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

the ground. I try to warn

behind her.

reaches for Ava, engulfing her, dragging her away as she kicks and struggles. I lunge for her, but my feet are

scene 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 a blur of sky and ground, rushing closer

Impact.

Pain

more horrific than the last. Ava, drowning in a sea of blood. Ava, burning

55000

I'm helpless to

watch as she suffers.

can't wake up. The horrors

I do wake

feels raw, my limbs heavy and weak. Marisol kneels beside me. holding a bowl of that foul-smelling liquid

but I force myself to swallow. Anything

torment.

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

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

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

must favor y greatly, for a single taste

to that. The idea that this monster might favor

]]

mast but no words

weten, my mind dealle

with Mariel's

I want is to

ere will die

mure endle

doesn't wees to care about my

hate prodding

detach that

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

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

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

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

return.

trying 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 love with

Lisa Fevers and

For