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

tendrils snaking across the ground. I try to warn Ava,

behind her.

her, dragging her away as she kicks and struggles. I lunge for her, but my

shifts, and we're on a plane, Ava beside me. She's gripping 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 world outside the windows is

Impact.

erupt. Pain sears. Ava's hand.

nightmares keep coming, each more horrific than the last. Ava, drowning in a sea of blood. Ava, burning alive. Ava,

55000

I'm helpless

watch as she suffers.

thrash against my chains, but I can't escape. I can't wake up. The

finally, mercifully, I

drenched in sweat. My throat feels raw, my limbs heavy and weak. Marisol kneels beside me.

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

torment.

me with a curious intensity. "How often has the Master fed from you?"

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

"Only once?" She shakes her head. "The withdrawal shouldn't be this strong, not for a single feeding." There's something in her tone, an undercurrent of emotion

you

she mutters, "He must favor y greatly, for

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

]]

mast

weten, my mind dealle

Mariel's odd

all I want

ere will die

mure endle

doesn't wees to care about my discomfort.

me agan her hate prodding

detach that

against my neck, my wrists, my ankles. It's only when she peers down at my shoulder that I realize what she's liŋoking

don't have any I rasp out, my voice rough

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

memory of his fangs sinking, the agonizing pain, and the sickening rush of pleasure that followed, makes bile rise in my throat, the medicine

return.

swallow hard, trying to push the

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 realize you were in love with

Lisa Fevers

For