But Carl didn’t have to worry about Lori. He could see that the day’s events had somehow kindled a fire in her spirit that no casual remark could ever extinguish.

“Do you remember my aunt Josephine?” Lori asked after a long moment of reflection. “The one who retired to Phoenix?”

“Vaguely.”

“Aunt Jo was the one who used to talk to us kids about the Bible, and she would tell us about all the spooky stuff in Revelation.”

“What’s revelation?” Carl asked.

“You know. The last book of the Bible . . . the one that talks about beasts and plagues. Surely you know about that—the Four Horsemen, the Last Judgment, and all that stuff?”

“Okay,” Carl said warily. “I guess I’ve heard something about it.

So what?”

“Well, I was just thinking. Aunt Josephine used to tell us about all those things in Revelation, describing what would happen on earth at the end of the age . . . before Jesus comes back.”

“Lori, what are you talking about?” Carl laughed. “What has that got to do with the situation we’re in? This is not some made-up story, you know. This is real. Here we are, right here on this airplane—headed for Albuquerque, New Mexico, of all places. And the city of Los Angeles, along with everything we own, is about to be wiped off the map!”

“Carl, don’t you see? It’s not a made-up story. Revelation was a prophecy about what would happen at the end of the age, and in one part it says that an angel is going to throw a burning mountain into the sea, and lots of people—on ships and on the land—are going to be killed. Don’t you get it? A flaming mountain? A meteor? Millions of people are going to die!”

“Lori,” he said in a somewhat patronizing tone, “I love you, but you know that I don’t buy that stuff.” He looked at his wife. She was so earnest, he couldn’t help but feel the intensity of what she was saying. He owed her more than a cynical put-down.

“Okay,” he said, “you’ve got my attention. What else did Auntie Jo tell you about revelation?”

Before Lori could answer, the cabin speaker clicked on once again.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. We are about forty-five minutes from Albuquerque at this moment, and I have just received an update on the situation back in L.A. The word is that the meteor is expected to impact in the Pacific Ocean at a point west of Catalina. Impact time is still expected to be approximately seven this evening, Pacific time.

“The scientists are saying,” he continued, “that the size of the object is estimated to be over a kilometer in length, half a kilometer in height, and perhaps as big as three-tenths of a kilometer in width. They are calling it a fireball.” As the captain spoke, a loud murmur swept through the plane, along with sounds of crying, prayers, and expressions of anguish and concern.