The Rapture

Late in the 21st century, perhaps in response to man's growing prosperity--and the growth in "sinfulness" which seems to proportionally correlate to same--modern society collapsed.

No. That makes it sound like it just... happened. The way a neglected stew pot boils overflow, so let me rephrase that.

Late in the 21st century, humanity faced a threat--an attack--the likes of which it could never have expected to be prepared for.

One day--the weather and season and time differ by account, but all accounts agree that weird and crazy shit had already been happening for a year or more--a great sound was heard, a trumpeting. It was awesome, and it was awful. Beautiful and terrible. It was heard the world over, even over the sound of our works crumbling around us. As that trumpet blew, a hail of fire and brimstone fell from the sky, scorching trees and grass. It tore through buildings, and burned people alive. The streets were filled with the cries and screams of pain of those caught in it. After an initial torrent, it lessened, to the point where the damage it was going to do to buildings was done. Most civilians stayed inside while firecrews and those who volunteered to help them donned heavy leather jackets and riot gear and fought the infernos that were started. The fire-hails fell off and on for a month before the next trumpet spoke their end.

The second trumpet brought with it a cataclysm of it's own. Mauna Loa, the largest Hawaiian island exploded in debris and lava. Dust filled the sky and rocks rained down hundreds of miles from the volcano. When all was said and done, after a month of constant activity, the island was simply gone, and the other four islands were heavily scarred by falls of lava, volcanic rocks and ash. The Pacific Ocean around the island chain was thick with ash and floating pumice and the bodies of marine animals and people killed by the horrific event.

A third trumpet spoke of God's anger at humanity. The great space station-city Artemisia, a challenge to God like unto a modern Babal, was hurled to Earth from orbit. Hundreds of thousands of people living, working and vacationing on the station died screaming as it burnt in atmosphere. Pieces ripped from the station and scattered over half the Earth, many falling in lakes and rivers, embittering the water with the poisons of radiation, heavy metals and toxic chemicals for centuries to come.

With a fourth trumpet, the light of the sun, moon and stars faltered, and the Earth was plunged into pitch blackness. For a month, a vast heavenly body seemed to interpose itself between the earth and these other heavenly bodies, shrouding us in complete darkness for a third of each day.

By now, humanity had retreated to various underground structures--missile silos, the Cheyenne Mountain Nuclear Bunker, previously well kept secret government bunkers, and the underground shelters and tunnel cities of a few private individuals who suddenly didn't seem quite so insane. Even subway tunnels became the homes of thousands of people who considered themselves to be fairly respectable.

A fifth trumpet then sounded, the scream of a star streaking from the sky and falling into the The Crater of Artemisia. This star coalesced into the form of a man--albeit a vast man of monstrous mien--holding a key of pitted stone with projections of spikes. The key was thrust into the crater, and a great hole was opened in reality through to the Bottomless Pit. Once again, the skies were darkened, as dense smoke rose from the hole ushering in a swarm of demonic beasts, given leave to hunt down those who were not given to God.

Following closely to the fifth trumpet, there was a sixth, as the fifth trumpet released a horde of demons, causing mankind to quail, the sixth unbound four angelic men from the river Euphrates, who then muster an army of 200 million men, and humanity believes their rescuers are come.

But the angelic army scourged the non-believers with plagues of fire and sulfur.

A seventh and final trumpet sounded as mankind's numbers dwindled, causing lightning and earthquakes as the temple of God opens in heaven.