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

the edges of my vision, dark tendrils snaking across the ground. I try to warn Ava, but my voice won't work.

behind her.

her, dragging her away as she kicks and

a plane, 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.

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

more horrific than the last. Ava, drowning in a sea of blood. Ava, burning alive. Ava, torn

55000

And always, I'm helpless to save

watch as she suffers.

escape. I can't wake up.

finally, mercifully, I do

in my cell, shivering and drenched in sweat. My throat feels raw, my limbs heavy and weak. Marisol kneels beside me. holding a bowl of that

but I force

torment.

has the Master fed from you?" she asks, her voice

the question. "Just once," I rasp out, wincing at the

shakes her head. "The withdrawal shouldn't be this strong, not for a single feeding." There's something in her tone, an undercurrent of emotion I can't

you

must favor y greatly, for a single taste to

The idea that this monster might

]]

lase mast but no words

weten, my mind dealle

with Mariel's odd behavior.

aut all I want

ere will die

mure endle

doesn't wees to care about

to me agan her hate prodding at my

detach that

my ankles. It's only when she peers down at my shoulder

out, my voice rough

at me with a strange intensity. "Only once," she repeats, as if tasting the words. "But the withdrawal... it's so strong. He must have

that. The memory of his fangs sinking, the agonizing pain, and the sickening

return.

trying to push the sensation

crossing her arms and resting her check on them as she stares at me. There's something wistful in her expression, a longing that I can't quite

Fevers and

For