END OF ENDS (2017)

Log-Line

After being visited by the Grim Reaper, a man experiences the last days of Earth and then unexpectedly descends into hell.

Short Story

So, September 23rd was written to be the last day on Earth, but that's not how I remember it. A week before it all happened, I remember getting a glimpse of death. And when I say death, I mean Death. It was a long workday and I've been fighting with my wife for ages. It's been one of those days where I just didn't want to go home. That's why it was a long workday. I can't even recall why we were fighting. That's all petty in the big scheme of things to what matters. But when I left the office, it was pouring rain. It was raining so hard it sounded like it was raining in my car. The interstate road was bumper to bumper. Cars were swerving in and out of lanes. A big turn was coming up and I was behind a huge truck, which always makes me nervous. As soon as I saw an opening I swerved around the truck. And the turn came up. As soon as I got a clear vision of the rainy night sky, just ahead of me standing on the road was the Grim Reaper. He raised his scythe, and I knew my time was up. I swerved my car and the next thing everything turned black.

I woke up in a sweat. I could barely breathe. I looked over to my wife and had instant relief. I don't like to fight with her. I was happy to see her.

The next event in the line of the end came too soon. The rapture. But in this case, who knew what was to come? It was chaos. It was oddly strange that everyone was in the desert with mountains in the distance, driving towards it in their one-seated vehicle. My vehicle was behind Alma's. The cars in front of me began to split open. Then my car started separating. The cars continued to drive forward. It was like a magic trick. The front engine and hood separated and slid forward. All parts of the car came undone. The doors, windows, trunk, and even the screws. My seat belt removed itself and I began to float upwards. As I floated other people were rising. And I thought whoa I'm being picked, and the worst part was I didn't see Alma floating.

My sister Leah and I were standing in an elevator. It was as big as freight. It was stainless steel and there was only one button. It was lit up. A little girl was holding a teddy bear in there with us. She was standing next to me in the back. My sister was standing near the doors. It appeared that we were going down. The doors slowly opened. There was nothing to be seen. It was just darkness. Then a screen between the doors turned on and Linda Blair's face from "The Exorcist" appeared. She was laughing. The little girl gripped her bear and closed her eyes. My sister and I looked at each other worried, and we knew we were in hell.