It was 3:19 am when I tuned in.
I’d been in the middle of a long haul drive on I-70 coming back home from a business excursion. Could’ve been an e-mail, by the way, but nonetheless, there was nothing but me, the empty road, and the eerily quiet and dark night. At this point, fatigue was setting in. My hubris, however, prevented me from stopping at the side of the road to a dingy, middle-of-nowhere motel.
I had been driving for around 6 hours straight with minimal breaks by the time the clock turned to 3 am. Desperately trying to keep myself awake, I began to cycle through the local radio stations to sing along to any song that I knew. This worked for a while, until I tuned into 96.6.
The radio display read “Majesty Radio”, and below it: “Splendor and majesty are before him, strength and glory are in his sanctuary.”
Despite being on the FM frequency, this broadcast had that signature low quality AM sound to it. It certainly wasn’t music that was playing. Rather, it sounded vaguely like a very displeased gentleman was loudly arguing about something.
It was difficult to make out a lot of the words, but gradually, the audio became clearer. I could make out the voice of what sounded like a preacher giving some sort of sermon.
He bellowed out: “Brothers and sisters! Have you no faith in our Lord Himself? The Lord demands penance! Realize you not that the hour of reckoning is approaching?”
Of course, I was confused as to why this sort of thing was being broadcasted in the dead of night on an FM radio station rather than some sort of public access station. I was intrigued, though, so I kept on listening.
“Hear me now, brothers and sisters! It is not too late!”
An extended silence followed. Right as I reached for the dial to change the station, the preacher exclaimed something chilling.
“My brother! The time is not now to switch off this holy frequency!”
My hand froze on the tuning dial.
“Brother Allen, resist the temptation! Do not let the devil deter you from hearing the good word of the Lord! Remain on this frequency, my brother, and you shall be saved!”
How did the preacher know my name?
“It is never too late, my brother,” the preacher continued. “It is not too late for penance! It is not too late to secure a homestead in the kingdom of Heaven!”
At this point, I pulled over to the side of the road to collect myself. With the engine dead, there was nothing but eerie silence, the dark of the night, and the subtle crackling of the background radio static.
After a short moment of silence, the preacher asks, “Tell me, brother. Do you believe in Rapture?”
I said nothing.
“I ask again, Brother Allen. Do you believe…in Rapture?”
He was speaking to me directly now.
“Brother Allen…it is not too late for you! You can still be saved! The Lord will protect you! Reckoning is near! Realize you not the consequences of the forthcoming reckoning? There is time! You may repent, brother!”
A brief silence ensued as I gathered the courage to speak.
“Uh…em…I don’t…know…”
“I see! Fear not, brother! For I will guide you to penance! For I will guide you to the pearly gates of the kingdom of Heaven!”
A faint applause could be heard on the speakers.
“Let us begin brother! Now is the time for penance! Join us for a prayer!”
The pastor then began to speak in tongues. Or at least, in a language that I could not comprehend. The radio static and interference was much more pronounced, although there were a few English words I could make out:
“Rapture…revenge…rapture…rapture…revenge…brimstone…annihilation”
My heart rate began to slow as I calmed down. I reached over to the dial to change the station. However, as I turned the dial, a harsh, dark voice called out through the speakers:
“Do not turn that dial, boy!”
The pastor continued his incomprehensible ramblings. In a panic, I attempted to open the driver's side car door, only to find that it was locked.
“Do not run away, boy! Do not turn your back on the Lord! Praise Him! Praise Him now, boy!”
I frantically pulled on every single door in the car, but to no avail. No luck with the windows either.
The pastor continued: “Are you listening to me, boy? Praise the Lord! Give yourself unto Him, and seek admittance to the Kingdom of Heaven!”
Radio static intensified as did the pastor’s aggressiveness.
Not sure what to do, I stammered out: “Y-yes, brother. I am r-ready…p-p-praise the Lord…”
“Very good! This is excellent, brother. Time to repent!”
A chorus of applause and cheering was heard before the radio cut to white noise. After around a minute, the static ended and the voice of the pastor could be heard very clearly, almost lossless quality, as if he was standing right in front of me.
The pastor spoke: “May the Lord be in your heart and help you to confess your sins with true sorrow.”
His tone was much more reserved and intimate this time around.
Not quite sure how to proceed, I managed to stutter out: “Y-yes, penance…”
The pastor was quiet for a moment.
“Your life has been driven by sin, brother. There is much work to be done.”
“What d-do you mean?”
The pastor increased his volume.
“In order to ascend to the kingdom of Heaven, brother, you must repent! The Lord knows of your sins, and the Lord has passed on word of your misdoings unto me! It is my duty to the Lord to help you enact penance on your sins! I know of your misdoings, Brother Allen! What do you confess?”
