Chereads / Anomalous Anomaly / Chapter 8 - Chapter 8 - Rising Tensions

Chapter 8 - Chapter 8 - Rising Tensions

Wazir was dragged out the porch gates. The crowd slowly dimmed out and it got easier for the boy to keep in pace with the adults. The sunlight stung his eyes a little, the breeze of the beach was a sudden shift from the smell of strong fragrances and perfumes. The smell of salt burnt the epithelia in his nostrils. A mild wind blew his hair, inertia bringing it back in place. He could feel the sand in his shoes. Both adults, although calm, were carrying Wazir out of the epicenter of the chaotic party. Beast suddenly halted.

Nothing happened. Wazir expected Finnegan to go on and on about something, Beast chiding in every now and then, but none of that happened. All three of them stood silently a dozen yards away from the crowd, and simply breathed in the salty breeze. The bass from the party could be felt through the sand. The waves, seemingly lashing to the beat. A mix of teal and ultramarine washed the shores, Hazy sprinkles of white flying out towards the bunch. Almost a minute later, when Wazir started questioning returning to the event did someone speak,

'No matter how cliché Enzo may claim it may be, this place has to have my favorite view.' It was Finnegan. He turned and looked at Wazir. His white suit, still spotless.

'Enzo never disappoints. Look at that crowd.'

'Looks like someone won't be turning up to work tomorrow.' The pink figure grumbled thinking of Enzo doused in that alcohol.

'What do you think Wazir, how's the party?' Finnegan's eyes were set on the boy now.

'Its- Its uh… unreal. I mean, I saw Michael B. Jordan and Adam Levine in there. I can't even imagine myself in such a place.' He turned and looked at the gargantuan mansion, 'Feels like something I'd see in Vogue magazine.'

Finnegan reverted his gaze to the ocean, 'Wazir, know why I brought you here?'

'Absolutely no clue.'

'You're a member of G.E.A.R. now. This is your first assignment.' Wazir couldn't comprehend Finnegan's words. What assignment?

'I don't know if you remember but, I spoke of another case like yours being rescued by Revan earlier. They're here. Well not "here" here, but in there…' His finger flew up in the air, pointing to Enzo's grey trapezoid house adorned in glimmering lights in the middle of the day, 'And your assignment, is to find them. Now remember, this is nothing official, just a test to see if you can invoke your abilities naturally, and if you can, can you put them to better use for achieving a goal. Most of us can without much hinderance, but the question is, can you?'

Wazir felt a tingle up his spine. Finnegan's stare was no joke.

'You have until the end of this day. Once the last guest leaves, your time is up. Do you understand?' The boy could only nod in response, his mouth ajar.

'Oh and, just to set the stakes a little high. Failure means immediate expulsion.' Finnegan's words were remorseless. Wazir could only feel the sting again. The hope Enzo had given him that night was burning away. His feet suddenly felt numb.

'What're you waiting for boy? Time and tide wait for no one.' The horn-rimmed adult grinned, 'Pun intended.'

Wazir turned. His suit creasing with each step. His arms hanging by his side, his puffy hair suddenly drooping. A hunt for one figure in this crowd. The song changed, Kendrick Lamar was on. "Bitch, be humble." echoed through the hall, as Wazir re-entered the crowd.

.

Enzo was having a ball, in both ways. The divas were so elegant, Enzo drooled at their dress designs. He may have been the designer for half of them anyways, but he'd never imagine the finished product would've looked so good. Rihanna was posing for the camera flashes in a shimmering purple one-piece gown with frills running all across them. Ariel Winter in a beautiful blue bouffant, streaks of turquoise running down her hair. Jacksepticeye wearing a slim-fit black suit, contrasting his lime green hair. Familiar faces everywhere he looked.

And obviously standing next to him, the super sexy Revan Karmic, around whom crowds grew. He was a people-magnet, and his personality only catalyzed it. Enzo was often surprised how Revan could be two people at the same time. Being an actor, it must've been relatively easier to put up the façade, Enzo guessed. Both of them, were the talk of the day. Eyes followed them everywhere they went, and drinks went past their lips, down their gullet, with each conversation. Done with the interaction, Enzo brought himself to the bar with aching heels. He sat on the glistening stool and stared at humongous groups of people busy in chat as music blared and echoed across the room.

The bartender, a bulky man with a short stature and rounded face approached Enzo. His beard prickly, just like his hair. 'Boss, unauthorized personnel at the gates.' He handed Enzo a flat-screen tablet.

Enzo picked off his glasses. The probabilities becoming visible. Amidst the gaps in the texts, Enzo saw, wide-eyed, his predictions coming true. Enzo squinted at the blue light. Standing at the gate, staring right at the overhead camera was that freak. He was still wearing his camo-uniform, though it seemed much cleaner, even after their entire fiasco in the gutters. He held a bouquet of flowers, lazily wrapped in a plastic tarp within his tattooed hands. His expressions showed a tinge of nervousness, in a flood of impatience. Enzo found it near impossible to believe it. The very man, whose head Enzo had chopped off with his scythe, whose body he saw flop into the infectious waters after decapitations, that man was standing in front of his gates, here to join the party.

Enzo stood back up, handing the tablet back to the bear, 'I'll get the gates.' His feet moving swiftly. He put his glasses on, bringing back his swagger. He didnt want to arouse any suspicions.

'Calling G.E.A.R. 070, message for directors: quote the freak from earlier is at the gates of this mansion, absolutely no engagement unquote'.

Revan felt a tingle up his spine. Enzo's intuition was right. He gulped his drink in one go, wiped his mouth with grimace, and walked out into the crowd, his eyes darting left and right, in search for Enzo. The alcohol was having its effect, his surrounding felt alot shakier. Revan tried getting a grip on himself, this was potentially scandalous.

Finnegan and Beast, still at the sandy shores, were completely baffled by the message. Enzo never lied. This message was a hundred percent true, a zombie was at the gates. Both of them rushed into the mansion, now worried about finding Wazir and securing him away from that freak. Terrible timing, they both thought.

Wazir, clueless, glanced at the figures, majority of whom didn't even return the gaze. The mission was like finding a needle in a haystack for him. Who the hell was the anomaly here.

'This is near impossible.' They all thought.

.

Shifting through the crowds, this girl was almost inconspicuous. A black crop top and netted leggings adorning her thin figure, Blue cat ears rested upon her scalp, which was covered in similarly shaded blue hair, tangled and curling down to her arms. A grey hoodie tied around her waist. Her white yeezys with arrays of RGB lights near the soles glimmered. Her expressions, contrary to her radiant outfit, almost ghastly from social anxiety. Her eyes fluttered in the sockets, trying their best not to roll upwards.

'Who the hell is this guy?' Her lips managed to murmur in a stressed tone.