Anomaly

The moment we reached the intersection, nothing noticeable enough happened to immediately grab our attention. Actually, thinking about it, I wasn't even sure what exactly I had been expecting to happen.

Still, given the way Charlotte was reacting, it was hard not to imagine that we were literally standing on top of a cemetery filled with dozens of freshly exhumed bodies, all in an advanced state of decomposition, while flies and other insects swarmed overhead in a disgusting cloud.

Except there was none of that. No particularly strong smell. No corpses crawling out of the asphalt. No shadows moving where they shouldn't. No grotesque creature leaping out of some dark alley. Silence.

And normally, this would have been exactly the moment when some kind of grotesque anomaly, or something equally bizarre, would emerge from absolutely nowhere, just to make the situation even worse. The strangest part, however, was realizing that I was actually expecting it.

I don't know whether I should have felt weird for considering this kind of thing something that could happen at any moment, almost as if it were just another ordinary Monday, or because some part of me had apparently already started considering situations like this... normal.

I stopped for a moment, silently observing the intersection. No matter how I looked at it, there was something deeply wrong with that line of reasoning. Anyway, I shook my head from side to side, as if that alone would be enough to banish those useless thoughts for good, and tried to focus my mind on something a little more productive.

Something like: "Find the anomaly, beat the crap out of it, go home, eat ice cream, and watch TV" A practical, simple, and, above all, foolproof solution. One where everyone would walk away happy! Charlotte's parents could finally breathe a little easier, knowing there wouldn't be any more danger lurking around capable of hurting Charlotte.

Emily and Laura could go back to their usual routines of studying and researching anomalies without having to look over their shoulders every five minutes. Victor and Rupert could finally return to their normal lives. Arthur... Well, Arthur could go back to doing whatever the hell he did in his free time.

To this day, I had absolutely no idea what this guy did when he wasn't dealing with some kind of anomaly-related problem, and honestly, maybe it was better that I kept it that way. And I, of course, could go home and eat as much ice cream as I wanted as a reward for my exceptional performance! Everyone wins!

It was a perfect plan. I definitely wasn't doing this for the ice cream. Definitely not. That said, the moment I wiped the drool that had trickled from the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand after those wicked thoughts... I mean, practical thoughts... Rupert, as always, decided to contribute a sarcastic observation about the situation.

"I've been to friendlier neighborhoods" Rupert remarked, pursing his lips as he cast a suspicious glance around us. His discomfort was obvious, even though he was still trying to maintain his usual carefree tone: "I think I'd be willing to talk to ghosts at this point if it meant getting an explanation for why everyone is running away from us like we're the freaking bubonic plague"

He paused briefly, following another house with his eyes: "Seriously, what did we do to deserve this?" Then, almost as if he had suddenly remembered something, Rupert turned his head toward me. I immediately noticed his gaze and instinctively turned to face him as well: "No offense, little friend"

I blinked slowly twice. Once. Twice. I tilted my head slightly to the side, unable to hide the confusion beginning to spread across my face... little friend? What the hell was he trying to imply with that?

Probably noticing the way I was staring at Rupert, as if I were one second away from simply jumping down his throat, which, considering the situation, wasn't exactly inaccurate, Arthur decided to intervene before things escalated into something more unpleasant.

He cleared his throat and immediately followed it with a cough so obviously fake that it was almost insulting: "So... considering the way Charlotte was reacting to this intersection a few moments ago, I think we should have seen something by now"

Arthur's voice finally managed to pull my attention away from Rupert. Still, before I could answer, I noticed that his attention had shifted toward a house a few yards ahead of us. I followed his gaze.

One of the windows was partially hidden behind the curtains, but there was a small gap between them. For a moment, I could clearly see an eye peeking through. Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly. The person on the other side seemed to realize they had been spotted.

Stolen story; please report.

The curtains immediately snapped shut: "But considering how the neighborhood is reacting to our presence..." Arthur paused briefly, keeping his eyes fixed on the now completely covered window. A small smile appeared at the corner of his lips: "I think we're in the right place"

Reacting to Arthur's words, Charlotte, which looked like she had just caught a whiff of the most rotten, disgusting thing in the world, covered her nose with one hand and practically scrunched up her entire face in disgust before pointing in a specific direction: "You mean that bunch of weirdos who are watching us?"

