Tangled

166

166

166 Lisa: Fevers and Dreams

LISA

How long has it been?

A few days?

Weeks?

The sun should keep me oriented, but a fever gets me the first night I'm there.

The girl, Marisol, comes by every so often. Always with food. A few times with bowls filled with some noxious liquid that has my nostrils trying to close, avoiding the smell coming from within. She's expressionless as she shoves it down my throat, and I'm too weak to fight her off.

It's medicine, I think.

I think that because I slowly get better after the third bowl,

In between moments of lucidity, I dream.

Normal life. Home. Mom and Dad.

Working with Ava at Beaniverse.

Flirting with that cute guy who accidentally wandered into our professor's Eng Lit class instead of some sort of philosophy class

two doors down.

Cozy, happy dreams, of a place far from here..

An escape from the reality that chains me.

17:37

At some point the dreams turn from happy comfort to something uneasy and dark.

Sunshine warms my face as Ava and I relax at our favorite cafe,

sipping lattes and chatting. For a moment, the world feels right again, like I'm back where I belong

But then the shadows come

tendrils snaking across the ground. I try to

behind her.

for Ava, engulfing her, dragging her away as she kicks and struggles. I lunge for her, but my feet are rooted.

Ava beside me. She's gripping the armrests, making a joke about the turbulence. I reach for her hand to comfort her, but the plane lurches, throwing us forward. Oxygen

Impact.

rends. Flames erupt. Pain sears. Ava's hand. slips from

coming, each more horrific than the last. Ava, drowning in a sea of blood. Ava,

55000

I'm helpless

watch as she suffers.

up. The

finally, mercifully, I do wake

sweat. My throat feels raw, my limbs heavy and weak. Marisol kneels beside me. holding a bowl of that foul-smelling liquid to my lips. "Drink," she commands, tipping

but I force myself to swallow. Anything to chase

torment.

curious intensity. "How often has the

surprised by the question. "Just once," I rasp out, wincing at the pain in my

eyes widen. "Only once?" She shakes her head. "The withdrawal shouldn't be this strong, not for a single feeding." There's something in her tone,

you

face as she mutters, "He must favor y greatly, for a single taste to

respond to that. The idea that this monster might favor me fills me with nothing but a

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tie lase mast but no

weten, my mind dealle

Mariel's odd behavior.

all I want is to curl up

ere will die

mure endle

wees to care about

agan her hate

detach that make me

wrists, my ankles. It's

out, my voice rough from disuse and screaming. "He only bit

intensity. "Only once," she repeats, as if tasting the words. "But the withdrawal... it's

of his fangs sinking, the agonizing pain, and the sickening rush of pleasure that followed, makes bile rise in

return.

trying to push the sensation

expression, a longing that I can't quite comprehend. "When did you know? she asks softly, her eyes never

Fevers and

For