Anomaly: Deep Warehouse #2
Section Chief Lee carefully advanced through the warehouse interior, thick with acrid dust. He'd just picked up the recording from Emergency Support Division Team 4, but it offered no standout details about this space.
'Well... it sure brings back my elementary school days, layout-wise.' It really did feel just like an elementary school gym storage room—no major differences from his childhood memories. Aside from the overall scale being completely different, that is. The poorly ventilated air choked with dust. Balls and gym equipment from previous classes tossed around haphazardly and left to gather grime. The dim interior, and storage lockers that would leave a nasty bruise if you bumped into one wrong. Section Chief Lee took in the familiar scene as best he could, straining to spot any unnatural discrepancies.
'Hmm...'
Nothing had happened so far. They hadn't gone far from the starting point, so he wasn't too separated from his teammates. If anyone screamed, he could rush in with backup right away. But since they weren't reacting much either, maybe the anomaly hadn't fully manifested yet.
'Still, can't let my guard down. It took out Emergency Support Division.'
> Third recording. Physical traces of Anomaly Investigation Division Team 1 are sporadically visible. Cleared the floor's balls and tools—bureau-issued shoe prints remain.
Section Chief Lee played the recorder he'd just found, nudging aside the stray balls with his toe. Sure enough, faint patches on the dusty floor remained clean.
'Anomaly Investigation Division Team 1: five members. Emergency Support Division Team 4: five more... A space this vast could easily swallow ten people without a trace.' Not impossible. The Anomaly Management Bureau HQ itself was built on... a kind of massive anomalous space. No sky, ceiling, or walls—just an endless expanse of smooth, solid white flooring. That made the HQ effectively nonexistent on Earth.
'But at this density level, there should be special rules, laws, or phenomena.'
Anomalies were arbitrary. But most had some minimal causality if you looked closely. Take Anomaly Name: Old Tomb—it warped ancestral rites into rules. You had to dodge fog-shrouded graves and rotting corpses bursting from the earth to gather ritual items.
'...That library I encountered before was the same.' The one that had nearly erased his very existence—it had its own rules, matching items, and backdrop.
So Section Chief Lee was convinced this Deep Warehouse wasn't just mimicking an elementary gym storage. Elementary school. Gym class. Storage. One of those keywords had to be the core.
He'd been following traces for a while when—
Tak-tak-tak-tak!
"!"
Click.
Footsteps echoed from afar. Before he even realized it, Section Chief Lee had drawn his pistol and aimed ahead. He checked his tie camera was recording, then braced for the approaching noise.
Huff... huff...
Tak-tak-tak.
"Freeze."
"...!!"
What finally emerged was a figure armored in a gas mask and bulletproof vest. It halted at his command, raised both hands, then trembled as if overjoyed at the sight of him.
Grrrr...
Thud... thud-thud...
"......"
Section Chief Lee scowled momentarily, then demanded, "Don't tell me... you're from Support?"
"State your identity."
"Team 4, designation Q!"
Section Chief Lee had finally met the first missing person.
* * *
"Haa... haa..."
"...Here, have some water."
He must have been running hard—the man calling himself Q panted raggedly behind his gas mask. Section Chief Lee watched silently, then unscrewed a bottled water from his bag and handed it over.
"Th-thank you."
Gulp. Gulp.
Drip drip.
Q had chugged so desperately he spilled nearly half. Section Chief Lee waited quietly for him to calm.
"Whew... thank you."
"No problem. So you're the only survivor? Where's the rest of your team?"
The man wiped sweat trickling over the smooth, rigid skin peeking from under the mask and replied, "Scattered. The others are probably... dead."
"All of Team 4?"
"Y-yes."
Team 4 wiped out. Then what about the missing elementary kids and Anomaly Investigation Division Team 1?
"Not sure about Team 1, but they seemed dead too. Saw bloodstains."
"I see."
"Never even spotted the kids."
Whew... Section Chief Lee barely resisted the urge for a smoke. Anomaly Investigation Division Team 1 gone too. That put him and his team at serious risk.
'Time to pull out?'
"Uh... sorry to ask late, but what's your affiliation?"
"Affiliation?"
"Yes. Did you come alone? Where are the others? And are you all adults? Thirteen or older?"
