After the less-than-delicate conversation with Charlotte’s family, a conversation during which Rupert had simply decided to announce, with absolutely no ceremony whatsoever, that the couple’s daughter would probably, maybe, possibly end up becoming an anomaly, it had taken a surprising amount of persuasion to prevent the whole thing from turning into a complete disaster.
Even so, after a long string of explanations, vague promises, and less-than-convincing attempts to reassure the parents, Victor and Rupert had finally managed to say their goodbyes and head back to the car with the family. Now, the two men were driving toward the facility where the [Angel of Death] and her sisters were being held.
The engine purred softly as the city lights drifted past the windows. Victor kept one hand resting on the steering wheel and the other near the gearshift, his eyes fixed on the dark road stretching ahead.
The dashboard cast a faint glow across the interior, painting their faces in muted blue light. It went without saying that most of the drive had been dominated by an uncomfortable sense of distance.
Victor knew that neither he nor Rupert were friends of Charlotte’s family. In fact, they were practically strangers who had appeared out of nowhere to tell two parents that their daughter might be on the verge of developing abilities capable of challenging everything they considered normal.
It wasn’t exactly the kind of conversation that ended with hugs and dinner invitations. Still... Nearly fifteen minutes of absolute silence was starting to turn the inside of the vehicle into some kind of social torture chamber.
The only sound came from the steady hum of the engine, occasionally interrupted by the tires rolling over minor imperfections in the asphalt. Even the radio was off. Taking a slow breath, Victor knew he would have to be the one to break the ice.
The silence filling the car wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but it was heavy, weighed down by the countless questions he was certain were running through everyone’s minds. Even so, nobody seemed able to find the right moment to begin.
Keeping one hand on the wheel, he glanced briefly at the road before speaking: “You can ask questions, if you want” His voice was calm and casual: “We’ve still got a few minutes before we get there, so I’d like to answer whatever’s on your mind while we’re driving”
No one responded immediately. Victor let out a small sigh through his nose and lifted his eyes toward the rearview mirror attached to the windshield.
In the reflection, he could see Charlotte sitting by the window in the back seat beside her parents. Both of them looked attentive, but cautious, as though they were afraid of saying the wrong thing.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Victor’s mouth: “Seriously, you don’t have to wait for the perfect opportunity” He shrugged: “Once we get to the facility, things are probably going to get pretty hectic, and we won’t exactly have much time to sit down and talk properly”
Victor’s gaze shifted between the road and the family’s reflection: “So if there’s anything you want to know... absolutely anything... now’s probably the best time to ask”
Through the mirror, Victor noticed the couple exchange a silent look. It was brief, only a few seconds, but loaded with meaning. Charlotte’s mother squeezed her daughter’s hand a little tighter, as if she needed to feel that she was still there, still within reach. The girl remained by the window, watching the scenery pass outside, though it was obvious her attention was fixed on the conversation.
Her father took a deep breath before speaking. It seemed he and his wife had reached some silent agreement regarding who would ask the difficult questions: “Alright...” he began, clearing his throat: “Charlotte... my daughter... if she...”
The words died for a moment. His expression tightened slightly as he tried to organize thoughts that had clearly been tormenting him ever since they got into the car.
“If my daughter really is an... anomaly...” he continued, choosing the word with obvious discomfort: “what exactly is that going to mean for her?” The inside of the vehicle seemed even quieter after the question.
Through the reflection in the glass, Victor studied the two parents. There was anxiety. There was worry. There was confusion. A tangled knot of emotions hidden behind tired eyes and tense expressions. But above all else, there was fear.
Not fear for themselves. Not fear of the answers they might receive. Fear for their daughter’s future. Fear of what that word meant. Fear of what she might become. And most of all, fear of what might happen to her. Her mother’s hand tightened around the girl’s once again, almost unconsciously.
A small gesture, but one that said more than any question ever could. Rupert, seated beside Victor, had remained silent for most of the drive. The constant rumble of the engine and the gentle sway of the vehicle filled the spaces where conversation would normally exist, but he showed no interest in breaking the silence.
He knew he had already said too much earlier when he revealed the possibility that their daughter might be an anomaly. Maybe more than he should have. Did he regret it? No. Sooner or later, they would have learned the truth. This conversation had always been inevitable.
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One way or another, they would have found themselves facing this exact moment. As far as Rupert was concerned, it was better to happen now than months or years later, when reality had become impossible to ignore. That didn’t mean he was indifferent to the situation. Far from it.
Rupert’s gaze drifted discreetly toward the back seat, where the girl sat quietly. For her parents’ sake, he sincerely hoped his suspicions were wrong. Because if they weren’t, not even he could predict what kind of future fate had in store for her. And that bothered him.
Rupert had spent most of his life interpreting signs, studying patterns, and trying to see the invisible threads connecting past, present, and future. Yet whenever he thought about her, everything seemed wrapped in a dense, uncertain fog.
Maybe that meant hope. Maybe it meant something far worse. In the end, he simply didn’t know. Beside him, Victor drew another deep breath. The air filled his lungs heavily before leaving through his nose in a slow exhale.
