Anomaly

(POV - Emily Parker)

Even with the graphs in front of her, Emily struggled to believe what she was seeing. At first, she thought the storm was blocking her view of the city, but soon realized there was something more.

Instead of just a simple storm, it seemed like some kind of force field had risen around the area, preventing almost any advanced technology — like drones and cameras — from functioning properly. It was as if the city had been deliberately isolated from the outside world.

However, Emily wasn't completely in the dark. She was still receiving real-time readings sent by satellite, allowing her some level of monitoring.

But something extremely strange happened just seconds ago — a completely different reading from anything Emily had ever seen appeared unexpectedly, breaking any pattern she knew.

Based on the pattern of the readings, this didn’t seem like a natural phenomenon, but rather something emitted by some entity. However, to generate such intense readings, the creature responsible would have to be colossal beyond comprehension.

Emily couldn’t estimate its size precisely, but if her suspicions were correct, this thing would make even the largest creature ever recorded on Earth look like a mere ant in comparison.

“Boss... this is...” Laura murmured, her eyes fixed on the screen as she stood next to Emily.

Emily perfectly understood Laura's surprise—and, to be honest, she couldn't deny her own astonishment. Graphs like these were extremely rare, so rare that she could count on her fingers the times she had witnessed them.

While she remained absorbed in thought, analyzing the data in front of her, a sudden static noise echoed through the room. The sound came from a device on her desk, interrupting the silence for a brief moment before a voice emerged.

“Director, can you hear me?” The voice coming from the device sounded tired, reverberating in the room with a tone of exhaustion.

Emily blinked quickly, her eyes adjusting before examining the graph one last time. Then, her gaze fixed directly on the device on the desk. Laura's face turned perplexed upon hearing a voice she recognized very well.

Laura, who was sure that the reaction team had been wiped out moments before, felt an unexpected relief. Though still dazed, she couldn’t help but feel grateful for the revelation that contradicted what she had imagined.

“Rupert? Are you guys alive? What happened? Is [Angel of Death] okay?” Laura asked, her expression one of true confusion.

Considering the graphs and the deafening sound that accompanied their emergence, it wasn’t hard to conclude that something had happened to the reaction team, and that it was somehow related to the graph. It was likely linked to some anomaly or anomalous phenomenon. Also, the fact that the team had remained completely silent after the event only worsened the situation.

“She’s fine, we’re all fine. But... if it weren’t for her, we would’ve been wiped out before we even reached our objective. I think we underestimated the level of danger in this mission” Rupert explained from the other end of the line.

Rupert’s words only intensified Emily’s confusion. Although the graphs indicated that something was happening in the city, she dismissed the idea as mere coincidence. It was unthinkable that something that big could be hidden there, in the middle of the city.

The rain level hadn’t risen enough to justify the possibility of something that large moving and hiding so easily. To Emily, the explanation seemed absurd, a data glitch or an error in her interpretation.

Emily stared at the graph once more, still in disbelief at what she was seeing. With a tense expression and her voice heavy with seriousness, she asked: “What the hell is going on here? What attacked you guys, Rupert?”

A few seconds of silence followed on the other end of the communication. Emily initially assumed Rupert hadn’t heard her due to the constant static that had filled the line since he entered the city.

However, it soon became clear that wasn’t the case, as Rupert responded, his voice tinged with worry: “Honestly, I’m not sure exactly what that was. It looked like a fish, but also had reptilian traits, like scales. And, besides that... it was so big that, in fact, we could only see the head and neck”

Emily remained silent, absorbed in what she had just heard. Her mind was racing, trying to process every word, every possibility. However, Rupert didn’t stop there: “Physically, I think it’s impossible for something that size to move through the city. But it’s undeniable that it can sink to hide its body... Though I really don’t understand how that’s possible, since, as far as we know, the city shouldn’t be more than 50 meters deep, even with the water covering almost everything”

Laura closed her eyes for a moment after Rupert’s words, trying to organize her thoughts and decide on the best course of action. The reaction team seemed to be doing well, much better than she had expected, especially thanks to [Angel of Death]'s surprising cooperation. When she finally opened her eyes, Emily’s gaze was fixed on the red-marked point on the aerial map of the city, her mind already shaping the next step.

“If you’re okay, head towards the objective. I have an idea of your location, and you seem to be pretty close” Emily said, her tone grave.

“Understood” Rupert responded, disconnecting the call firmly.

Emily sighed for a moment, then turned to Laura, who was by her side. Laura’s gaze, heavy with curiosity, didn’t go unnoticed, especially considering the situation involved [Angel of Death], an entity with which Laura had an oddly intimate connection.

“They’re fine. Apparently, something really did appear and attacked them, but they were all saved by [Angel of Death]” Emily remarked, causing Laura to let out a brief, almost imperceptible sigh of relief.

