"You knew that already, Ray."

"No, all the evidence pointed to it and we accepted it, but I had never really believed it. So, I guess I never really accepted it. None of us did. We just pretended to." Once again, everyone got silent.

"It is all ending." agreed Steph. Angeline nodded after a bit and Nick sighed before looking up at the stars and then everyone looked at me. Waiting for me to accept it. I stared blankly ahead, refusing to meet any of their gazes but nodded slightly after a moment. I had already known this. I just didn't want to think about it.

"It's all ending." said Nick with finality. "So, what do we do about it?"

"What do you mean 'what do we do about it?'" said Steph leaning forward in interest.

"Its not a math problem to be solved and fixed. And even if it is, there's not solution, Nick." said Angeline.

"That's not true." said Nick with a finger pointed at Angeline. He pointed at any person he was talking to to emphasize his point. "Every problem has a solution. Some are harder to get to than others, but you can always manipulate the figures to find the answer."

"But this isn't a math problem, Nick." I pleaded.

"Whaddya mean it isn't a math problem!" he exploded. It silenced the group for a moment and he continued. "Life is nothing but math."

Nick opened the ice chest and pulled out a Bud Lite. I motioned for one and he tossed me a Bacardi.

"How do you figure?" asked Steph.

"Its all vectors and coordinates in fate and the logarhythms of motion and... and..." Nick gave up there and took a swig of his beer. "Look at that crowd." We all did. "Random movements in an unpredictable environment, right?"

"Right." Ray answered.

"No. There's a meaning behind every breath. A purpose behind every step." he said.

"Yeah, they all have a destination." said Angeline.

"Exactly. So, in that sense, none of its random. None of its chance. Its all predetermined, but each ones course intersects the others. So, in a sense, they're obstacles. So, that complicates it. The results are unattainable because of the quantity of variables. Practically infinite. But there is an equation. A design."

"Okay. I see where you're going with this. But what is it?" asked Steph. Nick smiled and we all realized she had just set up his next point.

"God's numbers."

"What?" I asked.

"God's numbers. It's all God's numbers and the Devil's arithmetic. The whole plan everyone talks about and his preset future for us all- its an equation." Nick smiled. "We're God's numbers."

Ray laughed and got a beer from the cooler. "We're numbers? Numerals? I've heard some theories Nick, but that's the stupidest."

"No, listen to me. Have you ever heard about governing principles?" We all shook our head. "The laws which we have to live by."

"You mean like gravity and time?"

"Yeah, but others as well. More complicated laws like the rules of love and the terms of hate." said Nick. "They're complicated, too complicated to comprehend, but they're laws to everything. Principles we don't even know govern our actions."

"So all of our thoughts and actions are predetermined by... by a formula?" asked Steph incredulously.

"No, that's just it. You can choose your fate. Because of the variables. Let's say in a certain situation, you have four choices. But there's three you don't even think of. Well, you choose one of the seven which leads to a next choice. Governing principles dictates which choices are feasible, which are possible, and which are doable. Now, using that reasoning, without knowing it of course, you make your next decision. It goes on and on till you've shaped your destiny."

"Seems a bit far fetched, dude." I said skeptically with a sip of my Raz.

"Because its to huge to grasp. Imagine this whole party being a big equation. Imagine if you could solve it. Look at that girl. What do you think she's gonna do next?" I shrugged as the group focused on a pretty little thing by a Sedan with a Bacardi Silver in her hand. She looked like a delicate, yellow rose in her canary shirt and she looked around as if she knew she were being watched, stood up, and walked off into the pulsing crowd. "Now, an equation is a variety of factors, variables, that contribute to a problem, such as what she's gonna do next, and this produces a solution. Well, she was restless, a party is raging a hundred feet away, and the music appeals to her. All the factors are listed and the solution is her going to dance."

"It's not that simple, Nick." argued Ray. "There's other things to consider."

"Other factors? Of course, that's to be expected. But it can all be predicted. Psychics aren't gifted with clairvoyance. They're gifted with the ability to see the equations behind everything!"

"So, how does that help up?" asked Steph abruptly. "You can argue back and forth as to whether it exists but the point remains, even if it does exist, it solves nothing. It helps even less."

"Maybe if we can figure out a way to manipulate the function, we could-"

"No, Nick. We're not gonna do that. Its not possible, especially in the limited time we have. You can't use a theory that has next to no backing to it and offer it up as a solution to our demise. You can't inspire false hope in yourself. You should accept that we are all gonna be gone soon. Because if you don't, you're ignorant and unprepared."

This threw the group into another silence as all speculation on God's numbers and governing dynamics ended. Right then Xanetta sat next to me and the rest of the departed group joined us.

"You said we're all gonna be gone soon." said Xanetta.

"Yeah."

"Well, that's not true." said Xanetta and Steph raised an eyebrow, interested. "You don't know what this is?"

"The end of the world." said Faith answering for Steph.

"Yes, but more than that. This is the Rapture." The word hit a familiar chord in my brain, but I couldn't place it. "In the bible it says that God will come, take the good and the righteous and the remaining shall suffer Seven Years of Tribulation."

"I don't think the bible is literal. I mean, I believe in God, but the bible was written by old, prejudiced men." countered Oscar.

"Well, its pretty damn literal now, isn't it?" Xanetta said sharply. "You've seen the highway littered with the empty cars and you've heard the reports of the missing. The orphanage in Mexico that had a candlelight vigil in honor of the lost but no one left the meeting. The temples in India that were found abandoned but there was no reason for evacuation. The holy and believing are being taken. This is the design to it."

"I heard someone say it was a mass abduction from the aliens." commented Angeline. "I mean, I don't believe that, but its interesting."

"I've actually heard about this Rapture thing." said Ray. "And my priest told me that these UFOs and such were tricks of the devil to get people to not accept the coming of God. I mean, this is obviously something supernatural at work, but people can dismiss it as aliens."

"You said there will be people left." said Nick matter-of-factly. "If the world is really ending, how can that be?"

We all turned to Xanetta for an explanation and she looked us all in the eyes before answering.

"After the Rapture is complete, there will be the Seven Years of Tribulation." She chose her next words. "It won't be drastically horrible. There won't be constant warfare, or massive plague. But there will be no God here. You will have to get the mark of the devil, a barcode to get anything, whether it be food, clothing, or shelter. Anyone who refuses to get the mark will die a horrible death, either being hunted down or by starvation or exposure. Anyone who gets the mark will be damned."

"How do you know all of this?" asked Faith in a whisper. I passed Xanetta a Bacardi Silver and she opened it before answering.

"She's read the bible." said Steph. "I knew I should've."

"Hey, I don't believe in God." said Me. Maybe that was what was off about him. The total absence of faith. "So, what do I care?"

"Yeah, keep that mindset for the next seven years." snapped Xanetta. He shut up and the crowd mulled over this and sipped on their beers.

"The world is ending, guys." said Oscar as he stared off into space. "I hope it was worthwhile."

"I'll drink to that." I said raising my Bacardi Raz. "To living it like it was ending."

"To not caring if it is." Faith raised hers.

"To accepting it and not giving a damn!" said Ray as he laughed and clanged his bottle against ours.

"To not wasting the time left." said Xanetta solemnly. We all paused and I nodded with a slow smile. Everyone raised there glass. Me was a little hesitant but he raised it quickly and everyone clanked them together.

"To not wasting time!" screamed everyone in unison. Everyone chugged their drinks till they were empty with no exception and Ray and Nick threw their bottles as far into the desert as they could. We all laughed.

It was all ending. And now, it was all worth it.