She woke up and found herself in the field, quite a distance from the house. Not sure how she got there she sat up and did a quick inventory for injuries, she couldn’t find a single scratch. As she wondered how she got there the memory started coming back, first slowly then rushing in, as if she were reliving it all over again.

She had finished her chores and was taking a walk when movement and a flash of light from within the field caught her eye. Curious, she gingerly made her way through the tall grass, following the brief snatches of movement she saw, then it was like she was somewhere else, as if with one step she jumped into a whole new world. She stood in the middle of a large circular room and there were people, at least she assumed they were people, she could only see their outline filled with bright light. They were surrounding her, but she didn’t feel scared. As she struggled to make out who or what these beings are one spoke with an authority that left little doubt that he was in charge.

“ You are Kassandra Kennedy Taylor ?” It was more of a statement than a question yet Kassandra nodded.

“ You have been brought here for a brief time to determine if you will choose to fulfill your destiny. Tell me Kassandra are you saved? Do you KNOW God?”

Again she nodded. She’d been saved when she was ten. She’d known of God long before that, attending church since she was a child, but her relationship with God started seven years ago.

“Kassandra, I wish you to speak. Tell us, what was the gift that God gave you?”

Her mind spun, gift, what gift? God doesn’t just hand out presents, so she said the only gift she had ever been taught of “Salvation”.

A laugh boomed from the entity, “ Yes but what is YOUR gift Kassandra?” seeing that the girl was confused and clearly had not been trained for this the entity explained. “ God gives each of us gifts to fulfill his purpose. In Corinthians he tells us that there are any gifts, prophecy, discernment, preaching, teaching, healing, speaking in tongues, which did you receive from the Holy Spirit?”

Still confused Kassandra shrugged and the entity continued. She had heard very little of the Holy Spirit and everything that she had been told was about things that had happened during and just after Jesus’s time.

“ Never mind you will find your gift when it is time. We are angels and you’ve been brought here to determine if you will choose to fulfill your destiny and work for God, are you his servant, will you do as he asks?”

Kassandra nods without question, she was raised to follow God and believe that his ways are higher than humans, this stuff about gifts is new to her though.

“Good now child, listen closely we haven’t much time. There is a world you’ve not seen, you’ve not been taught about, a world full of spiritual beings, some helping, some destroying. At all times, in this world, a battle for souls is raging and although we know God wins, we attempt to prevent as many from finding hell as possible. At times God uses humans, such as yourself, to help others to see the way. Soon you will wake and you must remember that God will reveal your gift to you when it is time. By the end of next week a young boy will be dead and you can help to prevent this. I understand this is all new and likely confusing, you must try and trust, not us, but God. Here is a list of places you will find yourself this week, use this list not to tell you where to go but as proof for yourself that this is real. You will question if this happened, it is in your nature. At the end of next week you should know what your gift is and you will be brought back here to understand further. Do not try to make things happen but pay close attention to any leadings God gives you and follow them, if you feel you should do something then do it, without question, lives depend on it.” The angel pressed the paper into Kassandra’s hand just as she was waking up.

Kassandra jumped up and ran home as soon as she remembered the dream. She ran straight up the stairs to her bedroom and flung herself on the bed. As she lay there she rationalized, she’d never heard of gifts or of humans working for God, well except for preachers. She wondered why she had such a strange dream. She heard her mother yelling outside and got up to go to her, knowing something must be wrong because she had finished all of her chores. Kassandra had almost convinced herself it was simply a dream that is until she got up and noticed that paper she clutched tightly in her hand.

Kassandra shoved the paper into her bedside drawer and ran outside to help her mother. Since her father had died things had been rough for Kassandra and her mother. Kassandra had been pulled out of school and taken her GED a few months ago when she turned sixteen so that she could help on the farm, as it was their only means of survival. The farm was all that they had left of her father, he loved the farm and Kassandra and her mother would do anything to be able to keep it. They owned a four acre property with an old farm house and two barns. It wasn’t a fortune but it was enough to raise their crops and livestock. Her father had bought the farm as a gift for her mother when she became pregnant. He has quit his high demanding job and began farming to stay home with his family. Kassandra and her mother lived a life that was very modest, yet they counted their blessings each day. While most teenagers were looking forward to their prom Kassandra was getting up at dawn to farm, selling fresh produce at the local farmers market and praying daily that they will be able to pay all of the months bills and be able to keep the farm. The bank was constantly threatening her mother that if she missed one more payment they would reposes the farm and that would mean that everything Kassandra’s father had worked for would be lost. They would have nowhere to go then. Her mother’s family abandoned them long ago; they could never forgive her father for leaving such a lucrative position to become a poor farmer. Kassandra missed her friends and missed being a typical teenager but she loved the farm as much as her father and would fight to keep it, no matter what. For a while her friends came by and visited but because they lived so far from town her friends parents got tired of driving very quickly and her friends started complaining that Kassandra never had time for them with all her chores. She wasn’t able to just sit around and gossip like they did, she had to tend to the animals and the crops otherwise there wouldn’t be enough money or food for her mother and her.

