Anomaly

As much as I wanted to deceive myself, trying to believe that what I witnessed earlier was just an isolated incident, the truth pressed down on me with crushing coldness. As we got closer to the city center, the atmosphere, heavy with despair, grew even thicker.

The bodies, floating in the murky water, seemed to be swallowed by the darkness, as if death had decided to feast on this place. Each one, silent and still, was a cruel reminder that nothing had escaped that massacre.

Among the corpses, the most disturbing were those of the children, their small faces frozen in expressions of terror, eyes wide and glazed over, staring into the void, as if begging for something that would never come.

The scene was so brutal, so unimaginable, that even the soldiers—hardened by training, accustomed to horror—couldn’t hold their gaze. They quickly looked away, almost instinctively, unable to face what remained of humanity in that slaughter. The air was thick, as if the very environment had been poisoned by the death hanging over us.

Well, I understood what they were feeling, but I couldn’t say I shared the same emotion. As always, I remained indifferent. I mean, I rarely feel anything, and lately, it’s only been getting worse. But that doesn’t mean I’m completely devoid of feelings—just that, for now, my reason still overrides them.

Speaking of which, it wasn’t exactly an important matter, but as I looked out at the landscape, an unexpected question crossed my mind. For a few seconds, I wondered if this vehicle could sink and move underwater. Of course, I dismissed the thought as quickly as it came—no matter how advanced it seems, we’re still in a car, not a submarine.

"I wonder how my family is... I know they live far from the rain-affected area, but still, I can’t help but worry" one of the men said, his voice carrying a touch of anxiety.

Well, they’d been doing that for some time—just chatting among themselves, as if I weren’t even there. Actually, it wasn’t exactly ignorance; it was more like a deliberate attempt to pretend I didn’t exist. By the way, you’d expect this kind of people to be more quiet and reserved, right? But surprisingly, they talk a lot. Sure, their conversations tend to be somewhat disturbing, but that’s just a detail.

"I’m also worried about my family. The organization forbids us from telling them anything about our work, even though it might put their lives at risk" another man said, his voice carrying the same anxiety as the first.

I thought about just listening to their conversation while looking out the window... Not that there was anything really worth admiring—just an endless sea and bodies floating everywhere, no matter where I looked. But then, a chill ran up my spine, grabbing my attention.

Slowly, I turned my gaze toward the sensation and found one of the men staring at me. This time, there was no doubt—he was looking directly at me. I blinked, confused, and tilted my head slightly, trying to understand why.

"What the hell are anomalies, anyway?" the man asked, his voice cutting through the air, instantly drawing everyone's gaze to me. In an instant, their eyes were locked on me, waiting for an answer.

Though there was still fear, it was so faint it seemed on the verge of disappearing. In its place, curiosity had taken over their eyes. Well, even if you ask me, I’m as lost as you are. In fact, shouldn’t you be the ones telling me this? I mean, it hasn’t been that long since I became an anomaly.

"You know... I was a little worried about the future, but she really seems docile with us" one of the men said, his expression a mix of confusion and curiosity.

Well, I really worked hard to give that impression, so I’m relieved it was well received... But still, I can’t deny that being stared at like that isn’t pleasant. Is this how zoo animals feel in their cages? It’s really uncomfortable. Of course, not enough for me to ask them to stop, but still, it’s a kind of tension that’s hard to ignore.

As I got lost in thought, suddenly, the palm of a hand appeared in my line of sight. I looked at it for a moment, confused, before raising my head slightly and following the line of sight to the owner of that hand. His eyes were fixed on me, and he seemed to be waiting for something. I also noticed his hand trembling, but surprisingly, it didn’t seem like he was going to back down.

I was a bit lost at first, trying to understand what he wanted with that gesture. No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like an invitation to shake hands, or something like that. Still confused, I slowly raised my hand. That’s when I noticed both the man extending his hand to me and the others around us slightly recoiling. I watched the scene with a confused look in my eyes, not understanding what was happening.

In the end, I decided to ignore the situation. Calmly, I placed the palm of my hand against the man’s. As soon as our hands touched, I lifted my gaze and observed his expression. He seemed strangely surprised. Should that mean something? Honestly, I had no idea.

"It worked... I think I managed to establish some kind of connection with her" the man suddenly said, drawing my attention.

His words caught me completely off guard. What kind of "connection" was he talking about? I mean, we just shook hands. How could that be interpreted as a connection? From my perspective, it was more of a simple greeting than anything else.

Anyway, after that, the others tried to do the same. I didn’t understand the reason behind it, but the reactions boiled down to two: when I pulled away from their gestures, they showed sadness and a little fear; but when I accepted, their faces softened, as if a weight had been lifted. In the end, I decided to accept everyone’s gestures, although, honestly, I still didn’t know what it really meant.

