Indebted Deliverance
Marcia Lynn McClure

His eyes stayed closed, but he wore a painful grimace on his face. Perspiration beaded on his forehead and traveled downward, streaking his temples.
Chalyce knelt before him, looking up into the face contorted with anguish. “ Race?" she said again, louder this time. His shirt hung open and she could see that every muscle revealed there was tensed. His legs were tensed as well, pushing his body back fiercely against the chair. He was obviously enduring some very intense nightmare.“Race," she repeated, putting her hand gently on one of his legs.He gasped as his eyes burst open, releasing several tears that slowly traveled down his cheeks as he blinked to clear his vision
"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice quaking with emotion.
"You were dreaming." Chalyce watched in wonder as his hands, trembling violently, went to his face. He rubbed his face, wiping at the moisture caused from the perspiration as well as the tears. "Are you well?" she asked, truly concerned for his well-being.
He looked at her and chuckled nervously for a moment, perplexing her. She wondered at the state of his sanity.
"Am I fine?" he repeated. "No, Chalyce...I am diseased. Diseased of mind and that condition causes a pestilence of my very being!"