The man stared blankly. Section Chief Lee brushed off the gaze, dodged the questions, and stood.
"Let's move for now."
"Please answer."
"Curious what answer you're fishing for."
"Something like 'came in a group, same affiliation, adults' should do."
'Hmm... age, huh? Means the kids might still be alive.'
"No way?"
"Hm?"
"N-nothing."
"......"
In the end, Section Chief Lee chose retreat. The situation was too dicey. He'd link up fast with Employee Kim Seo-young and escape as a pair if needed.
"Q, mind taking point? I'd appreciate it."
"Me? I've been running for my life in here, suffering every step...!"
"You're far better armed than me. This issued pistol's fucking useless anyway."
"...Whew, fine."
Q finally took the lead, assault rifle ready. Section Chief Lee had the route memorized anyway—who led didn't matter.
"This way, right?"
"Yes."
"Space this huge... how do you remember it all?"
"Basic requirement, no?"
"From where? Your team? Or the organization?"
"Yeah."
Was there some anomaly here making him crave smokes? Section Chief Lee kept fumbling his empty pocket.
'Soon as I'm out, I'm lighting up.' Wife nagged him to quit days ago—he finally did, but fuck that. No cigs and the stress would kill him.
"This way. Right here, straight ahead. Keep going."
"Got it."
Maybe being alone to duo made Q extra chatty.
"By the way, what do you make of this place? Dangerous, sure, but... reminds me of elementary gym class."
"Kinda, yeah."
"Hide-and-seek, we'd duck in the storage shed. Grab balls before or after class."
"......"
Scrape. Scrape.
"Chased fun back then, didn't notice the danger. Nearly tumbled down those two steps once."
"......"
"Tag inside, got beaned by some other class's carelessly tossed ball. Banged into metal lockers fighting. Routine stuff."
"...Really? What'd you do then?"
"Dunno. Memories fuzzy. Whew, oh—and this stale air. Bacteria everywhere in the dust..."
"...Fuck."
"Pardon? What was that?"
"Whew... nothing. Got a spare gas mask?"
"...No."
Section Chief Lee had no choice but to cover nose and mouth with his sleeve. Too late anyway.
"Get locked in from friends' pranks... even the nearby entrance was hard to find. Darker than this, I think."
"Yeah."
"Oh, what should I call you?"
"Just two of us—names're pointless."
"Huh? That's weird. Who are you anyway? Same affiliation?"
"Same as you Q, yeah."
"Then why so quiet? Or can't you talk?"
Suddenly Q swung his assault rifle's muzzle toward Section Chief Lee.
"What the fuck..."
Section Chief Lee sighed at the aggression.
"You know what the anomaly's capable of—why spill my info? Looks like it didn't fully absorb your memories."
"What? What're you—"
"No mirrors here, huh. You're not human. Think I mistook your real form for human? I see it all beyond that mask—smooth bowling balls for everything. Arms and torso bulging with multicolored balls. Freshly formed anomaly, sloppy mimicry? Or intentional?"
"......"
Click. Click. Click.
"Really gonna shoot? Good thing I trained. So, balls imitating humans?"
Somehow, Section Chief Lee now held the magazine and a single bullet.
"Couldn't copy shooting right? It doesn't fire just by pulling that."
Clatter. Clatter.
"Thanks for the intel. Childhood memories, age—rules, right? Insisting on adults, thirteen-plus. My team's in danger. Maybe already hit."
"...Q, Q, Q, 4, Team 4, my affiliation."
> On-site... no, name and affiliation after escape. Anomaly Name 'Deep Warehouse'—encountered anomalous entity. Naming it 'Ball Human' for now. 'Ball Human' mimicking Emergency Support Division Team 4's Q. Emergency Support Division Team 4 and Anomaly Investigation Division Team 1 all confirmed dead. Elementary school missing children may still be alive.
"---------."
Q's gas-masked body began crumbling. Balls of every kind spilled out.
Thud. Roll roll roll...
The bowling ball that had been his head dropped to the floor—then shot straight at Section Chief Lee's skull.
"Fuck this. Wait—so all these balls are the anomaly?"
Then he heard countless balls rolling from afar.
"Just stay alive, everyone..."
The Deep Warehouse had turned hostile toward Section Chief Lee.