A.N.S.I.R. Read online

  A.N.S.I.R.

  Tethered Children Series, Volume 1

  J. L. Summerset

  Published by American Bittersweet Tea, 2022.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  A.N.S.I.R.

  First edition. January 31, 2022.

  Copyright © 2022 J. L. Summerset.

  Written by J. L. Summerset.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Introduction

  ANSIR Field Team

  Tools of the Trade

  Other Roles

  Types of UE

  Other Organizations and Potential Encounters

  Policies and Rules

  Thank You

  About the Author

  My mother gave me letters.

  My father gave me words.

  A wild Rhonda, a flowering Rachel, a roaring Dandy Lion and many others gave me a kick in the pants to put them together.

  Thank you.

  Introduction

  The Anomalous Nature and Supernatural Independent Research team (hereinafter referred to as ANSIR) exists to catalog and study all events that have been coated in the superstitions, myths, conspiracies, and religion of various cultures (hereinafter referred to as UE or Unexplained/Unidentifiable Events). We exist to deal with potentially dangerous situations such as forced exorcisms and the like, that could be explained or dealt with in less harmful ways. Another goal is to answer the unanswered or, at least, come close. We want people to experience peace with the occurrences that have happened to and around them with true answers.

  ANSIR was founded in 2002 by Victor S. Davis, a former soldier who hoped to seek out the answers to some UEs around his own family tree. Mr. Davis set up shop in Maryland’s Eastern Shore in a modest apartment located in |Redacted|, MD. Mr. Davis still seeks the answers to his questions, but along the way through this group he has answered the questions of many others. With our teams, specialists, and a much larger facility, we hope we will bring many more people peace of mind.

  You are being trained to be a member of one of our new field teams. What does that mean? It means that you have the intelligence, the constitution, and more importantly the common sense to make it through potentially dangerous situations and UE. It sounds like you are being asked to roll a D&D character but they are necessary traits.

  As the newest (potential) member of the ANSIR team, this book will teach you various tactics for dealing with UE. It is designed specifically for hopeful field team members; as such you will read about the hazards of the job and how to prepare for them. It includes an explanation of the tools of our trade, ANSIR protocol, as well as several transcripts and sketches of UE current field teams have already logged. These are examples of things you will encounter working with us. After every transcript, you should ask yourself:

  ❖ Were the measures taken the right ones?

  ❖ How would I have reacted in this situation?

  ❖ What are some reasons this could have occurred?

  ❖ How should situations like this one be handled going forward?

  ❖ What tests could be run that could gather information on what happened?

  ❖ Do I have what is necessary to work with that particular UE?

  With these questions in mind, let’s begin!

  ANSIR Field Team

  In the next few paragraphs, you will learn the anatomy of a successful team and what your potential role could be. Field Teams, also called “Letters,” are crucial to the work we do. The first step to answering difficult questions is research. Sometimes the answers will not come from a book. You just have to get out there and get dirty. You might be rolling your eyes at that last sentence, but it is true. This work can get dirty, metaphorically and literally. It requires being willing to go to abandoned or hostile areas, dealing with people who might rather forget, dealing with crime scenes and officers, or “religious” fanatics.

  So, who are the bones of the team?

  ❖ An Orator

  ❖ An Augur

  ❖ A Keeper

  ❖ A Guardsman

  ❖ A Monitor

  These are just the fancy titles we give them, but each of these jobs are extremely important. Let’s examine each of these roles.

  Orator- Orators are the leaders of our teams. An orator should have excellent people skills, and the ability to coax a conversation out of even the most reluctant of beings. An orator should be able to lead a team through any situation but they also know when to listen to their teammates. They should be able to judge when a situation is about to get out of hand and be prepared to pull their team out of harm’s way. Orators, along with Monitors, will also be responsible for conducting interviews with Persons of Interest and gather as much information as they can for analysis.

  Augur- Historically, an Augur was someone trained to recognize signs and warnings within nature. Our Augurs are not much different. They are people who are sensitive to various energies, who have certain gifts and abilities, or who can see things that maybe others can’t. They are also the “canary in the coal mine.” They will usually be the one to let you know when it is time to back away from a situation.

  Guardsman- The protector, a Guardsman stands between the team and other living humans who might be aggressive. They are also there if someone needs to be held down for the Keeper to bless them or protect them with various rituals. Keeping everyone safe and together is the Guardsman’s highest priority. Guardsmen must be in peak condition and will often be sent away for self-defense and arms lessons to be able to fulfill their role.

  Keeper- They are keepers of lore, dogma, myth, and legends. Keepers are the experts on religion and know where to find information if needed. They can come from all religious backgrounds or none at all. From rabbi to scholars, the only thing you need to fill this role is the knowledge of the divine (from several different walks of life). If an entity or object is encountered that requires certain rituals (or protections from it) the Keeper is the one you consult.

