Anomaly

(POV - Laura Cavendish)

Laura finally sighed in relief as she ended the call. In just a few minutes, Emily and the response team would arrive to rescue them. Now, all that was left was to wait.

Her gaze briefly swept the surroundings, taking in the scattered bodies of the zombie animals. Even though she knew the new anomaly had only remained active for a few minutes, she couldn’t shake the strange feeling seeing the destruction it left behind.

Lost in her thoughts, Laura didn’t notice Victor approaching: “Was that Emily?” he asked.

Snapping back to reality, Laura blinked quickly before turning her gaze back to Victor and nodding in confirmation: “She’ll be here in a few minutes with the response team. We need to meet her at the village entrance”

Though they’d have to cross the forest to get to the village entrance, Laura, considering everything that had happened and the fact that the black hole in the sky had disappeared, believed it was now safe to walk through the area.

After that brief thought, Laura turned her gaze away, her eyes falling on Arthur, who was leaning against a tree, staring absentmindedly at the horizon.

With a curious look, he fixed his gaze on the two anomalies perched on the branch above. No matter how Laura looked at him, Arthur always seemed suspicious, but being suspicious didn’t necessarily mean he was an enemy.

It was clear from this incident that Arthur was more of an ally than an enemy. Of course, there was still much Laura didn’t know about him, like how exactly he had discovered the [Conceptual Virtues] — something even the organization didn’t know about.

“So, you’re the mysterious anomaly detective? Are you sure you don’t want to join the organization? You seem to have a remarkable ability to gather information, which would be extremely useful to us” Laura commented as she approached Arthur.

At hearing those words, Arthur only gave a subtle smile, his eyes still fixed on the two anomalies: “Unfortunately, I’m afraid I have to decline. I’m not so interested in capturing anomalies, but in studying them. I’ll leave the protection part to you guys”

As he said that, Arthur began to walk slowly into the forest, which made Laura raise an eyebrow, full of doubt: “Where are you going?”

Instead of answering, Arthur simply raised one arm in a farewell gesture, slowly disappearing between the trees of the woods.

“Do you want me to go after him?” Victor asked, walking up to Laura.

“No... that’d be too much work. Let’s head back to the village entrance” Laura replied, once again turning her gaze to the two anomalies perched on the tree branch.

In the next moment, Laura turned in the opposite direction from Arthur and started walking, with him following her. Above them, in one of the trees, two small, cute anomalies watched, looking very much alike.

***

(POV – Protagonist)

After everything that happened in the village, a sense of mental exhaustion took over me. It wasn’t exactly tiredness, but a deep desire to go home and rest… although, technically, I don’t need rest since I don’t get physically tired.

At the entrance of the village, I looked up at the starry sky once more. By my side, still holding my hand, was the anomaly. Since the moment I touched her, she hadn’t taken her eyes off the sky above us. I had no idea what she might be thinking. Was she surprised? According to what she told me, just the presence of light was something that could surprise her.

Although she was technically looking at the sky, which was now dark due to the night, the stars were shining, spreading colors across the sky. For a moment, I wondered what she might be thinking, but I couldn’t find a way to ask. I didn’t know how to communicate telepathically, like the anomaly did, nor did I possess any ability that would allow me to do so.

It was at that moment that a thought occurred to me: why exactly can’t I speak? This anomaly seems to know me, so maybe she knows the answer to this question. Speaking of knowing, I had no idea where she could’ve found this anomaly before. Unfortunately, my new body didn’t come with a history.

(You... are... curious... about... me...?)

I was lost for a moment and blinked as I heard the voice in my head. My gaze automatically turned toward the source, and I knew exactly who it was. The anomaly was also looking at me, her face remaining expressionless as usual. However, something caught my attention: there was a subtle curiosity in her gaze, something subtle but unmistakable.

(Can you feel my thoughts, even without me speaking to you first?) I asked, genuinely curious about the answer.

The anomaly simply nodded slightly before responding to my question in a slow voice: (Our... minds... are... connected... I hear... all... your... thoughts...)

Although I was quite concerned about my privacy at that moment, I couldn’t deny that this situation had its advantages. It would be much more practical if she could hear all my thoughts, after all, there was no other way for me to communicate with her as efficiently as this.

