1 Prologue

We all know that people are bad at math. Forget a decimal place here, mess up a conversion there; typical human error. But have you ever thought what would happen if heaven messed up doing mathematics?

Well let me tell you, it's cataclysmic. Well... not for everyone, but in this case I was the one receiving all the impact of a rounding error in some angel's calculations. I should probably tell you my life story and how I was so unique and powerful. But that would be a lie; I was just an average 21 year old dude. 9-5 job, a decent apartment and a healthy addiction to video games.

Of course none of this matters since the Rapture happened. You know... the biblical one that people have been trying to predict for centuries. Let's start there.

I was sitting in my den contemplating my navel as the most recent update to my console was installing.

*QUAKE! BOOM!*

I fell out of my chair partially from surprise, partially from the massive shifting of the ground. Where I'm from there aren't earthquakes so I was puzzled and terrified to say the least. I got up and stumbled to the window, pulling up the shades to reveal the city around me. Everything looked normal at first until I looked up slightly.

The sky was blood red and pulsing with red light.

"What the absolute hell is going on?"

I said those words in utter shock as I gazed at the unnatural sky. This was some next level weird and no explanation came to mind.

'Maybe there's a celebration and that's some dyed propellant and fireworks? No, I would have known if there was some big holiday'

As I pondered over what this could be, a voice that could only be described as angelic filled the air.

{Test, test. One, two, three? Good this thing is working. Hello people of Earth, my name is Uriel and I have some very important and exciting news to share. Today is the Rapture! For those who don't know what this is, it means you are about to die and you soul will be judged whether it is worthy to enter heaven or not.}

Sirens could be heard near by and I looked down at the street below. The people on the pavement were looking at the sky and each other in disbelief. (I'm on the second floor so I could see their faces) Before I could grasp even a sliver of what the voice had said it spoke again.

{I can tell that most of you don't believe me. I don't have to but I will prove this really is the End of Days. Angels... reveal yourselves}

A blinding light appeared about 50 meters down the street at the intersection. I squinted until the light disappeared and a man with golden feathered wings and a halo appeared. He was clothed in Roman armor over a pure white robe. A sword was held in one hand and a tablet in the other. The pedestrians screamed in surprise and fear as this being presented itself floating mid air above the road. Cars crashed and horns could be heard going off as people became distracted by this sight. Similar lights appeared farther out with beings emerging from them.

'Oh shit this is actually happening. Why now? I haven't been to a church in years! Isn't there something about repentance before you die?'

Even as these thoughts crossed my mind the heavenly and cheerful voice of Uriel spoke again.

{ Now that everyone sees we aren't joking, there are a few things I'd like to clear up. FIRST, there will be no acceptance of repenting now. Sorry people, this is the Rapture and we can't have everyone repenting will waiting to be Raptured. We do have an occupancy limit in paradise after all. *CHUCKLE*}

'Damn, there goes that idea'

My thoughts were morbid as I listened to the angel's broadcast. It was certainly surprising but I didn't feel terrified or emotional. I didn't feel anything. Maybe it was because I had read and seen so many fantasy worlds in movies and video games that this just felt like another one. Sure it was real but my mind kept saying that it was alright; I'd seen better stories in blockbuster films.

{ SECOND, don't try to run away. There is literally no point and it's just a hassle to try and drag you back to be judged.

Ok that covers everything. Now if everyone will start moving to the nearest beam of light or angel, we'll get started with the auditions into Heaven.}

Uriel's voice cut out like it had just been disconnected from a speaker. Down below some people started to shuffle to the angel in armor. Most were nervous but a few were joyful as they moved to the heavenly figure

'Wish I could be that optimistic'

I pondered my choices. There weren't any really. Like Uriel said, I really couldn't run since they would catch me. They were, after all, heavenly beings. If they couldn't catch one average dude then how could they be called angels? Of course I didn't have to exactly go up to the angel. Uriel mentioned something about a beam of light so I looked out my window for one.

I hadn't noticed it before but toward the opposite end of the street from the angel was a spear of light stretching into the bloody sky. It was about a kilometer away from my perspective but it could've been a bit more than that.

' Which do I choose?'

