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

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

behind her.

The shadow reaches for Ava, engulfing her, dragging her away as she

on 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 Ava's screaming. I'm

Impact.

erupt. Pain sears. Ava's hand. slips

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

55000

monsters. And always, I'm helpless to save

watch as she suffers.

but I can't escape. I can't wake up. The horrors play out again and again,

mercifully, I

throat feels raw, my limbs heavy and weak. Marisol kneels beside me. holding a bowl of

tongue, but I force myself

torment.

intensity. "How often has the

"Just once," I rasp out,

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

you

as she mutters, "He must favor y

monster might favor me fills me with nothing but a sickening twist

]]

mast

weten, my mind dealle

with Mariel's odd

I want is to

ere will die

mure endle

doesn't wees to care about my

to me agan her hate prodding

detach that make

fingers press against my neck, my wrists, my

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

a strange intensity. "Only once," she repeats, as if tasting the

to respond to that. The memory of his fangs sinking, the agonizing pain, and the sickening rush of pleasure that followed, makes bile rise

return.

swallow hard, trying to push the sensation

girl settles back on her heels, 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 comprehend. "When did you know? she asks softly, her eyes never leaving mine. "When did you realize you

Fevers

For