Read Revelations: Book One of the Lalassu for Free Online Page B

regroup.
    Beside him, Martha shoved the heel of her uninjured hand across her eyes, angrily wiping away tears. Michael studied the little girl rampaging like a Tasmanian Devil. This wasn’t her first fit of destructive mania, which was why there were only a few pieces of cheap pressboard furniture scattered around the apartment and heavy protective plastic shields bolted to the walls. Bernie had been diagnosed as a delusional schizophrenic five years ago, at the age of six. Michael had been her therapist since then, trying to help her recognize the difference between the real world and the one full of animals and people who tried to get her to do things.
    Michael took a deep breath and made a plan. Bernie could be incredibly strong during her manic fits. She was completely unaware of her own pain or of hurting anyone else, and she threw her entire body weight behind every blow. They needed to get her calmed down long enough to take her medication.
    “I tried to hold off calling as long as I could,” Martha said. “I haven’t seen her like this in years.” She bit her lip hard enough to dent it. The skin under her eyes was gray with exhaustion, and her hands were shaking. Michael had watched her sacrifice everything—career, savings, marriage—for any chance to help her beloved daughter. But the constant stress and chaos took its toll. “I don’t want to have to take her to the hospital again.”
    Bernie quieted for a moment, her eyes flicking back and forth as she watched things invisible to everyone else.
    “You made the right choice, Martha. I told you: you can call me any time, day or night. Can you think of anything that might have upset her?” If they could understand what had triggered the incident, they would have a better chance of bringing Bernie out of it and, more importantly, avoid a repetition.
    Martha shook her head.
    “Okay. I’ll see if I can get her calmed down enough to tell us.” Taking a deep breath, Michael stepped inside.
    Bernie spun to face him, her face twisted. She launched herself at him, tiny hands curled into claws. Michael caught her and folded himself around her in a protective hold, using his wiry frame to keep her still. He’d trained in various martial arts for years and instead of using those skills to hurt, he’d found a way to use them to help heal. Bracing himself, he wrapped his wide hands around hers and opened his mind.
    Immediately he was swallowed in chaos, plunged into Bernie’s hallucinations. Shadowy people were shouting at him, but it was as if he were listening to a badly tuned television. They sounded like the teacher from Charlie Brown, distortion turning the words into random squawks. They hovered all around him, shouting as if volume alone could convey meaning.
    She struggled and screamed loudly enough to set his ears ringing but couldn’t get enough leverage to get away.
    “I’m getting the medication.” Martha said, her fingers white from gripping the doorframe.
    “Give me a minute here,” Michael grunted, adjusting his long legs to pin down Bernie’s flailing limbs. She was unbelievably strong, throwing all her weight against him. Sometimes holding her was enough to break the cycle and allow her to regain control. He didn’t want to force-feed her a sedative if they didn’t have to. Bernie’s terror was beginning to subside, despite her thrashing. Michael shifted slightly, moving from restraint to protection. He wrapped around her, placing himself between her and the shadowy hallucinations that surrounded them, clamoring for attention. She gripped him tightly, her eyes squeezed shut.
    “It’s okay. I’ve got you,” he whispered into her sweat-tangled hair as he cradled her. Through their connection, he sensed she hadn’t been indulging in random destruction. She’d been searching for something. He could sense her desperation as if it were his own. But he had to pull her away from it to break the mania and bring her back.
    “Bernie, it’s