Via Plino, Milano, 11:40 PM, 17th of April 2023
As the stars shined and the moon casted its soft glow, the city of Milano was still bustling with activity. The city lights shined brightly under the sky and in one particular street, a man stepped out of an apartment building as he sighed.
"Oddio, what a night..." the man said in exhaustion. A birthday party on a Saturday night was a waste of a Saturday, he thought to himself. He reached his parked car as he hopped inside and after buckling up, the man drove off.
As he drove, the man eyed the clock. 11:57 PM. Such a late time to head back home, he thought. He continued to drive down the road as he stopped at an intersection while he eyed the stop light. However, he suddenly went wide eyed as the night sky which was supposed to be a continuous blanket of black and stars was suddenly overtaken by a bright Aurora Borealis.
Palermo
Down south in Palermo, the same Aurora Borealis could be seen over the whole island of Sicilia as late night bystanders started to take pictures and videos of the magnificent sight.
A young woman aimed her phone towards the sky, captivated by the amazing performance beyond her before she posted the video to her family's group chat.
'Look! There's northern lights here!' She typed before she looked up again. But then as she felt the vibration, her friends' group chat was now awake in activity. And as she read the messages, the young woman realised that her friends in Turino, Venezia, and Napoli could see the same Aurora Borealis as she did.
A13 Brenner Autobahn, Approaching the Italia-Österreich Border
An Austrian trucker drove down the A13 Autobahn in wide-eyed confusion. Up ahead, the Aurora Borealis shined exactly beyond the Italienisch border. He looked through the side mirror as he saw there wasn't even a light in Österreich.
But just as the clock struck midnight and the truck went beyond the border, a loud crashing sound occurred. The trucker went wide eyed as he stepped on the breaks harshly. A terrible scraping noise was evident before he got the truck to a stop.
The trucker then turned on the blinkers. He hopped out, shocked as he saw that his trailer was perfectly cut in half with its contents spilled onto the road. But as he looked to where the Italy-Austrian border was, his home nation was instead replaced by a long empty valley and fields.
Chigi Palace, Rome, 12:13 AM, Day 1
In the executive quarters of the Chigi Palace, Prime Minister of Italy Giovanni Canessa slept peacefully in his bed as he snored soundly. On his bedside table was a photo of him, his wife, and his two children. Ever since the election last year, Giovanni had been a fairly popular prime minister for his nation.
Alas, barely a year into his work and Italy was now hit by a major crisis. An aide suddenly burst into his bedroom in a panic. Giovanni sat up in shock as he quickly adjusted his t-shirt, "Ando? What the-"
"Sir, we need to get you into the bunker, quickly!"
Those simple words were enough for Giovanni to toss himself out of his bed. After he grabbed some clothes, the man started to rush out of his room, "What's going on?"
Ando then looked to Giovanni with a grim look, "We've received reports of an Aurora Borealis all over Italy. Soon after we've lost contact with the outside world. It might be some sort of attack on our comms."
"What, like an EMP?" Giovanni said nervously.
"Could be, sir," Ando said as they rushed through the hallways of the palace. "We don't know if it's Russia, or whatever. We won't know until we make contact with our allies."
"What's the status of our armed forces?" Giovanni asked as they along with more of their staff members reached the secret tunnels of the palace, which at this point were hundreds of years old yet modernised for the bunker.
"Minister Moretti has them on high alert. The Aviano Air Base is currently assuming DEFCON 1. Again, we're still trying to make contact with our allies."
"Hell..." Giovanni took a deep breath. This was not how he envisioned his first year as prime minister.
San Ludovico Minimarket, Italy-France Border
An old man hesitantly stepped out of his mini market as he looked around. The street lights were off and the electricity to much of the buildings including his business was gone.
The old man then turned to the other direction. What was supposed to be the city of Menton, France was gone and instead replaced by a serene, forested coast.
But before he could wonder what was happening, the man's phone suddenly let off a loud tone. He pulled it out as he received an urgent IT-Alert. The old man read the message.