Kassandra ran outside and heard her mother calling her from the barn. As she went in she saw her mother kneeling beside there only pregnant cow, Bessie.

“Kass, can you run down to Doctor Adams and tell him we need an antibiotic shot quickly. Bessie has a fever and is lethargic. We can’t afford to lose another cow especially not a pregnant one”. Her Mother’s voice betrayed her face, every word dripping with her fear of losing the cow and how much that would cost. Kassandra grabbed the keys to the old Ford, her dads old truck, and jiggled the key until the piece of junk started. She eased the truck as fast as she dared, knowing if she went to fast the transmission would start to slip again, the two miles to Doctor Adams house. Kassandra fully expected that Doctor Adams would follow her back, administer the shot and it would be a routine afternoon.

Kassandra pulled into Doctor Adams driveway, stopped the truck and jogged to the door. She noticed that a lot of vehicles were there but she was so distracted by the thought of losing the cow and calf she didn’t pay much attention. Although this wasn’t an emergency she knew Doctor Adams wouldn’t care, he knew how much losing this cow would set them back and he was always glad to help. Her father and doctor Adams were very close friends and since her father’s death doctor Adams had taken on a sort of protectors role over her.

Kassandra’s knock was answered by Cole, the boy that lived with Doctor Adams and helped him with his veterinarian practice. No one in town really knew Cole or where he came from, just that one day he was living with Doctor Adams and working in his practice. Cole was eighteen and most all the girls followed him around town for the first few months. His dark black hair and piercing green eyes were mesmerizing and his body, hardened by physical work left little to de desired. Cole never spoke to girls though; in fact he rarely spoke to anyone if it wasn’t necessary. Cole was a mystery that no girl in this town had ever solved and most had quit trying due to constant rejection. Cole barley cracked the door an inch, making it clear Kassandra wasn’t walking right in.

“I need to see Doctor Adams; we have a sick, pregnant cow and need an antibiotic shot tonight please”. If they didn’t get the shot tonight Bessie would likely lose the baby.

“I’m sorry, I know you need it but you can’t see him right now, I’ll try to bring a shot in the morning”. Cole’s eyes were cast to the floor and although he had always been shy and aloof, something seemed different to Kass.

A raspy voice called out telling Cole to let Kassandra in. She walked in not knowing what to expect. What she found was Doctor Adams lying in his bed with two men standing next to him. She didn’t know one of the men but everyone in town knew Pastor Joe. There were I.V. lines and monitors on Doctors Adams and Kassandra felt an odd sensation in her stomach. Probably just shock at seeing doctor Adam sick she thought.

“Are you sick Doctor Adams?” Kassandra asked, not really wanting to know. Doctor Adams introduced the two men as his doctor and his pastor and before they could explain anything Kassandra felt the overwhelming need to pray. She almost didn’t say anything but she thought about her dream, about the paper. She hadn’t had time to think about it but decided to just do what she felt she needed to do and see how it played out. In a small voice she asked if she could pray for Doctor Adams. Pastor Joe smiled as he took Kassandra’s hand and led her to the bed where the doctor lay. Pastor Joe began to pray and before she thought Kassandra spoke “I’d like to pray by myself please.” This time her voice was stronger even though it surprised her what she said. The town was very religious but also very traditional. Kids and women did not pray out loud, in honesty, most people didn’t lead prayer except for pastor Joe. There was only one church in the town and as small town’s often do, they held strong to their traditions and didn’t hesitate to correct anyone they thought was out of line. Kassandra knew by Pastor Joe’s face that she had crossed a line, broken an unwritten rule, one she had never seen broken before. She didn’t know what to expect but realized she was so worried about the doctor that she didn’t really care.

