Anomaly

At this point, we still had no concrete clue what exactly was going on. That said, as the car slowly made its way through the city streets, one thing became increasingly obvious: everything felt bizarrely artificial. It wasn't as if the people weren't actually human or anything like that. My true "Eyes" made that abundantly clear.

Without the slightest difficulty, I could see the rainbows completely enveloping every single person walking the streets. Men and women heading to their destinations, employees hard at work, customers sitting inside diners or simply waiting on the sidewalk... every last one of them was human. The problem wasn't what they were, it was how they behaved.

There was something deeply wrong with them. At first glance, their movements looked perfectly natural. But the longer I watched, the more that illusion began to crumble. Every action felt scripted, perfectly synchronized, yet completely hollow. There was no spontaneity, no hesitation, none of those tiny distractions and imperfections that make people... well, people.

I mean, we were in the middle of a city. Was it really possible that not a single conversation was taking place? No laughter spilling out from a group of friends, no couple arguing, no children running around while their parents called them back? Not even someone talking on the phone or exchanging a few words with a cashier at a diner.

The silence wasn't absolute. Engines still rumbled, tires rolled across the pavement, and a handful of businesses remained open. But it was a social silence, one that felt almost unnatural. It was as though hundreds of people occupied the same space without ever acknowledging one another's existence.

It was difficult... no, practically impossible to believe that this was normal. That unsettling feeling only grew stronger as we approached the residential neighborhoods.

If downtown had been disturbing because of the silence, the absence of the constant background noise every city inevitably produces, whether from traffic, conversations, or busy storefronts, this place was different.

What truly stood out was the complete absence of people. There wasn't a single soul walking the sidewalks. No one crossing the street. No children playing in their yards. Not even someone peeking through a window.

The houses were still there. Cars remained parked in their driveways. Everything looked perfectly ordinary... Except for one tiny detail. It was as if every single resident had vanished at the exact same moment.

It almost felt as though, for some inexplicable reason, everyone had collectively agreed to act as suspiciously as possible today. Naturally, the others noticed it too: "This town is giving me some seriously creepy vibes..." Rupert muttered. Even hearing himself say it sent a shiver down his spine. He instinctively rubbed his arms before shaking his head, trying to push away an unpleasant memory before it fully resurfaced.

"You know what this reminds me of?" he continued, letting out a nervous chuckle that died almost as soon as it began: "There was this movie I watched last week. The whole town looked completely normal, but in the end they found out every single resident had been replaced by these weird gelatinous aliens" Rupert cast a suspicious glance toward the surrounding houses: "... Yeah. Now that I've actually said it out loud, I kind of wish I hadn't"

The most common reaction to Rupert's comment was pure disbelief. Not exactly because what he'd said sounded ridiculous... Well... okay, maybe it sounded a little ridiculous. Even so, when I honestly stopped to look at the situation as a whole, his theory had an unsettling amount of logic behind it.

I blinked a few times, trying to organize my thoughts before looking back at Rupert. He was sitting in the passenger seat beside Victor, absentmindedly staring out the window. Perhaps sensing my gaze, he looked up and met my eyes through the rearview mirror.

His reaction, however, was surprisingly indifferent. He simply shrugged, as if we were discussing the weather: "What?" he asked casually: "It's a pretty similar situation"

Without the slightest hurry, he raised one hand and casually gestured toward the rows of houses outside, frozen beneath an oppressive silence: "Seriously, how else would you explain this?" he continued: "This entire neighborhood looks abandoned. Even if all the kids are at school... do you honestly think every adult decided to stay locked inside their homes at the exact same time?"

As much as I hated to admit it, Rupert had a point. In fact, I wasn't the only one who seemed to have reached that conclusion. All it took was a glance around the car. Arthur remained completely expressionless. Emily silently frowned.

Laura looked visibly uneasy. Even Charlotte's parents exchanged subtle glances, as though trying to fit this new piece into a puzzle that was becoming more incomprehensible by the minute.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

In the end, no one came up with an argument to refute Rupert's theory. As I tried to sort through this new perspective in my head, working through everything his words implied, I became completely lost in thought.

It was Charlotte's voice that snapped me back to reality: "Stop!" Her voice exploded through the car like a gunshot. It wasn't a simple request. It sounded like an urgent command, loud enough to make everyone tense up instantly.

Charlotte's parents practically jumped out of their seats, startled by the sudden shout. Emily and Laura flinched instinctively, shooting confused looks at Charlotte before trying to figure out what had provoked such a reaction.

