They ignored the warnings—until the silence was louder than the sermon in this Rapture Screenplay
Originally written in 2015 for a creative writing class, this screenplay was revised and updated in 2025 for publication. While it stands on its own, it was inspired by A is for Altar, a short story that explores similar themes of guilt, grace, and the choices we carry. This version leans more into cinematic storytelling—framed around the rapture and a final desperate plea at the altar.
This screenplay is a fictional imagining—not a theological assertion.
FADE IN:
INT. CHURCH – DAY
REV BURNS thunders from the pulpit, fiery with passion—kicking his leg, punching the air, preaching a rousing message of hellfire and redemption.
REV BURNS
No man knows when Jesus will come. Those left behind will face untold trials and tribulations. The fires of hell will nip at their heels.
The congregation watches, stirred. “Amen” and “Hallelujah” ripple through the pews. In the back, JESS and JUSTIN sit with heads down—texting.
REV BURNS (O.S.)
Their only hope is to make it to an altar and pray like they’ve never prayed before.
JESS
(whispering)
Justin, want to go to the lake after we get out of here?
JUSTIN
(whispering)
Sure. Anybody else going?
Justin gestures at Jess’s phone, asking who she’s texting.
JESS
The normal crowd, at least those who can get a ride to the lake.
REV BURNS (O.S.)
Wake up! Look at the signs! His coming is near.
Jess and Justin both look up, startled by the sudden shout. They glance at each other and giggle nervously.
EXT. CHURCH – DAY
People exit the church—some smiling, some sobbing. Many stop to shake REV BURNS’ hand.
REV BURNS
Jess, Justin, I trust you enjoyed the message today?
JUSTIN
(shaking hands)
Rousing as always, Rev Burns.
JESS
Justin, come on. We’ve got to go.
He flashes a polite smile and jogs after her.
EXT. LAKE – DAY
Teens play volleyball near the water. JESS, JUSTIN, and friends are in swimwear. MARY sits on a towel, modestly dressed, head tipped back into the sun.
JUSTIN
Hey, Mary! Come on and play. You can be on my team.
MARY
Thank you, no. This is a beautiful day God made and I just want to enjoy it and look at the view.
JUSTIN
I hope that view you’re checking out is these awesome abs of mine.
MARY
(smiling bashfully)
You know that wouldn’t be nice of me.
EXT. LAKE – NIGHT
The fire crackles. Most of the teens lie on towels, relaxed. JESS cuddles a guy. JUSTIN tosses logs into the flames.
JESS
Justin, bring me a beer.
JUSTIN
You better not have another one. It’s almost time to go home, and we don’t want to be grounded.
JESS
You sound like Mary. Being all goody two-shoe. You can talk to the ’rents—just bring me a beer.
INT. FAMILY ROOM – NIGHT
JESS and JUSTIN creep in the front door, tiptoe toward the stairs. MOM’S voice reads Scripture gently from another room.
They freeze halfway up the stairs.
DAD (O.S.)
I thought you guys were going to be at church tonight?
JUSTIN winces. JESS bolts up the stairs. JUSTIN turns toward the voice.
JUSTIN
We were, Dad. I’m sorry—we were playing volleyball and lost track of time. We’ll do better next time.
DAD
You know it’s not acceptable to miss church. Your mom was worried sick.
JUSTIN
(hanging his head)
I know. I’m really sorry.
DAD
Have you been drinking?
DAD shouts up the stairs.
DAD
Jess! Get down here!
She stops halfway down.
DAD
Have the two of you been drinking?
They glance at each other. JUSTIN breaks eye contact first.
JUSTIN
No sir. We were just playing volleyball and swimming.
DAD
I don’t believe you. Kitchen. Now. I bought a new sobriety test kit. Let’s see if it works.
INT. JUSTIN’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
JESS sits on the floor—blotchy face, shredded tissue. JUSTIN sits cross-legged on the bed, flipping through muted TV channels. A phone rings in the background.
JUSTIN
I told you not to drink. Now we’re stuck here next weekend. You totally ruined my date with Mary.
JESS
Blame it on me. You drank as much as I did—prolly more. But nooo, gotta impress folks, so you stop early.
She sniffles, blows her nose.
JESS
Dad was less worried about the drinking and more about telling me I needed to get “ready to go.” I’m so tired of hearing that every single day.
JUSTIN
It’s true, Jess. I just don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon.
Beat.
JUSTIN
…I wonder why they aren’t answering the phone.
INT. HALL – NIGHT
JUSTIN steps into the hallway, picks up the phone.
JUSTIN
I don’t know… they were in the family room, but I can’t see them now. I’ll tell them to call you, Rev Burns.
He hangs up and walks downstairs, calling out.
JUSTIN
Mom? Dad?
No answer.
INT. FAMILY ROOM – NIGHT
Light spills from a lamp, but the room feels… empty. JUSTIN scans the space.
He sees MOM’s Bible and glasses lying on the floor.
He hurries across the room and trips over something. It’s DAD’s clothes, glasses, spilled tea, and belt.