'This is an emergency alert from the Italian public alert system. This is not a test. A cosmological phenomenon has occurred over the Italian Peninsula before the loss of communication and electricity with the rest of Europe. Assume this is a war scenario. Quickly head into any protective emergency shelter and wait for further updates.'
The man looked back up towards the border. Whatever happened was much bigger than war.
Emergency Bunker, Chigi Palace, 2:07 AM
Giovanni sat in his seat as he looked up to the screen. A secure online meeting was established with his ministers. Whether they were in the basement of their home or a bunker, it was the most secure place they could be in right now. Everyone else like Giovanni were merely in casual or sleep wear at such a time of crisis.
The signal and connection was a bit choppy but luckily Giovanni could understand the meeting regardless. As he fidgeted with his pen nervously, his Minister of Defence Silvio Moretti spoke, "We have not made any contact with any other government or military base. So far we only have a consistent communication line with NATO bases within Italy itself."
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The prime minister sat up as bullets of cold sweat ran down his forehead nervously, "How's our borders looking?"
"We're still waiting for the first pictures from reconnaissance, prime minister. We've dispatched troops towards the border with France, Austria, and Slovenia. But we have been seeing rumours and they're not good," Moretti explained.
"Rumours? What kind?"
"Posts on social media of border crossing being cut off. And I mean, physically cut off. Roads leading to nowhere, forests where there shouldn't be, and even a new cliff to the sea south of Trieste," Moretti explained. "We don't know if this is some social media tactic to confuse or panic the people but we can't be certain."
"Oh god... Well, what about the others? How's the situation within the country?"
Matteo Bernardi, Minister of the Interior then spoke amid the choppy video of his home basement, "I've received word that there's currently some panic in the streets following the announcement. So far police and the gendarmerie are working together to try and retain civil order... But it'll get messier when the morning comes and people start waking up."
Another minister, this time a woman, spoke up. Minister of the Environment and Energy Giulia Barone neared her face to her computer to try and be more audible, "The- regions by our borders especially- South Tyro- have been hit hard by blackouts prime mini- we- best to reroute emergency power to there."
Giovanni was about to speak only for Moretti to intervene, "I'm sorry but- I've just received pictures from the air force and navy." He then quickly presented his screen. On it were pictures of various border crossings cut off as if sliced by a knife. Along there were pictures of supposedly nearby Croatian coastline that was unspoiled nature. And finally, aerial photos of what was supposed to be the lights of Nice and Monaco be nothing more than forested darkness.
Everyone's stomachs dropped in anxiety, Giovanni included. He covered his mouth as Moretti spoke, "Ladies and gentlemen... This is ridiculous for me to say but... I believe Italy is no longer on Earth."
Embassy of the United States of America, Rome, 7:37 AM
Mark Hansen, Ambassador of the US to Italy. Such a position was an easy one in the diplomatic world. After all, aside from a couple rowdy American tourists and criminals, being the ambassador to a beautiful allied country was a position many would envy.
But when the incident occurred, he never thought his seemingly perfect job would be turned over on its head. During the night, he and his embassy staff were ready to evacuate in case of war. But then nothing came, and then soon news broke out.
Somehow, Italy was transported from Earth to an unknown world.
Mark knew. He knew that when morning hits, once everyone was wide awake, pandemonium would hit. And he can see it just outside his window.
Droves of panicked American tourists and visitors plagued the outside walls of the embassy. Policemen and embassy security did their best to quell and calm the crowd as Mark ordered staff to quickly set temporary shelters up.
By technicality, Mark was now the acting president of the US. Hell maybe even the 47th president. But what US? The embassy and their NATO bases were the only American 'territories' that they held, and he was at lost on what to do. The heads of the US military in Italy said not to let those people in for their safety, but he couldn't just leave them there either.
Mark then looked out towards another window. On the parking lot of the embassy grounds, tents were being quickly set up for the thousands of American people who now found themselves without a country.
Mark then looked to the TV on the wall. A news reported was being broadcasted. Unlike the familiar CNN or MSNBC however, he had to settle with a local Italian news channel, and they were covering looting and panic buying in a market in Turin.
