Anomaly

The reaction team members behind me watched the scene with wide eyes and held breaths, as if they were facing a nightmare come to life. The sight resembled something straight out of hell — as if a portal had opened, and a demonic creature was emerging from the depths.

Come to think of it... do demons really exist? If they do, would they be classified as anomalies? And if so, how does this work with angels? Do they fit into that category too?.

Once again, I was snapped back to reality when the voice of one of the reaction team members broke my thoughts: "Hey, is this for real? A fish with human arms? Just imagining that makes my stomach turn"

As the team member warned, the thing that was emerging really did resemble a human arm, but there was something deeply wrong with its form. The fingers, unnaturally elongated, looked like they’d been stretched to the limit, as if the flesh had been pulled beyond what was bearable.

The nails, long and twisted, ended in jagged, sharp points, more resembling the claws of a predator. There was something unsettling in the way it moved, as if each joint bent just slightly wrong.

In the next moment, a second hand emerged from the whirlpool, shooting toward the sky with unnatural precision before it slammed into the building like sharp claws tearing through concrete. The impact reverberated through the air, cracks spreading across the structure under the pressure of whatever was hiding in the mist. I watched the scene with my usual indifferent expression, my eyes fixed on the grotesque spectacle.

Then, the monster erupted from the whirlpool in a brutal leap, finally revealing the full extent of its grotesque body. A deafening crash resonated through the environment as the water churned in violent little waves, spreading out as if fleeing the presence of that abomination.

Its body, covered in damp, irregular scales, dragged itself out with convulsive spasms, thrashing against the building’s structure, causing it to creak under the impact.

The thing opened and closed its mouth erratically, its jaws snapping in a disturbing sound, as if it were desperately trying to suck in air that didn’t belong to it, choking on an agonizing effort that echoed like an unnatural wail.

Its eyes, completely bulging and crossed, spun erratically and unnaturally, as if they were sickly exploring every corner of the environment.

Its movements were shaky, spasmodic, and the skin around it seemed to pulse faintly, as if something was writhing beneath it. Then, suddenly, they locked onto us. Two black, opaque, unfathomable orbs, void of any trace of intelligence or emotion, pierced us with a chilling and paralyzing gaze.

The creature stood still for an agonizing moment before a thick, fetid liquid began to drip from its gills, bubbling and trailing sticky threads across its misshapen body, exhaling a putrid odor that made the air around us feel denser and suffocating.

"I don’t know why... but I have this feeling that giant fish is watching us" murmured one of the reaction team members, swallowing hard.

It was likely that we all had the same thought. Despite the giant fish’s bulging, cross-eyed stare, its head was facing us, and even with that distorted appearance, it felt like it was staring directly at us.

If that creature attacked, we’d definitely be in trouble. While I had no doubt about my ability to defeat it, I wasn’t confident enough to believe I could do so before everyone was devoured.

"Let’s get out of here now. It’s unlikely that creature can reach us quickly without some kind of boost. Also, our objective is near" the leader ordered.

Although his voice maintained its usual tone, I could detect an evident urgency, far stronger than usual, when normally his speech had an almost distant coldness. Every team member nodded silently, and I doubted anyone wanted to stay there long, especially considering a massive fish was watching us closely.

However, before we could leave, the giant fish, suddenly and unexpectedly, started thrashing wildly, as if it were in unbearable pain. Its massive fins whipped violently, tearing through the water around it with a grotesque sound as its body twisted and contorted like it was in agony.

The reaction team members watched the scene with wide eyes and pale faces, their bodies frozen, paralyzed by terror. I, on the other hand, simply tilted my head to the side while trying to understand what was happening with that giant mutant fish.

In the next moment, two grotesque limbs began to form at the giant fish’s waist, emerging from inside its flesh with visible agony. They looked like distorted human feet, deformed, the flesh ripping from the inside out, making dull, visible cracks as the limbs expanded horrifically.

The transformation seemed excruciating, but the giant fish didn’t make a sound. Its mouth remained open, as if it were trying to suck in every fragment of air around it, its breaths deep and erratic, almost like a silent scream of despair.

Its body thrashed frantically, twisting in a desperate struggle, but everything around it seemed frozen in a macabre silence.

Behind me, one of the reaction team members quickly put a hand over his mouth, while the other pressed his stomach hard: "Oh my God... I think I’m going to puke if I look at this for one more second," he murmured, clearly fighting the discomfort.

The reactions from the other members were quite similar, but honestly, I couldn’t quite understand what they were feeling. I mean, I could clearly see that the scene was grotesque and repulsive, but my body felt indifferent. I didn’t feel nauseous, not even the slightest urge to vomit. In fact, I just couldn’t feel any of that.

Anyway, in the next moment, something completely unexpected happened. As soon as the giant fish finished developing its new limbs, it used the building as leverage and, with surprising strength, propelled itself into a leap toward the water. The impact created a small wave, and water droplets were scattered throughout the environment, even reaching the spot where we were.

(... Huh... This definitely isn’t good, right?) I thought, blinking my eyes, trying to process the situation.

As if confirming what I thought, in the next moment, the giant fish emerged from the murky, dark water, its mouth slightly open, breathing with difficulty. But this time, it was only a few meters away from where we were, and it was clear it would be upon us in a matter of minutes.

