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

of my vision, dark tendrils snaking across the ground. I try to warn Ava,

behind her.

out. The shadow reaches for Ava, engulfing her, dragging her away as

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

Impact.

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

coming, each more horrific than the last. Ava, drowning in a sea

55000

unseen monsters. And always, I'm helpless to

watch as she suffers.

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

I do

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

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

torment.

curious intensity. "How often has the Master fed from you?" she asks, her voice almost

question. "Just once," I rasp out, wincing at

shouldn't be this strong, not for a single

you

across her face as she mutters, "He must favor y greatly, for

don't know how to respond to that. The idea that this monster might favor me fills me with nothing but a

]]

mast

weten, my mind dealle

with Mariel's

want is to curl up

ere will die

mure endle

to

hate prodding

that make

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

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

at me with a strange intensity. "Only once," she repeats, as if tasting the words. "But the withdrawal... it's so

sinking, the agonizing pain, and the sickening rush of pleasure that followed, makes bile rise in my throat, the medicine

return.

swallow hard, trying to push the

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

Lisa Fevers

For