Aromatic

T H R E E

T H R E E

Claudia sat at a table surrounded by the people that had taken her. They seemed to have multiplied in his underground hideout, all chatting with one another as they wore similar black, worn pants, shirts, and coats. The walls were a dark gray that seemed to be emanating the strong, pungent odor of molding brick. Murky water could be heard dripping from a distance— possibly another room— as they remained in the room. Claudia looked at all the unfamiliar faces as Savannah approached her and sat.

"I'm an aromatic too." She said, holding her wrist out. "I've never met another one before."

Claudia's eyes widened, "I'm a person, not a whatever you just said." She responded coldly, unconsciously wrapping her fingers over her wrist, covering any signs that she was different.

Savannah seemed unbothered, taking a bite of the sandwich in front of her. "I'm supposed to meet my soulmate next week," she smiled, "Kenny said your date was twenty years from now, is that true."

Claudia sighed, realizing that Savannah was not only friendly, but very persistent. She looked at the plastic plate that had been placed in front of her, eyeing the suspicious white spots on the bread. She didn't question it; all their food was probably expired and she was hungry. She took a large bite, the sticky peanut butter latching onto the roof of her mouth.

"My dad used to say that a powerful love would be worth the wait." Claudia said, trying to justify the numbers on her wrist. Her attention slowly shifted to warm summer nights and sitting on the grass with her family, but she was quickly drawn out of the memory.

"Well I hope that's right, I've been waiting an entire twenty-five years!" Savannah smiled widely, taking another bite of her moldy peanut-butter-and-jelly-sandwich while the others, who hadn't made it to a seat at the table, stood leaning against walls and chatting. Claudia wondered how these people survived— who they even were, especially when her brother had search parties and attacks issued out every other day.

She didn't ask, she didn't want to find out. Claudia nodded in Savannah's direction, feeling the familiar pang of jealousy that somebody else was going to find their match way before her.

After a few moments of silence, Savannah spoke again, wiping the breadcrumbs onto her black shirt. "I'm curious, why were you out there alone on the border?"

Claudia gawked at her before focusing her attention on the sandwich in her hands, "your leader, he said I could leave whenever I wanted, right?" Claudia countered, hoping this question would divert Savannah's attention away from why she had run away.

"Who?" Savannah asked, furrowing her brows before realization struck her features, "Surge isn't the leader," she finally said. It was now Claudia's turn to be confused. "You know, the tan, tall, scary-looking dude with a big scar on his eyebrow, the one that was with me and Kenny earlier. That's Surge."

Surge. Claudia thought, what a peculiar name. She hadn't noticed any scars on that man's face, but at the same time, she hadn't exactly looked at him either. But she did recall him saying he hadn't met an aromatic in years— and yet, Savannah was one of those things.

"Yes, he said I was free to leave."

"Claudia," Savannah suddenly reached for Claudia's hand as Claudia immediately pulled her hand away. "Surge isn't our leader, he's actually a goofball once you get to know him actually." A large smile spread on Savannah's face as Claudia observed her carefully. Claudia wondered if Savannah had feelings for this Surge, and if she did, how would that complicate her timer running out. It would've been okay for someone like Claudia to have affairs like this, her soulmate date wasn't for another twenty years. But Savannah— if her feelings got in the way, somebody would end up dead, or worse, hurt.