“Shit! Run!” the leader ordered, immediately turning and starting to run.

Then, instinctively, everyone turned and began running in the opposite direction of the monster. It made sense, after all—it's natural to want to flee from something colossal coming your way. However, unlike the others, I stayed still, simply watching as the massive fish drew closer.

But I wasn’t frozen in fear. The truth was, I honestly couldn’t feel that emotion anymore. The reason I didn’t run was simple: there was no point. That creature would catch us anyway, and running would be utterly useless.

Of course, it’s not like I was waiting for my death. As the others distanced themselves, I made the decision to face the fish. I admit I wasn’t confident I could defeat it without casualties on our side, but, after all, what other choice did I have? It was then that, while I lost myself in thought, a loud crash echoed ahead of me.

When my vision adjusted, just a few steps in front of me, a massive, slightly open mouth appeared, its bulging, completely cross-eyed gaze, devoid of any expression, locking onto me with a cold intensity. Its gills pulsed, releasing a viscous liquid that dripped down, and that was when the monstrous giant fish finally reached us.

Its colossal size became even more impressive, especially because I was so close. The scene resembled an ant facing an elephant... in other words, it seemed even bigger up close than it did from a distance.

When the monster opened its mouth, seemingly preparing to attack, I braced myself for the confrontation. However, before anything could happen, a purple vortex appeared in front of me. From within it, a figure I knew all too well emerged in a mysterious way. But what stood out the most were, without a doubt, the spiral horns that protruded from its head.

***

(POV - Emily Parker)

As the alarms blared incessantly, Emily ran down the facility’s corridors with a desperate expression. Behind her, reaction team members, fully armed, followed with the same urgency.

Emily was focused on analyzing the situation of the new anomaly that had emerged in the city, when, suddenly, the alarms began to ring, interrupting her thoughts.

(Why now? Why a containment breach on the lower levels?) Emily thought, as she rushed through the hallways, overwhelmed by the urgency of the situation.

As if things weren’t bad enough, a containment breach occurred. Although, considering the previous weeks, this seemed unlikely—containment breaches were incredibly rare.

However, on the lowest level, the entities present couldn’t even be considered “contained” in the traditional sense. They simply didn’t leave, not because they couldn’t, but because they didn’t want to, as they were in an environment that perfectly met their needs. This was the conclusion Emily had reached.

Lost in her thoughts, Emily was snapped back to the present when a hand rested on her shoulder, gently pulling her back. Reaction team members passed her, pointing their weapons at something ahead. When Emily looked, she was momentarily surprised.

Although it still didn’t have a codename, there it was—the same anomaly that almost caused the apocalypse days ago. It had been placed next to the [Angel of Death], as this was the only way to keep it calm.

“Why is it here? It had been behaving up until now...” Emily thought, a cold sweat running down her forehead.

The being slowly approached, its steps light like a child’s, and a face so indifferent it sent shivers down Emily’s spine. The soldiers, visibly shaken, aimed their weapons at the anomaly: “Don’t shoot...!”

However, before Emily could finish her words, a sense of emptiness overtook her. Suddenly, she found herself in a place completely immersed in darkness. There wasn’t a single glimmer of light, only an oppressive, impenetrable blackness that seemed to swallow everything around her.

The silence was absolute, almost suffocating, yet she felt a presence—something distant but monstrous. Beneath her feet, the ground seemed to vanish, as if she were floating above a deep abyss, an infinite void that stretched endlessly, with no end in sight.

She looked down, and what she found made her shudder. At the bottom of the abyss, something was moving. It was a gaze. Not just eyes, but two immense, piercing purple eyes emerging from the darkness, glowing with an otherworldly intensity. They reflected a macabre light, as if the very darkness had been shaped around them.

Emily felt her body freeze, as if those eyes were watching every movement she made, as if they were waiting, or perhaps, responding to her gaze with a threatening presence. Instinctively, she knew that this being, this thing, was waiting for her in the depths.

Her heart froze, as though an invisible force had taken hold of it, slowly pulling it into an unfathomable abyss. It was as if something inside her was being dragged, a strange, insidious presence that fed on the fear and darkness around her.

The sensation of being consumed was oppressive, threatening. She could almost hear the distant echo of something, a malevolent force, waiting at the bottom of the void, ready to devour everything that dared come close.

However, before that abyss could take everything left of her, something unexpected happened. Chains made of thick darkness, like living shadows, appeared out of nowhere, hissing eerily.

They coiled around her, firm and relentless, pulling the entity back into the depths of the abyss, as if they had a will of their own. The creature’s resistance was futile; it was consumed by the darkness, dragged away, back into the shadows from which it came.

The next moment, Emily found herself back in the long, desolate corridor of the facility. The air was heavy, dense, and the echo of her own breath seemed to be her only companion.

Her breathing was labored, and Emily felt as if she might faint at any moment. In fact, some of the reaction team members had already passed out. The being, however, only stared at her, its eyes fixed on her with a chilling intensity.

Then, suddenly, a vortex appeared and the being vanished, leaving behind only confused words in Emily’s mind—words she couldn’t comprehend.

(White would... be sad and furious... if you... died...)