"Let me see how I can help you, young man!"
"I'll be very grateful!" he answered the girl with an equally broad smile.
And she, after a short time, handed him a room card, saying,
"You're in luck! I managed to give you a top-class room at the price of a lower one you paid for. Moreover, this floor belongs to members of an exclusive club where every morning there's a complimentary breakfast for your pleasure, and in the evening—a light dinner, any beverages, cookies and fruit. So enjoy! The thirty-second floor!"
"Oh!" he answered with delight. "What a kind heart you have! Thank you very much!"
He took the registration documents and bounced toward the elevator. The thirty-second floor! Almost the very top—he'd seen from the elevator numbers that the hotel had thirty-five floors! Such luck! And opening the door to his room, he gasped in admiration. From the window unfolded a magnificent view of the city with its winding, multi-lane expressway cutting between skyscrapers, along which an endless stream of cars crawled back and forth like countless ants.
"Now that's a view! Progress, technology, development!" Alexander whistled to himself.
He looked carefully around. On both sides of the road towered commercial and residential buildings, some several times taller than the hotel, others shorter—with gardens and flower beds on their roofs. In the distance, mountains rose like a mighty frame, one towering above the others—Mount Rainier, which, as he knew from history, reached nearly four and a half thousand meters high. At its base it was covered with low trees, but from its summit, like locks of gray hair combed by constant winds, snowy lines streamed down. Midsummer and snow! Magnificence and beauty!
He stood long, admiring the landscape spread before his window. Then, refreshing himself, he decided to take a walk before the complimentary dinner. And drinks... He enjoyed a drink, though his well-bred nature maintained measure and order in all things. Alexander entered the elevator and noticed the inscription: "In case of emergency, elevator does not work! Use the stairs!" To himself he smiled—he would never wish to find himself in such an emergency!
His thoughts were interrupted by a piercing emergency siren. Alexander startled and curled up in a bundle among the sheets, whose rustling was drowned out by the siren. What could this be? He heard different kinds of sirens emanating from all sides. Jumping from his bed, he rushed to the window and at that very moment felt the floor beneath his feet tremble from the roar of a powerful explosion. With trembling hands he opened the curtains and what he saw from the window momentarily froze his body. The magnificence and beauty he had admired yesterday had completely transformed today.
Mount Rainier, on which yesterday thick bands of snow were visible, had suddenly and horrifyingly changed. Along its slopes moved a blood-red mass of lava, and above the mountain hung an enormous gray cloud that grew, expanded, and ominously advanced toward the city.
"What devilish tricks are these?" Alexander barely forced out, his tongue suddenly parched.
Sirens screamed from all sides, drowning out the hotel's emergency alarms. Alexander, hearing footsteps in the corridor, understood he too must flee. He rushed into the hallway toward the elevator, only to recall the inscription he'd seen before: "In case of emergency use the stairs!" Thirty-two floors! For a moment he tried to imagine the number of steps down, but his legs, obeying the instinct of self-preservation, already moved forward. Thanks to his agility and athletic build, within a short time he was downstairs and, finding his car, hastily jumped in and tried to merge into the chaotic stream of traffic. His car, his pride, did not fail him this time; driving masterfully, he maneuvered through traffic, frantically working between vehicles to reach the expressway faster. Everyone who could was trying to leave the city, toward which descended a sphere of ash from above, while along the mountain slopes came advancing, white-hot lava.
"Where to run? In which direction?" Alexander's mind worked frantically.
On one side was the ocean, on the other—mountains, one of which bore upon the city lava of destructive force. But kilometers separated them, and if he were clever and a skillful driver—and he never doubted his abilities—he would manage to escape the city, even if it meant driving for a time toward the white-hot lava. But most important was to overcome the chaos in the city, for many cars simply stood on the road as if their owners had abandoned them like useless baggage; some cried and wailed, wringing their hands; others hysterically darted from side to side in futile searches.
But Alexander paid them no mind...
His mind focused on survival. He merged into the stream of vehicles heading toward the expressway, only to confirm that here was the same chaos as in the city.
"What's happening?" he shouted through his window to a woman standing nearby, weeping inconsolably.
"My child... my child," she cried, "someone stole him from my back seat."
Alexander waved his hand. Another time, perhaps, he could have shown compassion and even helped, but now he had to save himself. He closed the window and darted into the small space between cars. The lane moved, and he, urging himself on, slipped from one row to another, pushing farther and farther toward the city's exit. He had to leave this doomed city! That was certain!
Soon he was stuck in traffic again, cars honking, people screaming, women running about, again speaking of missing children and people. Alexander began to shiver with cold, drawing very close to where the road approached the mountain along which moved, writhing and coiling, white-hot lava, as if rejoicing in the chance to destroy everything in its path. The air reeked of heat and steam mixed with some smell Alexander had never experienced in his life. Adding to everything, small flakes of ash like disordered snowflakes swirled annoyingly above his head.
He had to leave this place as quickly as possible. And then directly before him he saw an old man who, kneeling, was pressing himself against his car and weeping bitterly. He opened his window and cried out,
"What happened, grandfather?"
"She... she's gone," the old man sobbed, choking on tears, "my dear wife... now we're parted forever! Lord, have mercy!"
He wrung his hands, stretching them in bitter anguish toward the sky, which was increasingly covered by gray clouds.
"Then you chose the wrong one, if she abandoned you in your darkest moment," Alexander shouted at him. "Get in, I'll take you out of this trap."
The old man sat in the back seat and continued his lament:
"No, she didn't abandon me... she was so kind and loving... she was like that her whole life... but now God has taken her to heaven, and I..."
He broke into bitter tears again.
"Nonsense!" Alexander spat through the open window and cursed harshly, feeling the urge to swear even more.
It hadn't been like this before. Before, something had always stopped him, as if a voice within his soul insisted this was wrong. And his mother had constantly reminded him of it, urging him to keep his words pure. His mother's words rose again in his consciousness, and her warning about the end times, about the sinful life he'd been leading. But did everyone live a noble and holy life, and wouldn't a loving God stop them at the right moment to give them a chance not to perish?
Of course, God couldn't simply destroy people! He was loving!
Alexander glanced at the mountain ablaze with fire and thought:
"God Almighty with a wave of His hand could avert destruction from the city. He could simply stop the lava..."
But the old man's lamentation and tears interrupted his thoughts.
"I should have listened to her... I should have repented... but I never believed in the coming, never believed in the end."
"Be quiet, old man," Alexander shouted at him angrily. "What coming? What are you talking about? Be a man, stop whining!"
At that moment his phone rang. It was his sister Marina. He answered, shouting:
"This is hell! What's happening?"
On the other end he also heard sobs.
"Sashenka," his sister forced out through tears, "it's the end! We're doomed! Father and Mother... they're gone! They've been taken!"
Deathly horror seized him! It had actually happened! In his horror, he didn't even notice the car ahead suddenly brake hard, and he couldn't react. There was a terrible crash, and in terror he woke up...
He opened his eyes... his heart pounded fiercely in his chest.
This time it was only a dream! The next time—it might be reality!
The Lord was giving him one more chance to repent!
While there is still time!