Anyway, the trip went much more smoothly compared to what we had experienced earlier. The others, who were in the back of the vehicle with me, seemed relatively calmer.

Of course, depending on what I did, they’d still react in some way, but compared to earlier, when it seemed like they might shoot at me at any moment, the dynamic was different now. At least now, they just watched me, waiting for what I’d do next. No matter how you look at it, that was already a big improvement.

As I got lost in thought, a voice from inside the vehicle cut through the silence, drawing my attention: "Shit, I think this is the end of the line for the vehicle"

I blinked, confused, and then tried to look outside. As always, beyond the tall buildings, there was nothing but water as far as the eye could see. I turned my gaze to the front of the vehicle and was momentarily surprised by what I saw: a building was blocking our path.

"What the hell happened here?" one of the members remarked, probably after seeing the same thing I did.

Although their reaction seemed exaggerated, believe me, it wasn’t. The reason wasn’t just the building that had collapsed, but what was around it. Other buildings, destroyed in clearly abnormal ways, could be seen from where we stood.

One building, in particular, had a hole near its top, and no matter which angle you looked at it from, it definitely looked like a bite mark, as if some monstrous creature had fed there.

For some reason, as soon as this thought crossed my mind, my eyes instinctively moved to the water beneath us. Technically, it shouldn’t have been that deep. Despite the large amount of water accumulated, it would have been nearly impossible for it to hide something large enough to leave a mark of that magnitude. Even so, a strange feeling lingered, as if something there was out of place.

At that moment, an idea popped into my mind. I had already investigated this before. I used my eyes under the rain and, without a doubt, the colors I saw were the glimmers of a rainbow, confirming that the rain itself was an anomalous phenomenon.

However, as soon as the water touched the ground, it turned into regular water. In short, the rain was anomalous, but the growing sea forming below did not share this characteristic.

At least, that’s what I thought as I activated my eyes. To my surprise, everything beneath us glowed with rainbow colors. I was completely stunned by that. Without thinking twice, I stood up, drawing the attention of the others, who visibly recoiled when they saw me. I completely ignored their reactions and headed toward the other side, determined to understand what was going on.

Just like on the other side, the water below us also glowed. Well, now the situation had worsened considerably. Somehow, it seemed that all the water around the city had transformed into an anomalous phenomenon.

With that, I could be sure of two things: first, there was probably a colossal monster right beneath us; and second, I could no longer trust the depth of the water—if there was still any depth at all. The feeling of uncertainty spread quickly, making everything even more dangerous and unpredictable.

As I wondered how far these oddities could take us, I suddenly felt a slight tremor coming from the seats inside the vehicle. I quickly glanced at the seat I was in before stepping back, and then, to my surprise, it was swallowed by the interior of the vehicle.

Or, to be more precise, it rotated downward and disappeared, leaving only the solid floor where it had been. In the next instant, the floor shook again, but this time with more force, and began to rise, as if something was emerging beneath us.

I was completely perplexed, wondering what was going on. There was, of course, a field above us, allowing us to see what was outside, but for a moment, I thought we were going to bump our heads on the ceiling.

However, to my surprise, when we reached the ceiling of the vehicle, we simply passed through it, standing on top of it, but now outside, as if gravity had been completely nullified.

The other members were also present, including the man who was leading the mission. He seemed to be talking to someone, as his hand was at his ear, adjusted to the same hearing device that had been placed on me. I ignored that and looked around.

The scene was much more devastated than I had imagined, with buildings in ruins and signs of destruction everywhere. Moreover, the clouds were exceptionally dark, much more so than before, as if an even worse storm was about to hit us.

However, no matter what angle you looked from, the center of the city seemed to be the most terrifying point. The concentration of the dark clouds seemed to gather right there, as if something ominous was forming. As I observed the surroundings, I noticed something bubbling in a nearby building.

What truly surprised me, though, was what I saw inside the building: some people were leaning against the windows, raising their arms, desperately trying to get our attention. The scene looked like a silent scream amid the chaos.

The other members also seemed to notice that, their gazes fixed on the murky water, as if an invisible presence was manifesting there. Before we could decide what to do, the bubbling in the water intensified, growing with such brutal force that it seemed endless.

The water churned with supernatural violence, and from where we were, it was impossible to see what was hidden beneath the surface, as if something colossal was getting ready to emerge. Then, without warning, something erupted from the depths with a deafening roar.

The water was expelled with such force that we were all forced to shut our eyes, the pressure impact making our hearts race. When we managed to open our eyes again, the scene before us was a nightmare.

A massive hole opened up in the building, the walls torn apart as if shredded by a primitive force. The bite, huge and monstrous, seemed to have ripped part of the structure with an insatiable appetite, leaving a trail of destruction and a deadly silence hanging in the air.