JUSTIN kneels. Gathers them. Places them gently on the sofa.
His brow furrows. Then his face goes pale.
JUSTIN
Jess! Jess! Oh my God! Jess!
JESS bounds downstairs and skids into the room.
JESS
What? What’s wrong?
JUSTIN clutches their mom’s Bible.
JUSTIN
It happened. They’re gone.
JESS
Gone? What do you mean gone?
She enters the room slowly. Picks up the Bible.
JESS
They’ve got to be here somewhere. They’re messing with us—like they always do.
JUSTIN shakes his head.
JUSTIN
No. That was Rev Burns. He said most of the saints disappeared—left nothing but clothes.
JUSTIN
He said the graveyards are torn up. Like the dead were dug up.
(beat)
He said… he didn’t make it.
INT. CAR – DAY
JESS drives, lips tight, fingers tapping the wheel. JUSTIN stares ahead.
JESS
Why? Why did they go? Why did they leave us? Why didn’t they take me?
JUSTIN
You know where they’ve gone. You know why you’re here.
JESS
This is all your fault.
JUSTIN stares out the window.
INT. FAMILY ROOM – DAY (FLASHBACK)
Four-year-old JUSTIN sits on MOM’s lap, learning the ABC song.
MOM
A B C D E F G, Jesus died for you and me;
H I J K L M N, Jesus died for sinful men…
JUSTIN
AMEN…
She begins the song backward.
MOM
Z Y X and W V, God is watching over me…
INT. CAR – DAY
JUSTIN
You know why they’re gone. You didn’t have to follow me. But you did.
He turns toward her.
JUSTIN
You made your own choice.
They enter town. JUSTIN softly sings.
JUSTIN
B is for Bible, the map to heaven. H is for hell…
He punches the dashboard. Looks out the window.
JUSTIN
Rev Burns said to get there—but it won’t change anything. You know that, right?
JESS
Mom and Dad said… if we didn’t make it, to go to the church and pray.
Her voice cracks.
JESS
Maybe God will hear me.
L is for love. If He loves me, He will listen to me.
They see the steeple gleaming ahead. Too many stalled cars block the road.
They get out and walk.
EXT. ROAD – DAY
JUSTIN
There are too many people—we can’t get there.
JESS
We must. The altar is our only hope.
They push through the crowd. They lose each other in the chaos.
JESS fights her way to the church door, stepping over bodies. She reaches the altar. Drops to her knees. Wraps her arms around it.
Silence.
Then—she lifts her face toward heaven.
JESS
Father, forgive me.
FADE OUT.
THE END
🔽 Still haunted by the idea of being left behind?
You’re not alone. The emotional weight of regret, missed chances, and what-ifs is something many carry. For a deeper dive into the origins and evolution of the rapture doctrine in Christian theology, explore this in-depth article by David Ruybalid. Whether you’re reading for faith, history, or healing, you’ll find plenty to reflect on.
💬 What did this story stir up for you?
Fear of missing out… fear of not being enough… or maybe just the quiet ache of regret?
Leave a comment below — whether you’re wrestling with faith, fascinated by the theology, or just haunted by the idea of second chances.
Follow the blog for more stories that explore the space between what was and what could’ve been. You’re not alone in the in-between.
📬 Follow Vicky’s View
Subscribe for fresh posts from the desk of Vicky — AI tools, storytelling, odd moments, grandkid wisdom, and whatever else stirs up trouble (or inspiration).
While I was reading this story, I was expecting a light-hearted simple tale..boy was I in for a surprise! I enjoyed the diction and imagery that you vividly painted in your story. The title “Everyone Leaves” is not what I expected at the beginning. When you described Reverend Burns, I immediately thought of the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” written and delivered by Jonathan Edwards in the 1700’s. This story in a sense reminds me of a southern allegory that parents might tell their children when they are young. If you lie about something, particularly going to church when you did not (like stated in the story), then God will punish you.
This story Is truly touching because Jesus can come back any day and anytime. No one knows, its up to us to yearn for the ways that Jesus taught or we could be left behind like jess and Justin. While I was reading this story I felt scared and I felt like I was in the story. The story spoke so many volumes of truth. It makes you look different at life, like you really need to get your life in order and on the path that Jesus wants, because one day he will return and no one knows the day or the hour. It was a really nice story.
Kahdijah,
Thank you. Remember when your are reading from a critical analysis view, whether you like the story or not is not the issue. What could have made the story better?
this is very touching since we really do not know when Jesus is coming back and i think a lot of younger people and some older people are not ready i think they are blind to see that Jesus did die for us and that if we have accepted him we can go to heaven when he comes back and i know i am not ready because i am not close to God like i should. the story could have a little more depth about why the person felt there kids should be ready for the day Jesus comes back but other then that i like it
This was a very moving story. It had a lot of meaning behind it, also. You never really know when your last day or anyone else’s last day on earth is going to be and you need to hold people close to your heart. This story is something teenagers need to read because it teaches you a lesson. That lesson being to stay as close to God as you can and do not stray away. Why? Because you need him in your life, and you don’t want to be the one who gets left behind.
