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

the ground. I try to warn Ava, but my voice won't work.

behind her.

sound comes out. The shadow reaches for Ava, engulfing her, dragging her away as she kicks and struggles. I lunge for her, but my feet are rooted. Darkness swallows her

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

Impact.

Pain sears.

coming, each more horrific than the last. Ava, drowning

55000

And always, I'm helpless to save

watch as she suffers.

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

I do wake

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.

torment.

"How often has the Master

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

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

you

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

that. The idea that this monster might favor

]]

tie lase mast but no

weten, my mind dealle

Mariel's

aut all I want is to curl

ere will die

mure endle

to care

her hate prodding at my

that make me

not sure what she's doing. Her fingers press against my neck, my wrists, my ankles. It's only when she peers down

my voice rough from disuse and screaming.

a strange intensity. "Only once," she repeats, as

the agonizing pain, and the sickening rush of

return.

trying to push the

girl settles back on her heels, crossing her arms and 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

Fevers

For