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

I try to warn Ava, but

behind her.

reaches for Ava, engulfing her, dragging her away as she kicks and struggles.

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 screaming. The world outside the windows is a blur of

Impact.

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

horrific than the last. Ava, drowning

55000

And always, I'm helpless to save her, forced

watch as she suffers.

but I can't escape. I can't wake up.

I

limbs heavy and weak. Marisol kneels beside me. holding a

I force myself to swallow. Anything

torment.

intensity. "How often has the Master fed from

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

not for a single feeding." There's

you

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

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

]]

room, tie lase mast but no words coming

weten, my mind dealle

Mariel's

want is

ere will die

mure endle

she doesn't wees to care about my

need to me agan her hate prodding at my skin with

detach that make me

press against my neck, my wrists, my ankles. It's only when she peers down at my shoulder that I realize what she's

any I rasp out, my voice rough from

once," she repeats, as if tasting the words. "But the withdrawal...

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

return.

trying to push the

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

Fevers and

For