Pastor Joe looked at Kassandra incredulously and began to reprimand her. Although his reprimands were usually gentle and well meant he was a man with unwavering authority, if he was upset with anyone than it was likely that the whole town would be upset as well.Again the raspy voice of Doctor Adams spoke “leave her be, she’s like a daughter to me and if she wants to pray alone, let her. It can’t hurt anything; we all know what my end will be”. Doctor Adams struggled to speak, as if he couldn’t get enough breath to push the words out. As Kassandra looked at him she noticed the change in his appearance. His once rosy cheeks were pale and sunken in; his lips were dry and looked like they had been bleeding, and worst of all the mischievous sparkle his eyes always held was replaced with something else , sadness, almost as if he had given up. Kassandra felt the stirring in her stomach again but again thought it was nerves. She took one of doctor Adams hands, being careful to avoid the I.V. and laid her other hand on his stomach. She missed the look that passed between the three men as she laid her hand on his stomach. She had already closed her eyes and began to pray. She always had been taught to pray silently so she did not disturb others but without her realizing it her voice, although soft, held a power that none in the room had ever heard from her. Her small frame shook as she spoke and all in the room were shocked at the words she prayed. Kassandra spoke with authority. She spoke of gods promises, of Jesus’s stripes that were taken to heal our infirmaries. She spoke of grace and of rebuking demons of sickness. Kassandra plead with god for Doctor Adams to be healed, she even stated that she was claiming his healing in the name of Christ. These were words that were not familiar to the men and they were taken aback. Kassandra opened her eyes slowly, she remembered none of what she had prayed in her mind and couldn’t fathom why all the men were looking at her oddly. As Pastor Joe took her arm, pulling her away with more force than before and began to question her, Doctor Adams doubled over in the bed with an intense coughing spell. The doctor rushed to his side and began to deliver harsh back blows, his eyes darted around the room like he didn’t know what else to do. Pastor Joe pushed Kassandra behind him and whispered that he would deal with her later. Kassandra was afraid for Doctor Adams but unsure of what dealings Pastor Joe had with her. Doctor Adams began to vomit and his face grew blue until his doctor realized he was choking. The doctor delivered several sharp back blows and Kassandra closed her eyes and flinched with each one. Shortly she heard the sound of something soft and wet hitting the ground, and then someone screaming. Kassandra was afraid to open her eyes, afraid, Doctor Adams was hurt. She slowly forced her eyes open and found the Doctor sitting straight up in bed. His cheeks were gaining color by the minute and his eyes were beginning to gleam.

The doctor was gathering something about the size of a grapefruit into a red bag, “I’ll take this for a biopsy, we will know for sure then”. Doctor Adams laughed a full belly laugh and told the doctor he knew for sure now. Doctor Adams continued to talk, not once getting short of breath as before and told Kassandra that he had been diagnosed with tumor in his stomach. The tumor had grown big enough that it was blocking his digestive system and affecting his breathing. The doctor was there to make him comfortable and Pastor Joe was there because they thought that tonight would be his last night to live. The kind doctor took Kassandra’s hand and thanked her for praying, he told her how he knew he had been healed and that he felt better than he did in months.

Pastor Joe had backed into a corner, not knowing what to think. He knew that it wasn’t Kassandra’s prayer that helped heal the doctor. In fact he thought they were all getting excited for nothing, the old man had cancer and would surely die. Healings happened but not in these times, healings were in olden times with the apostle’s. The doctor called Cole in and told him to prepare an antibiotic shot for Kassandra to take home and that she knew all too well how to administer it herself. Then he laughed and told her he thank you and to head home. Cole gave her the shot not once meeting her eyes. He made a great effort to be sure that he didn’t touch her when he handed her the shot. She wasn’t sure where Cole had been when Doctor Adams got better but she thought he must not have been around because even though all of them were acting odd his behavior hadn’t changed.

Kassandra climbed into her daddy’s truck and backed out, her head spinning with information and more confused than ever.