A&O Local Market, Turin
Long queues plagued the cashier counters of an A&O Local Market. A woman stood in line as her grocery cart was filled to the brim with water, food, and emergency supplies. She watched as cashiers were scanning items the best they can. She then looked back as a man quickly placed some laundry soap into the cart, "Is that everything?" She asked.
"Should be," the man said. "Are you sure this is enough for the family?"
"I think so. I know the kids don't like canned stuff but this should be okay for a few weeks," She said with a sigh. They waited in anticipation still as the line slowly moved. However, they both looked back as they could hear shouting.
"You've already had enough canned food, fucking give me some!"
"Get your own, bastard!"
The couple looked back to see two men shouting. One had a cartful of canned goods, "I have a family to keep safe, asshole!"
"Screw your family, I bet your wife's a whore with a guy like you!" The other yelled. But then suddenly, the other man tackled the one with the cart as a few bystanders quickly left the scene.
"Hey hey, that's enough!" A nearby man quickly approached to try and stop the fight as some started to record the incident. But then it rang out.
A gunshot.
A woman screamed as the crowds then went haywire. Some left their groceries, other employees dove behind their counters.
The couple quickly left with their cart in a panic as the woman whimpered, "We haven't paid yet!"
"Who cares, let's just go!" The man said. But as they got out of the market, they both caught a glimpse of the TV and the scene of a riot.
Chigi Palace, Rome
Giovanni nervously looked out the window. Their policy for the transfer was to withhold any information until they can further find out more where they are. But the impatience of the people was evident as outside, protesters demanded to find out what was happening.
He then looked to the TV as news of riots and looting can be seen all over Italy. He needed to act fast, and luckily his prayers were answered.
"Sir?" Ando then entered inside with a few papers, "The speech is done. The press room is ready for you."
Giovanni nodded. He then quickly walked out of his office as he started to head down the hallway, "I don't look too exhausted, do I?" He asked. Despite his sharp suit, Giovanni's lack of sleep was evident.
"... A little," Ando said. "It's crazy out there, I'm sure everyone would understand."
"I know. Just that the chaos in the streets has been worrying," Giovanni said with a frown. "I made sure that the police and gendarmerie won't be too hard on everyone."
"There are already social media posts of people fighting and even shooting each other," Ando said nervously. "Sir... what do we do?"
"... We'll do whatever we can. We just need to calm the people down, find out where we are, and make sure our resources aren't used. Things will get ugly," Giovanni said as they reached the press room. Dozens of reporters were inside from the mainstream to the smallest of news sites. A million camera flashes immediately started as Giovanni huffed.
He approached the podium as he gripped the wood. Ando approached and gave the speech to him before he placed it down onto the podium. He took a deep breath before he looked up.
"Good day to you all... Last night, our dear republic has been placed in its greatest challenge yet."
Ministry of Defence, Rome, 7:19 AM, Day 2
Moretti sat with Giovanni in the meeting room of the building. Such a place was reserved for the most important operations from the NATO intervention in Libya to the War in Afghanistan. But today, Italy will have to learn how to stand alone for this.
Moretti drank his coffee as he sat up and looked around, "What's the status of our reconnaissance operations?"
One woman looked to Moretti, "The Navy has started to explore the coast of the continent. Reconnaissance flights have commenced heading in all directions. The last reconnaissance flight is taking off in one minute."
"Good, alright. We should be expecting our live feeds soon then..." Moretti said as he leaned against his chair.
"This is crazy..." Giovanni muttered, "I can't believe such a thing happened to us."
"Me neither, prime minister," Moretti said with a sigh. "You'd think this is some sort of fictional story."
"I know... People are afraid and so am I. I'm just relieved that the riots are somewhat dying down," Giovanni lamented.
"It's a natural reaction, prime minister... We're alone now in some sort of strange world. Whether this is some empty Europe or an entirely new continent, we will have to find out on our own."
The prime minister nodded with a solemn sigh and as he did, he watched a live feed from an air base show the last of the reconnaissance plane take off to head north.