T W O
BZZT. BZZT.
"Shaker." Claudia said, answering her pager as she was directed to return to room 103 to help a patient eat their dinner.
She rushed out of the staff lounge, rushing to the restroom to wash her hands. She wiped them quickly and rushed out, bumping right into one of her closest friends on the way out.
"Slow down there, Claud, you don't want to overwork yourself." Bennet said, placing his hands on her shoulders to steady her.
"Sorry Ben, I should've watched where I was going." Claudia smiled warmly as Bennet removed his hands from her shoulders.
"No worries, I know we take care of people, but remember to take care of yourself too Claud," Bennet said, walking past her as his pager went off. He walked across the clean tile floors of the hospital, knocking softly before entering a patient's room.
Claudia had noticed long ago that Bennet didn't have a soulmate timer, she wondered if that was what happened if your soulmate died. Or maybe Bennet was meant to live without a soulmate. There was nothing wrong with being single, after all.
BZZT. BZZT.
Claudia's pager went off again as she read the room number on the screen. 103, it was oftentimes annoying when the volunteers kept reminding her of her duties, especially when she was heading there anyway.
She put on her gloves as she entered the room, glancing at the name on the door upon entry. She supposed that the best thing that came out of working in pediatrics was seeing the children's faces light up when they saw her.
"Claudia!" Jenna shouted, giggling as she sat in her hospital bed.
"Jenna, how are you sweetie," Claudia smiled looking at the young girl. Jenna had a degenerative disorder that made it harder to move. It got worse everyday as her muscles tightened and hardened, incapacitating her, making her immobile.
"Good! I was so excited when Bennet told me you were working the night shift!" Jenna giggled happily. Jenna had been in and out of the hospital over the past few years, and lately, her stays had only gotten longer.
"How are your treatments going? Did the doctor say you were getting better?" Claudia asked, knowing the answer, but wanting to hear it from the little girl again.
"Yes!" She smiled, her toothy grin showing her missing front teeth. "The doctor said my disease is getting slower! He said I get to start taking medicine so I can move my hands next week!" Jenna giggled happily as Claudia moved the food tray in front of her and filled the spoon with rice.
"That's great! Hopefully you'll be back on your feet in no time," Claudia smiled, feeding Jenna and refilling the spoon.
"I know! Then we can go on walks and I can show you my dogs and— and..." Jenna furrowed her eyebrows as she stopped chewing, her jaw locking as she attempted to move it.
It broke Claudia's heart to see such a bright young angel suffering through life like this, she prayed that someday Jenna would be free from her illness.
"It's okay Jenna, take it easy, I'll get Dr. Mathis in here to check on you." Claudia smiled warmly as Jenna shook her head, her eyes widening as Claudia held a napkin under Jenna's chin, "you can spit it out, we can use your tube for today." Claudia said, a warm smile disguising the sadness that she felt.
"D....do..." Jenna struggled to formulate words, struggling to shut her mouth as her jaw remained open, "don't go." She forced the words out, her mouth now stuck in the o-shape of her last word.
"I'll be right back sweetie, Dr. Mathis can help you better than I can." Claudia smiled as Jenna's eyes remained wide, a tear trailed across her cheek as Claudia squeezed her hand, "I'll be right back."
Jenna's eyes followed Claudia as she left the room, more tears flowing out of her sparkling green eyes. Snot fell out of her nose, but she had no motor ability to wipe it. She wished she were normal, able to walk and talk and eat without needing another person. Able to pull Claudia back and make sure she didn't leave her alone. Jenna saw Claudia as a role model, a mother-like figure, she had known that nurse since she was six years old and found out she had that disease— it was hard to let go of her favorite nurse four years later when the progression of her condition was only getting worse.
A few minutes passed and Claudia re-entered room 103, Dr. Mathis at her side as he spoke gently to Jenna. He injected her with a global anesthetic, the last thing that Jenna heard that day was Claudia asking Dr. Mathis if she would live and for how long.
She never heard the answer.
***
Warm brown eyes were focused on Claudia as she opened hers. She couldn't recall what happened aside from a blue beacon and ice plummeting across her body. The cold air had disappeared, replaced with sharp stabs as her body regained its warmth.
"She's awake." A voice called, footsteps could be heard from afar, but Claudia was too groggy to be receptive of the noise.
"How's her temperature?" A voice asked, "is she sick?"
"When I checked an hour ago, she had an elevated temperature, but that could just be due to her body readjusting. It might take a few more hours... days maybe." The man beside her said. Claudia stirred softly, her blurry vision slowly cleared as she noticed the figures of the people around her. This was enough to capture the attention of the man beside her.
