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

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

behind her.

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

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 sky and

Impact.

screeches and rends. Flames erupt. Pain

Ava, drowning in a sea

55000

I'm helpless to save her,

watch as she suffers.

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

finally, mercifully, I do

My throat feels raw, my limbs heavy and weak. Marisol kneels beside me. holding a

but I force myself

torment.

watches me with a curious intensity. "How often has the Master fed from you?" she asks, her

"Just once," I rasp out, wincing at

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

you

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

how to respond to that. The idea that this monster might favor

]]

room, tie lase mast but no

weten, my mind dealle

with Mariel's

all I want is to curl up

ere will die

mure endle

wees to care

need to me agan her hate

detach that make me

my ankles. It's only when she peers down at my

voice rough from

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

pain, and the sickening rush

return.

trying to push

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 you

Lisa Fevers

For