Anomaly

I won’t deny it, I was really enjoying this moment. Besides evoking a strange sense of nostalgia, the truth is that it brought me comfort, though I couldn’t exactly pinpoint why. Plus, seeing the anomaly’s calm expression only encouraged me to keep petting it.

Touching its cheeks was surprisingly relaxing, like stroking freshly baked bread. In short, its cheeks were soft and warm. For some reason, thinking that the situation resembled taking care of a pet made me feel a slight guilt for treating the anomaly like it was just some little animal.

My Alter Ego was still staring at me with its expressionless face, and, as always, I couldn’t decipher its thoughts. By this point, it felt strange to consider it just an extension of myself — somehow, it had become something more. And down below, the others were watching me with confused expressions, not exactly understanding what was going on.

Except for that lunatic who freed the anomaly from its dimension — or wherever it came from. She was wearing a grin from ear to ear, something completely at odds with her usual, always tired and apathetic expression. Before, she seemed like she could fall ill at any moment, but now, her face was brimming with an almost supernatural energy.

But, as relaxing and comforting as it was, it didn’t change our situation. A black hole still hovered over our heads, and the anomaly itself had already admitted that its presence was tied to this phenomenon. Maybe it wasn’t directly because of its actions, but, in any case, it was undeniable that the black hole existed because it was here.

Though I had no concrete proof, I felt that its stay on Earth would be dangerous. As it said, its mere presence had already caused this distortion — what else could happen if it stayed here? I wasn’t worried about tsunamis or earthquakes.

My thoughts leaned more toward something like a global apocalypse, where the sun would be replaced by something dark, turning Earth into a hell of lava, with bizarre fire anomalies popping up everywhere.

(But honestly, I’m not sure I would have the guts to send it back to its dimension. I can’t just ignore what that would mean for it) I sighed inwardly as my eyes briefly turned to the sky, looking at the black hole hanging above us.

After discovering what the place it came from was like, I hesitated to send it back. No one deserves to be in a place like that, no matter what it is... Okay, except for the irreparable anomalies — those I wouldn’t mind sending there. But, in the end, I just don’t think I could send it back.

Lost in thought, I didn’t immediately realize something strange was happening in the forest. I only became aware when the air around me grew unnaturally thick — as if it were trying to envelop me, heavy and suffocating.

It felt like swimming in a sea of mud, but without the physical resistance, just the sensation. I tilted my head slightly to the side and, in the next instant... I looked around, but there didn’t seem to be anything unusual.

I also looked back at Laura, Arthur, Victor, and the lunatic, but they still seemed oblivious to what was going on around them. Though Victor seemed strangely alert, carefully watching the surroundings, he didn’t appear to notice the monsters emerging from the mist.

I thought for a moment that I might just be imagining things, but honestly, I knew that wasn’t the case. My senses are abnormal, and, to be honest, I feel that if I concentrated hard enough, I could even predict certain events, something that perhaps even most anomalies could sense.

Of course, it’s not like I had a vision or something like that when I concentrated, but the feeling simply intensified. Anyway, what I mean is that, suddenly, I started feeling uncomfortable. It was like I knew something was about to happen, though I didn’t know exactly what.

It didn’t take long for me to discover why. My eyes caught a movement coming from the mist, as if it were distorting. Seconds later, the reason became clear: with its mutilated body and black and red liquid dripping from its wounds, a wolf suddenly appeared.

The sight of the wolf was grotesque and, at the same time, unsettling. The feeling that it exuded a strange smell wouldn’t leave my mind. But that wasn’t all. From the mist, just like the first one, another wolf appeared, followed by another, and soon, a few more. In the span of moments, seven wolves with decaying bodies emerged from the mist, slowly dragging themselves toward us.

Laura, Arthur, Victor, and the lunatic didn’t seem to have noticed the wolves yet, as they hadn’t gotten close. They were cautious, which, honestly, was good news for me. I’d probably be able to take them out before they noticed, but unfortunately, my plans went down the drain seconds after that thought.

Bears, deer, moose, and other animals that, honestly, I didn’t know lived in this area began to emerge from the mist. By this point, I was blinking in confusion, trying to make sense of the situation.

There were a lot more of them than I had imagined, and to make matters worse, their numbers were only increasing. Right now, about a hundred creatures had already surrounded Laura, Arthur, Victor, and the lunatic.

It wouldn’t be long before the four of them encountered the monsters... or rather, before the monsters encountered them. At this moment, I was analyzing my options. Of course, I could fight, but that didn’t seem to solve the situation.

I didn’t know exactly why, but something seemed to be attracting the creatures to this part of the forest. Plus, their numbers were increasing with every passing moment, almost as if they were multiplying or something.

In this bizarre situation, my Alter Ego began to act strangely. If I had to explain, it suddenly grabbed my hand and tried to force me to hold the other anomaly’s hand.

Unlike me, who found the situation confusing and was resisting, the other anomaly seemed confused by my struggle, but, unlike me, it didn’t show any disapproval at the idea of us holding hands.

Just to clarify my thoughts: it’s not that I didn’t want to shake the anomaly’s hand, but considering that Laura and Victor would be surrounded by dozens of anomalies in just a few minutes, it wasn’t exactly the best time to make new friends.

***

(POV - Victor Hale)

Victor, who had remained constantly on guard, alert for any threat that might appear around him, finally let out a sigh of relief when he realized they had finally made it out of the forest. Moreover, to his relief, none of the group members seemed to have suffered serious injuries — everyone was intact, no arms or legs missing.