*********************

I ended up going with the angel simply because I didn't feel like traveling that far toward the beam of light. As I stood with the gathered crowd of about 300 people around him he finished looking at the tablet he was carrying( I'm not talking about like a stone tablet. This was a modern touchscreen IPad)

{OK, can everyone hear me? Good, let's start. So how this is going to work is that you're going to stand in a single file line in front of me. When it's your turn, place your hand on top of the tablet and state your full name. Everyone understand? Good. Let's get moving people, I've got other places to Rapture after you guys.}

The angel spoke ridiculously fast and in a light Italian accent. He left no room for people to say anything as he spoke. The people around him hesitated as he placed the tablet in the air and it started to float at waist height.

{I see nobody wants to go first. That's understandable but I can assure you it is a painless process}

The angel voice was reassuring but still nobody moved. No one wanted to be the first to die. Finally a man stepped in front of the tablet. He was a burly man, probably a construction worker on minimum wage. He stood stock still in front of it. Everyone in the crowd leaned forward to see what would happen. I was personally quivering in anxiety and uncertainty as I watched the man place his hand on the tablet.

" James Verande"

Suddenly the tablet lit up with white light. The man tried to remove his hand quickly but it wouldn't budge. The fear in the man's eyes changed to absolute terror as he tried harder and harder to remove his hand. We all backed away as the light started to spread to the man's hand, tracing the bones and veins in him.

The angel looked on with a smile playing across his face. The man named James Verande suddenly burst into ash; the outline of his figure hanging in the air before the dust was caught by gravity and fell to the ground. Everyone stood wordlessly in terror.

' Painless my ass'

The angel walked over to the pile of ash and looked at the tablet wiping away the remains of the hand that had been on it.

{Looks like a success ladies and gentlemen. James has been successfully Raptured and is now in heaven according to the program! Now that you have all seen what happens, let's get this started}

The angel smiled at the still shocked and horrified crowd. I personally didn't like this method and suddenly wished I had gone to that beam of light instead.

" You can't d-do this!" a shaky voice spoke out from behind me. I turned around with the others and a guy about 25 years old was standing nervously in the back looking at the angel. The angel turned to look at the youth.

{Why not? It is written that this will happen, I have every right to}

The man gained a little bit of courage and spoke up. I felt like this was a very poor choice.

" Well I don't believe in all this bullshit. I don't believe in all this God and Rapture stuff and there is no way you can force me to. And since you can't, there is no reason for me to participate!"

The angel stared at the young man for a few seconds, utter disbelief on his face. This was replaced by fury. Suddenly I felt a great pressure, like gravity had increased, on my body. I wasn't the only one; the crowd gasped as one and several people bent over or stumbled. The angel drew his sword and faint light started to emit from him. The man who had spoken out nearly fainted himself as the wave of pressure enveloped him.

Suddenly the angel was on top of him. I felt the quick breeze as he had moved pass me but I hadn't actually seen him move. Terror blossomed inside me as well.

{Listen here you scum. I don't need you to put your hand on the tablet to know you're going to Hell. But for sake of fairness I have to let you do it. Now if you don't want to that's fine}

The angel looked around at everyone else.

{But be forewarned, By not placing your hand on the tablet you are going to Hell no matter what. The Rapture is simply a method to get all the righteous souls off this rock.}

He paused.

{What Uriel didn't tell you is that this planet will be owned by Hell after the Rapture. So this is your only chance of getting out of here}

This proclamation stunned the crowd.

"Owned by Hell? What does that mean?"

" Can we trust this thing?"

"He is an angel apparently. That means we can trust him. I think."

The crowd continued to murmur as the angel returned back to his spot. He walked this time and the crowd parted before him. He did not sheath his sword but the light and pressure around him disappeared. Once he was back, a family approached the tablet in a single fill line. The father took the lead and stared down at the tablet. Then he turned back around and hugged his family.

The angel's face softened as they tearfully hugged each other. The father turned back to the tablet and placed his hand on it. After a brief pause he said his name.

*********************

3 hours passed while I waited for my turn. I was at the back of the line unfortunately and so I had a chance to see everyone else turn to dust. It didn't improve my morale. I walked up to the tablet. It was slightly dusty from the previous uses as i looked down at its surface. On the screen were runes spiraling out from the center in blueish white text.

