'Okay wait wait wait… You said you're an anomaly agency? How many of you guys are even there in this G.E.A.R.?' Wazir slurred his sentence out. Another beer after the ice cream and he was pretty much wasted.
'There's more than 50 members in G.E.A.R. actually. I don't know the exact number but we have three divisions, each has around 20 anomalies in it. We're not that small.' Enzo, still mostly sober, answered. Most of the city lights had dimmed, only a small part of it now still lit. Most of the sounds audible were those of crickets in the bushes and trains speeding in the distance.
'And like, nobody knows of this?' Wazir's questions continued, followed by a small hiccup.
'G.E.A.R. has formed an alliance with the UN. We provide protection from anomalous threats in return for secrecy. Most governments tend to stay away from us anyways considering our freakish powers.'
'What's your freakish power?' Wazir's face was flushed red.
'My freakish power is the uncanny ability to see the probability of the occurrence of any incidence.'
'Uh… speak English?'
Enzo sighed, 'I can see how likely it is for something to happen. For example…' Enzo peeked at Wazir from above his glasses, '…I say there's a near hundred percent chance you're going to puke in the next thirty seconds.'
'No way. I don't feel queasy at a-' Wazir instantly felt a mix of alcohol, ice cream, acid and pepsin lurch into his mouth and flew out. His head bowed to his side, and out came creamy, brown vomit. His nostrils flared, his lungs asking for air.
'Only truth leaves my mouth.' Enzo grimaced. He stood up, crushing his last can and throwing it off the cliff. He grabbed his dirty coat off the floor.Enzo couldn't help but pity his situation. That was when he noticed.
A small puddle of water. Its surface tension keeping it in its place, but Enzo knew that wasn't it. It was too large to be sweat, although there was humidity, there was no sign of downpour, and the place was dry soil when they had arrived. It was uncannily place right where Wazir was positioned. Enzo instantly pulled Wazir off the seat with a heavy yank on his arm.
'What the fuck dude!' Wazir could barely stand straight. Enzo checked his behind. The grey trousers were dry, not a single sign of wetness. That puddle wasn't supposed to be there. It stood still, not a single ripple, not a single sign of flowing into the ground. Enzo ripped his sunglasses of his face, and instantly calculations flared up in front of his irises. His miniscule green eyes glowed with numbers and texts floating around until Enzo finally found it.
The chances that they weren't alone 100%
Enzo grabbed Wazir's palm.
'Ooh handholding!' Wazir cheered, but Enzo was in no mood for jokes.
Enzo jogged. His crocs glued around his feet with sweat. His mind was rushing in multiple directions. Were there anomalies in their surroundings? Enzo's probabilities were flying by his eyes at light speed. His mind worked on finding a safe route without hassles. Was it safe to go back to the moped? Should they find civilization? Where was the closest exit to the headquarters?
Meanwhile all Wazir did was lazily follow him, only retarding their movement.
Taking a deep breath, Enzo put back his dark glasses. He decided to just play it safe.
'Calling G.E.A.R. 070, message for directors: quote being pursued by potentially threatening anomalies, atleast one; requesting urgent backup or escape route; Agent would prefer not engaging with the threat unquote'.
.
Enzo rushed through the now empty roads at speeds, just as fast, if not faster than earlier. His hair was drenched with sweat, his grip tight on the arms of the pink vehicle. Enzo scanned his situation. It wasn't humanly possible to chase after the moped, Enzo was tightly cuddled around his waist, his consciousness barely intact. His eyes in a dreamy stare, and his tongue lolling out, with drool falling to Enzo's back. The moped had enough fuel to drive them to the wooden door. He still had to keep alert for any stray animals or weirdly parked vehicles in his way.
Internally thankful that there were no police checks occurring, Enzo swerved to the parking spot next to Abhi's now closed stall. The entire setup was covered with jute rags, only exposing the silhouettes. The boy was curled up under similar jute rags with what looked like a silhouette of a dog. Crickets chirped in some corner of the street. Otherwise, the place was empty and eerily quiet. The orange glow of the streetlights further convoluted visibility. Enzo stepped on the gravel, dragging Wazir's arms with him, only to hear a small splash.
His heart skipped a beat.
Goosebumps spread all over his skin.
Enzo stopped dead in his tracks. Wazir was at the verge of falling. Enzo's fingers trembled uncontrollably trying to hold the boy in his place. He glanced at the boy who was waking up from his trance. The boy's eyelids flickered. He saw Enzo standing frozen in his place, with wide eyes and a face that signaled something was horribly wrong.
Enzo tried to peek above his glasses, to use his powers, but only managed to have them slide right off his face, thanks to his supple, sweat-covered face. He saw through his data, and there is was, clear as daylight.
The chances that the puddle was going to steal his croc 99.543%
'Enzo? What happe-', the man placed his finger on Wazir's lips, silencing him. Enzo pointed down below him, signaling at a small pool of water in which Enzo's feet were placed. The water was pooled around the crocs, without a single ripple.
Enzo bent forward into Wazir's ear, and with a whisper as quiet as he could possibly release, he pointed at the door from which they had earlier entered, 'Get in there, and make sure the door closes behind you. Also...' Enzo leaned in closer. Wazir could sense Enzo's heavy pulse.
'Don't look back.'
The puddle, seemingly reacting to the whisper lurched, now with miniscule waves fluttering all over its surface. Its muddy color refracting light to create wobbly shapes. Enzo saw his own reflection slowly shimmer out.
'RUN!' Enzo pushed Wazir off the moped, the boy complying and letting his stamina out. His senses were still tangled in the web of the alcohol, but he was trying. His feet uncoordinated, his arms flailing and his vision dizzy.
Meanwhile, the puddle of water, now on the move, froze into ice, freezing Enzo's footwear in itself. Enzo letting go of that croc, also began his run towards the door. The water, noticing that, thawed and slithered at a freakish speed after them. Its surface tension maintained, it left no trail behind.
Wazir reached first. He grabbed the handle and pushed the wood, rushing in. He saw the sight of the storage room, right before he tripped on the sill and fell into the room. A loud bang startled him. A small splinter of wood flew right by Wazir. He swerved to see, the door was shut. Not another rattle, not another creak.
Wazir gulped as his chest heaved. He was alone. It was eerily quiet. The hopelessness was back.