Handling a Crisis

Chapter Thirty-Nine: A Crushing Feeling

Chapter warning: talk of 9/11, people getting hurt, and injury description

Weeks had passed agonizingly slow for the countryhumans. Since the events of the last chapter, Chadwick Boseman had died (may he rest in peace), there were protests in Mongolia because schools wanted to teach Mandarin instead of Mongolian, Australia officially entered a recession for the first time in three decades, COVID-19 has killed the most healthcare workers in Mexico than any other country, protests in Portland, Oregon have lasted more than one hundred days, 100,000 people gathered in Minsk, Belarus to protest against the reelection of President Alexander Lukashenko, India became the second worst country affected by the coronavirus, it was revealed that President Donald Trump knew how bad the coronavirus actually was and purposefully downplayed it to prevent panic, wildfires in Oregon have caused 500,000 people to evacuate, and California's August Complex wildfire became the largest recorded wildfire in state history.

Here's some positive news: BTS become the first all-Korean pop act to top the Billboard 100 singles chart, there was a medical student named Russell Ledet who raised money for Laura-hit Louisiana, it was reported that around 1,5000 Cambodian farmers have been patrolling the forest for loggers and poachers while tending chemical-free paddy fields, an invasive plant species to Africa, the water hyacinth, is being used to clean up oil spills, there is a 'baby boom' of gorillas in Uganda, and recovered COVID-19 patients have been volunteering at Israeli hospitals.

It was currently September 11, 2020, the nineteenth anniversary of 9/11 and the forty-second anniversary of the disappearance of New Pangea.

Everyone was on edge.

Though the 9/11 incident happened in United States, the effect it had on America greatly affected the other countryhumans. They were in the middle of a meeting when America collapsed. It wasn't everyday that a countryhuman collapsed out of nowhere, much less a countryhuman that represented a global superpower. When everyone found out the cause, they were all horrified. Tensions between citizens, especially American and Middle Eastern citizens, reach an all-time high on this particular day. Everyone was keeping an eye on the news, hoping no conflicts between citizens occurred.

Or, at least, the humans were keeping an eye out. The countryhumans wanted to, but their collective anxiousness was taking up all their time. They had a meeting that day, and none of them could miss it; everyone, including the countryhumans who were allowed to stay home, had been called in by their representatives. Whatever it was must've been important for all of them to be called in for a meeting that was so last-minute.

America waved goodbye to his kids as he and Confederacy walked to the garage door. "Bye, guys! We'll be back at around three, okay?" he informed them. "The first thirteen and Dee are in charge today!"

The kids all bid them goodbye in various ways. "Oh, say hi to NATO for us!" NASA requested.

America gave her a thumbs-up. "Got it!"

"Oh, Uncle Fed, help get Russia and Dad together!" California requested. "They've been at this for way too long!"

"You don't need to ask me twice!" Confederacy responded, shooting him a finger gun.

America's face heated up as he "gave Confederacy a little nudge" into the garage. Confederacy, however, didn't care and instead laughed as he went into the car and sat inside. America followed him inside.

"Why do you guys do this to me?" America sighed.

"What? I have no idea what you're talkin' about," Confederacy told him.

America rolled his eyes as he started the car and opened the garage door. "This isn't fair. None of y'all are crushing on anyone, so I can't tease you guys in retaliation."