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

creep in at the 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, until the shadows

behind her.

no sound comes out. The shadow reaches for Ava, engulfing her, dragging her away as she kicks and struggles. I

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,

Impact.

screeches and rends. Flames erupt. Pain

the last. Ava, drowning in a sea of blood. Ava, burning alive.

55000

And always, I'm helpless to save

watch as she suffers.

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

mercifully, I

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

tongue, but I force myself to swallow. Anything to chase away the lingering

torment.

often has the Master fed from

once," I

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

you

flashes across her face as she mutters, "He must favor

might favor me fills me with nothing but a

]]

mast but no

weten, my mind dealle

with Mariel's odd

all I want is to

ere will die

mure endle

doesn't wees to care

me agan her hate prodding

that make me

Her fingers press against my neck, my wrists, my ankles. It's only when she peers down

have any I rasp out, my voice rough

intensity. "Only once," she repeats, as if tasting the words. "But the withdrawal... it's so strong. He must have taken a

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

return.

swallow hard, trying to

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 with

Lisa Fevers and

For