Jason wished he’d consulted Google Maps before setting out on his journey to the end of the world, with the sun in his wheelbarrow. The deal was that he had to find the spot marked X by the end of the month, or the sun would annihilate the entire planet. No pressure there then.
It had all started the previous Friday as he sat on Beachy Head contemplating his future, or rather the lack of it. The last months had been a nightmare. The ad agency he owned had gone tits up. Screwing over too many people and falling foul of advertising standards had landed him in court with ruinous costs. His wife had left him, the house had gone and he was living in a dilapidated static caravan near Eastbourne.
He stared morosely at the scene before him. It was a glorious sunset. The sun was larger than he’d ever seen it, pulsating red and orange. This was not a good sign. The Earth had changed its orbit, due to humankind’s mismanagement and was now too near the sun. Meteorologists predicted apocalypse.
It occurred to Jason that he mightn’t need to make the leap – the sun would end it for him anyway. His final grandiose gesture upstaged by a giant fireball. How ironic.
As he watched the sun dipping down over the Channel, its reflection – a broad, crimson path like the red carpet at a film premiere – stretched out across the water. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. The sun appeared to be shrinking and rolling towards him down the path. The next thing he knew it was resting at his feet, the size of a balance ball at the gym, now giving off a gentle yellow glow.
‘There you are,’ said a voice above his head. Jason started in bewilderment and stared up at the tall figure standing beside him with a wheelbarrow. It was terrifying – the sort of alien depicted in old B-movies – vast and thin, dressed in a long metallic gown, with a small green head sporting two purple horns and a halo.
‘I..I..Who? What…?’ Jason stuttered.
‘Yes, I am the Devil, God, an alien or an angel – whichever you prefer to call me.’ The figure smiled. The smile transformed the thin skin stretched over its skull into a mass of wrinkles. ‘I think you can help me. I have been looking for someone like you with nothing to lose. Someone who has been a bit of a shit in life but could be saved by doing one good deed. You see I have a vested interest in this planet. It has been such a pleasant game playing with all you creatures and I’ve still got plenty to do. I took my eye off the ball with the orbit thing I’m afraid and it has to be a human who puts it right. So what do you think? Would you like to make a deal?’