[Place your hand here]

I followed the instructions and placed my palm on the center of the screen. I took a deep breath. While in line I had thought for a long time about this moment. What would I feel? Where would I go? Should I turn back and try to survive n the new grounds of Hell? All these thoughts raced through my head again as I stared down at my sweaty hand.

'Abandon all fear and let's just do it'

"Abraham Anderson."

The tablet blossomed with light and I felt a slight sensation as webs of light crawled up my hand. I held my breath and closed my eyes waiting for the inevitable.

' Damn it's happening. I'm definitely going to Hell.'

I crossed my fingers with my other hand and waited. And waited. And waited some more.

Finally I opened my eyes, curious as to why I hadn't felt anything.

{What in the world is this?}

The angel stepped beside me and looked at the now dark tablet. He pushed my hand to the side much to my suprise and took the tablet into his own.

"Uh, what's going on? Is this what we see on the other side?" I asked. The angel raised his hand to signal my silence and continued to work on the tablet. After a couple of awkward and infuriating minutes he looked back at me.

{What did you say your name was?}

" Abraham Jackson "

{ Well Abraham, you have caused a system error. Apparently you are just perfectly balanced between being good and evil that the system couldn't decide to send you to Heaven or Hell}

" So what does this mean?"

{ I don't know. Normally we would send you to Purgatory but it's been renovated to accommodate all the new souls in Heaven. We took out that option right before the Rapture}

I thought for a quick second. So I was neither good enough to be sent to Heaven nor bad enough to be cast into Hell. So where would I go?

" So what happens now? I certainly don't want to stay here."

{ I honestly don't know dude. This is so improbable that it wasn't taken into consideration when we brought the system online. When humans received Original Sin, it was deemed that it would be impossible for a human to to be perfectly balanced. Yet we have you right here.}

The angel had a puzzled look on his face as he stared at me. It was a stare of someone who looked at a curious ant who somehow did something amusing. I didn't really like it. The angel spoke again.

{ For right now I will just take you to the next Rapture site and figure out what to do once I've completed my duties. We'll see from there what to do.}

" Where is the next site?"

{ A small town in Italy. Do you get air sick?}

"No. Why?"

The angel spread his wings and they shimmered with golden light. His eyes brightened with excitement.

{ Because we're flying. So hold on!}

With that he scooped me up and we blasted into the sky. I screamed like a little girl.

*****************

3 Days Later

Vatican City

I stood in the atrium to the Sistine Chapel waiting for an angel to get me. After 3 days of Raptures the angels had finally been able to meet to discuss what would happen to me. Apparently not everyone had listened to Uriel and some had decided to run. Driven by an obligation to at least present the tablet, the angels had spent the last couple of days tracking all of the runaways down. in that time I had finally processed the fact that it really was the end. I had been in shock when I had first come out of my apartment and was still in shock when we had arrived in Italy. But eventually the shock had worn away and all that was left fear. Fear that something horrible would happen to me because I hadn't been Raptured. Fear that no one knew what to do with me. Now all that was left as I looked at the famous mosaics and paintings was numbness. Acceptance.

I heard the sound of footsteps behind me. An unfamiliar angel dressed in red robes and gold stoles approached me. His halo was double stacked and his wings were a beautiful bright white. It matched his almost feminine and equally beautiful face.

{Hello there, my name is Gabriel. It's a pleasure and a suprise to meet you Abraham.}

Gabriel's voice was the definition of clarity. It rang like a bell, was light but strong and seemed to command the attention every molecule in the room. I tried to speak in my understandably awestruck phase. Despite seeing them for the past few days, angels holiness and power still overwhelmed me. My primal instincts bowed before them and I could feel their aura of energy as static electricity across my body. This was even more so considering Gabriel was an archangel.

" H-hello Gabriel. H-Has Heaven decided what to do with me?"

{ Lets sit down first before I tell you what will happen. I have a feeling you will need it.}

Two plush armchairs appeared magically and Gabriel took a seat in one and I in the other. I had already seen other angels produce things out of thin air and so I wasn't really surprised by Gabriel's sudden magic act.