A few minutes passed, and finally, the rest of the reaction team arrived at the village entrance. To my surprise, they brought several cars at once. However, considering they were dealing with an anomaly potentially capable of triggering a zombie apocalypse, it made sense to mobilize so many people.

I watched closely as the door of one of the cars opened, and Emily hurriedly jumped out, running toward Laura, who was just below me. Since both the anomaly and I were sitting on a tree, I had a clear view of all the movement below, able to follow every detail with precision.

Assuming the anomaly could hear me, at least mentally, I stood up and said: (Let’s go, it’s time to leave)

The anomaly simply nodded before standing up. In the next moment, still holding hands, we jumped off the tree. Our fall was smooth, the ground approaching gradually. However, as always, before we touched the ground, a black mist emerged from my body, completely enveloping us.

Dark tendrils stretched out from the mist, grabbing the tree branches and surrounding both me and the anomaly beside me, cushioning our descent with almost instinctual precision.

The tendril gently lowered us to the ground, moving with a deliberate slowness. As soon as my feet touched the ground, it retracted back into the shadow, which, in turn, also retreated and disappeared into my body.

Honestly, no matter how many times I go through this process—there’s always a strange feeling that comes with it... which, ironically, is also strange since, in the end, I don’t feel anything.

I looked to my side, where the anomaly was, and she seemed perfectly fine too. There wasn’t any sign of dirt or injury on her clothes—at least, nothing visible. But, considering we started floating before even touching the ground, it would’ve been surprising if there was.

Turning my attention back to the front, I saw Emily approaching. The moment our eyes met, I noticed her eyes briefly widen as she shifted her gaze between me, the anomaly by my side, and the top of my head. I had no excuses—her surprise was more than predictable.

Besides Emily, some guards were following her with weapons drawn. To be honest, I didn’t know any of them. I was never close to the installation’s guards—in fact, my only interactions with them involved pranking them and moving on. Most of them were more afraid of me than anything else, so there was no space for any kind of closeness.

So, I wasn’t surprised when, as they got closer, all the weapons were immediately pointed at me and the anomaly by my side. I blinked my eyes as I alternated my gaze between the men in front of me.

As always, I could feel the fear coming from them, but despite that, they remained firm. The anomaly by my side, on the other hand, was completely still, her head slightly tilted, as if not understanding the situation.

(... By the way, what’s your name? Calling you "anomaly" when you clearly have a name is a bit weird) I commented, turning my gaze to the anomaly, who, in turn, also turned to look at me.

(I don’t know... what is... an anomaly... but my name... is Nekra) she replied, briefly blinking her eye.

I shifted my focus from Nekra to the guards, and for a moment, I was surprised when Laura suddenly jumped in front of me with her arms outstretched. Her voice sounded firm and authoritative: “Lower your weapons!”

The guards exchanged a brief glance before turning their attention back to Laura: “We’re just following protocol, ma’am” one of them said, his voice firm: “Please, step aside. This could be dangerous”

Laura seemed momentarily lost, shifting her gaze between the guards and me. Honestly, her reactions didn’t seem exaggerated from my point of view. After all, I’m an anomaly, a being who, according to them, is completely unpredictable and beyond human understanding.

However, next to the guards, one person raised their hand toward them, causing them to look at each other confused but eventually lower their weapons. The owner of the hand was Emily, who then entered the conversation. In a calm tone, she said: “Hostility won’t be necessary. While it’s true that the protocol stipulates that runaway anomalies must be sedated or, if that’s not possible, neutralized, this case is quite special”

With those words, Emily slowly approached, a curious look on her face. Her lab coat fluttered gently whenever a breeze passed near us. When she finally reached Laura, Emily stared into her eyes, holding her gaze.

“Are you sure the other anomaly is safe?” Emily asked, her voice laden with caution.

I felt Laura’s gaze on me for a moment, and as I turned, I noticed she was indeed staring at me. I tilted my head slightly to the side, and as soon as I did, Laura diverted her gaze and focused back on Emily.

"Yes, ma'am, I'm sure" Laura replied, her voice firm and full of conviction.

No, seriously, why does she seem so sure? More than I do, even. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Nekra suddenly went out of control and started another apocalypse... Of course, I'm not blaming her, but without knowing the methods I used before, what’s to guarantee that won’t happen? Honestly, I just hope that holding hands thing keeps working in the future.

