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

ground. I try to warn Ava, but my voice

behind her.

no 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

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

Impact.

and rends. Flames erupt. Pain sears.

last. Ava, drowning in a sea of blood. Ava, burning

55000

And always, I'm helpless to save her,

watch as she suffers.

up. The horrors play out

I do wake

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.

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

torment.

the Master fed from you?" she asks, her voice

stare at her, surprised by the question. "Just once," I rasp out, wincing at the pain in

her head. "The withdrawal shouldn't be this strong, not for a single feeding." There's something in her tone, an undercurrent of emotion I can't quite

you

she mutters, "He must favor y greatly,

might favor me fills me with nothing but a sickening twist of

]]

mast but

weten, my mind dealle

with Mariel's

want is to curl

ere will die

mure endle

to care

hate prodding at my skin with

detach that

what she's doing. Her fingers press against my neck, my wrists, my ankles. It's only

any I rasp out, my voice rough from

strange intensity. "Only once," she repeats, as if tasting

how 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 push the

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

Lisa Fevers

For