The End Approaches
After two years in a deep coma, Eusebio González's heart stopped beating. His final exhalation, that last breath of life, escaped his lungs with a wheezing sound. But the disturbing part came afterwards. To the consternation of those present, Eusebio opened his eyes. The machines, still connected, showed no vital signs. The doctors were perplexed, and his family kept murmuring the word "miracle." However, the man who had just died bore no resemblance to a human being. Eusebio's eyes darkened completely, and a wicked smile formed on his wrinkled lips. His first words were incomprehensible, but then, with a guttural and monotone voice, he said a phrase that chilled the blood of those present:
—The end is near.
He got up from the orthopedic bed where he had lain for so long and, with immense strength, ripped out the cables and hoses connected to him, throwing the heart monitor to the ground. The doctors, who had been stunned, reacted and fled down the hall, shouting for security, who never arrived. His four children, present at the moment of the inexplicable event, ran after them. At that moment, Esther, Eusebio's wife, arrived with a bundle of clean bed linen to change her comatose husband. Hearing the screams, she was bewildered. She entered Eusebio's room and found him standing, looking out the window. He seemed larger than she remembered, with a broader back.
—Blessed be God! —she exclaimed in her high-pitched voice.
Eusebio turned and showed his new face to Esther, who was stunned.
—Eu... Euse...bio! —she stammered, unable to believe what she was seeing. But she felt no fear and approached to embrace him. He said:
—The end is near —and turned back to the window.
—Mother, mother, come!" —whispered the children from the doorway of the room. —Get out of here, something's wrong with Dad —they said as they hugged each other for protection.
Esther left and encircled her children with her arms, saying, "I’m going to San José Obrero chapel to fetch Father Juan! Stay by the door and don’t let your father leave!"
Meanwhile, in the room, Eusebio repeated the phrase like a litany. As Esther left the hospital, Eusebio left the room, his children unable to hold him back. He entered the adjoining room, where a terminally ill patient lay, and by breathing into their mouth, he helped them die. He continued this task throughout the hospital floor, with those patients who were alone.
As they died, they rose transformed, repeating in unison:
—The end is near.
They overran the hospital, performing the same task as Eusebio, not only with the sick. They seized anyone who crossed their path, restraining them with immense strength and inhaling their lives so that they too would rise transformed. The same situation was happening in different parts of the world, making the situation uncontrollable for military forces. No weapons could stop them. One cannot kill what is already dead.
After several months, the critical mass of transformed humans surpassed those still alive. Then, the world darkened completely. A great roar shook the skies, and a giant spiral of fire, thousands of meters high, descended from them. Among the flames, a colossal being began to take shape. The beast, with reddish skin and two enormous horns crowning its head, looked down on everyone from the heights. Its tail, hundreds of meters long, lashed against the earth, making the ground tremble. The minions chanted its name with frenzy:
—Lucifer! Lucifer!
The being flapped its wings, and a sulfurous vapor permeated everything. It raised its colossal trident and, opening its jaws, let out a deafening roar followed by great flames that began to scorch the planet. The foretold end had arrived. The war in the heavens had concluded, and we now had the victor.
