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 voice won't work. She

behind her.

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

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

Impact.

Pain

coming, each more horrific than the last. Ava, drowning in a sea of blood. Ava, burning alive. Ava, torn

55000

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

watch as she suffers.

escape. I can't wake up.

finally, mercifully, I do wake

in sweat. My throat feels raw, my limbs heavy and weak. Marisol kneels beside me. holding a bowl of

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

torment.

"How often has the

her, surprised by the question. "Just once," I

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

you

face as she mutters, "He must favor

The idea that this monster might favor me fills me with nothing but a sickening twist of my

]]

tie lase mast but no words coming

weten, my mind dealle

Mariel's odd

I want is to curl

ere will die

mure endle

wees to

hate prodding at

detach that make me

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

my voice rough from disuse and screaming. "He only bit

as

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

return.

swallow hard, trying to

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 asks softly, her

Lisa Fevers

For