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eBook Category: Fantasy
eBook Description: The end of the world is near! Grace Josephs said so herself. And why shouldn't we believe her? After all, her psychic radio call-in show is one of the highest rated in the world. She has never been wrong before. Now she says that life as we know it will end in a year's time. So what will you do with your last days? Spend time with your family? Take that vacation you have always dreamed of? Or do you have more violent, carnal desires? After all, if there will be no consequences...

eBook Publisher: The Fiction Works, Published: http://www.fictionworks.com, 2004
Fictionwise Release Date: July 2004

6 Reader Ratings: Great Good OK Poor

Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [703 KB], eReader (PDB) [208 KB], Palm Doc (PDB) [192 KB], Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [171 KB], Microsoft Reader (LIT) [213 KB] - PocketPC 1.0+ Compatible, Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [217 KB], hiebook (KML) [453 KB], Sony Reader (LRF) [294 KB], iSilo (PDB) [160 KB], Mobipocket (PRC) [197 KB], Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [248 KB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [260 KB]
Words: 61251
Reading time: 175-245 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format:  Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED

"This is the Way the World End is such a great book, I don't know how she will top herself with the next one she writes..."--Independent.com

Little Grace sat quietly still, really not wanting to go onstage that night. She was tired, and the heat that emanated in from the audience seemed to drain her. It felt like a typical summer afternoon in the south; hot, smelly, the air so thick it felt like it was inches away from crushing you to death. But it was not August; it was December, Christmas Eve to be exact. And the temperature outside was nearing freezing. Grace couldn't tell that, though. She was beginning to feel feverish, and almost told her Daddy that she couldn't go through with it tonight. However, she knew exactly how he would react: "Darlin', all those people out there came just to see you. If you don't go out and put on your show, they'll be very sad. I'll be sad, too."

And she tried her very best to be a good girl for her daddy. "It ain't lying, just like make-believe," he told her once. But those people out there didn't seem to know she was only playing. So many of them seemed so sad, so empty, and their desperation seeped from them like beads of sweat. After she went out there, Grace could tell that she was making them happy. So she drank a little water, and sat quietly still, waiting for the show to begin.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming tonight. I know you've waited long enough for this, so I wont drag this on any longer. The world's youngest Bible prodigy and faith healer, four-year-old Grace Johnson!"

Her father took her by the hand and pulled Grace onto the stage. It was getting so hot for her that she was beginning to feel a little dizzy. The people who came to see her were always unhappy, a little lost, but this crowd seemed to be worse than the rest. There was something like hopelessness, and it was heavier than anything she had felt before. She had to be real strong, though; this is what she had to do for her daddy. Once, she got just so tired of going from place to place, never getting to make friends, and when she did meet a kid who wasn't afraid of her, she wasn't allowed to play with them. "They'll bring you down, darlin'. You got more important things to think about than some trash kids." She took a deep breath, and walked proudly to Daddy and simply said that she was done and didn't want to do the show anymore. He sighed, looked down at the table and said, "No, darlin'. You have to. If you don't, we won't have any money to eat or have any clothes to wear. I'm counting on you, Grace, to keep this family alive." With that, he picked his beer off the table and walked out of the room. Grace never spoke up again about it.

Each show was basically the same, with a few little changes here and there, and tonight was like every other night she had to go out. First, Uncle Johnny came out. This time they wheeled him out in a chair. "This man has been crippled since birth. He has never known the joy of running across a football field, walking hand in hand with a lovely woman, or even helping himself to the toilet. But tonight, with the help of Little Grace, his worthless legs will, for the first time, carry himself without any aid!" So Grace walked up to him, and without a word, placed her hands upon Uncle Johnny's knees. She stood like that for a long time, eyes closed. Johnny rose from the chair. Mumblings and whispers came from the people in the audience. He stumbled for a few steps, and the crowd cheered.

Next came her Momma's friend Lilly. She was staring off into space, not looking at anything in particular. "This poor woman lost her eyesight from a fever when she was nine. She has never seen the face of her husband, the smile on her children's faces. Come, Grace, and give this woman use of her eyes again!" Daddy took Lilly by the hands and guided her down to Grace's level. She closed Lilly's eyes, and kissed each eyelid. Lilly opened them and hollered out "I can see! God in Heaven above, I can see! Thank you, dear child, thank you!" The audience rose to their feet in thunderous applause.

Grace's brother Joshua was then sent out as usual into the audience with a large bucket. "Now, I really hate to ask this of you," said their Daddy, "but it takes a lot more than prayer to keep the miracles alive. We need cash. Please, open your hearts and drop a tiny donation in with my son." It was getting unbearable for Grace at this point. "Psst ... Daddy ... it's getting too hot in here!" He brushed her aside. "Anything you give us can help." It was now getting warmer than anything Grace had ever felt. One time when she was littler, Grace had accidentally touched the stove while Momma was cooking, and it left a red burn on her fingers for weeks. That felt like ice compared to this.

By the time Josh was done, the bucket was so full he had to start stuffing the bills into his pockets and socks. He gave the okay signal to Daddy and went backstage. "I want to thank you all for coming out tonight and witnessing the miracle that is my baby daughter. Keep us in your hearts and prayers, as we will for you."

The people all started looking at each other, fidgeting.

"Whaddya mean? Is that it?" one person shouted.

"Yeah, I brought my daughter out all the way from Nacogdoches just to have Grace take away the cancer! She has to help her!"

"My Mamma's deaf. Grace needs to touch her ears."

"I have distemper!"

"Fix my son's pitching arm!"

Everyone was shouting out their maladies, walking toward the stage with outstretched hands, pleading.

"Sorry, folks. There is only so much Grace can do in one night. But she will be praying for you all, I promise you."

"I put good money in your collection plate, and I demand that she cure my psoriasis!"

People were climbing up onto the stage. The guards had to beat some of them down and were hurrying to catch them all. Grace was burning up all over and finally it became too much for her to stand.

"Stop it!" she cried. The immediacy in her voice stunned everyone. "Get out of here now! All of you! You're gonna be dead in here if you don't leave! You're gonna die!" Grace had no idea what she said, and didn't mean to yell the way she did. It just came out, like there was a record played in her mouth.

"She's a witch! Did you hear her curse us? The little wench is a witch!"

"The devil's in that girl!"

"Yeah, I knew it all along. A witch!"

"Don't let her hurt us!"

"Get her!"

With that, it was suddenly mayhem. Men began striking out, not really caring who they were hitting. Women were throwing things. Grace saw a knife land in her father's chest, but she had no idea whether or not a person had ever been holding it in the first place. She was drowning in the sea of bodies when Johnny picked her up and carried her out, away from the stage and outside to the van. She silently watched over his shoulder as the first of the flames licked out from underneath the tent.

The next day, the headline in the Dallas Herald read "25 Die in Fire at Revival. Healer Grace Johnson Reported Missing."