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closed, I slipped off my shoes and changed out of my suit and into a t-shirt and shorts.  I was so exhausted I could hardly see straight.  I jotted down some notes about the Bishop so I wouldn’t forget them later.  My head hit the pillow and I closed my eyes.  I hoped to fall right asleep, but my brain wouldn’t shut off.  Thoughts about the Bishop, David Davidson, my place in God’s plan, the Bishop’s plans, whatever they were, they would have to wait until later.  Sleep finally took me before any other thoughts could take hold.
     

 
    Chapter 9
     
    When I sat up I was sitting in a church, but it wasn’t my church.  My mother was sitting in the pew next to me.  Looking down at myself, I saw that I was just a boy, about twelve years old.  The preacher was up front, preaching about sin and judgment.  He told us that God knows all of our sins, no matter what we thought we got away with; God sees and knows all.  We can fool people, but we can never fool God.  He went on to tell us how the punishment for this sin is death.  Not just physical death, either.  Your body might die, but then there is spiritual death, more commonly known as Hell.  Hell is a place of eternal suffering and torment, no relief, no breaks and no escape.
    I got up during the service and walked outside.  There was a little boy lying on the ground.  He was covered in blood; most of it around his face and neck.  The boy was my little brother Tommy, but Tommy had died when I was little.  Standing over him was a large Rottweiler that growled and glared at Tommy.  The dog had blood dripping from its mouth; it had just killed my brother and now it was looking at me.  It began to circle me, growling as the hair on its back stood on end. 
    I stood completely still.  I should have ran away screaming as fast as I could, but for some reason I just stayed there, moving only my eyes, watching the creature circling me.  Its growl turned into a guttural rumble as it stared me down.  I realized there was something in my hand. I looked down and saw I was holding a sword.  Was that there a minute ago? I couldn’t remember.  The sword was long and had a double-sided blade.  It was something a knight would have used in battle. 
    Behind the dog was another creature, this one much larger.  The thing stood at least ten feet tall.  A large set of wings appeared from behind it. They were leathery white and stretched out twenty feet or more.  The entire thing was surrounded by bright light.  There was a sword in its hand, too, much larger than mine.  The sword was almost as long as I was tall.  I knew the creature had to be an angel.  It nodded to me as the dog circled. 
    The dog stopped circling and faced me.  It bore its bloody teeth in a wicked snarl and stared me down.. I gripped the sword and held it up, making eye contact with the dog as I did so.  Before I knew what to do, it jumped at me.
    I shot awake in my bed, covered in sweat.  I looked around my room making sure I was my usual self again.  My phone said it was two in the morning when I checked it.  I’d been asleep for several hours, but not sure I could sleep again after that dream.  My brother Tommy had really been killed by a neighbor’s Rottweiler.  I was only twelve at the time, but it was still fresh in my mind. 
    The neighbors kept the dog tied up outside all day and night.  One day after school it had gotten loose.  I think it finally got tired of being ignored and just chewed its way through the rope.  Tommy was only nine and was outside playing at the time.  When he saw the dog, he started to run which only triggered the thing to attack.  It caught up to him easily and pounced on him, going right for his throat.  He was dead before he knew what hit him. 
    It was state law at the time to put down any dog that seriously harmed or killed a person.  The local police couldn’t find the dog, however.  It ran off into a field near our house, probably