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

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

her hand to comfort her, but the plane

Impact.

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

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

55000

always, I'm helpless to

watch as she suffers.

I can't escape. I can't wake up. The

finally, mercifully, I do

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, tipping the

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

torment.

"How often has the Master fed from

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

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

you

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

this monster might favor me fills me with nothing but a

]]

mast but no words coming

weten, my mind dealle

with Mariel's

I want is

ere will die

mure endle

wees to care about

me agan her hate prodding at

detach that

press against my neck, my wrists, my ankles.

I rasp out, my voice rough from disuse and

strange intensity. "Only once," she repeats, as if tasting the words. "But the withdrawal... it's so strong. He must

of his fangs sinking, the agonizing pain, and the sickening rush of pleasure that followed, makes

return.

to push the sensation

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

Lisa Fevers and

For