Anomaly Read Online Free PDF Page A

proudly showing off her anomaly to the other kids.
    A couple of the kids pestered Teller for balloons and he lamented what was quickly turning into an expensive exercise. There were four others who didn't have any additional money and they all wanted a balloon. At five dollars a balloon, Teller decided he wouldn't fall for this again, but he smiled, paid for more balloons and handed them around.
    The school group came up to the police barrier, almost a hundred feet away from the outer edge of the anomaly. Security was tight with police and security guards standing just ten to fifteen feet apart behind the wooden barricade, with their backs to the anomaly as they looked out at the crowd. There were hundreds of them, which surprised Teller.
    Beyond the barricade stood the official research trailers and the various observation posts, all blocking the kids’ view of the anomaly. But, Teller pointed out to the students that if they stood in one spot for a while and looked carefully they could just make out the motion of the anomaly. There was a tree on a strange angle, a traffic light with a slight lean that seemed to slowly straighten, and the building fragments appeared to be moving back together.
    Teller pulled out his small gyroscope. It was a kid's toy. He set the center of it spinning and started fiddling with the outer hoops. He began explaining to the kids how gyroscopes always point in the same direction no matter which way they are turned.
    A reporter came up to him, having seen him talking with the kids. She introduced herself as Cathy, while her cameraman mumbled something about finches from behind the camera lens. Cathy apologized for her cameraman, explaining that his name was Finch, and that they were looking for a human interest story now that the initial excitement surrounding the anomaly had died down.
    Initially Teller said no, figuring he'd need clearance from the school first, but Cathy was both cute and persistent. She explained she would much rather have been back in the office, but her producer insisted this was her story so she should continue coverage, no matter how boring it became. She told Teller that Finch was more interested in all the junk food and specialist coffees on sale in the park. Teller smiled, he'd been thinking about grabbing a cup himself. He too had noted that the anomaly had turned into an old style county fair, with people coming from far and wide.
    Cathy pleaded with Teller. Her eyes implored him. The downcast look on her face cried out for attention, and Teller knew he was a sucker for a pretty lady. He agreed to a short interview, but insisted that Finch avoid any shots of the children's faces, so Finch lined up behind the kids. After a brief introduction and an idle chat about the community school, Cathy asked a few questions.
    “Why did you bring the kids down to see the anomaly? What do you think is so special about this bizarre phenomenon?”
    Teller smiled for Cathy rather than the camera, even though he felt awkward, fiddling with the toy gyroscope. He hoped she didn't ask him about it, but she didn't seem to notice it.
    “Well, the anomaly is unique,” he began, trying to relax and lose himself in his reply. “It is like nothing we or our parents or our grandparents or anyone else on this planet has ever seen before. For these kids, this could very well be the key defining moment of their young lives. Instead of growing up in the dark specter of some catastrophic, epoch-defining event like 9-11 or the assassination of a president, these kids will grow up talking about how the anomaly reshaped their world.”
    Teller could see the look of surprise on her face. She seemed genuinely surprised by the notion. Like most of the other reporters he'd heard covering the story, she probably only saw the anomaly in the sensation of the moment.
    “Why do you say that?” she asked. The look on her face told him she was asking more for her own benefit than the camera.
    “Scientific