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

to warn

behind her.

her away as she kicks and struggles. I

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.

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

horrific than the last. Ava, drowning in a sea

55000

unseen monsters. And always, I'm helpless to save her, forced

watch as she suffers.

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

I do wake

in 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

but I force myself to swallow.

torment.

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

once," I

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 I can't quite place.

you

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

that this monster might

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tie lase mast but

weten, my mind dealle

with Mariel's odd

all I want is to curl

ere will die

mure endle

wees to

to me agan her hate prodding

detach that

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

have any I rasp out, my voice rough from disuse and screaming. "He only bit me

once," she repeats, as if tasting the words. "But

pain, and the sickening rush

return.

to push

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

Lisa Fevers

For