Shadowy beings in a dim hallway beckoned him to follow, leading him on what felt like an endless journey into complete darkness. A growing mob attacked him viciously, tearing at his body and tormenting him psychologically. Storm describes the assault as sadistic and personal, with the creatures delighting in his suffering. Curled up and broken, he discovered that any mention of God drove the attackers away.
A desperate cry to Jesus brought a brilliant light that healed his wounds and filled him with indescribable peace. Beings of light showed him a review of his life, skipping his professional achievements to focus on moments where he failed to show compassion. They answered his questions freely, assuring him that nuclear war would never be permitted because the planet belongs to God.
Key Moments
Perforated stomach in a Paris hotel - five hours to live, no doctor: Storm describes the moment a hole tore open in his small stomach in a Paris hotel in 1985. Rushed to a surgical hospital and told the operation must happen immediately, he was instead parked in a bare room for hours while staff failed to find a surgeon - his projected life expectancy was about five hours.
Saying goodbye to his wife as he chooses to die: When a nurse tells the Storms there is no doctor and they will try again tomorrow, Howard - dying in unbearable pain - tells his wife it is time to say goodbye. They embrace, tell each other they love one another, and she watches him close his eyes hoping never to wake.
The shadow beings turn into a torturing mob: The 'people' beckoning him from the hospital corridor lead him through endless darkness, growing nasty and mocking, until he is surrounded by a crowd that punches, bites, claws, gnaws his Achilles tendon and rips at his ear - tormenting him for sport rather than killing him outright.
Jesus, please save me - the rescue from hell: Broken on the ground, Storm remembers as a child singing 'Jesus Loves Me' in Sunday school. He yells 'Jesus, please save me' into the darkness, not knowing if anything will hear. A tiny star grows into a brilliant light, hands reach out, his wounds vanish and he is lifted up in ecstatic embrace.
The life review - measured by kindness, not achievement: The beings of light show Storm scenes from his life. He sees himself withdraw emotionally after family fights, marry a woman he treats more with lust than love, and turn other people into chess pieces. The reviewers are not angry but disappointed, focused only on moments where he had been kind or compassionate.