The End is Now Read online

  Jeff didn’t know what else to do to find his wife and son and daughter. He asked everyone he knew and no one had seen them. He tried calling Amy’s cell phone, but for whatever reason she wasn’t answering.

  Still, he needed to talk to her. He found a chair in the top row in a corner of the arena and tried to call his wife again. She still didn’t answer. So he kept calling. He called twenty-six times, and every time his calls went to voicemail after a couple of rings. It was driving him crazy. He had so much to tell her. And since he couldn’t tell her anything in person, he left her messages.

  Lots of them.

  He said, “Something happened and I want to tell you about it. Call me.”

  “Hey, there’s some pretty serious people here. I mean, everyone is pretty freaked out. I want to protect Will. It’d probably be best if you gave me a call.”

  “Okay, I know why you’re not calling me back. But listen, I understand now. Honestly, I get it. I’m sorry for being so awful. Give me a call.”

  “A miracle happened in my motel room, Amy. Well, maybe not a miracle. I don’t know what classifies as a miracle. I think someone has to be healed or bread has to be multiplied. But it was a supernatural event. Okay, that sounds really X-Files. Just give me a call.”

  “Amy, why aren’t you answering? Please call.”

  “Lot of people here. It’s like a freezing-cold rodeo — without livestock. Can you imagine if they tried to ride those bulls in this weather? They’d be sliding all over the place. Kind of funny, huh? Um, anyway, I have my cell on me so just call whenever you get this.”

  “Did your battery die? I told you to buy a car charger. It’s going to be tough for you to call without a battery.”

  “Okay, I’ll tell you a little of what happened to me. The face that visited Will… it also visited me. In the motel TV. That’s all I’m going to say. Just a little teaser if you will. You’ll have to call if you want to find out more.”

  “Wow, look at this stadium. I didn’t even know there were this many people in Goodland. I bet someone here has a phone you can borrow if you ask them. Everyone’s pretty nice and they understand this is an emergency, so I’m sure they’d be willing to let you use a phone so you could call your husband.”

  “Okay, well, um, I’ll just keep an eye out for you. But I have my phone on me if you want to call.”

  Those were the messages he left. And he thought he might try to give her a call one more time and leave her one more message just in case, but that’s when the mayor stepped up to the podium and began to speak. At the sight of the mayor’s jolly, overweight frame, the stadium’s loud, chaotic murmur turned into a whispering hush and the only sound left was the drizzle on the roof.

  “Goodland is not a city. It’s not a metropolis. It’s not a bustling center of commerce. It’s a town,” the mayor said, like an upset father scolding his children. “What separates us from everyone else? Our community. Our trust and respect for one another. That’s why people move here. That’s what people love about this town. And I can’t believe we are willing to give that up so easily. I cannot believe my town has split in two so quickly. We need to find some compromise. Some middle ground.

  “Most of all, we have to stop acting like it’s every man for himself. We have to stop raiding the stores and hoarding all of the food and supplies and generators for ourselves. So we are taking some steps to make sure no one goes hungry. And the Goodland Utility Company has assured me the running water and electricity will not be going out anytime soon. But if by some unforeseen and/or unpreventable reason the power does ‘leave,’ we are finding ways of backing things up. We are going to make it through this time, together. I know there are differing views as to what’s happening, but we must stop being divisive and learn to live with and respect one another.”

  That’s a nice thing to say, Jeff thought. But it doesn’t play out in reality. The two sides are in direct opposition to each other. The Prepared think the world must be saved and the Realists think there is nothing to be saved from. The Realists don’t want to be told how to live. They want to keep to themselves. So how are they supposed to coexist? By their very nature, the Prepared have to tell people they aren’t going to be raptured and the Realists want them to just shut up. There’s no respectful coexistence in that.

  “I know some of you don’t believe in the prophecies. Others are terribly worried. So that’s why, just to be safe, we’ve worked on the power. And to get the final prophecy out there, we’ve brought Will Henderson here tonight.”

  You’ve brought who here tonight?! Jeff thought. He almost screamed it. But neither his body nor his vocal cords could move as he watched his son led out of the pen normally reserved for the bulls and their riders during the summer rodeo. Will was guarded by two secret service – looking men wearing black suits, sunglasses, and with earpieces squiggling out of their left ears. Emily was also there, and Amy followed closely behind her children with a proud smirk.

  Jeff was sure it was a smirk.

  And he was sure she caught eyes with him the second she left the pen. She knew exactly where he was, she had seen him there squirming and worried the whole time. She wouldn’t answer his calls because she didn’t want him stopping her from her plan. And what kind of plan was this? Yesterday she was dead-set against helping the mayor out in any way and now they’d all teamed up against him. What was going on? The second he goes away, she starts working directly with the government? Was she that dead-set against him? It wasn’t his plans, it wasn’t his ideas that she was against — it was him.

  And that, more than anything, made him furious. He wanted to shout at her from the top row of the arena. He wanted to ask her how she could have let — invited, even — so much come between them. But at the moment, he couldn’t scream or shout or say anything. He could only watch. He was no longer the head of his family — he was, instead, alone and completely helpless.

