I awoke only to find myself in a forest.  It was late, really late, and the only sounds that I could hear, were from passing raccoons, and the sound of running water down a creek-bed.  I remember nothing, where was I before this, and how did I end up here in this forest?  I felt something strapped to my back, it was long and rectangular, stretching from my right shoulder to my left hip.  I reached up and felt leather and metal, I pulled it off my back and saw that it was a sword, and an awesome one at that.  The sword was a sacred board sword with a cross-guard that resembled angel wings, and had a cross at the end of the grip.  It was truly a magnificent sword, but how did I get it?  I pulled the sword out from its scabbard, and saw writing on the blade, it said, “Through Light and Darkness, I Will Destroy All Evil.” ....

I stood up and glanced around at my surroundings.  I saw no streets, and heard no cars.  It was so quiet and peaceful, that the sound of my breathing, echoed through the trees.  Where am I?  I walked over to the creek, and saw that it was flowing left to right, I had no idea what that meant, but for some reason, something told me to follow it downstream, so I did.....

As I followed the creek, I tried to remember anything that happened before me waking up in this forest.  ....

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I do remember sitting in my apartment, eating my dinner, and watching a late night comedy. Then, just as it was ending, everything started to go dark, I thought I was going blind, but then everything came back.  I looked around and saw that someone was in my apartment, but he wasn’t human, he was an angel.  He said, “Deimos Foxx, do not be afraid, my name is Gabriel, and I am here on a special assignment from God, you must come with me.”....

I was speechless; I did nothing but stare at him, and kept on telling myself that this was not a dream and that a real angel was in my apartment, and was asking me to come with him.  All I could say was, “Where are we going?”....

“God needs your help,” he reached out his paw towards me, “please, take my paw, I will explain on the way.”  I stood up, walked over to him, and took his paw.  Suddenly, the floor fell away, and the walls and ceiling flew off into different directions into udder darkness.  Gabriel and I were floating there in the darkness, and there was no light other than the light coming off of Gabriel.  We started to descend, going down, down into the abyss.  So many questions were going through my mind, such as: why has he chosen me? And where were we descending to, and why?....

“Ah, Gabriel, why does God need my help?  I’m not that special to be chosen by God to do anything important for him.  I’m just an average guy.”....

“No your not, Deimos, you are very special, you have great inner strength, and that is why you have been blessed so many many times during your life. A couple of years ago, God chose seven people that showed certain virtues, they were: kindness, humility, patience, diligence, charity, temperance, and chastity.  Of these seven people, he blessed them many times during their lives, and saw which one would praise Him the most for those blessing, and be the most faithful towards Him.  That person would be the one who would help God with this problem He has.  Of those seven, three lost most of their virtues because of their blessings, one was killed during a bank robbery, and of the three that were left, you were the most faithful. That is why God has chosen you.”....

“What is God’s problem, and why does He need me?”....

“A few years ago, demons and all sorts of evil creatures found a way to escape from Hell to Earth.  They cannot be seen by the average person, but they can interact with the physical world and whisper into peoples ears.  These words influence people to do what they want them to do.  God needs you to vanquish this evil, and send them back to Hell.  He also would like you to find out how they are escaping from Hell.” ....

“Well, how can I help God?  There are so many people that I know of that are better, smarter, braver, and more holy than I am.  I’m just . . . . me.”....

“Do not waste your time asking yourself, ‘Why me?’  Whether you think you are qualified or not, God has chosen you, stop questioning it and accept it.  Now, as for your question about how you’re going to help Him, you are going to be given certain gifts, both from God and Satan.  Now, you know that there are nine circles to Hell, right?  And how Satan is half frozen in ice in the ninth circle?  Well, God has promised him, that if he helps you, God will set him free to roam around Hell, but if he steps out of line, he will be sent back to the ninth circle to be completely frozen.”....

“Is that where we’re headed now?  The ninth circle?”....

“Yes, now no more question, we’re here.  And don’t worry, all your questions will soon be answered.”  I looked down and saw the floor appear and rise up to my feet, and at the same time, cave walls and ceiling flew in and came together around us.  I looked around for a moment, and saw behind us in this cave, there was the only entryway, and it lead up to the eighth circle of Hell.  In front of us, I saw a frozen lake of ice, and trapped in the ice were souls who were traitors.  Some were completely frozen, and others were only frozen up to their necks.  At the end of the cave, there was this huge beast, and it had six wings and three faces.  It was Satan.  ....

We walked over to him, and saw, sitting next to him, his three-headed dog Cerberus.  “Ah, Gabriel, so nice of you to venture all the way down here just to see me,” said Satan, then his voice became more angry and fierce.  “I didn’t know you cared so much.”  His voice was low and menacing, and echoed through the cave.  ....

“Enough, Satan, you know why we’ve come.” said Gabriel.....

“Alright, fine, skip the small talk and get right down to business.  The kid’s gift, I’ll give it to him, as long as your boss keeps up his end of the bargain.”  ....

“I assure you, Satan, He will.  Unlike you, we can be trusted.”....

