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 warn Ava, but my voice won't work. She keeps talking, oblivious, until the shadows

behind her.

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

shifts, and we're 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 screaming. The world outside the windows is a blur of sky and ground, rushing

Impact.

Pain

Ava, drowning in a sea of blood.

55000

And always, I'm helpless

watch as she suffers.

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

finally, mercifully, I do

back in my cell, shivering and drenched in sweat. My throat feels raw, my limbs heavy and weak. Marisol kneels beside

liquid hits my tongue, but I force myself to swallow. Anything to chase away the lingering images of

torment.

has the Master fed from you?"

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

for a single feeding." There's something in her tone, an undercurrent of emotion I can't quite

you

face as she mutters, "He must favor y

that this monster might favor me fills me

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room, tie lase mast

weten, my mind dealle

Mariel's odd

all I want

ere will die

mure endle

she doesn't wees to care

hate

detach that

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

out, my voice rough from

hands still, and she looks at me with a strange intensity. "Only once," she repeats, as if

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

return.

to push

her expression, a longing that I can't quite comprehend. "When did you know? she asks

Lisa Fevers and

For