Arthur, on the other hand, didn't even blink. His expression never changed, but his eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly as he stared out the window. The monocle resting before his eye emitted an unusual glow, subtle, yet unwavering.

Finally, the very moment Charlotte's voice echoed through the car, Victor, who was behind the wheel, slammed on the brakes so hard that the vehicle almost came to an instant stop. The sudden jolt was enough to throw me out of my seat. My body lurched forward before the seatbelt yanked me back, sending a violent shudder through the entire car.

I blinked a few times, still trying to figure out what had just happened. A faint ringing filled my ears, and when I finally looked up, I found Charlotte's mother staring at me with a stunned expression, as though she was still trying to process the situation herself.

As a completely unnecessary side note, half of my body had somehow ended up sprawled across Charlotte's mother's lap, while the other half was resting on her father's. How, exactly, had I managed to wind up in such an utterly ridiculous position? Honestly... I hadn't the slightest clue.

"Everyone okay back there?" Victor asked, glancing at the rearview mirror while keeping both hands firmly on the steering wheel. His eyes swept across each passenger one by one, quietly checking whether anyone had been hurt or was still recovering from the abrupt stop.

When his gaze finally landed on me, it lingered there for a brief moment. Victor didn't say a single word. He simply looked at me with the same unreadable expression he always wore. Rupert, on the other hand... well, let's just say his attempt to hold back his laughter was a complete failure.

A muffled snort escaped him, followed by an obviously forced cough in a desperate attempt to cover it up. His shoulders trembled for a second, and the moment our eyes met, he quickly turned to stare out the window as if the scenery outside had suddenly become the most fascinating thing in the world.

Needless to say... the situation was unbelievably awkward. Even if I tried to get up, my position wasn't exactly ideal for it. Sooner or later we'd end up bumping into each other, and honestly, I had absolutely no intention of having to roll off someone's lap just to escape this mess. I still had my dignity as an anomaly... and, above all else, as Charlotte's older brother.

So, I resorted to my foolproof strategy. Without saying a word, I quietly expanded my golden field. The instant my aura spread through the car, the entire world fell into absolute silence. Time itself froze.

Everyone's expressions remained exactly where they were. The air felt almost solid, and even the tiny specks of dust drifting through the sunlight pouring in from the windows hung perfectly motionless.

Taking advantage of the brief pause, I calmly stood up, straightened my long shirt out of habit, and casually returned to my seat beside Charlotte without the slightest hint of urgency.

Charlotte, however, was the lone exception. She followed every single one of my movements with curious eyes, her head tilted slightly to one side, as though she were watching a particularly entertaining performance.

Her gaze tracked me effortlessly, making it abundantly clear that she could see the flow of time around us had been completely suspended. The moment I dismissed the golden field, time resumed just as abruptly as it had stopped.

For Charlotte's parents, though, it was nothing short of a magic trick. One moment I was lying across their laps. The next, I was calmly sitting beside Charlotte with flawless posture and a completely indifferent expression, as though I'd never moved in the first place.

The two of them blinked several times, clearly struggling to process what they'd just witnessed, while I simply remained silent, pretending that absolutely nothing unusual had happened. Unfortunately, my attempt to quietly slip past the whole situation didn't go anywhere near as smoothly as I'd hoped.

I could feel everyone's eyes on me. Not a single person said anything. On the outside, I maintained the same impassive expression as always, as if nothing had happened at all.

On the inside, however, my mind had already descended into complete chaos, desperately trying to come up with a way to escape this painfully embarrassing situation.

Thankfully, before anyone decided to say something about what had just happened... most likely Rupert... my salvation arrived in the form of Emily's voice: "... I think we'd better take a look outside" she suggested, breaking the silence. No one objected.

Without exchanging a single comment, or even another glance, everyone climbed out of the vehicle one after another. The sound of the doors closing echoed down the empty street before silence settled over the neighborhood once again.

Outside, we were still in a residential area. Rows of houses lined both sides of the street. Their front yards remained perfectly maintained, and the parked cars gave the unsettling impression that their owners had simply vanished without warning.

There wasn't enough wind to stir the trees, let alone the sound of birds singing or the distant bark of a dog. The silence, already unsettling inside the car, became even more oppressive the moment our feet touched the sidewalk. We stood there without moving for several seconds, quietly taking in our surroundings.

Straight ahead, the road stretched into the distance, disappearing between the houses. To our left, a side street branched off between the homes, just as deserted. There wasn't the slightest sign of movement. No trace of another living soul. Only an unsettling emptiness that made the entire neighborhood feel abandoned.