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 ground. I try to warn Ava, but my voice won't work. She keeps talking, oblivious, until the shadows coalesce into

behind her.

comes out. The shadow reaches for Ava, engulfing her, dragging her away as she kicks and struggles. I lunge for her,

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

Impact.

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

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

55000

I'm helpless to

watch as she suffers.

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

mercifully, I

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

gag as the bitter liquid hits my tongue, but I force myself to swallow. Anything to chase

torment.

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

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

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

you

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

to that. The idea that this monster might favor me fills me with nothing but a

]]

room, tie lase mast but no

weten, my mind dealle

with Mariel's

want is to curl up

ere will die

mure endle

to care about my discomfort.

her hate

detach that

not sure what she's doing. Her fingers press against my neck, my wrists, my ankles. It's only when she peers down

don't have any I rasp out, my voice rough

as if tasting the words. "But the

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

return.

swallow hard, trying to push the

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 were in love

Lisa Fevers and

For