However, it was undeniable that, without the anomaly, they probably never would have made it out of the forest. Also, the mere idea of being stuck there, with no chance of escape, sent a chill down Victor’s spine. He didn’t even want to imagine the nightmare that would become.

In short, if Victor ignored the fact that the anomaly appeared suddenly, almost as if it had been waiting for them, and set aside the lunatic who had started all this, he could say that everything was going well — at least for now. After all, no one had died yet.

A scientist who could barely run if she needed to, a detective with more secrets than the highest ranks of his agency, a lunatic responsible for triggering this whole situation, and him, a member of the anomaly response team.

Victor considered himself lucky just for still being alive among this unlikely group. Maybe it was the first time he really believed he had some kind of luck. However, like everything in life, his luck wouldn’t be an exception to coming to an end.

Victor’s eyes naturally turned to Laura, who, with an anxious expression, stared at her phone. After a resigned sigh, as if she already knew the answer to her question, he asked: "Did you manage to make contact?"@@novelbin@@

Laura heard Victor’s question and, for a moment, stared at him before gently biting her lips, shaking her head in a silent denial. Her response made Victor’s expression deepen, turning visibly darker.

"Tsk, looks like we’re really on our own here" Victor commented, glancing around sharply.

Victor couldn’t tell if he felt relieved by the fact that he couldn’t see anything because of the fog or if it made him even more uneasy. After all, how do you feel anxiety or fear about something you can’t see? But, of course, that would only remain true until something happened and didn’t go unnoticed. And over the years, Victor had gained enough experience to spot anomalies in situations like this.

“Crack!”

A faint sound came from the fog. From Victor’s perspective, it sounded like something breaking. The noise was strangely muffled, as if, for some reason, the source of the sound didn’t want to be detected. His sharp senses immediately went on high alert, and his eyes started scanning the surroundings, looking for any sign of what might’ve caused that sound.

The silence was absolute, and maybe that’s why Victor felt that something was wrong. His gaze moved cautiously, but nothing abnormal was found. However, it was undeniable that he felt an impending sense of danger. His skin was crawling, and an unsettling feeling that something could emerge from the fog at any moment wouldn’t leave him alone.

Victor continued to scan, until his eyes briefly locked on Laura. When she noticed his expression, her surprise was evident, but soon anxiety took over her, and she started scanning the surroundings nervously.

“Crack!”

Another sound, this time louder than the first, ringing clearly enough for everyone to hear. Victor turned quickly toward the noise, drawing his weapon and aiming it precisely. The fog was still thick, but he could make out a silhouette emerging through it.

The silhouette was coming closer, revealing an imposing figure, though still hard to distinguish clearly. However, Victor quickly identified what it was: a massive bear, about two and a half meters tall.

He focused his vision, keeping the gun firmly aimed at the creature’s head. Its appearance was as repulsive as the other zombie monsters Victor had encountered, but before he could take any action, a new sound cut through the silence.

“Crack!”

This time, the sound came from behind Victor, who quickly reacted, aiming his weapon at the noise. The fog parted, revealing a zombie deer. However, the noise didn’t stop, continuing even after the bear and deer emerged from the fog.

“Crack!”

“Crack!”

“Crack!”

“Crack!”

“Crack!”

“Crack!”

“Crack!”

“Crack!”

“Crack!”

“Crack!”

“Crack!”

“Crack!”

Countless grotesque cracks of bones and flesh being crushed echoed through the forest from all directions, as if nature itself were breaking apart. Before Victor could process what was happening, a repulsive circle had formed around them, with dozens of zombie monsters.

Their decayed and torn skin, muscles pulsating and visible, some with their eyes torn out or distorted, bulging from their sockets. The air was thick with the nauseating stench of rotting flesh, mixed with the foul odor of excrement and something even more putrid, invading Victor’s nostrils and making his stomach churn with disgust.

***

(POV – Protagonist)

I watched, stunned, as the scene unfolded below me. The zombie monsters began appearing almost unexpectedly, and now there were so many of them that it was hard to even count. However, the most terrifying part wasn’t that. In the middle of that crowd, there were humans, and the worst part: among them, some of the villagers were there too.

The old man who had spoken with Laura earlier was gravely injured, his body marked with wounds, flesh exposed, and his guts visibly torn out. But what truly shocked me was a little farther away.

The two children I had seen in the village, now turned into zombies, were a sight I’d probably never forget for a long time. The two siblings, now unrecognizable, were a horrific scene that would be burned into my mind for a long time.

I pushed my mind to its limits, desperately trying to find a way to put an end to this, but I simply wasn’t smart enough to come up with an effective solution. Meanwhile, my Alter Ego kept insisting that I place my hands on the anomaly’s. At that moment, my gaze shifted to him.

Why, after all, did he seem so desperate for me to do this? And now, only now, as I looked at him, did I notice that his eyes were also flicking toward the situation unfolding below us.

A thought crossed my mind, but it was just a theory. If I was wrong, I’d waste even more time—time I should be using to find a solution to this crisis.

My eyes met my Alter Ego’s. His face remained expressionless, and once again, I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking or trying to do.

Still, a simple thought crossed my mind: my Alter Ego was a part of me… a strange part, no doubt, but still an extension of my own existence.

In that case, should I really resist what he was trying to do? In the end, shouldn’t our thoughts be the same, since we are one and the same?.

In the end, I decided to trust my Alter Ego… or rather, myself? In moments like these, the lines get blurry, but that didn’t matter now. I chose to accept whatever it was trying to show me and, with that decision made, I finally reached out my hand, joining it with the anomaly’s.