His fingers tightened around the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white beneath the pressure as he organized his thoughts and gathered the courage to answer. For several seconds, the only sound inside the car was the tires gliding along the road. Then, finally, he forced himself to speak.
“Honestly... I’m not sure” Victor’s answer got exactly the reaction he had expected. In the rearview mirror, he watched the girl’s parents exchange a quick glance. Her mother straightened in her seat, fingers tightening in her lap, while her father frowned, clearly dissatisfied by the lack of a definitive answer. The tension inside the vehicle rose almost immediately.
Victor let out a quiet sigh before continuing: “To be honest, this is a pretty unprecedented case. I mean... there have been two other cases that could be considered similar, but neither of them happened exactly like this”
He kept his eyes on the road as he spoke, organizing his thoughts: “In the first case, the anomaly simply separated itself from the girl’s mortal shell. It was relatively straightforward, so there weren’t many complications afterward” The explanation seemed to ease only a small fraction of the couple’s concern.
“And the second one?” the father asked, unable to hide the anxiety in his voice. Victor took a moment before answering. Silence settled inside the car.
For a brief moment, the streetlights reflected across the windshield seemed far more interesting than the memories surfacing in his mind. A familiar tightness settled in his chest before he finally spoke: “My sister transformed completely into an anomaly”
The words came out calm, but they carried a weight that was impossible to ignore. Almost immediately, Victor felt three pairs of eyes turn toward him from the back seat. The mother stared at him in stunned silence.
The father looked completely unsure how to react. As for the girl, she watched Victor with a different kind of attention, almost as if she were trying to see beyond the few words he had spoken. It was the reaction he had expected.
Several more minutes passed in silence. The only sounds inside the vehicle were the steady hum of the engine and the occasional creak of the suspension whenever Victor took a sharper turn.
Gradually, the city’s buildings and streets faded into the distance, replaced by an increasingly barren landscape. On the horizon, a vast stretch of sand began to dominate the view, and far ahead, the silhouette of the facility emerged like a dark stain against the brightness of the desert.
That was when Charlotte finally broke the silence: “So... what kind of anomaly do you think I am?” There was more curiosity than fear in her voice: “Because honestly, I don’t really feel any different from a normal person” She glanced down at her hands before looking back toward the road ahead: “So it’s kind of hard to believe I could be some kind of anomaly”
Victor raised his eyes to the rearview mirror. Charlotte was already looking directly at him, leaning back against her seat with a genuinely curious expression. She didn’t seem scared or nervous. She simply wanted answers. Victor opened his mouth to respond, then hesitated.
The truth was, he had no idea. Some anomalies were capable of destroying entire cities. Others could disappear into a crowd without anyone noticing.
Some looked like monsters pulled straight from nightmares. Others were completely indistinguishable from ordinary human beings. Charlotte could easily belong to any of those categories.
Victor remained silent for a few moments longer, his fingers lightly tapping against the armrest as he gathered his thoughts. His eyes narrowed briefly before he cast a sideways glance at Rupert: “Rupert, show them”
As soon as he heard the instruction, Rupert shifted his attention from the road and looked at Victor for a second, as though questioning whether this was really necessary. In the end, he simply shrugged: “Alright”
With a casual motion, he reached toward the dashboard. A soft click echoed through the vehicle, and to the family’s surprise, a section of the dashboard slid backward, revealing a hidden compartment.
Rupert pulled out a thick, neatly organized folder that had clearly been handled countless times before extending it toward the passengers in the back seat. No one took it immediately.
The mother shot a wary glance at her husband. Their daughter stared at the folder as though it might explode at any moment. After several seconds of hesitation, the father sighed and accepted it from Rupert: “And what exactly is this?” he asked, though his voice suggested he already suspected the answer.
“Read it” Victor replied simply.
The man opened the folder. The only sound inside the car became the turning of pages. As the family’s eyes moved across the documents, the changes in their expressions were almost immediate. Their initial confusion gave way to disbelief. Disbelief quickly turned into concern. And concern eventually became something much closer to fear.
The mother brought a hand to her mouth: “My God...”
The father frowned as he reread one of the pages, as though searching for any sign that this was some kind of sick joke: “This can’t be real”
Charlotte subtly leaned forward to get a better look at the documents. Page after page, the color drained from her face. Victor wasn’t surprised by any of their reactions.
The folder contained reports on some of the most dangerous anomalies ever cataloged. Anomalies capable of feats that completely defied logic. Individuals who manipulated concepts themselves. Things that, under any other circumstances, would get someone labeled insane on the spot.
But those anomalies were real. And the couple understood exactly what Victor was implying. Slowly, the father lifted his eyes from the documents and looked at Victor: “You’re saying our daughter...”
Victor held his gaze without hesitation: “I’m saying that Charlotte may belong to the same category as those anomalies”
The silence that followed seemed to weigh down the entire interior of the car. Even the sound of the engine felt distant. And judging by the expressions on the family’s faces, that possibility was far more terrifying than any of them wanted to admit.
