covered one of the windows. “Look!”
Mallory peered out. What she saw made her gasp.
“Is that… metal ? Falling from the sky ?”
Lewis nodded excitedly. “It’s nickel!” he said. “It rains nickel here! Isn’t it wonderful?”
Mallory shook her head in bewilderment as the world outside was pelted with a cascade of hard metal bits. “What is this place?” she shouted over the din.
“Ah!” Lewis shouted back, pointing a finger into the air triumphantly. “Now that , I can answer!”
Chapter 7
“Anomaly Flats is…well, it’s an anomaly,” the scientist said, clearing a family of test tubes from an overturned milk crate and gesturing for Mallory to have a seat. “Or a series of anomalies, to be exact. Let me ask you; how did you arrive here?”
“I drove,” Mallory said dryly.
“Yes, of course, I understand that. But what I mean is, how did you find Anomaly Flats?”
“I followed the road.”
“And how did you find that road?”
“What, are you serious? I saw a road, I turned onto it. How does anyone find a road?”
“Hmm…very interesting.” Lewis pulled out a notebook and pen from one of the crates and began scribbling some notes. “Why did you turn onto that particular road?”
Mallory exhaled with exasperation. “I don’t know! I saw a sign, I turned.”
Lewis’ eyes grew large. “You saw a sign?” he asked. “What kind of sign?”
“A road sign.”
“Yes, but what sort of road sign?”
“Look,” Mallory yelled over the sound of the raining metal, “what the hell does it matter what sort of road sign? I was on the road, I saw a sign for Anomaly Flats, I turned, and here I am—and absolutely adoring every second of it,” she said sharply.
“Hmm…” Lewis clicked his pen a few times as he let his hidden thoughts tumble about in his brain. “And how do you feel now that you’re here?”
“Goddamn irritated!” Mallory cried.
Lewis nodded. “Subject shows signs of emotional distress,” he mumbled as he wrote. Mallory swiped at him and knocked both the book and the pen from his hands. “Hey!”
“I’m about to give you all sorts of emotional distress…I will drown you in it. Why are you asking me all these questions?”
“Because you’re the only other outsider I’ve been able to study!” he said excitedly. “Er, meet. I meant meet. You’re the only other outsider I’ve been able to meet.”
“With your social skills, that’s an incredible surprise,” Mallory snorted.
The scientist shook his head. “It’s not like that. I mean you’re literally the only other outsider I’ve met. I’m curious about the town’s effects on you. You see, Anomaly Flats is a sort of nexus of oddities. One of those oddities is that most people can’t find it. Even if they look.”
“And lucky me, I just stumbled across it,” she said.
“Yes, exactly my point. The chances of that are so slim as to border on impossible. The town seems to use its geographical secrecy as a sort of defense mechanism.”
Mallory rubbed her forehead. The beginnings of a headache were throbbing to life somewhere in there. “I thought you were just going to answer my questions,” she sighed.
“I’m trying to,” the scientist insisted. “It’s all part of it. Don’t you see? A town that camouflages itself is, in my experience, highly irregular…and it’s one of the least irregular things about Anomaly Flats. I’ve been working out the ‘whys’ of its unique properties for some time now, and I’ve only cracked the surface. At first, I thought the strange things that happened here had to do with the area’s peculiar magnetic properties. The magnetic fields in this area are…extraordinary.”
“I’ve heard,” Mallory sighed over the sound of raining metal. She shrugged out of her backpack and shoved it beneath her knees. “My alternator paid the price.”
“Yes, exactly!” Lewis cried. “Not just your alternator, but every computer! I don’t have to
Mallory peered out. What she saw made her gasp.
“Is that… metal ? Falling from the sky ?”
Lewis nodded excitedly. “It’s nickel!” he said. “It rains nickel here! Isn’t it wonderful?”
Mallory shook her head in bewilderment as the world outside was pelted with a cascade of hard metal bits. “What is this place?” she shouted over the din.
“Ah!” Lewis shouted back, pointing a finger into the air triumphantly. “Now that , I can answer!”
Chapter 7
“Anomaly Flats is…well, it’s an anomaly,” the scientist said, clearing a family of test tubes from an overturned milk crate and gesturing for Mallory to have a seat. “Or a series of anomalies, to be exact. Let me ask you; how did you arrive here?”
“I drove,” Mallory said dryly.
“Yes, of course, I understand that. But what I mean is, how did you find Anomaly Flats?”
“I followed the road.”
“And how did you find that road?”
“What, are you serious? I saw a road, I turned onto it. How does anyone find a road?”
“Hmm…very interesting.” Lewis pulled out a notebook and pen from one of the crates and began scribbling some notes. “Why did you turn onto that particular road?”
Mallory exhaled with exasperation. “I don’t know! I saw a sign, I turned.”
Lewis’ eyes grew large. “You saw a sign?” he asked. “What kind of sign?”
“A road sign.”
“Yes, but what sort of road sign?”
“Look,” Mallory yelled over the sound of the raining metal, “what the hell does it matter what sort of road sign? I was on the road, I saw a sign for Anomaly Flats, I turned, and here I am—and absolutely adoring every second of it,” she said sharply.
“Hmm…” Lewis clicked his pen a few times as he let his hidden thoughts tumble about in his brain. “And how do you feel now that you’re here?”
“Goddamn irritated!” Mallory cried.
Lewis nodded. “Subject shows signs of emotional distress,” he mumbled as he wrote. Mallory swiped at him and knocked both the book and the pen from his hands. “Hey!”
“I’m about to give you all sorts of emotional distress…I will drown you in it. Why are you asking me all these questions?”
“Because you’re the only other outsider I’ve been able to study!” he said excitedly. “Er, meet. I meant meet. You’re the only other outsider I’ve been able to meet.”
“With your social skills, that’s an incredible surprise,” Mallory snorted.
The scientist shook his head. “It’s not like that. I mean you’re literally the only other outsider I’ve met. I’m curious about the town’s effects on you. You see, Anomaly Flats is a sort of nexus of oddities. One of those oddities is that most people can’t find it. Even if they look.”
“And lucky me, I just stumbled across it,” she said.
“Yes, exactly my point. The chances of that are so slim as to border on impossible. The town seems to use its geographical secrecy as a sort of defense mechanism.”
Mallory rubbed her forehead. The beginnings of a headache were throbbing to life somewhere in there. “I thought you were just going to answer my questions,” she sighed.
“I’m trying to,” the scientist insisted. “It’s all part of it. Don’t you see? A town that camouflages itself is, in my experience, highly irregular…and it’s one of the least irregular things about Anomaly Flats. I’ve been working out the ‘whys’ of its unique properties for some time now, and I’ve only cracked the surface. At first, I thought the strange things that happened here had to do with the area’s peculiar magnetic properties. The magnetic fields in this area are…extraordinary.”
“I’ve heard,” Mallory sighed over the sound of raining metal. She shrugged out of her backpack and shoved it beneath her knees. “My alternator paid the price.”
“Yes, exactly!” Lewis cried. “Not just your alternator, but every computer! I don’t have to
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