{ I will try to get straight to the point. Heaven is full. We made a certain amount of space for every soul and there is simply no more room in the framework to support your soul. As a re-}

"What do you mean that it's full? isn't Heaven suppose to be infinite? Does this mean that I'm going to Hell? How can you let that ha-"

{Quiet!}

I shut my mouth questions still boiling inside.

{ In response to your questions, Heaven is not infinite. When it was created at the beginning of time, it was only meant to hold God and the angels. Then came the Fall and eventually the Resurrection. The Resurrection was when we were told to expand Heaven to allow worthy souls to enter and have paradise. But because we were told that there would be a Rapture we realized that the expansion only needed to be so big.}

I opened my mouth again to ask a question but Gabriel had already anticipated what I would ask.

{ The existence of the universe and Heaven is upheld by the Lord's will. Souls are a part of that existence and therefore take up space. Since the angels don't have the power to create and uphold space like the Lord, we stretch the fabric of Heaven to allow more room for souls. Don't ask how it's done, I can't explain.}

I looked at Gabriel dubiously. Since I didn't know a thing about Heaven nor how it worked I had to take him at his word.

"So this means I'm going to Hell since there is no room upstairs."

{That's the other thing, Hell is full to. The same laws apply to Hell just as they do to Heaven. Lucifer however has managed to somehow uphold his own space so he can expand it. His only limitation is that he needs some preexisting space to build upon and he has a limit since he is still just an angel. That's why he gets Earth. He needs a place to store wicked souls.}

Gabriel stopped explaining and looked at me for questions.

"So where will I be if I can't be in Heaven or Hell? On another planet?"

Gabriel smirked ruefully.

{All the planets in the universe have been divided between Heaven and Hell. With those materials, both sides will reinforce their realm. Essentially the universe will come to an end}

I shuddered at the thought of that. Total nothingness. A universe gone and devoured by two spiritual realms.

{ As such, you will be tossed into the Nothingness that remains}

Gabriel stood up quickly and a shining sword appeared in his hand. I also jumped up and spun around my chair. I had to think fast. Gabriel was going to kill me obviously but I still didn't have the answer I wanted.

"Hold up! How did you guys not calculate the right capacity? Don't you guys know every soul that will appear?"

I had heard this from the some of the angels while accompanying them on their hunts. Apparently Heaven had done some calculations based off Scripture to calculate how many souls would be brought into existence. This is how they knew how large to expand Heaven.

Gabriel made a sorrowful and guilty face.

{ You are right that we know the exact number of souls that would be pulled into this world. It was a very precise set of calculations and it took so long to get that number. Today Michael interrogated the department of angels that did those calculations.}

Gabriel looked away and blushed. Finally he said indifferently:

{ It seems that we made a rounding error and the end result was that there was one less soul occupancy in both Heaven and Hell.}

"...."

{Oops}

I stared in horror, amazement and anger at the nonchalant Gabriel.

' I've got to be cast into Nothingness simply because of a f*cking rounding error? What bullshit is this?! Aren't angels suppose to be perfect? I can't believe this....Aargh!!'

All sense of rational thought left my mind. I was going to experience a fate worse than death all due to some angels inadequacy at math.

The Nothingness was only something I heard about once before. It was the complete absence of space and time. Nothing existed, no sound, color, smell, and feeling. An angel or demon that was cast into the Nothingness never came back because they couldn't uphold their own existence without an already created space. Essentially they ceased to exist. Only God could uphold his own existence in the Nothingness. And I, a measly average soul would be discarded into that simply because they didn't want to make a little more room. This was a true death. If angels couldn't survive, how could I?

I charged Gabriel with nothing but anger in my head. There was no way I was going to hurt him but I just wanted to punch his face as a representation of my anger towards Heaven.

Only too late did I realize my mistake. The sword flashed toward me in the light of Gabriel's halos. I tried to duck but it was too late. my vision blurred for a few seconds and then focused as I stared to the right at my beheaded body.

' Where's the head?

{ I'm sorry Abraham, your absolute death will be remembered as a lesson for all of us}

Then I realized I was the head.

'F*ck'

Darkness engulfed me as my soul was cast out of the universe.