BBW: Anomaly Points Book 1

The moment I was released from the hospital, I took off. Lewis may have been sending a car to pick me up and take me to the Navy base, but my memory is a bit hazy.

Sophia got me a prepaid debit card, loaded some cash on it, and I went home. My laptop was at my apartment, and Maple was a sweetie and let me in again. I used the Laptop to cancel my bank cards and order more, but the banks were closed for the holidays. I set up the new phone Soph got me, and Internet banking will have to do me for a while.

Lewis was adamant that nothing was leaving the quarantine zone until the quarantine was lifted. Apparently, that was the whole purpose of the quarantine. I would not get my bike back until at least two months after the anomaly is destroyed.

I didn’t stay at home as the Navy knew where I lived, and I was seriously done with people for a while. Not only were they LOUD and annoying, but they also SMELLED. I think I had done well to last this long.

I packed a bag with some clothes and a laptop and left it with Maple to give to the nice young people in Navy uniforms who came asking for me. I told her I had a new job for them and would be going away for a few days. I said the navy people could use a dose of good old-fashioned syrupy goodness to make their day and asked her to sugar-coat it for them. Then I gave her all my leftover alcohol as a thank you. I know her family has been restricting her access to alcohol because she goes a bit overboard, but I think it helps her enjoy life. I wish I had a camera setup.

I went down to the beach. There were signs saying it was closed, and no swimming was allowed. I had a small waterproof bag with clothes, a towel, a phone, etc on my back. And of course my jandels. About 1.5km from where I live are the Bean Rocks, and an automated lighthouse is on those rocks. A 1.5km swim, including with the tides and currents, is not that difficult for me. It is a great place to get away from everybody, and no pleasure boats are out today.

Swimming is a bit different now. I noticed it when I swam out with Carla to the anomaly. I am not as buoyant as I was. People usually float, especially in saltwater. It is probably just a combination of me not having fat and not holding air in my lungs. With lungfuls of air, I still float.

I can see better underwater, so that is useful.

My smell is different. To smell underwater, I have to have water up my nose. That is going to take a lot of getting used to. In fact, I don’t think I can do it. Sharks continually have water flowing in their mouths and out their gills. I do not. My sense of smell is going to be useless to me underwater. Sharks can sense blood at huge distances, and I can’t stand water up my nose. This is me learning about mutations and how they work. They are not all good. I think my Smell will be useful on land if I can learn to control it some.

My sense of hearing is great. I can hear all sorts of things. Boats moving through the water splashes and fish, and I can track things by hearing. I am not even halfway to the lighthouse, and I can hear the waves splashing against the structure while underwater. This is a good mutation.

The tide is in, so the rocks are submerged when I arrive. I explore around under the water, testing my senses. I am going to need some diving knowledge and skills, and I have yet to test how deep I can go. I assume the Navy will teach me all that.

The ladders up to the lighthouse are locked behind grills, but climbing up the outside is easy. It is only about three stories high. There is an inside where the light mechanism is housed and maintained, but I am not going to smash my way in. There is a narrow porch where I sit and enjoy the peace and test the sea air for different scents.

Ferries still come and go to the different parts of the coast. There is one container ship coming past to the port. A couple of naval vessels come and go.

I didn’t get to the beach on the other side of the harbour until after 4 pm, but it doesn’t get dark until half-eight at this time of year. It does cool off, but I think my tolerance for the cold has strengthened a bit. It is all the small things I am noticing.

I decided I wouldn’t swim for home. I would swim for the peninsula on the other side of the harbour. It is about the same distance, and the Navy base is on that side. I hope Maple wasn’t too drunk to give them my bag.

It took me a bit over an hour in the wind and tides, and I was tired toward the end. It was night now, and I was testing my Electroreceptors and how they might help me navigate. I couldn’t figure it out. I could sense the earth's field, and I could sense some small changes, but it didn’t help me. Maybe it needs a wider area than three to four kilometres. Maybe I just suck at it.

I made landfall at North Head because of the tides, which meant there was a bit of a walk around the coast to the naval base. Luckily, I had my jandels. This is a rich part of town, so there were restaurants open. I was a little underdressed for fancy restaurants in my swimming trunks, t-shirt and jandels. I ordered off their takeaway menu and went to eat on the dark beach.

It was nice. Pleasant. Some people don’t get the concept of being peopled out, but it is very real to me. I wondered what the time was. I started swimming at around 4 pm. The sun went down at 8:30 ish. I sigh, pull out my phone, and turn it on. It starts beeping at me. It is eleven at night. There were several voice messages that I ignored. I hadn’t even set up my answer phone message yet to say don’t bother leaving a voice message but text me. I am not interested in listening to people rabbit on when a simple text would do.

There were several texts from Lewis, which I skipped to see the one from Carla. Carla’s just said, “Lewis is grumpy at you.” She needn't have bothered with it. I could tell Lewis was grumpy. At least she kept it down to five words.

I didn’t bother reading the texts from Lewis but walked up to the naval base guard station. My name was on their list to let in, but I didn’t have any Photo ID on me to prove who I was. My Driver's Licence was in quarantine with my bike. This involved getting someone down to the guard station to verify who I was. The only people I knew were Commander Lewis and Lieutenant Flunky. Apparently, that wasn’t her proper name.

Eventually, a grumpy commander turned up and passed me to another flunky to get a temporary ID and show me to my bed. It was one-ish when I eventually got to my new room and discovered my bag had made it. That was a miracle in itself. I had a quick shower and fell asleep.