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, but my voice won't

behind her.

but no sound comes out. The shadow reaches for Ava, engulfing her, dragging her away as

reach for her hand to comfort her, but the plane lurches, throwing

Impact.

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

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

55000

I'm helpless

watch as she suffers.

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

finally, mercifully, I

in my cell, 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,"

but I force

torment.

curious intensity. "How often has the Master fed from

"Just once," I rasp out, wincing at the pain in

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

you

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

that this monster might favor me fills me with nothing

]]

room, tie lase mast but no words coming

weten, my mind dealle

with Mariel's odd behavior.

I want is to curl up

ere will die

mure endle

to care

agan her hate prodding at my

that make

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

I rasp out, my voice rough from disuse and screaming. "He only bit me

as if tasting the words. "But the withdrawal... it's so

agonizing pain, and the sickening rush of pleasure that followed, makes bile rise

return.

swallow hard, trying to push the sensation

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 and

For