Things to come

"You're on air on 5! Quiet on set!" She nervously takes a long breath and looks straight at the camera for a final focus check. "3...2..1..." A bright, red light on camera #2 comes to life while the director waves his hands like an orchestra conductor at the news anchor. "Welcome to WRA news with your host, Clarisse Moore."

"Good evening, and welcome to WRA news, I'm Clarisse Moore and this is the daily news." Camera #1 lights up and gracefully she faces the crew and camera to begin with the report. "Today, we got an outstanding live interview with Jonathan Kent, the man who died, went to the other side and came back. Please welcome, Jonathan Kent."

On screen, a mid-age man with dark hair and pale skin greets the audience with little to no emotion, completely out of synch with reality. The director gives the signal and a B-role image of a woman in front of a house filled the screen. "It all started with a mild fever that got worse, when I decided to act, it was too late, he was resting on the couch trembling, almost unconscious." Said Linda Palmisano, Jonathan's wife.

You can see the blue and red lights flashing behind her as she faces the reporter. In the background, their home surrounded by police cars and an ambulance right by her courtyard.

Back in the studio the director waves at the operator and Jonathan appears on screen. A vociferous applause accompanied his first appearance on television since the unfortunate incident. He's wearing plain dark jeans with a white, short-sleeves shirt. His dark brown hair was meticulously combed back with utter care by the set stylist. He looks like a regular guy, nothing fancy or extravagant in his appearance, just another one trying to keep his head above water in this turmoil we're living in.

"Jonathan, Is an honor to be the first to open this space for you, your story needs to be told. You were pronounced dead for what? 8 minutes and 32 seconds right? What is was like to be on the other side? Is there an afterlife?"

The director waves for a change and now we got Jonathan again on screen in a long-sided interview camera angle. Then he calls for camera #3 to get a glimpse of the interviewee hands as he speaks. Everything seems to be working in clockwork fashion inside the studio.

"Thank you for having me here." He looks around in a mixture of politeness and shyness. On set, the amount of lights and people can stun you. Is never easy to be on set if you're not used to it. Without any more delay, he starts with his out-of-body experience.

"It was almost like a dream, I saw myself being assisted by the paramedics. Can you imagine what is like to see yourself lying flat with your eyes still open? I saw Linda and my son crying in the opposite side of the room, everything moved so fast, a true living nightmare."

With wide eyes, Jonathan faces the camera and adds:

"What was really scary was the fall, I felt the earth pulling me towards impending dismay, There was nothing I could grab, the change of scene was imminent, I had no strength to fight it. During my ordeal, I started praying, a last resource attempt for forgiveness... Not being religious at all, I was not expecting much."

Jonathan looks down, deep shame engulfs him. "I'm sure it was the right thing to do. In such situations, there's no shame in showing your vulnerability, am I right?"

"So you were dragged out of the room by who?" asked the interviewed.

"By no one, it was more like my living room started to get smaller, distant. A not-pleasant-at-all sensation of saying goodbye to your life overpowered me. Your previous existence comes to naught and there's nothing you can do about it."

As he continues, you can see the discomfort on everyone's face inside the studio, people became silent trying to catch every little detail in Jonathan's story. In a grievous tone he continues. "When emptiness was all I could see, I knew it was time for me to pay my dues."

He carries on. "When everything was lost, I felt something I've never felt before, how can I describe it? Have you even won an award? Do you have kids? Do you remember when you first saw them? You feel like glowing, in synch with your surroundings, it was like that moment was meant to be. I was afraid, but ready to face the facts and go to the other side."

With watery eyes he takes a deep breath and adds. "I'm sure it was God, I never saw him but he spoke to me."

The interviewer takes the opportunity to inquire, "So you're telling me that you were in front of God?"

Responding as quick as he could, he continues, "I did not, I could not see him, it was more like he was all around me. With a soothing voice he said my name and told me that all this grace was not for me, " Jonathan, I gave you freewill to do as you please, you forged your path. You made your choice, from now on, others might lead."

In a sobbing heat Jonathan continues with his tale of how God turned his back on him. "As soon as I heard that, I knew I was doomed. My lack of faith sealed my fate. Now what? Too late to ask for forgiveness? Is this the end of my time on earth? In a matter of seconds, the clear light starts to dim, an awful smell was my welcome to Hell."

"So, at that time you knew Hell was a sure thing, right?" The interviewed inquired trying to get interesting sound bites from this guy who assure us that we went to Hell and back.

"Hollywood got it all wrong, there's no fire, no dancing Devils with horns welcoming you. All I could see was melting rock, dark grey formations of melted rock for as long as the eye could see. Right in the middle of my ordeal I could not move, I was one of the amorphous shapes on the ground. Shrieks from within the soil was all I could hear."

"So, you saw Demons of some sort?" inquired the interviewer without hesitation.

"Yes I did, sorrowful and regretful beings as myself, all being part of this infinite formation that consumed our flesh, this creatures were able to inflict the most intense pain I've ever felt before and ever since."

"But how someone can escape such fate? It doesn't make any sense, you walked side by side with the damned and made it out alive... Please explain yourself!"

Making himself even more comfortable on his chair, Jonathan gets closer to the journalist and adds:

"One of the torments of Hell is to be squashed by Demons over and over again, There's no rest for the damned. Continuous suffering without constrain. I asked for forgiveness and to my surprise, my cry for mercy was heard. Mammon himself gave me the opportunity to come back, but in exchange, I got to deliver a message."

"You got a message from Hell? But how come? please, tell us, the world need to hear this." The reporters and crew are static to be the first to deliver such message.

The director calls for a close up on Jonathan's face, the camera operator works fast and gets the framing right according to the director's orders. The whole set went dead silent. The anticipation is so intense that it feels like everyone inside the studio is holding their breath. With him looking straight into the lens, he starts to deliver the message from Hell.

"This world is ruled by Evil, there's no point on holding back. Only by evil deeds you'll move forward, this man-made Hell you call the present moment is my playground. There's no escape, your fate has been sealed. This is the XXI century, finally evil will reign over your mortal souls."

A deafening silence filled the room. Out of the sudden, one of the camera man got out of the studio and jumped out of a window to certain death without even saying a word. Everyone began to weep and wail uncontrollably. What started as a cry ended up in pure fury growls. The audience inside the studio began to hit one another like wild beasts claiming their territory. Everyone who watched Jonathan's broadcast is acting the same way. A wave of terror spreads like wild fire over the country, vile basic instincts rule the behavior of the population at large.

Still looking straight into the camera, who we thought was Jonathan finishes with this dreadful sentence. "It has begun. People of the world, do your worst, reap what you sow!"