“Oh, Gabe, why do you have to say such hurtful things?  I just might cry about it.”  Satan chuckled, then leaned over to Cerberus and whispered into his ear.  The three-headed dog stood up, and walked over to me.  This dog was nearly ten feet tall, had a serpent for a tail, and his heads were about as big as I was.  His heads stared at me and gave a horrifying growl.  Then he turned around and looked up at his master.  Satan nodded, and the serpent drew it head back, and then struck me right on the shoulder.  I could feel the venom running through my veins, intense pain overcame me, and I hit the floor, unable to move.  The pain was so great, I could do nothing but lay there shivering, and praying that it would stop.....

Gabriel bent down and put his hand on me, and looked up at Satan and asked him angrily, “What have you done to him!?”....

“Don’t worry, Gabe, the pain will subside in a moment or two.” Satan said in a careless tone.  “Or at least I think it will.”  He laughed for several moments until the pain ended.  ....

I felt very lightheaded and weak, but was able to ask, “Why did you have him do that?”....

“I have given you a very powerful gift.”  Satan continued, “Right now, Cerberus’s venom is flowing inside of you.  It will do nothing to you as long as you are not wrathful.  When you become wrathful, you will become a powerful beast that is half fox and half Hell hound, with sharp fangs and claws, great strength and agility, and invulnerability.”  He looked up and shouted, “I have done what you have asked, now release me!” ....

All at once, the ice around him melted, and he jumped up.  He stretched for a moment, and then flew out of the cave to the other circles of Hell.  I looked up at Gabriel, and he said, “Let us leave this horrible place.  Come, God is waiting.”  And once again, the floor fell into the darkness and the walls and ceiling flew off into different directions, and we were floating there in nothingness.  ....

We began to rise through the darkness, only it started to become lighter and lighter, until there was no darkness left.  I looked around and we were floating in a beautiful sky with few clouds, with an enormous sun, that was much larger here than on Earth, but it was so comfortably warm, with a gentle breeze.  Even though the sun was larger, it wasn’t that bright out, and there was no need for sunglasses.  I looked down, because I felt something touch my feet, and it was an awesome field of thick freshly cut grass.  I laid down on the grass, and the ground was so soft, it felt like I was lying on a nice comfortable bed.  It was so relaxing and comfortable, I almost went to sleep, when Gabriel said, “Come on, Deimos, I know how great this field is, but we must get going.  Like I said, God is waiting for us.”  I quickly apologized and stood up.  We started walking over to this little hill that wasn’t too far in the distance.  Even though the ground was extremely soft when you laid down on it, when you walked on it, it was as firm as normal ground was.  I took a deep breath, and it was the cleanest I have ever had before, and each one I took was a fresh breath of air.  ....

We finally reached the top of the hill, and the ground ended, and there was a drop, down through the clouds, and down to Earth.  “Heh,” Gabriel chuckled, “don’t fall now, that’s quite a drop.”  I looked out and saw, to the right and to the left, and all around that field that we were on, even above us and below us, were buildings and other plains resting on clouds.  Angels were flying back and forth between them, waving at each other as they passed.  Some were just floating in between the clouds, having a pleasant conversation.  The angels, buildings, and other plains went on and on, as far as the eye could see, in every direction.  Not too far out, was a very large palace and Gabriel pointed at it and said, “There, that is God’s Palace, and inside is God, himself, waiting for you.  Come on, let’s go meet Him.”  I took his paw, and we jumped off the cloud and flew over to the palace.  I attracted a lot of the angels’ attentions, since I didn’t have wings and was going over to God’s Palace.  I wanted to speak to a few of them, but Gabriel said we didn’t have any time right now and had to get to God right away.  So I just waved at them as we flew to the palace.....

We landed and walked towards its enormous doors, and they opened.  As the doors opened, a long hallway appeared, and it had a very tall ceiling that was at least 20 ft up, and it was very wide, too, at least 30 ft.  We began to walk down this long hallway, and to the left and right, were doorways leading to rooms and other hallways.  We got to the end, and I looked up and saw, on his throne, was the Lord my God.....

Feeling nervous, and not wanting to offend, I quickly hit the floor and bowed to Him.  “Thank you, Deimos, for your courtesy, you may rise.”  I stood up and He gave me a small, but encouraging, smile.  “So, I bet you have many questions for me.  Well, let me explain a couple things to you, and then you may ask your questions.”  I nodded to Him nervously, I couldn’t believe that I was actually here, standing in front of the All Mighty.  “Hmm, where do I start?  Ok, a couple of years ago, I discovered that demons and all kinds of evil have been escaping from Hell.  That’s when I started searching for someone to fight that evil, and send it back to Hell.  But you and Gabriel already discussed this, haven’t you?”....

I asked, “How did you know that?” which the dumbest question you could ever ask God.....