She pointed more precisely toward a house relatively close to where we were standing, definitely closer than the others. My eyes followed the direction of her finger. Yeah... To my surprise, there really was a family watching us.

A man, a woman, a boy, and a girl. The four of them stood in front of the house, perfectly still, as if they had simply stopped whatever they had been doing just to stare at us. There was something very strange about their expressions.

Their faces were far too serious, but it wasn't exactly an expression of anger, concern, or fear. There was no emotion there at all. Just a strange neutrality. Almost artificial. The corners of their mouths seemed to droop ever so slightly, while their eyes remained fixed on us.

It wasn’t a casual look of curiosity. They were staring at us. Obsessively. Even after several seconds, not a single member of the family had so much as blinked: “... Yeah” Victor muttered, narrowing his eyes. “I think “weirdos” was a surprisingly accurate description” Charlotte lowered her hand slightly, though her nose remained scrunched up in disgust.

“Okay...” Rupert also seemed to notice the stares being directed our way. From the way his shoulders tensed slightly and his eyes began scanning the street, he looked just as uncomfortable as I was. Maybe even more so.

“This is starting to get creepily weird for me...” He paused for a moment, looking from one family member to another before turning his attention back to us: “Does anyone here know this family?”

There was something almost hopeful in his voice, as though he were genuinely hoping someone would say yes. Any simple explanation would have been enough. An old acquaintance. A family friend. A distant relative. Anything that could turn this strange situation into something at least remotely normal.

Naturally, no one answered. It was the first time any of us had ever set foot in this residential neighborhood. I, for one, barely ever left the facility, so the chances of any of these people knowing me were practically nonexistent.

And even if, by some miracle, someone actually did know me, the most logical reaction would be to run away from me, not stand frozen in the doorway of their house with that disturbing smile, as though they were welcoming us with open arms. Actually... I frowned slightly.

“Is it just me, or did that little girl just growl at me?” The girl, who was standing alongside the rest of her family, continued staring at us. And now that I was paying closer attention, her lips were slightly pulled back, revealing her teeth. Yeah. She had definitely growled at me.

Before we could even decide how to react to this obviously bizarre situation, we realized that, in practice... Nothing happened. Well, nothing besides the little girl letting out another low, threatening growl in my direction. The father remained completely expressionless.

Without saying a single word, he simply turned around and walked back into the house with slow, deliberate steps, pulling the curtain shut over the window immediately afterward.

The fabric hid their faces from view, and silence once again settled over the street. Nobody said anything. For a few seconds, the only sounds filling the air were the wind moving through the street and the distant rustling of the trees. Then, almost simultaneously, a quiet sigh of relief escaped from everyone’s lips.

The tension in our shoulders eased just enough for us to believe, if only for a moment, that maybe this had been nothing more than a strange encounter. Unfortunately, that feeling didn’t last long. The very next second, it was as though an invisible alarm had echoed throughout the entire neighborhood.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several doors were thrown open almost simultaneously, the sound of wood slamming against walls brutally shattering the silence. One house after another, entire families began stepping out onto the street as though they had received the exact same command. Men, women, the elderly, and children slowly made their way to the entrances of their homes, moving with an almost mechanical precision.

None of them spoke. None of them showed any emotion beyond the same empty, distorted expression we had already seen on the previous family. As soon as they reached their porches or sidewalks, they stopped directly in front of their homes.

Then, as though they were a single organism sharing the same consciousness, hundreds of eyes turned toward us simultaneously. A heavy silence fell over the street. They simply stared at us. Without blinking. Without smiling. Without showing any intention of approaching us... Or leaving.

The only thing all those faces had in common was the same unnatural, disturbing, indescribable expression worn by the family that had just disappeared behind the curtain. It made the entire street feel less like a residential neighborhood and more like a stage where everyone was patiently waiting for something far worse to begin.

Naturally, faced with a situation this bizarre, Rupert, who had swallowed hard only seconds earlier, couldn’t remain silent. As usual, he made one of his comments, but this time there wasn’t the slightest trace of sarcasm or humor in his voice. Instead, his words came out low and tense, his eyes remaining fixed on the crowd: “... I really don’t like the way they’re looking at us”

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