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

my vision, dark tendrils snaking across the ground. I try to warn Ava, but my

behind her.

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

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 screaming. The world outside the windows is a blur of sky and ground, rushing closer and closer

Impact.

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

drowning in a sea of blood.

55000

unseen monsters. And always, I'm helpless to save

watch as she suffers.

escape. I can't wake up. The horrors play out

mercifully, I

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

force myself

torment.

often has the Master fed from

once," I rasp out, wincing at the pain in my

strong, not for a single feeding." There's something

you

"He must favor y greatly,

idea that this monster might favor me fills

]]

lase mast but no

weten, my mind dealle

Mariel's odd

I want is to curl

ere will die

mure endle

she doesn't wees to care

agan her hate prodding at my skin

detach that make

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

rasp out, my voice rough

as if tasting the words. "But the withdrawal... it's so strong. He must

fangs sinking, the agonizing pain, and the sickening rush of pleasure that followed, makes

return.

to push the sensation

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

Fevers and

For