlackout"

@PrepperMomma:

"No coincidence comms are failing as armies mobilize. They’re hiding the first strikes. Get to your bunkers. #SilentWar#WW3"

@Deepdihver):

"Just got a mayday relay from a research vessel. They were tracking something... massive. Not a sub. Not a whale. Then their feed cut to static. #AbyssalEvent" Thread last updated 2 minutes ago. 17,443 new replies.

@Kas73_(deleted)

@CaptainAhab99:

"All these ’storms’ sinking ships? Bullshit. My buddy in the Coast Guard said sonar’s picking up *structures* rising from the trenches. Like cities. #Leviathan"

"They’re not fighting each other. They’re fighting whatever just woke up."

"My pastor says this is the Rapture—but why are the *wrong* people vanishing?"

"I can’t call my family in Seoul. Lines are dead. This isn’t normal."

"THE SKY JUST FLASHED GREEN OVER CHICAGO WHAT WAS THAT"

[USER DISCONNECTED]

@TruthSeeker89: "This is OUR country. We pay taxes, we vote, and we deserve to know what’s going on. Time to hit the streets. #WeDeserveAnswers"

@JusticeForAll: "If Congress won’t tell us the truth, we’ll demand it ourselves. Peaceful protests at the Capitol this weekend. Who’s with me?"

@CitizenX: "They can’t keep us in the dark forever. We need to organize and make our voices heard. Enough is enough."

@PrepperQueen: "This is it, folks. The big one. Stock up on canned goods, water, and ammo. Stay safe out there. #EndOfDays"

@SurvivalistMike: "Forget protests. Focus on survival. Build your bunkers, arm yourselves, and prepare for the worst. #StayReady"

************************************************************************

[Location: Washington D.C.]

A sea of protesters floods the streets, their chants rising louder and louder the glow of emergency floodlights.

"NO MORE LIES! WE WANT THE TRUTH!"

Handmade signs bob above the crowd:

"WHERE ARE THE MISSING?"

"WHO ARE YOU PROTECTING US FROM?"

"DON’T GASLIGHT THE WORLD!"

A young woman with a megaphone climbs onto a parked car, her voice raw:

"They grounded every flight, locked down the coasts, and now they won’t even tell us why? My parents were on a trip abroad how will they return."

[London, Downing Street]

Protesters surge against steel barricades. A teenager screams into a livestream:

"They’re evacuating Parliament in those ambulances! We want answers. What’s in the—"

CRACK. Tear gas canisters arc through the air. The camera jerks as riot police in full tactical gear advance, batons swinging.

[Moscow, Red Square]

A silent vigil. Hundreds hold candles for the missing.

[ Hong Kong, ]

Protesters link arms, their faces masked. A banner unfurls: "THE SEA ISN’T THE ONLY THING RISING."

Police loudspeakers blare:

"Disperse immediately. This is your final warning."

The crowd doesn’t move. Then—stun grenades. The camera feed cuts to pixels.

[ New Delhi,]

Soldiers hand out pamphlets: "Return to your homes. Trust your leaders."

A mother shoves one back:

"My son vanished at Varanasi Ghat! Was that your order too?"

The soldier looks away.

"Berlin protests just got raided. They’re arresting journalists first."

"Buenos Aires is burning. Cops won’t even say why they’re shooting."

"They turned off the internet in Istanbul. We can’t even scream."

*****************************************************

FBI Director interjects, her voice tinged with urgency. "Civilian unrest is spreading. Coastal cities are in chaos, with looting in Miami and a staggering spike in missing persons reports... mostly near water. Whatever’s happening, it’s escalating faster than we can contain the narrative."

Admiral Rachel Pike, NSA Director, speaks next. "Communications are being actively disrupted. We’ve intercepted false distress calls from ships that sank days ago. Something’s learning our protocols."

The President rubs his temples, his frustration palpable. "Options. Now."

General Patrick Shaw, responds decisively. "Sir, recommend immediate escalation to DEFCON 2. Full coastal evacuation. Mobilize the National Guard to enforce martial law in affected zones."

Director of National Intelligence Elizabeth Grayson offers a chilling perspective. "We need to assume this is an extraterrestrial or subaquatic threat until proven otherwise. The pattern doesn’t match any known adversary. Russia and China are just as hesitant—their fleets are getting hit too."

Secretary of Homeland Security David Ruiz warns, "We can’t hide this much longer. The public needs some explanation before they riot."

After a long pause, the President speaks, his voice heavy with resolve. "Here’s the play. First, shut down all maritime traffic. No exceptions. Second, scramble AWACS and submarine hunters—I want every square mile of ocean monitored. Third... prepare a limited press statement. No details. Just tell people to stay the hell away from the coasts."

"But that will just... Mr.President?" A general was cut off from his statement when the President moved.

The president stood, his hands gripping its edge as if to steady himself. His voice cut through the room’s silence. "Sigh... six months ago, the United States Geological Survey detected an anomalous fissure in the Mariana Trench. Initial scans suggested rare earth mineral deposits, potential trillions in untapped resources. We sent a team. They never came back. What happened from then?"

Dr. Cross from the USGS shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her voice strained as she spoke. "The first team was led by Dr. Alan, one of our top geologists. Their last transmission was a garbled distress call—’It’s not a fissure. It’s a door.’ Then static. We sent a SEAL recovery team. They vanished within 12 hours."

The room fell silent, the weight of her words sinking in. CIA Director Thomas "Turk" Vance broke the silence, his tone grim. "Subsequent teams—DOD, NOAA, even private contractors—same result. No bodies. No wreckage. Just... gone. Then the fissures started multiplying. Chile. Indonesia. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge. And now..." He tapped a tablet, and the screen shifted to live satellite feeds showing massive, glowing cracks spreading across the ocean floor.

General Mark Cole leaned forward, his voice steady but laced with unease. "We rightly assumed invasion. We mobilized. Recruited. Built-up forces along every coastline."

The words hung in the air, chilling everyone in the room. Dr. Walsh from pulled up seismic data, her expression unreadable. "The fissures are emitting energy signatures unlike anything in our database. They’re growing at an exponential rate especially lately. And as of 0400 today..." She hesitated, then continued. "...they’ve started singing."

FBI Director Sarah Chen added, "Civilian reports are pouring in. Fishermen describing ’things’ coming out of the water at night. Not animals. Not machines. Something... else."

Admiral Rachel Pike from the NSA spoke next, her voice clipped and professional. "Global comms are being infiltrated. We’re detecting encrypted signals from the fissures. They’re communicating. Just not with us."

The president straightened, his voice low and deliberate. "As of this moment, we are at war. Yet we know nothing about our enemy. That changes today." He slammed his fist on the table, the sound making several aides jump. "I don’t care if you have to strap GoPros to every soldier before sending them into those godforsaken holes. I don’t care if we lose men just to get five seconds of footage. No sacrifice is too great. We will learn what we’re fighting. We will find a way to kill it. Then we will win."

The room was silent, the gravity of his words sinking in. Finally, Secretary of Defense Robert McAllister spoke. "Mr. President, what do we tell the public?"

The president didn’t hesitate. "Nothing. Not until we know if we can stop it. Dismissed."