Anyway, Emily simply nodded, looking like she trusted Laura’s words. In the next moment, her eyes fixed on my head, more specifically, the horns that spiraled out from it.

"So... why the hell does the little anomaly have horns on its head now?" Emily asked, shifting her attention back to Laura.

Surprised by the question, Laura seemed at a loss for words. "Ah... so..."

Laura appeared speechless and turned to me, searching for help. However, she’d forgotten two crucial details: first, I couldn’t speak; and second, I was just as confused as she was, not understanding how I suddenly had two horns.

In short, my new physical appearance, so to speak, remained unexplained, and both the new anomaly and I were placed in one of the cars. At first, I assumed we’d be taken to some kind of cell, but to my surprise, we just sat in the back seat next to Laura and Emily, while Victor took the wheel.

As the car picked up speed on the road, I glanced back one last time toward the village. However, what struck me the most was a strange feeling of loneliness that hung over the place, accompanied by an overwhelming silence. Meanwhile, the memory of two children surfaced in my mind. Slowly, we moved away from that spot, leaving behind a sense that seemed impossible to fill.

***

(POV - Emily Parker)

Two weeks had passed since the incident in the village, and since then, Emily had kept herself busy. She was engaged in a real battle against the greatest enemy of any public servant: an endless stack of paperwork.

With every document she signed, it seemed like two new ones appeared in its place. It got to a point where she began seriously questioning whether this was some kind of anomaly, playing a trick on her, making the papers multiply endlessly on her desk.

This was probably the second night Emily had stayed up late reviewing papers... or maybe the third? She wasn’t sure. Being in the basement totally messed up her sense of time. In the end, thinking about it just made her sigh in resignation again. Anyway, it was pointless — skipping out on work simply wasn’t an option.

Even Emily couldn’t avoid this thought: why the hell was she, a scientist, stuck with bureaucratic work, signing piles of paper? Did that even make sense? Where was all the recognition for her efforts? The days of sweat and tears spent on her studies? Of course, she knew her situation was mostly a result of her own seemingly endless curiosity about anomalies... but that wasn’t the issue she wanted to tackle.

As these melancholic thoughts passed through her mind, Emily continued reviewing papers absently until two knocks on the door caught her attention. She already knew who it was, so she simply allowed them to enter without taking her eyes off the documents. She had the strange feeling that the moment she looked away, more papers would mysteriously appear on her desk.

"Boss, I brought the coffee you asked for... but are you sure? I think this is the tenth cup you've had" Laura commented as she entered, her view almost entirely blocked by the endless stack of papers.

"If I don’t do this, I feel like I might pass out at any moment. But don't worry, there’s less paperwork than it seems. I’ll probably be done by tomorrow morning" Emily replied, signing another document.

"You mean today?" Laura responded, raising an eyebrow.

Hearing the question, Emily briefly paused her signature on the document in her hands. However, in the next moment, she let out a resigned sigh and went back to work. Apparently, another night had passed without her noticing — not that the underground environment she was in helped maintain her sense of time.

"By the way, it’s been raining a lot lately. I think this is the third day in a row" Laura commented, setting the cup down on Emily’s desk.

This was another piece of information Emily was unaware of — or rather, since returning to the base, she’d practically locked herself in her office. She briefly thought that if three days had already passed, that meant the new anomaly had been brought to the base not long after she’d arrived.

"By the way, how’s the new anomaly adjusting?" Emily asked, finally turning her gaze to Laura.

As she briefly thought about the answer she would give Emily, Laura recalled the events of the past three days since the new anomaly arrived at the base. Strangely, Emily noticed a goofy, almost childish smile forming on Laura’s face, which made her instinctively move her chair back.

Upon noticing Emily’s reaction, Laura quickly composed herself, adopting a serious and controlled expression. Then she replied, "The new anomaly seems to be doing well... much better than when we tried isolating it in a room by itself"

Emily simply nodded at Laura’s words. Personally, she wasn’t very familiar with the information about the new anomaly, as she’d locked herself in her office as soon as she returned.

However, from the little she did know, she genuinely felt intrigued. If what that man named Arthur said was really true, there was much more to anomalies than Emily had ever imagined.