Anomaly

(POV – Protagonist)

Since I returned to the base, my days have been, to say the least, eventful. Although, initially, I was supposed to remain alone in my containment cell, something unexpected happened—the very next day, they brought Nekra in to stay with me.

I’m not exactly sure why, but I didn’t question it. That night, I heard some strange and unsettling noises—those kinds of sounds that make your mind start imagining things. However, given the stormy weather lately, it was probably just the wind.

Anyway, since then, Nekra and I have been sharing the same room. I admit, I had my complaints at first, but looking back now, I can’t say it’s been a completely bad experience… I mean, Nekra’s cute—actually, more than that. She’s a real treat to the eyes.

Plus, during this time, nothing really notable has happened, except for the fact that the number of scientists outside the glass has practically tripled, all because of Nekra.

Honestly, I didn’t mind the increased surveillance; I was already more than used to all this attention. However, Nekra seemed visibly uncomfortable and confused by being watched almost all the time, twenty-four hours a day.

Sitting on my bed, I watched Nekra while I got lost in my thoughts. She seemed fascinated by the humans on the other side of the glass, but showed no fear or disgust—just pure curiosity. And that’s how my week has been: scientists popping up out of nowhere and starting to watch us, while Nekra and I sit in our room, doing nothing special, just waiting for time to pass.

Curiously, Laura wasn’t among the scientists. While I could imagine a reason for Emily’s absence, I couldn’t understand why Laura wasn’t there either. She’d always been the most eager to study me, and now, with two humanoid anomalies involved, her curiosity would have undoubtedly been even more intense.

(Humans... they’re weird...) I was lost in my thoughts when Nekra’s voice suddenly broke into my mind, capturing my attention instantly.

I tilted my head briefly, an involuntary gesture as I tried to figure out exactly what she meant. The doubt quickly dissipated when I realized the scene in front of me. Maybe she was referring to the fact that every day, a large number of humans gathered behind the glass, watching, even though they clearly didn’t understand what they were seeing.

The conclusion came to me naturally, almost like a distant memory. I’d had a similar thought in the past... And even knowing what I know now, even remembering that I was once human, I couldn’t help but think the same way.

Momentarily pushing Nekra’s thought aside, a sudden memory popped into my mind: there was something I wanted to ask but had recently forgotten: (Oh, yeah... Speaking of which, where’s that woman who was with you before? The one with the yellow hair?)

Upon hearing my question, Nekra slowly turned to face me. Then she placed her finger near her mouth, as if she were pondering deeply. I, in turn, remained seated, patiently waiting for her answer. Anyway, if I had to sum up that woman in one word, it would definitely be... strange.

No matter which angle I looked at it, she seemed completely unbalanced — or better said, fanatical. I still tried to understand what made her see Nekra as some sort of deity or something similar... But, considering what Nekra had done before, I began to realize why that woman saw Nekra that way.

(I don’t know... who she was...) Nekra said, shaking her head from side to side: (I feel like I should know, but I don’t remember... Eve... had my essence... but I don’t remember giving it to her... It might have been... a long time ago...) Nekra’s words pulled me out of my thoughts, leaving an even deeper sense of confusion.

By the way, although it’s not the focus, Nekra kept speaking in a peculiar way. Her tone, much different from before, now sounded more natural, but still strange. Instead of the interrupted and fragmented speech she used to have, she seemed to make small pauses, as if she had to pick up the conversation where she left off. It was curious, almost charming, and honestly, I didn’t mind it at all.

Back to what Nekra said, honestly, I didn’t understand a single thing. I have no idea what she meant by “essence” and similar terms. Maybe it’s something only she understands, since, to be honest, Nekra often says things that, from my perspective, don’t make much sense. Well, I guess it all comes down to cultural differences or something like that.

Anyway, by the way that woman... Eve, seemed to care for Nekra, I really thought she would beg to go with her. Of course, I have no idea how that would be received by the higher - ups of the organization. After all, whether we like it or not, Eve almost caused the apocalypse. Honestly, I can’t imagine everyone welcoming her with open arms.

But putting that aside, something I’ve noticed in the past few days, while venturing outside my room, is that the rain has been constant. Interestingly, even though we’re underground, there’s always something new to discover here.

It’s impressive how there are still areas I’ve never visited. I can’t understand how they managed to expand the space so much, considering the limitations of being beneath the surface. It feels like this place never stops surprising me.

But back to the rain, it was probably on the fifth day that I noticed something strange about it. It started with a subtle feeling, something I only noticed when I went up to the surface. I stood there, watching the drops fall, while enjoying the cool atmosphere it brought... although, to be honest, I couldn’t feel the cold for real. But I think you get what I mean.

Oh, by the way, my outings, as always, tend to cause some disturbance to the base agents. I mean, they really seem to look for me whenever I step outside. However, when they finally find me, all they do is radio someone, I imagine Emily, and then they just watch me, as if they’re waiting for me to do something.

