We dozed while listening to the radio and dreaming of other worlds full of fun, but then we heard a distant siren.
“Attention! Attention! Attention! We have seven minutes… Attention! Attention! We have seven minutes. Attention! Attention! We have seven minutes! We have given the alarm to the entire world. We have seven minutes! This is an alarm for all humanity. Attention! We have seven minutes!”
People moved about the place like zombies, forgetting what we had to do, as the sky acquired a purple tone with blue hues.
Remembering the advice they had given us, I went down on my knees in the middle of the field while listening to the radio.
I had to lie down with my arms on the floor.
My companion prayed to his God, wishing for the sun to stop punishing us for something we had not done.
As people called their children to be together during the last few minutes, I thought of my family buried somewhere in the rubble.
A man ran around the camp laughing aloud and shooting at random. Hiding my face in my hands, I remained still, hoping to be spared the carnage, but he kept on shooting as cries of pain echoed around me.
Falling to his knees, the gunman wanted God to stop the punishment he had sent us.
He cried, holding his gun to his chest, the end of the world making him mad, as the seconds ticked towards the end.
I should have visited the pyramids, the Chinese wall and the Niagara falls. Then I saw lights dancing in the sky, the sun shining on us for a final time before it left its molecules in a cosmic cloud.
On looking at the bodies strewn around the field, I wished I could stop this nightmare. I noticed the preacher by my side.
“Don’t worry,” he said.
“Should the Messiah appear now?” I asked.
"The government is tricking us."
Holding a bible in his hands, he talked of God saving humankind from the tragedy.
“We have six minutes,” the radio interrupted.
A flash of lightning crisscrossed the horizon turning the sky red.
“It’s a conspiracy,” he said.
"How do you know?"
"It's all done with lasers."
The whole of humanity had to be hugging the floor in a strange ritual, as a wave of flames formed a bridge in the sky. Then it went down slowly before disappearing behind the mountains.
A shot echoed around me. The gunman lay at our feet, a pool of blood forming by his mouth, while thunder rumbled and people ran towards the tents.
"Five minutes," the radio said.
A pack of horses ran through the field, killing some people and injuring others. Asking for help, a man limped about the camp before sitting on the floor.
He cried softly, wiping his face with a dirty handkerchief.
“It won’t be long now,” I said.
“You’ll go to heaven.” The preacher said. “Let’s pray to the Lord.”
As he recited bits from the bible, I thought he didn't believe in a conspiracy anymore.
“Attention!” the radio said. “We have four minutes.”
Another wave of fire appeared in the west, filling the sky with colours and noise.
The priest stood with some others in the middle of the field, begging God to forgive us, but then he started singing, his voice mixing with the roar of thunder and the cries of the dying.
"Alleluia," he said.
Moving by the rows of people shot by the maniac, he defied the heavens to finish with us.
“It’s not Armageddon,” he said. “We must rebuild our world.”
I looked up at the sky, waiting for the radio to talk to us, amidst the noise.
“They're deceiving us,” the preacher said.
“The media?” I asked.
“Get up my friend,” he said. “Nothing will happen to us.”
Helping me to my feet, we saw the rest of the people waiting for the countdown to proceed.
I didn’t know what to do or if the end of the world would happen, feeling frightened for my life.
The earthquake had killed lots of people, but the behaviour of the sun during the last few hours had helped scientists to predict the coming events.
“Come with me,” he said.
“Where?”
“To start a new era.”
He wanted me follow him along the field.
“We have three minutes,” the radio said.
Some people looked at the sun with dark negatives from pictures, the arch of fire covering half the sky by now.
My childhood, teenage years, and marriage danced in front of my eyes, while I waited for death to come from the heavens.
“They’re controlling our minds, can’t you see?” the preacher said.
“Look at the sky,” I said.
The clouds looked pink, the arch of fire making everything look strange. It had to be the end of humankind.
“It’s done with lasers,” he said.
As he led me away, most of the people in the camp looked at us, forgetting the end of everything.
"Civilisation won't die," he said.
“We have two minutes,” the radio said.
A reddish sun appeared behind the clouds giving the farewell to humankind before the final cataclysm of death and fire.
“Attention! Attention! Attention! The chain of observatories has told us Venus has exploded. Attention! The planet Venus has exploded. We will feel the effects on our planet in a few seconds. We have to get ready.”
A brilliant light flooded the horizon, as luminous fingers danced over our heads while someone played a drum.
Then several stars crossed through the arch of fire, getting lost in the distance.
“Come with me,” the preacher said.
“I don’t know.”
“Can’t you see the lasers?”
Looking at the beautiful spectacle around me, I hardly heard his words mixed with the rumble of thunder.
“They want us to die of fear.”
"One minute left," the radio said.
Thunder echoed around us while the drum went on and more lights appeared in the sky.
“I’m not afraid of the media,” the preacher said. “They can’t kill me.”
“Lie down,” I said.
“God will save us.”
Hugging the earth for a last time, I saw fire engulfing the clouds and everything went dark, before the lights exploded in my eyes and the preacher laughed...
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