I awoke with dust and grit in my mouth. I tried to lift my head but it seemed as though it was filled with hot liquid; my vision whirled and I slumped it back onto the ground. 

 'Shit', I thought slowly. 'Where am I?' 

A series of bright images flashed through my head: handlebars in front of my face, the sharp glint of a black Mercedes, and the squeal of rubber, friction and pavement. Then I was flying and everything was a whirlwind of hyperactive color and sound.  I was in an accident…but I think I’m alive. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my back, 'Paramedic', my clouded mind explained to me. The hands were reassuring and gentle. They firmly leaned me up into sitting position and for a brief moment I thought I would be sick. As my vision flickered and focused I found I was looking between my knees at the floor. 

 There was blood splattered on my jeans and something else, little chunks of pinkish grey stewing in the scarlet of blood. For an electrifying moment I thought it might be brain matter and my hands frantically reached for my head. The skin I found was unscathed, my hair clean except for some places of matted sticky stuff. I looked up at the paramedic but instead found myself struck to the center of my body with fear and awe. Standing above me was a being like nothing I had ever seen, luminescent and bright, it was as though I was looking into a noonday sun. It was so bright that I could find no defining body feature or indications of clothing or anatomy, yet I instinctively knew it was humanoid. I found myself looking indirectly at it, keeping the being in the corner of my vision. 

 GET UP

 The voice was like thunder and an orchestra and a waterfall all at once. I couldn’t tell if it was spoken out loud or in my head, but it physically affected me both ways. I unconsciously found myself standing. Something was beginning to dawn on me as I saw many other shining beings standing around me, something that was confirmed by the mountainous-landslide–cosmic voice that made my teeth hurt and my muscles tense. 

 YOU ARE DEAD. NOW YOU MUST FIGHT FOR ME.

 I didn’t know who or what was addressing me, but there was a pulsing in the room that seemed to throb with the voice. Everything was so vivid and white, I felt dirty and insignificant. A sickening bolt of realization went through me when I looked at the blood and organs splattered on my jeans…It WAS brain matter. It took me a moment to soak in that horrifying fact. When I could, I spoke out loud and I was ashamed of how weak my voice sounded in comparison. 

 “How did I die? Where am I?”

 YOU ARE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD. HOW YOU DIED IS IRRELAVANT. EARTHLY MATTERS NO LONGER CONCERN YOU. YOU ARE MY CHILD AND NOW, MY SOLDIER AND YOU WILL FIGHT FOR ME IN THE FIERY DEPTHS OF HELL. FOR MY HONOR AND GLORY, YOU WILL LAY YOUR IMMORTAL LIFE DOWN FOR MY CAUSE. YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN TO END THE REIGN OF LUCIFER, THE FATHER OF LIES. 

 I felt dizzy and almost fell over before one of the shining beings stepped forward and held me up. Another moved towards me, carrying a long shaft of light. He held it towards me and my shaking hands reach towards it. The light felt smooth and cooler than I would expect. It solidified into a glinting sword made of incredibly light metal with an iridescent quality I had never seen before. The hilt was inlaid with precious stones that changed color. I lifted it up and felt a lump form in my throat. I was so overwhelmed I couldn’t form words to protest or inquire. The voice spoke again.

 THIS IS HOW YOU ATTAIN A PLACE IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. FIGHT VALLAINTLY AND WHEN YOUR TURN IS DONE YOU WILL HAVE A PLACE NEAR MY THRONE. FAIL, AND YOUR SPIRIT WILL VANISH INTO NOTHING AND I WILL DENY IT A PLACE IN MY COURT.

I felt a panic rise up in my chest. I was not a fighter. I didn’t want to fight in a war. I wanted to go home; to my boyfriend and little apartment on Clark Lane and my pet tabby cat. I finally felt a bubble of speech form in my throat.

 “Wait, I don’t understand! I don’t know how to fight! I don’t care about living in heaven! I just want to live on earth.” My voice ended in such a pathetic screech that I let it die so that the last sentence only reached my ears, though I had a feeling the beings could hear me, even if I spoke the words in my head.

 I DO NOT HAVE THE PATIENCE TO ANSWER YOUR PETTY QUESTIONS NOW. A COMMANDING OFFICER BELOW WILL INFORM YOU OF YOUR DUTIES AND TRAIN YOU. FOR YOUR SAKE, LEARN TO FIGHT, LEARN TO SURVIVE. THE DEMONS OF HELLS ARE VISCIOIUS AND RELENTLESS. THEY WILL NOT HAVE MERCY. THEY WILL USE LIES AND DECIET TO CONVINCE YOU TO LAY YOUR WEAPON DOWN. DO NOT LISTEN TO THEM. NOW GO.

 And in a single twist I felt my whole being jerked backwards. The light sucked away from me as though pulled through a long tunnel and the air in my chest was ripped away. Blackness edged my eyes as I fell backwards. The last thing I felt before I lost consciousness was the steely cold handle of the sword digging into my palm and a burning in my throat. I realized I was screaming.