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,

behind her.

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

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 sears. Ava's hand.

last. Ava, drowning

55000

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

watch as she suffers.

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

finally, mercifully, I do wake

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 lips. "Drink," she commands,

gag as the bitter liquid hits my tongue, but I force myself

torment.

often has the Master fed

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

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

you

across her face as she mutters, "He must favor y greatly, for a single taste to affect

The idea that this monster might favor me

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tie lase mast

weten, my mind dealle

Mariel's

all I want is to curl

ere will die

mure endle

to care about my discomfort.

her hate prodding

detach that make me

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

I rasp out, my voice rough from

at me with a strange intensity. "Only once," she repeats, as

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

return.

to push

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 know? she asks softly, her eyes never leaving mine. "When did you realize you were in love

Fevers and

For