i dreamt of heaven

now the devil wont leave me alone

the bandito camp had just been raided, like it is every last sunday of the month, though this time they were more prepared. not nearly as much destruction was done to the camp as the first time, they knew how to handle it now.

josh was old enough to assist his father in caring for the people now, and many people saw and respected him as such. he could give orders, input on important decisions such as when to raid the bishops, and could even lead said raids. now was one of those times where josh had to step up as that leader his people needed.

the people were scattered trying to salvage what had been destroyed, such as some of the wood supply and harvest.

"be sure we have no one left near the perimeter, we need them all accounted for. we'll partake in roll call once we are sure everyone is here." josh spoke as he walked around the camp, yellow bandanna tied around his neck.

he would point in different directions when asked "how can i help?", and looked around for anyone in need.

he approached two of the banditos tending to a wound, and bent down to their level. "hey guys, good work out there today. uhm, have any of you seen tyler lately?"

they both shook their heads no.

josh bit his cheek for a second. "ok, thank you."

he then stood up, and scanned the area. 'he couldn't be that far, right? i saw him while fighting them off. where could he be?'

panic began to settle in as he approached more people asking that same question, "have you seen tyler?", only to be met with a sympathetic "no".

he was standing in the middle of the camp, the others hustling and bustling around, transporting what could be saved to one pile, and what would need to be thrown out into another, when he saw him.

he was standing still, back facing him, staring off at something. but what? too many people were in the way for josh to see clearly. when one of the members crouched down to pick up a basket, thats when he saw it, the vibrant cherry red fabric hanging limp over the bishop's frame. and it was moving towards tyler.

"tyler! tyler, no!" josh shouted as he began to run in his direction, pushing aside banditos as he ran along. "tyler, stop! look away! stop!"

the banditos looked at josh with confusion. "josh, what's the matter?", "josh, is something wrong?", "excuse me, where are you going?", were all comments as he ran past.

"move! he's in danger!" he screamed back to them in response.

he could almost reach out and touch tyler's shoulder, when he had suddenly ran into something soft yet strong. the impact had caused him to step back a moment, and he held his head.

"im so sorry, but excuse me, please, i need to get through!" he said, attempting to push past whoever he had ran into.

a cold hand was placed onto his chest, not allowing to run any further.

"and just where do you think you're going?" a deep voice spoke.

josh looked up to see a faceless figure holding him in place as the other had finally reached tyler. the figure out stretched his arms, hands gravitating towards tyler's neck.

"tyler!" josh's voice became strained. "tyler, please! no, please!"

"tyler!" josh shouted as he sat up in a panic, his body covered in a cold sweat, and his heart beating as though it would fall out of his chest if he wasn't careful enough.