“What’s happening?” Alex asked.
“The story must be over,” Conner said. “I’ve never seen it do this before, but I’ve never written something so short, either! We’ve got to get out of here!”
“I don’t want to leave,” Alex said.
“If we don’t get out of here, we’ll end with the story,” Conner warned her. “It’s a rule of the Portal Potion!”
Conner grabbed Alex’s hand and pulled his sister out of her chair. Only after their father dematerialized into Conner’s handwriting did Alex let him pull her away. The twins raced through the sitting room and out the front door and dived through the beam of light emitted by Conner’s story. The twins landed back on the roof of the Freedom Tower, and the beam shining out of Conner’s binder disappeared.
“Well, that was an emotional roller coaster,” Conner said. “How do you feel?”
Alex was surprised by her answer. “Actually, I feel pretty good,” she said. “I think a few moments with Dad was exactly what I needed. Thanks for coming to my rescue, Conner. You really are the best brother in the world.”
“I know,” Conner teased. “But you were worth the trouble.”
The twins helped each other to their feet and walked to the edge of the roof. Now that the curse was broken, the magical vines had stopped destroying the city. Manhattan was covered in so many plants, the city looked like an enormous green grid.
“Wow,” Alex said. “Did I really do all this?”
“Well, it certainly isn’t my mess,” Conner said.
“I barely remember any of it,” she said. “I can’t imagine how upset all the New Yorkers must be.”
“Before you start writing apology notes, we should think of a way to clean it up,” her brother said. “Everyone in the world is going to know about the fairy-tale world after this.”
Alex sighed. “Gosh, I wish there were a way to just put everyone to sleep and erase their memories,” she said. “It’d sure help me deal with all the guilt.”
“Well, why not?” Conner said. “It’s kind of brilliant, actually.”
“Do you really think it’s possible?” Alex asked him.
For the first time in more than a week, Conner laughed. “Alex, you just destroyed New York City in your sleep,” he said. “I think you’re capable of doing anything you set your mind to.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
A PRESIDENTIAL SURPRISE
In the residential suite at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, President Katherine Walker awoke in the middle of the night from a bizarre nightmare. She had dreamed that New York City was under attack by an army of fictional characters. The invasion became so extreme that she was forced to order the evacuation, and eventually the annihilation, of the greatest city in the world. The president sighed with relief when she realized it had only been a dream, but there was something incredibly unsettling about how real the dream felt.
President Walker decided to take a walk to calm her thoughts. She quietly climbed out of bed, careful not to wake the First Gentleman, and snuck out of the residential suite. The president wandered through the long halls of the White House in her slippers and bathrobe, but it was hard to take her mind off all the disturbing images she’d seen in the dream.
Also concerning was how empty 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue seemed. She was used to seeing the Secret Service and staff strolling through the halls at all hours of the night, but for reasons unknown to her, the White House was completely empty.
“Hello?” she called out. “Is someone there?”
All the president heard was the echo of her own voice. She searched the library, the State Dining Room, the Diplomatic Reception Room, and even the China Room, but she didn’t find a soul. Finally, she heard people whispering and followed the sound all the way into the West Wing.
The voices appeared to be coming from inside the Oval Office, so the president gently cracked open the door and peeked inside. She saw a pretty young woman seated on the sofa and a curious young man inspecting the president’s desk.
“Conner, what are you doing?” the young woman said.
“I’m looking for the red button,” he said.
“What red button?”
“You know, the president’s red button!” the young man said, like it was obvious. “The one they’re always talking about in the movies that launches all the nuclear weapons.”
“Why? Are you going to push it?” the young woman asked.
“Of course not, I just want to see—”
The young man froze when he spotted the president standing in the doorway. The young woman jumped to her feet and bowed awkwardly. The young man ran out from behind the desk and stood by her side.
“What are you doing in here?” the president demanded.
“Madam President, it is such an honor to meet you,” the young woman said. “My name’s Alex Bailey, and this is my brother, Conner.”
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Conner said. “Our parents didn’t vote for you, but it’s still super-cool!”
The president eyed the twins up and down, especially Alex.
“Wait a moment, I recognize you,” the president said. “You were the girl destroying New York City in my dream!”
“Actually, it wasn’t a dream,” Alex said. “But for the record, I was under a terrible curse and wasn’t behaving like myself. But I’ve completely recovered, so you have nothing to fear. Normally, I’m quite a lovely, precocious, and well-mannered person. Actually, I’ve always thought you and I could be friends.”
As friendly as the twins seemed, the president wasn’t in the state of mind to make friends.
“Are you telling me that an army of fictional characters attacked New York City in real life?” she asked.
“You know, there’s literally no easy way to put it, so I’m just going to say yes,” Conner said. “But the army is gone, New York City is safe, and the whole world is asleep right now—so there’s nothing to worry about.”
According to the look on the president’s face, she begged to differ.
“What do you mean, the whole world is asleep?” she asked. “Will one of you please explain what’s going on?”
“Madam President, you might want to have a seat first,” Alex suggested. “There’s a lot we need to fill you in on.”
President Walker took Alex’s advice and had a seat on the sofa across from them. Once she was seated, Alex and Conner sat down, too, and did their best to explain.
“As you probably know by now, this isn’t the only world,” Alex said. “There’s another dimension very similar to this one. We refer to it as the Land of Stories because it’s the home of all the fairy-tale characters we love; unfortunately, it’s also home to all the characters we don’t. Recently, a portal between the worlds opened, and the villains of the fairy-tale world emerged and tried to conquer this one.”
“Once we defeated the army, Alex put the entire planet to sleep while we cleaned up all the damage they made,” Conner said. “You were sleeping for a lot longer than you think.”
“How long was I asleep?” the president asked.
“Two hundred years,” Conner said. “Everyone you know and love is dead.”