“Well, this is it. That’s everything.”, thought John as he ascended last few steps before the Final Corridor. He thought about how he had been being prepared almost since birth for this: His Final Destination.

They trained him in one skill, then another, and another, and another. Sometimes he felt like a robot during those early years, being crammed with so much data that he though he would explode, yet unable to resist, complying with the programming with which he had been imbued.

Then, after his skill training, hustling and bustling through the great maze. Pushing past his peers, hurrying to get there. None of them knew where there were going, except that it was supposed to be the Final Corridor: his culmination, the apex, his finest hour where all of the training and work would pay off. And now here he was, ascending the final few steps to that great, last, feat.

He stopped. It was ok, the rest were still far, far behind. He could afford to rest for a second. He looked around at the Corridor, the place, the final. As far a corridors went, it was pretty long, but as a Corridor, it seemed rather humble. He looked down towards the glowing red light at the other end. “It will take me only 10 minutes at most to walk down this whole thing…”, he remarked to himself.

What was so important about this place, and why did he have to jump through so many hoops to get here? If everybody want him to get here so badly, why couldn’t they just give him a map or something? No matter, he was here now. “Might as well finish what I’m supposed to do.”

As he stepped into the Corridor, the eerie red light from the other end cast strange, flickering shadows on the walls. His muscles tensed as he continued walking towards the glow. “Something’s not right”, he thought. It was more visceral than thought though. It was just something that he know. “Something’s not right!” He quickened his pace.

The shadows became more disturbing. “Something’s not right!!” He broke into a quick jog. Sweat dripped from his brow and blurred his vision. The shadows were terrifying. He could see the glow ahead, stronger, louder. He ran faster. If he could just make it to the glow…

And then he was there. Standing on the precipice. A sign floating in front of him read “ENTER JOHN. YOU ARE FINISHED NOW.” Taking a look around he stepped calmly into the glow.

As his ashes floated upward on the draft, the kings and nobles settled down into their beds. The furnace was running again and they could sleep, for now it was warm.