Anyway, on one of those days when I went out for a walk, I decided to use my eyes in the rain. Honestly, I’m not sure exactly why I did that; something just drove me while I was watching the rain, and I felt the need to investigate. That’s how I ended up noticing something strange, more precisely, in the rain itself.

Every raindrop that fell shimmered in rainbow colors. At first, I didn’t know that, and I was almost blinded by the intensity of the colors swirling throughout the environment. I don’t know how, why, or who might be behind this, but in that moment, I was sure of one thing: the rain falling wasn’t just ordinary rain. It was, in fact, some sort of anomalous phenomenon.

***

(POV - Emily Parker)

In her office, Emily closely studied the graph displayed on her computer screen. Her eyes followed the fluctuations with precision, as her expression grew progressively darker and more somber.

It wasn’t the first time Emily had analyzed those graphs, but over the week, she had finally admitted that they were worsening each day. In other words, they had reached a point where the situation was clearly abnormal.

(I’ve looked at this a dozen times, but no matter how many times I try, it’s still excessively irregular) Emily thought, stretching in her chair, visibly frustrated.

Small, discreet dark circles marked her eyes, a result of sleepless nights. On her desk, coffee cups and cans of energy drinks were scattered everywhere, a reflection of Emily’s relentless attempt to manage the pile of paperwork piling up after the recent appearance of the new Nihilum - Class anomaly.

From Emily’s perspective, it was clear that something abnormal was happening. However, she sincerely wanted to believe that it was just a rare occurrence. Thinking that way, she could at least comfort herself with the thought that perhaps there wouldn’t be so much work left to do.

Lost in her thoughts, Emily was pulled back to reality when her office door suddenly swung open, startling her for a moment. But upon seeing who was at the door, she sighed loudly, relieved to recognize the familiar presence.

"Sorry for the delay, boss, but I brought all the data you asked for!" Laura said, quickly entering the office.

Laura threw a quick glance at Emily and tilted her head, confused by the expression and posture she was displaying at that moment. Doubt began to grow in her mind: had she done something wrong? Still, she was sure she hadn’t made any mistakes... at least not in the last few hours.

"Is something wrong, boss?" Laura asked cautiously, extending the papers toward Emily.

Emily gave Laura a brief glance before taking the papers in her hands. In the next moment, her eyes skimmed over the documents quickly, her expression becoming progressively darker.

Laura tilted her head, visibly confused, and asked: "Is there a problem with the data?"

“There are plenty, actually, but without a doubt, the most notable one is that they’re all abnormal. No matter the angle, it’s impossible to believe that this is the result of a natural occurrence” Emily replied, letting out a deep sigh. Her voice, already weary, carried an increasing tone of despair.

"When you say “abnormal” are you referring... to the rain?" Laura asked cautiously. Emily, without saying a word, simply nodded in an affirmative gesture.

Laura could understand, at least partially, what Emily was feeling. After all, whenever situations like this arose, the complaints from higher - ups always fell on Emily’s shoulders.

To Laura, this seemed deeply unfair, because what the higher-ups did was invest money in research but never provided real support when it came to dealing with anomalies.

Laura had wondered many times what the actual role of the higher-ups was, besides fattening the pockets of employees who were the real ones dealing with daily risks.

Of course, some took more risks than others. Compared to Victor, Laura had a much more privileged position, as, in common cases, she only dealt with anomalies after they were contained.

In the next moment, Emily tried to understand what could be behind that abnormality, but despite her effort, she had no clue. She wasn’t a detective, but a scientist; her work usually started when there was something concrete to study and analyze. However, in this specific case, the absence of any clue made the situation even worse.

Emily couldn’t help but sigh, reflecting on the bad luck that seemed to be following her lately. In addition to the recent discovery of a Nihilum-Class anomaly, which still hadn’t been investigated, another problem was now presenting itself. Still, she managed to calm herself within seconds. After all, it wasn’t the first time she’d faced such a situation.

While some anomalies could be detected before they even manifested, due to the anomalous fluctuations they caused in the areas they appeared, others, like the strangely unusual rain at that moment, could only be identified over time, through careful analysis. Still, that didn’t change the fact that Emily found the situation absolutely annoying.

"I’ll send Victor, accompanied by a team, to the closest location where the fluctuation is happening. We need to find out what’s causing these anomalous disturbances before something even worse happens" Emily commented, her thoughtful gaze reflecting the seriousness of the situation.

Although Emily hesitated to send Victor on another mission right after his previous one, she knew she had no choice. Victor was her best agent, and at least most of the time, missions were successful when he was involved.

Of course, she would remember to offer him a generous bonus on payday; after all, he truly deserved it, considering all the valuable assistance he had provided.