  “I know there are differing views about what went on at Jefferson Elementary on Thursday,” the mayor said, “but no matter what your views are, we must all acknowledge that Will Henderson is a hero. His brave actions saved the lives of hundreds and hundreds of our children. And I think, for that, he must be applauded.” At that, most of the stadium burst into applause. Many stood and cheered.

  “So tonight I’ve asked Will Henderson to unveil the final warning sign. And then I assure you, your government will do whatever it takes to ensure that we are protected from whatever’s out there. I know some of you think there is nothing to be protected from. And that’s fine. I know others of you think there is no way to protect ourselves. To both sides I say, we are just looking to guide this great community through this time, so that everyone is provided for. And you will see over the next couple of days, this is exactly what will happen. Then maybe we can go back to being the town that I have grown to love so much.

  “So, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, I present Will Henderson.”

  There was more polite/raucous applause. Jeff looked at his son who seemed petrified by the crowd, unable to move with all of those eyes staring at him. Finally, Will crept up and took the microphone. He held it in front of his face but did not speak. He mustered a “Hi,” and then stood for a few more moments. “My name is Will Henderson. I’m eleven years old and I’m the one the face gave the three signs to.” The mayor stood confidently behind Will, his hand on Will’s shoulder.

  That should be my hand, Jeff thought.

  Will went on, “Okay, so one night in a cornfield a week ago I got three signs. The first sign was destroy. The school was going to be destroyed. The second sign was power. The power is — ”

  At that moment, Jeff knew exactly what was going to happen. Will would say, “The power is leaving” one more time and then the stadium lights would just shut down. Flash, they would just burn out. Then the power would be gone. In the parking lot every streetlight would burn out, one by one. Lights in homes would just die. The sound system would go silent. And lik
e that, Goodland would be set back five hundred years, into the Dark Ages. Who knows what sort of riot would take place in the stadium? People would claw and scratch and trample one another in the darkness.

  Jeff could see this all happening in a flash. He knew he had to get down there and protect his family. This was what the reflection in the mirror was telling him to do. He was just waiting for the right moment to spring himself out of his chair and run down to stand beside Amy and Will. But the right moment wasn’t coming. Because as Will continued talking, something odd happened — the lights in the stadium kept on burning bright and the sound system kept pumping out sound. They were using as much power as ever. Even though this seemed like the optimal moment for a sign from on high, the sign wasn’t coming.

  “ — leaving. And I’m pretty sure the final sign is,” and Will stopped. He seemed nervous to say another word.

  The mayor crouched next to Will and told him, “It’s okay, son. Just take your time.” Then the mayor gave Will another squeeze on the shoulder.

  Who is this guy? Jeff thought. He comes in and takes over my family and now he’s crouching next to Will and squeezing his son’s shoulder like he’s Mr. Cleaver and Will’s the Beav? How did Amy do this to me? How did she replace me with the mayor? If the power does go out, and I’m alone with the mayor, I may make it so he doesn’t walk out of here.

  Jeff snapped out of his thoughts. He watched his son take a deep breath and say, “Okay, the final sign is, the rooster crows before the harvest.” Jeff almost thought he could see a thought bubble over every head in the stadium asking what “The rooster crows before the harvest” was possibly supposed to mean. Will tried to answer them by saying, “I don’t know what that means exactly. I wish the face would have been more specific or he would help me to remember better. But honestly, I’m still trying to understand what the power is leaving means.”

  And that’s when the mayor collapsed. His legs simply buckled and his body slipped to the ground with a quiet thud. He grabbed at his chest and rolled on the ground for a few seconds, and then went still as a corpse. The entire stadium gasped. Will dropped the microphone and turned to stare at the mayor. Quickly, assistants and agents and God knows who else swirled around the mayor. Even from the top row Jeff thought he could read the lips of one of the other assistants as she whispered, “I think he’s dead.”

  AMY HENDERSON

  As the mayor grabbed another leg of fried chicken, dipped it in country gravy, and took a generous bite, Amy thought that no one should be eating that much fried chicken. Certainly not the mayor who was already far heavier than a man of his height should be. He probably didn’t care. His jolly, overweight frame was one of his trademarks. It was like the city of Goodland was being led by John Candy or Chris Farley. Everyone loved that he was overweight. He played Santa Claus at the Christmas parade every year, and it seemed like the whole town had cheered like fraternity boys and sorority girls when they danced among the disco lights at his inauguration ball.

  But Amy didn’t find the mayor to be jolly or happy or a whole lot of fun. To Amy, the mayor looked like the Godfather or that big guy from The Sopranos. Amy felt like a mafia boss was sitting in her kitchen. It was as if she was about to make a deal with the devil. But she was running out of options. And when he called and asked if he could come over so they could talk things out, she felt like she didn’t have much of a choice. First of all, they didn’t have any food. Their trip to the grocery store couldn’t have been more of a disaster. They left without a single item of food or any helpful supplies. Even worse, Will had given his second prophecy in the grocery store.

  The grocery store.

