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 Ava, but

behind her.

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

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

Impact.

rends. Flames erupt. Pain

last. Ava, drowning in a sea of

55000

unseen monsters. And always, I'm helpless to

watch as she suffers.

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

finally, mercifully, I do wake

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. "Drink," she

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

torment.

"How often has the

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

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

you

"He must favor y greatly, for a single taste

to respond to that. The idea that this monster might favor me fills me with nothing

]]

lase mast

weten, my mind dealle

with Mariel's

aut all I want is

ere will die

mure endle

wees to care about my discomfort.

hate

that make

my wrists, my ankles. It's only when she peers down at my shoulder that

voice rough from disuse and screaming. "He only bit me

at me with a strange intensity. "Only once," she repeats, as if tasting the words. "But the

to that. The memory of his fangs sinking, the agonizing pain, and the sickening rush of pleasure that followed, makes bile

return.

hard, trying to push

her check on them as she stares at me. There's something wistful in her expression, a longing that I can't

Fevers

For