Talk to find out.

“There’s not a whole about me that’s special,” she begins. “I’m...I was born in a pretty fortunate family in an isolated, pocketed, distant part of Massachusetts. NOT Boston - stop telling me I’m from Boston - ‘cuz I’m not!”

You laugh a little, seeing her get frustrated over her own comment. “OK, OK...So what made you so fortunate? If I’m allowed to ask, that is?”

Flora exhales. “No offense, but you’re new here and I’m not in this to make any friends.”

“Ah,” Great, I gave her my entire fucking life story and she won’t tell me a single damn thing about herself… “Well, don’t worry about it. I understand.”

“That’s not fair though,” she gives a sympathetic look. “You...told me, like, your entire life story just now.”

Internally, your brows knit. You’re both in sync with each other. Without saying anything else, she starts to mentally pick a few things she’s willing to talk about. Watching her thinking is so...entertaining. You could watch it all day long! You notice her lips a curl a little bit before she brings her eyes back to yours. The hazel color in the milk of her eyes is so vibrant and inviting, it’s impossible to look away.

“Alright - yeah! I won’t tell you anything I haven’t told the others already, but you deserve a little bit of a fast track.” She giggles. “I really shouldn’t be giving you that much of a hard time - I’ve only been working with the ARS since spring - making me the newest, and last remaining member of this specific team team. Well, since you, anyway…”

“I consider myself a little bit of a biologist, chemist, and doctor, heh, or nurse - whichever term you prefer. I was married for a while, but it didn’t last long, but it took me outside the state, which eventually led me to ARS, just outside of Ohio.”

“Holy shit,” you say. “That’s a distance.”

“It wasn’t ideal either. The man I got married to was a family friend. He was involved in a lot of bad things, it was just thought no one knew it. I didn't even know it until I was **** to marry him! About a week into our week he wanted to move away. I didn’t want to leave, but the marriage wasn’t…”

She trails off, rubbing her left ring finger. There’s a faint tan line where a large, prominent ring used to be. “There are better marriages in the world,” she explained. “Much better than the one I had, I promise.”

She looks at her expensive watch. “We should rest. You’ll be working hard in the morning. We gotta do a lot before winter starts.”

Flora stands up. Dimming the lanterns along the walls. She’s smiling, you’re glad you had this conversation. And judging by her expression, she is too. As you recline into the wall, you cross your arms and close your eyes. You have a feeling the days ahead aren’t going to be very pleasant.