Anomaly

(Pov – Emily Parker)

Emily simply couldn’t pinpoint when things started going wrong or the exact moment they reached this point. She wasn’t naive; she knew that sooner or later, she would die due to the nature of her work. Furthermore, she was fully aware that her death wouldn’t be a typical one.

Being devoured alive, melted, having her soul ripped out, vanishing from existence as if she had never been... or perhaps dying in ways Emily couldn’t even conceive. Still, she always imagined that her death wouldn’t come so soon. No, on the contrary, Emily didn’t want her life to end so abruptly.

(There are still so many anomalies I want to study... If only I could get 1% closer to the truth...)

Even in the face of that situation, Emily’s thoughts were those of a true scientist. She wasn’t necessarily sad about dying, but rather about not getting closer to the truth that everyone in the organization pursued with such passion and dedication.

All of Emily’s dreams were about to end at that very moment. The monster, a grotesque and distorted creature, advanced slowly toward her, cornering her. Its body resembled that of a large dog, with dark, matted fur, emitting a stench of decay.

What made the creature even more terrifying were the two human arms dangling from its canine torso, covered in scars, with bony fingers flexing in a disturbing manner as if savoring the proximity of their prey.

As it rose on its hind legs, the true abomination of the creature was revealed: a gigantic mouth in the middle of its abdomen, with jaws wide open displaying rows of crooked, sharp teeth, glistening with saliva that dripped onto the floor with a chilling, gurgling sound.

Each step was accompanied by bone-crunching noises, while its yellowed, glazed eyes fixed on Emily with insatiable hunger. Cornered, she pressed herself against the cold wall, her heart racing as the monster drew closer, a low, increasing growl reverberating through the air.

However, in stark contrast to the terrifying atmosphere, a loud sound echoed through the space—the unmistakable noise of something being torn, followed by a dry, muffled snap. Emily, Victor, and the creatures around instinctively turned their gaze toward the noise.

There, completely out of place in the scene, a small, white, translucent creature with an innocent look on its face held a still-beating heart in its hand. Tilting its head as if it didn’t understand what it was holding, the creature looked at the heart for a moment before dropping it to the ground.

When the being turned toward Emily, its eyes widened in shock. The small creature’s golden, shining eyes had transformed into spirals of color, radiating all the shades of the rainbow. Though the sight was stunning and beautiful, Emily couldn’t help but feel a wave of fear.

It was a terror that sprang from the depths of her being, similar to the primordial fear a baby feels of the dark. Emily’s legs trembled incessantly as she stared at the creature. However, the small entity seemed disinterested in Emily, its gaze exploring the surrounding environment.

Every time the small being looked at one of the creatures, they trembled and backed away as if faced with their natural predator. It wasn’t long before the monsters began to flee in all directions, as if they preferred anywhere to being near the small being.

A silence followed the previous scene. Emily didn’t know how to describe what had just happened, and probably Laura and Victor were at a loss for words as well. None of them could fully grasp what had occurred.

“Are we... saved?”

Victor was the first to break the silence. His face, previously pale, began to regain color, and his breath, which had been ragged, started to steady. Emily still couldn’t fully comprehend what had happened; the monsters had simply fled.

Emily, Laura, and Victor turned their gazes to the small being that had made it all possible. In contrast, the being was yawning, with a tired look on its face as it tried to ward off drowsiness by rubbing its eyes in an adorable manner.

After that, the small anomaly walked over to the toppled aquarium and climbed inside. Then it curled up and lay down, sinking into a deep sleep. The place fell silent again; no matter how you looked at it, the anomaly was definitely asleep.

“What the hell just happened here?”

Victor was the first to break the silence that had settled in. Everyone was stunned by the events that had unfolded: first, the anomaly had defeated the other one in a strangely brutal manner, and then it went back to the aquarium and simply fell asleep. Even with all her experience, Emily couldn’t understand or explain what had just happened.

However, Emily was able to extract something positive from the situation. Although she still didn’t believe that the anomaly was really defending them, she observed that from her point of view, the anomaly seemed to be merely reacting.

The fact that the anomaly showed no intention of harming humans was significant. As Laura had mentioned earlier, it was likely that the anomaly saw them as equals, and only by conducting more tests could Emily find a definitive answer.

“You know what, screw it. Let’s get out of here before those things come back”

Victor headed for the aquarium, lifting it again after his words. Despite his movements, the small being inside the aquarium showed no signs of waking up. Emily wondered if the little anomaly was dreaming. After all, was it possible that anomalies could dream? That was another question Emily would like to answer if given the chance.

Emily also stood up. Though her legs still trembled a bit, the situation had improved considerably compared to before. She went over to Laura, who was still lying on the ground.

“Laura, are you okay? Can you hear me?”

Emily had a worried expression as she looked at Laura, who seemed on the verge of tears at any moment. Slowly, Laura tried to move her lips, trying to form a few words.

“... that”

“... that?”

“... was so scary! I really thought I was going to die. Thank goodness our little anomaly was here”

Emily, despite everything, managed a wry smile. Although it wasn’t intentional, it was an undeniable fact: they had all been saved by the anomaly that was now peacefully sleeping inside the aquarium.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it

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