Cole stayed to himself in the living room and listened to the doctor and the pastor talk to the man who cared enough to take him in. Cole was relieved that Doctor Adams seemed to be feeling better but he was very confused as to what had happened exactly. The whole time Kassandra had been inside the room with the three men he had held back, staying in the living room and trying to conceal himself in the shadows. Cole was used to being invisible; he had been his whole life. His family was nonexistent, at least he wished that they were. Cole had never known his mother because she had died while giving birth to him and it had seemed that the rest of his family had never forgiven him. Cole sat and listened, the doctor was ecstatic but baffled. He kept talking loudly about how this was a medical miracle, how no one could ever vomited a tumor up. The doctor moved quickly gathering the tumor in his biohazard bag and preparing to rush back to his hospital so that the medical researcher could examine the mass and determine if it was indeed a tumor. Doctor Adams was exuberant, talking excessively about how God had saved him and how he had never felt better. Pastor Joe though seemed less than thrilled for whatever reason. Cole couldn’t figure it out; he didn’t understand why anyone would be unhappy that Doctor Adams was better. He had noticed that Pastor Joe was not happy when Kassandra prayed alone; in fact he almost seemed to view her as a threat after that. Cole was concerned about what Pastor Joe might do given his less than thrilled response to the situation. Cole had learned be good at reading people, he had to, if you could determine someone’s motivation than you could typically be closer to protecting yourself more completely. He knew he didn’t care for the town’s beloved pastor when he first met him and he liked him even less after their little meeting. Cole remembered the day that the doctor had taken him to see the pastor. Doctor Adams believed that Cole needed God and that even though he wouldn’t talk about his past, he felt that Cole needed to talk about it; he had even said he was worried Cole was depressed. Cole walked into the meeting, thinking the doctor would stay with him but instead he watched as the pastor ushered him out the door. Pastor Joe asked a barrage of questions, most of which Cole was able to answer with one or two words. Cole offered no personal information and said that he simply had left his family because he had wanted a change. Pastor Joe claimed he was concerned for the aging doctor’s safety and pressed Cole to explain why he wasn’t with his family. He even insinuated that Cole must have done something wrong to have been pushed away by them and threatened to have a background check ran if by a police friend of his. Cole remembered how hard it was to hold his temper and opted instead to simply tell the pastor he didn’t feel that his God had done him any favors and that he would be at church but it would be only because of the doctor. Ever the optimist Doctor Adams was smiling as Cole walked out and was more than happy to believe him when he told the doctor everything had went fine. He was thankful that Doctor Adams was better; he knew that the doctor was truly a good man. The doctor had treated him better than his own family had. For an older man living alone and so far out in the country and isolated, the doctor had taken a risk taking him in when he had shown up that night. A storm was raging that night and Cole had been walking for hours. He was bloodied, beaten, drenched and knew he had looked as If he had just walked away from a horrendous murder scene. Yet the doctor ran to him as soon as he saw him, ushered him inside, sat him in front of the fire and took care of him. For a young boy who had been thrown away being taken care of was different. Cole had thought it was just for that night but it turned out to be so much more. He had begun helping the doctor with his veterinary practice, doing chores around his home and even eating dinner with the kind man. Cole had never eaten dinner with someone before, in fact, Cole couldn’t remember ever eating at a table. Cole had grown close to the doctor; no matter how determined he had been to keep his distance. Cole had learned at a young age that if you keep people from getting lose they can’t hurt you as bad, he had sworn to never care about anyone again, even if that meant not having friends and being alone all the time. The older man had slowly chipped away at Cole’s hardened exterior until Cole realized that he saw him as a father. They didn’t talk a lot and the doctor never pressed Cole about his past, it was enough for Cole to know he could talk if he chose to. The only time Cole could ever remember disagreeing with the doctor was over religion. Cole remembered the doctor’s only stipulation in Cole being there was that he attend church with him each Sunday. Sometimes Cole could get out of it if an animal needed watching but most times he had to go. Cole didn’t have much use for religion but he noticed this town held it close, like a security blanket. During his first week he shuddered every time he would hear someone on the streets talk about being a good Christian, or how they needed to save some money to tithe. Cole had come from a much bigger city and had never heard so many people talk about religion so frequently; here it was as if it were the town’s law. He had little use for their religion, he had never believed in such fairy tales. His stomach recoiled at all the times he had seen “Christians” commit appalling acts, cussing, cheating, abuse, but on Sunday they appeared so perfect. Cole believed that one made their own destiny, carved their own path in the world and most of the time got what they deserved. He had no reason to believe in a God. What kind of God would rip a child’s mother away before the child’s first breath? What God would tear a child’s mind apart with what had happened to his father? What kind of God would allow a child to be beaten and abandoned? No Cole had relied on himself for too long now. He didn’t need this town’s God but he would play their game of religion. Around here if you didn’t than you would eventually be ran out. Even he had learned that .Shaking himself awake from his thoughts Cole decided to keep an eye on Pastor Joe, he didn’t have much faith in any man, more especially one who said he was a man of God.