This story was very interesting! At first I was like this is entirely too long , but I actually got a lesson out of it. No man knows the date or the time, that is exactly why it is important that we are ready today!
I wanted this story to continue. It was very interesting from the beginning to the end. I felt so bad for the kids but you never know when that day will come so we should always be prepared. I would of liked to know what happened to Jess and Justin at the end. Did they ever find each other and what happened to the rest of the people that were left behind? I really enjoyed this story.
i truly enjoyed this peace of writing it is no doubt a true eye opener and really makes you ponder the choices we make and how they will affect us in the long run. you can’t blame anybody else for what you’ve done in this life as jess blamed justin for not making to haven she didn’t have to follow him down to the lake she chose to make that choice.
When I started reading this I was expecting a fairy tale ending with a moral. That was not the case obviously (well, I can see the lesson to be learned. It was a little too late for Jess and Justin though). Although it was a lot more serious than I expected, I found a little bit of humor in it. When I was younger, my family attended church every week and were heavily involved. I grew up hearing quite a bit about the rapture and, at my young age, it was a scary thought. But to get to the point, my mother smoked cigarettes outside and one day, after I got out of the shower, I went looking for my mom. I called her name out around the house, opened the front door, looked on the back porch, went back through the house… where is she?? I thought to myself that she was at a neighbors house, so I went over there. Nope. So now I start freaking out. THE RAPTURE CAME AND TOOK MY MOM AND NOW I’M LEFT HERE ALONE AND… I was a mess. So I went to my back yard and cried and cried and cried and…all of a sudden, here is mom, cleaning out the storage building. If I learned anything that day, it is to be grateful for your parents because, just like Jess and Justin realized too late, they can be gone at any time. Needless to say, after reading where Jess and Justin wondered why the phone was left ringing I saw where the story was going; it could only play out one of two ways: a cruel joke on Jess and Justin or the rapture really did happen.
I have never really tried reading through a screenplay so I didn’t really know what to expect but its actually my favorite of your stories I have read. You definitely used the element of surprise well. I couldn’t make an assumption about the story at all even know the first part of the story where the reverend was preaching clearly foreshadowed what would happen later in the story it was still subtle enough to keep you guessing. Everything I read was a surprise to me and it gave me the urge to keep reading. The story also got really exciting once they started to come down stairs looking for their parents. The build up was suspenseful and made you unsure of what had happened even know it was clear something wasn’t right.
Once they realized their parents were gone and they had missed the rapture it felt like it turned into a different story completely with a much more serious setting. The way you ended the story with suspense left me with a feeling that there was more to it and I wasn’t at the end but I also feel like you were setting up for a sequel to the story. Whatever your intentions it was a great story.
You should really write a second part to this I really liked it.
This story everybody leaves is a nice story and it reminds me of myself in the past when I was younger but not being a bad person, more so not paying attention in church fooling around not listening to my preacher because I was ready to go. As I’ve gotten older I realize that reading my bible and going to church when I can is really helpful in life. Reading this story basically has the two children scared because they were fooling around in church then later missed church drinking etc..but realized that Rapture had came and they remained one earth to live in hell. They tried to rush to the church for forgiveness but it was too late.
The story depicts faith in God and the downfall of many. There are a lot of skeptics in the world. They do not believe in what they cannot see. This causes them to have freedom to throw caution to the wind. As morals get lost in the wants of many, so does the good nature helping hand mindset. I feel the story could have ended with one or two more comments from Jess and Justin to each other after they reached the alter. If Justin did get there or not.
I really expected something totally different reading this. But when they it said their parents were gone and their clothes were left it was a bit of a shock. It showed them that they really didn’t know when Jesus was coming back and sadly for them it was now. This story showed how they didn’t have faith but their parents did so they were taken and now the kids had to get to the altar and hope that they could still be heard. Out of the stories i have read this one is probably the one i’ve found most interesting.
This was very suspencefull. I couldnt wait until the end to see what had happened. I believe there was a bit of foreshadowing here, given the title you already have a feeling that everyone in the story would either die or somebody would be left alone. It stats in a church where the rev was preaching about the day the Lord would come which lead me to think it would happen sometime in the story. I enjoyed this as well.
When i began reading this, I thought it was going to be like a fairy tale with a happy ending. The overall story was very suspenseful and kept me hooked all the way till the end. From the title, I could tell that the moral of the story was either everyone would die or be left out. Due to that, I did pick up a little bit of foreshadowing. Other that that, a great story!
This one was a little difficult for me to fallow. I was eerie no doubt. I guess it was because it was unclear to me what the religious factor was. Is this a cult? Is this supposed to be the rapture? What’s the moral? Maybe I’m just missing it all together. I did really like the flash back to when they were kids singing the ABCs that was creepy in a good way. Altogether I wasn’t really sure what was going on but maybe that was the point?