He said, “I know all and see all, and don’t worry, it’s not the dumbest question you could have asked me.”  He laughed for a moment and then continued, “Well, since you know the situation, I will now give you your gifts.  As for your first gift, it is the gift of sight, which is to be able to see Heaven and Hell, and all that reside within them.  I actually gave you this gift right before Gabriel came to you in your apartment.”....

“Was that when all the things in my apartment turned off?” I asked.  “I felt as if I was going blind.”....

“You did go blind, you lost your old sight, and gained the gift of sight, and then you spotted Gabriel.  Truth is he was there in your apartment for about a half an hour, enjoying that television show you were watching.”  He then let out a huge joyous laugh, then sighed, and continued.  “For your second gift, I gift you this sacred sword, and with it, you will be able to injure and kill demons.  Man-made weapons cannot hurt them, so you must use this.  It also has the power to shape-shift into any weapon you desire, to a point.  Give it a try.”....

I took the sword and said, “Ax!” and it became an ax.  I then said, “Scythe!” and it became a scythe.  “Wow, this is amazing, I think it even became a scythe before I said it.”....

“It did, it goes by your thoughts, all you have to do is think of whatever you want it to be, and it will become it.”  ....

I gazed at the sword, thought of a couple of weapons it could become, and it became them.  First a giant hammer, a boa staff, a katana, and then finally back to a sword.  For some reason, I thought of my drums back at my apartment, and the sword became drumsticks.  “Well, I guess I found a way to carry it around discreetly.”....

“And now,” He said, “last but certainly not least, your final gift.  I give you magnificent angel wings, which come and go whenever you please.  With them, you will be able to reach great heights and speeds with ease, and they are also indestructible.”  I looked over my shoulder, and there huge wings, almost as big as Gabriel’s.  I moved them around a little and they felt like having an extra set of arms, and I could move them as easily as I could move my arms.  I thought of them being gone, and they instantly disappeared.  Gabriel stepped forward as God returned to his throne.....

“Deimos,” Gabriel said, “we’re going to send you back to Earth now, when you wake up, you will be in a forest that is directly under God’s palace.  Angels, when they want to be somewhere, only need to think of where they want to be, and they’re there.  Since you’re not an angel, you’ll have to fly to wherever you want to be in Heaven.  And don’t worry, the forest is only a few miles away from your apartment, just follow the nearby creek downstream and it will lead you there.”....

Then I said, “Wait, wake up? Why can’t you just take me down to Earth?  Or why can’t I just fly down myself?”....

“Well, first, I have things to do right now that need to get done, that is why I can’t take you.  As for you flying down, you have never flown before and it would better if your first time was closer to the ground than thousands and thousands of feet up.  Well, it’s time for you to go now, we will see each other again, Deimos, I’ll be checking in on you from time to time.  And if you ever need to speak with me, I am mostly here at the palace with God and the other archangels.....

I turned to God and said, “Thank you, God, for everything you’ve given me and done for me.  I will use these powers to the best of my abilities and will not misuse them.”....

“Thank you, Deimos,” He said, “and with your help, we can destroy this evil, and bring hope, peace, and happiness to the world.  Goodbye, and I will always be watching over you.”  As I waved to them, everything began to fade.....

I felt my head become lighter and dizzy.  Something was resting against my head and back, it was very hard and cold.  I turned to see what it was, and it was now pushing against my shoulder.  I turned the opposite direction, and it was resting against my back and head again.  I looked around, and it was so very dark.  I blinked a couple of times and there was a beautiful night sky, right in front of me.  I looked down, and there were trees.  I was lying in the middle of a forest late at night.  Where am I, and what was I just dreaming about?  I can’t remember.....

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          “So that’s what happened, and that’s why I’m in this forest.” I said to myself.  “It’s funny that I can remember everything so vividly, Heaven, Hell, and all the angels, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what God looked like.  I just remember a man with a light behind him so I couldn’t tell any physical features.”  I began to think of everything that had just happened.  “But if all that has happened is true, and I know it is because I got the sacred sword right here on my back, why am I walking through this forest, when I could be flying over it with my brand new angel wings?”  And as soon as I said that, my wings appeared.  I found a clearing in the forest, raised my wings, jumped, and pushed them down.  I flew into the air uncontrollably, and tried to become more stable.  I stopped and started to float in the air, high above the trees, and in the distance I could see the highway that leads to my apartment.  I began to fly forward slowly until I got the hang of it, and then took off towards the highway, and then on to my apartment.....

          As I flew over the highway, I looked down and saw only a few cars and 18 wheelers; it must have been really early in the morning.  I looked up again, and right above me, almost touching my back, was a beautiful, clear, starry night sky.  The air was cool and blowing against my face and arms.  I followed the highway to my exit, then to my street, and then right to my apartment.  ....

Once I reached my apartment I let my feet drop down to land on the patio.  When I touched down, I didn’t stop right away and ran right into the door.  I went inside, took off the sword, and laid it at my bedside.  I then got into bed, quickly fell asleep, and couldn’t wait for tomorrow.  Tomorrow, I begin my new life as protector of the innocent, and destroyer of the wicked.  I can’t wait for tomorrow.....