(POV - Emily Parker)


    Emily never imagined she would feel so much joy returning to her old workplace. As they approached the research center, she finally let out a sigh of relief, as if she had been holding her breath for years. Her exhaustion mysteriously vanished upon seeing something familiar.


    The place in question was a poultry factory in the city center. Of course, that wasn’t the real base, just one of many posts used to make a stop before proceeding with the standard procedures for classifying and transporting a newly discovered anomaly.


    As the truck Emily was in drove through the huge door leading to the warehouse, she waited calmly in the passenger seat. Her gaze briefly shifted to the back of the vehicle, where an aquarium revealed a small creature, curled up like a kitten, sleeping peacefully.


    Even if Emily told her friends that this creature had extracted the heart of a classified dangerous anomaly and made dozens of others flee, none of them would believe her. Even she still struggled to believe what she had witnessed. Could it have been a dream? But Emily knew it had been real—just as real as the fact that she should have died that night.


    “We’re here”


    Emily nodded at Victor’s announcement, unlocked the door, and got out of the car. The surroundings were exactly like the back of a poultry factory: machines scattered everywhere and the unbearable noise of their operation. That always bothered her, especially the fact that they used places like this as auxiliary bases for their main operations.


    Emily walked to the back of the truck, where Victor was already opening the doors. Soon, Laura appeared, carefully pushing the aquarium. Together, they moved it slowly to a wall. Emily then took her badge and pointed it at the wall, revealing a hidden door that led to an elevator.


    “Let’s go down now”


    Following Emily’s instructions, Victor and Laura entered the elevator along with the anomaly. Emily pressed the only available button, and the elevator began to descend slowly. No one said anything—this procedure was already standard for them.


    “Today was really unusual...”


    Laura broke the silence, and Emily glanced at her. Normally, in situations like this, there were two possibilities: the scientist present at the time of the incident either got killed by the anomalies themselves or resigned sometime later. Looking at Laura, Emily doubted she would choose the latter, and besides, Emily had already experienced the first possibility.


    Emily had faced similar situations before. Working in this field, you see and hear many things. It wasn’t the first time Emily found herself in imminent danger while studying an anomaly. However, she had to admit this was the first time she had been so close to dying.


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    “Is there ever a day when this job isn’t weird? After all, we deal with strange things all the time”


    “Hehe, I guess you’re right”


    The conversation helped to ease the strange atmosphere that had settled in. Emily didn’t find the situation bad; in fact, conversations like this were necessary to maintain sanity in a job like hers. Sometimes, it was these interactions that prevented despair and a sense of isolation.


    “So, boss, what are we going to do with our little anomaly? Should we leave it here or move it to our main research base?”


    “For now, we’ll do some tests here. Although we don’t have all our equipment, we can perform basic tests, like checking if it eats, needs to use the bathroom, and if it can understand us”


    Of course, there were other tests Emily wanted to conduct, such as assessing the durability and exploring the anomaly’s anomalous powers. Emily turned her face toward the aquarium and watched the anomaly, still sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the outside world. Seeing the creature so serene made Emily feel a twinge of remorse for the physical tests she would have to conduct, but she knew there was nothing she could do to change that.


    (... wait, when did I start caring about this kind of thing when it comes to anomalies?)


    These thoughts suddenly crossed Emily’s mind. She cast a quick glance at the anomaly, feeling her heart race and her cheeks warm. After that, she decided to perform a test to check if she had suffered any mental attack from an anomaly.


    When the elevator doors opened, a long white hallway was revealed. Emily, Laura, and Victor, who was pushing the aquarium, proceeded down the hallway with confident steps. At the end, they found a door. As soon as the door opened, several groups of scientists and soldiers appeared on the other side.


    The soldiers patrolled the area while the scientists read data on clipboards or tablets. Emily, Victor, and Laura’s presence immediately caught attention, especially due to the aquarium with something inside. This sight was undoubtedly not subtle.


    “A new anomaly? But why is it in an aquarium?”


    “And more importantly, is it safe? It’s just glass; it could easily break the container”


    The scientists’ murmurs attracted the attention of the stationed soldiers, who immediately formed a barrier and pointed their weapons at the anomaly. Emily sighed; even she had to admit that if she were in their place, she would have reacted the same way.


    “It’s all under control. The anomaly doesn’t seem interested in attacking humans”


    “Don’t worry, our little one won’t attack. She’s gentle, likes humans, and besides, she’s extremely cute!”


    Everyone was even more confused by Emily and Laura’s words, which were well known at almost every auxiliary base. Emily, in particular, had made significant discoveries about anomalies over the years, contributing greatly to the advancement in understanding these beings and phenomena.


    The soldiers, still puzzled by the situation, turned their gazes to Victor. As the leader of the anomaly response team, Victor did not work directly at the bases where anomalies were kept but was responsible for coordinating and commanding the teams sent to handle new occurrences. This made him a high-ranking figure among the regular soldiers guarding the bases.


    “Let them through; everything is under control. As Dr. Laura Cavendish and Dr. Emily Parker said, there’s no reason to worry”


    With Victor’s words, the soldiers had no more reasons to block the way and quickly stepped aside, allowing Emily, Laura, and Victor to continue.