  God had given him such an important message, a message the whole town needed to hear, and Will gave it in aisle 11? Certainly God’s plan A for Will and His message did not entail giving his prophecy in the middle of some freezer aisle where he could barely be seen or heard. If it was up to her, Will would have delivered his prophecy — well, she didn’t know where exactly. And maybe that was the problem. She didn’t have a plan. Now two of the three of his prophecies were gone. There was only one left.

  To make matters worse, the town was going crazy. Her friends and neighbors had turned into frightened children. No one was using this time to get themselves ready for the afterlife; they were acting childish, indulging their every desire. So what would happen once they started running out of food? Right now there was looting and violence and Lord knows what else going on outside of her house. But when food became scarce and the power went out, what would happen then? What would everyone turn into when things went dark? She needed to make sure she was protected. And Amy had to make sure the final prophecy could be delivered at the right place and at the right time. Jeff couldn’t help protect her and he didn’t want to help Will do what God had asked him to do. That’s why Jeff was gone. He had forfeited his right to lead his family. But she needed someone’s help.

  She couldn’t do this alone.

  And as much as she hated to admit it, the mayor could help her. The mayor could make sure Will delivered his prophecy on the right stage — a stage where everyone could clearly hear what he had to say. And who really cared if the mayor didn’t believe Will? Didn’t God work in mysterious ways? Hadn’t He used Jezebel and Pilate and Herod and all sorts of other people in His master plan? Maybe God was just going to use this faithless mayor in the same way. So when he called and said he could not only help, but he also had food, Amy knew she had no choice but to invite him over.

  “I just love fried chicken,” the mayor said.

  “I can see that,” Amy answered.

  The mayor wiped the gravy off his fingers and then threw his napkin on the plate in the midst of the chicken bones. “Your boy caused quite a stink at the grocery store today.”

  “With all due respect, Mr. Mayor, the grocery store was already in a stink.”

  “I’m not saying it was your son’s fault,” the mayor said, looking at Will’s plate probably because Will hadn’t even touched his chicken, “I’m just saying the town’s clearly panicked. We’ve had to create a whole new police force just to keep things under control. This isn’t a game anymore. I need your boy to tell me the final sign.”

  “That’s just not going to happen,” Amy said.

  “Then what are we doing here, Mrs. Hender — ”

  “But what I can do is have Will give the final sign at the meeting tonight.”

  “You want him to give it?” the mayor asked and then leaned back in his chair. It creaked and groaned under his weight. “Okay, I’d be fine with that. It might even be better if he gave it.”

  “He can give it on two conditions,” Amy said.

  “I’m listening.”

  “First, you must give him full credit for saving the lives in the elementary school. There are a lot of mixed feelings about that event. And I think the town would look at him like a hero if you paint him as one.”

  “He is a hero,” the mayor said.

  “Good. Then the second condition is that I want police protection until the rapture comes.”

  “I don’t think the city can afford to pay an officer to guard your house for that long.”

  “It’s a lot closer than you think.”

  “So you say. Where’s your husband anyway? Shouldn’t he be protecting you?”

  “He’s not in the right mind to protect us or be here right now.”

  “Dad doesn’t believe me,” Will chimed in. “He thinks Satan gave me the signs.”

  “Will, the mayor and I are talking.”

  “I was just going to explain about the face and the fact that it had a beard and that’s how I knew it was God and not the devil and how Dad doesn’t understand that.”

  Amy blushed. “That’s not the reason Jeff’s not here. He’s not here because… it doesn’t matter why he’s not here. The issue is, we have a panicked town and some people could blame Will for what’s happened. But that would just be shooting the messenger. He
didn’t cause the storms or anything else to happen. If anything, he’s trying to save lives. So tonight I want you to paint Will as a hero. After that, then you will give us police protection until the rapture happens or until you can get this town under control. Whichever happens first.”

  The mayor said he couldn’t give them police protection until the rapture, but he could give them police protection for the next two weeks. Amy thought it was the same difference, but she didn’t say that to the mayor. She just told him they had a deal. As soon as that happened, there were a bunch of aides on cell phones trying to get everything ready for the meeting tonight. And within the hour Amy and Will were in a private limo driving to the rodeo stadium in Goodland.

  Amy had never been in a limo before. And not only was she in a limo, but she was in a stretch limo with the mayor and other important people, while everyone else had to walk through the bitter cold up to the stadium. Amy tried to feel bad for all of those other people, but how can you feel bad when you’re being treated like Cinderella? Inside the limo it was perfect. The heater was blowing a constant stream of warm air against her hands and face.

  This is what it’s like walking in God’s best, Amy thought. When you’re walking in God’s steps he treats you like a princess. She wondered what other things she’d missed out on by not walking in God’s will.

  When they got to the stadium, two large metal doors were opened so they could pull inside. Once the limo was parked, a gentleman wearing a black suit, sunglasses, and with a squiggly wire coming out of his ear opened the door for her. He took her hand and escorted her into one of the holding pens where all the bulls and horses were kept during the rodeo. But inside it didn’t feel like a holding pen. There were space heaters, bottled water, Perrier, fresh fruits and cheeses, and plush couches and chairs. They hung out in there for the next half hour or so. Amy relaxed on one of the leather couches while Will was snacking on strawberries and Swiss cheese.