I paused for a moment before responding: “I’m…not sure. I haven’t really hurt anyone. Sure, everyone lives in sin, but…”
“We have all sinned, brother. Just as the Lord paid the price for our sins, we must now return the favor and pay for our sins. This is how we reach the pearly gates of Heaven, brother! The Lord has told me of the undue harm you have caused to Paul.”
“You mean…my brother? Paul? Him?”
“Indeed, brother. In attempting to take life from Paul, you have committed a mortal sin.”
“What are you talking about? I never tried to kill him! He got himself–”
Before I could finish my sentence, I could feel my airways suddenly close shut, restricting my breathing. The world began to spin around me and fade to black as I desperately tried to utter a word or even simply take a breath. The pastor continued as I crept further towards unconsciousness:
“Repent, brother! Repent! A child of the Lord shall not cause undue harm to another!”
As I came to, the sky was still pitch black. My head was throbbing, and my neck felt like I had been strangled and thrown into the wall. Before I could fully recollect myself, the pastor began speaking again.
“The Lord hears all confessions, brother. Even the ones unspoken.”
“I…I didn’t kill Paul. He put himself in that situation.”
“He called upon you in his hour of need, brother. And you did not answer. Who is not better to answer to than your own blood in distress?”
I paused for a moment. Maybe the pastor was right.
“He was…drunk. He was always drunk. He always cried wolf. What would make this time any different?”
“He was blood, brother. The children of the Lord, especially those bound by blood, shall never turn their backs on one another.”
I felt a faint buzzing in my pocket. It was my phone ringing.
“Answer the call, brother,” the pastor commanded.
Who could be calling me at this hour?
As I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, I hesitated for a moment.
“Answer it.”
I swiped right to answer the call and put the phone to my ear. After about 10 seconds of silence, I heard a faint, recognizable voice on the other line:
“I…forgive…you…brother…”
It was Paul.
I threw my phone towards the passenger seat.
“Alright, what the fuck is going on here?” I exclaimed.
“Paul forgives you, brother. Just as the Lord has forgiven you.”
“What do you want? What’s happening? Just leave me alone!”
Without acknowledging my words, the pastor asked: “Brother Allen…do you believe in Rapture?”
I desperately tried tugging on the door handle to escape. Locked.
“Just let me out, I’m done with this!”
The pastor repeated himself once more, this time with a harsher tone with heavy radio static below it.
“Do you believe in Rapture, boy?”
As he spoke, the lights inside my car began to rapidly flicker on and off. The car began to move on its own. The windshields engaged at full speed. The steering wheel was jerking and spinning in random directions.
The pastor’s voice turned demonic and roared through the speakers:
“DO…YOU…BELIEVE…IN…RAPTURE?”
In desperation, I put my hands on the steering wheel and tried to take control of the car, to no avail.
“I’LL…MAKE…YOU…BELIEVE…”
I was helpless as the steering wheel guided this two ton missile into an oncoming car. All I could think about was Paul.
I could hear the cacophony of screeching metal and guttural screams as I was thrown dozens of feet through my windshield. Somehow, I was still breathing.
I started to head towards the other vehicle.
A red ‘06 Chevy Impala. Paul’s old car
When I approached the driver’s side window of the car, I saw that the driver was unconscious, but still breathing. As I took a closer look, his face was unmistakable.
It was Paul.
“P-paul?” I let out.
The man in the car turned to face me. His face was riddled with streaks of blood and broken glass. Despite this, he smiled when he saw me.
“Hey, Allen,” he said.
As he opened the car door and slumped onto the pavement, the severity of his injuries was obvious: broken limbs, bleeding from several places. Yet, he was somehow still alive.
“I tried calling you,” Paul said, pausing intermittently to cough blood.
“I know. I’m…I’m sorry…”
“I forgive you brother. Don’t worry. You’ll get another chance.”
Paul began to slowly close his eyes. Suddenly, the air around me began to shift and turn cold.
“Allen…do you believe in Rapture?” he asked.
“Goddammit, you too?”
“You will believe. We will make you believe. Give yourself unto Him for admittance into the Kingdom of Heaven!” he belted out.
Then the world went in reverse. Paul’s body lifted off the pavement and back into his car. Shards of glass flew back into window frames. Flames retreated and vanquished. Chunks of metal reshaped. My body began to fly towards my car.
In a flash, I was back on the road.
It was 3:19 am when I tuned in.
The radio display read:
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
A familiar voice came in through the radio.
“Welcome back, Brother Allen.”