As she observed Laura’s reaction, a quiet thought passed through Emily’s mind: (I hope everything resolves peacefully...)

Although this thought had come from Emily, she couldn't shake the feeling of gloom, as if she couldn’t even trust her own reflections. For some reason, anomalies had begun appearing with alarming frequency, much more so than in the past. However, Emily still had no explanation for this; all she could do was hope it was just a coincidence.

***

(POV – Protagonist)

At the top of the building, the response team members were discussing viable options to move forward toward our goal now that we were without the vehicle. Well, technically, we had to abandon it since it was devoured, but the point was: without a clear idea of how we’d get to our destination, we'd be stuck up there, with no rescue plan in sight. After all, helicopters wouldn’t be able to fly in the current conditions.

Of course, I wasn’t just standing there, lost in the scenery; my mind was focused on finding a way to help them reach our goal. But honestly, all the methods I considered seemed suspicious and strange, leaving me with difficulty deciding which one to follow. Meanwhile, indecision consumed me.

I blinked my eyes for a brief moment, and when I turned my gaze to the side, I saw my Alter Ego, staring intensely at me. At some point, he had appeared from within me.

I tilted my head slightly, and he mirrored the gesture, as he always did. His impenetrable eyes revealed nothing of what he was thinking, and, to be honest, I had long since abandoned any attempt to understand his intentions.

In the next moment, my Alter Ego turned his gaze forward, fixing it on the direction of where we needed to go. But soon after, his eyes dropped down, staring at the ocean stretching endlessly before us.

The water, calm at first glance, hid the terror that had emerged from its depths just minutes before — a giant anomaly that had tried to swallow us.

Although my eyes were fixed on my Alter Ego, I could still hear the team members talking behind me. Suddenly, one of them noticed my peculiar stance, pointed toward me, and loudly commented, drawing the attention of the others: “What’s she doing?”

With all eyes on me, I briefly turned to look at them, but beyond that, I didn’t make any other move. After all, I was just as confused as they were about what my Alter Ego was doing — and theoretically, he should be a part of me.

Speaking of strange things, this somehow reminded me of the moment I learned telepathy. At first, I thought that to gain any power, I’d need to absorb something, but surprisingly, I didn’t feel like I had “gained” telepathy when I first started using it.

If I had to describe it, the sensation was more like rediscovering something I had forgotten, as if I already knew how to use it but didn’t remember until that moment.

As I lost myself in thoughts, something completely unexpected happened. My Alter Ego began emitting a dense darkness that quickly spread, covering the tops of the buildings around us.

I noticed the team members behind me widening their eyes, surprised by what they saw. I couldn’t show it, but inside, I felt the same reaction as they did — a whirlwind of bewilderment.

My face remained expressionless, as usual. In fact, it was hard to show any expression, as my face has a natural rigidity.

Or rather, my body has no bones — I’m essentially a soft mass of pudding with a human shape. Maybe that’s why I can’t make expressions... at least, not in a natural way.

Anyway, a few seconds later, the tall buildings in front of me completely disappeared, their shapes now obscured by a dark transparency that swallowed the landscape.

My Alter Ego had also disappeared, or rather, he had transformed into the thick mist that floated like a dense cloud, hovering above the buildings as if it were an extension of the night itself.

I tilted my head slightly forward, carefully observing the vastness below me. Although it was harder to see than before, the view was still possible, though blurred, as if the world were covered by a murky film.

When I touched my hand to the mist, a surprise awaited me. Contrary to what I expected, the mist, which had seemed ethereal and fluid before, was now solid, with the consistency of a cold, firm surface, as if made of a dense, yet invisible substance.

Like me, the team members were visibly surprised, their eyes wide and faces displaying expressions of disbelief. To be honest, I had no idea my Alter Ego was capable of something like this.

Of course, I knew he had a vast range of abilities, since his body, essentially formed of black mist, could be shaped in any way he desired. But seeing this happen right before my eyes was something entirely new, and the magnitude of what he could do still left me stunned.

However, no matter what angle I looked from, the scale of this was much bigger than I could have ever imagined. The black mist spread enormously, covering nearly all of the city’s skies, turning the horizon into an opaque, threatening mass.

In other words, the way to the location we needed to reach was, in a way, laid out in front of us. The mist created a sort of curtain that made the crossing easier, but at the same time, it hid any hidden dangers within its shadows.

Without hesitation, I leapt into the mist, diving into it with an almost ethereal lightness. Upon landing, the impact was soft, as if my feet had touched a cushioned surface, yet surprisingly solid. The sensation was disorienting, a contrast between softness and firmness that challenged my perception.

It was like stepping onto something soft, like a dense cloud, but with the resistance of a material capable of supporting weight without giving way. Not that I was very heavy, but still, the firmness of that mist dispelled any doubts. Crossing that vaporous veil felt safe, and with that, it became clear that we would reach our destination.