"Good morning." The brown-eyed man smiled, standing up as he stretched his arms, "my job here is done, I'm out." He said. Claudia glanced at the three figures in front of her. She didn't care to focus on their faces, she'd come up with a plan to escape soon enough— if they were even keeping her hostage. She wondered if they would end her miserable life at some point.
"Hi!" The female approached, a broad smile on her face as she sat beside Claudia. "What's your name?"
Claudia wondered if she was imagining things, she wondered why these people were so oddly friendly. It didn't seem like they worked for Travis. Perhaps she had made if far enough past the border and into enemy territory— if so, if they discovered she was related to Travis, they would kill her on sight.
She took a deep breath, trying to sit up as the men stepped forward. She wondered if the friendly girl in front of her was their leader.
"Stop meddling with our prisoners." One of the men said, his strong jaw and apathetic expression demanding attention. Perhaps he was the leader.
"I was just being friendly." The girl said, "just because she came from the north side doesn't mean she's automatically one of them. If you recall, Kenny, she came alone— maybe an escape attempt. We can't call her a prisoner if we don't know her story, maybe she's a refugee." The girl said, looking between Claudia and Kenny as she spoke. "Besides, look at her wrist, she's like me!"
"She could be a spy." Kenny responded flatly, a firm line on his lips as he glared at Claudia.
"Maybe," the girl pursed her lips, turning her attention to Claudia, "what's your name?" She asked again.
"Claudia." Claudia said, realizing her throat was dry and parched, "how long have I..."
"Don't worry, just a few hours. You passed out when we got to you." The girl said, "I'm Savannah," she held her hand out for Claudia to shake, but Claudia simply looked at it, wondering how naive this girl could be to attempt to befriend an enemy during this strange war.
"Savannah, leave her alone. Let's go. Zella has patrol tonight and you're joining her." The man beside Kenny said, his brown eyes sparkling as Savannah followed behind him, leaving Claudia with the intimidating apathetic man.
"Your soulmate timer, I didn't realize people still had those."
"I was born with it." Claudia said.
"Interesting how yours is dated twenty years from now. What'll you be? Forty by then? Fifty?" The man said, showing only a slight hint of a scowl in his eye as he sighed.
"I want to leave."
"And go where?"
"Free me."
"You're not trapped. This door stays open, you can leave at anytime. We took you here to help. And..." he drew closer, a snarl on his mouth and a roar in his voice, "if you leave and we find out you were a spy for the North, I will personally drag you back here and torture you until your timer runs out." He threatened menacingly, gesturing to the pale numbers on Claudia's wrist before he turned and left the room.
Claudia's eyes widened. She quickly realized that the spot where she was resting was oddly comfortable, soft and fluffy; she hadn't slept on a bed in years. She sighed, sinking further into it as she glanced around the room. The man had been right, the door was wide open, she could leave if she wanted to. She wondered what would happen if she tried to.
There was a wooden bookshelf situated in the corner of the room. She stood up and walked toward it, a bright red book grabbing her eye as she pulled it out. It was the only book on the bookshelf that didn't have a date on it, like an encyclopedia entry.
Aromatic. It was titled, the words a pale white as she flipped it open, reading the first few lines of a random page.
Aromatics: Human-like species which are born with changing numbers on their wrists. Extensive research was carried out by Dr. Karl and Dr. Firz regarding these peculiar human-like creatures. They are born with numbers that look like tattooes, but change naturally. Myth states that this number predicts the exact moment one aromatic will meet their aromatic soulmate. It is not confirmed if Aromatics can be paired with a human. However, extensive research has been—
The book fell out of Claudia's hands, dropping onto the hardwood floor and shutting. The book must've been outdated, there was no way she was considered anything other than a human. Everyone she had met in the past had a soulmate timer.
Aromatic? How had she never heard that word before? Come to think of it— her brother didn't have a wrist marking.
This was false. Impossible.
She shivered involuntarily as Kenny stepped into the room.
"Savannah wants you to join us for dinner. If you're good, we might give you a treat." He smirked, his eyes focusing on her soulmate timer as she quickly placed her left wrist behind her back.
A treat. People give their pets treats. Claudia certainly wasn't a pet. But for the first time in her life, she certainly felt like one.
Please VOTE, COMMENT, FOLLOW, and SHARE!
Big thanks for my co-author veronicasoli and all her hard work!
So far we have:
- Claudia
- Travis (Claudia's Brother)
- Cyan (Soldier lady that Claudia knocked out in order to escape)
- Kenny (one of the three that took her in)
- Savannah (super happy person who is somehow unfazed by the ongoing war)
- nameless apathetic third guy who threatened Claudia if she was a spy for the North
Until next chapter ♥️