  Monitor- The Monitor is the one who specializes in the use, setup, and break down of equipment. They know where to place it and how it works. Most importantly, they are also responsible for the cataloging of data and comparisons to former UE. Everything must be labeled correctly so our in-house team can easily pull common threads and connect cases. Our database is controlled and maintained by Monitors. We prefer that the people in this role come from a STEM background, even better if they are still within it.

  Together these pieces make a thorough machine, designed for examining all aspects and possibilities.

  Recording #13: Family Heirloom

  UE Location: |Redacted|, Maryland

  Recording Of: Field Agent Laurel Whittington

  Agent in Attendance: Casey Norman

  Transcribed by: Agent Evelyn Summerset

  File Under: Interdimensional Items

  Date: August 11, 19XX

  Transcript:

  ///Recording Start///

  Agent Casey Norman: State your name, team, role, and age.

  I am Agent Laurel Whittington from Team Gamma. I am age twenty-nine at the time of this recording. Team role is Guardsman... I am logging my team’s encounter yesterday, August 10th.

  CN: Begin.

  We arrived at |Redacted|, Maryland at nine that morning. The |Redacted| family met us at their home around ten, and they were... agitated. Our Orator, Void... (God I hate his name.) Void immediately tried to calm them down but the wife, we’ll call her Ingrid, was a mess. She thrust the object, a hand mirror, in his hand and began screaming at us.

  CN: Describe the mirror, please.

  It was pearl handled. A large opal was in the center of the back of the mirror; real pretty. A big crack webbed through the glass.

  CN: Thank you. You said she was shouting?

  “Get her out! Get her out!” I mean, she was shrieking and ripping at her hair. You could see all these tangles of strawberry blonde hair wrapped around her fingers when she finally let her arms drop to her side. Her husband, we’ll call him David, grabbed her and held her until she broke down, sobbing. Void placed the item into a carrier and asked what happened. David shook his head. He was furious, not with us, but the mirror.

  “You get that away from us and we’ll tell you anything you want.” He was practically growling at us. He dragged his wife away from us and took her back into the two-story farmhouse. I liked the color of that farmhouse... a nice dark blue.

  CN: Back on target, Ms. Whittington.

  Sorry. Aria, our Keeper, took the item and stored it in our vehicle with the traditional measures. When it was gone, Victoria began setting up standard recording equipment in their living room. Ingrid was sitting on the couch, sobbing into an old cushion. David was staring out the window. He was looking at our van; it was like he was trying to make it disappear with his mind. That’s how hard he was glaring at it. There was something unsettling about his eyes, besides the glaring, I mean.

  CN: What do you think it was?

  I’m not sure exactly. He seemed kind of like someone who had PTSD, like he tended to get lost in bad daydreams. I don’t think he served, though.

  So anyway, Void sits down and nods for Victoria to start recording. You should have seen Vicky’s face, though. She frowned up so hard. You knew she was thinking, “Bitch, you can hit a button...” Void really thinks he’s some sort of general.

  -Laughter-

&nb
sp; CN: I’m sure he’s doing his best. Give him a chance to grow. Do you have the recording of the conversation at present?

  Yes, I think Victoria already logged it. But I’ll play it now if you want.

  //Log #13-1 Recording Start//

  Void Calloway: It’s sealed up now, Mrs. |Redacted|.

  -Ingrid Crying-

  Void: Are we recording, Vicky?

  Victoria Jackson: Yes.

  Void: Mr. |Redacted|, Do we have your permission to record and log your story and the item in question?

  David: Yes... I’ll do whatever you want, just get it the fuck outta here.

  Void: You called ANSIR to come and look at the item?

  David: Yeah. I thought I could get some money selling something weird, you know? But that thing....

  Void: It’s a very beautiful mirror. Where did it come from?

  David: My great grandmother as far as I know. My mother put it in a box recently and sent it to me with a bunch of other things from my grandmother’s house.

  Void: Did your grandmother pass recently, or was your mother just cleaning up?

  -Silence-

  Void: Mr. |Redacted|?

  David: We don’t know if she’s dead or not. She disappeared six months ago.

  Void: What?

  David: She was losing touch, you know? Sometimes we would find her in the front yard with her robe hanging open, talking to who knows who. Other times she would lose track of when she was.

  Ingrid: We were preparing to move her to a home.

  David: Then she was gone. We searched the whole neighborhood, the police searched again. She was just gone.

  Ingrid: An eighty-seven-year-old woman shouldn’t be able to get far, |David|. She’s-

  David: Enough, |Ingrid|!

  Ingrid: She’s gotta be in-

  David: I said enough!

  Void: We’re here to help. Please, tell us everything you can.

  -Silence-

  David: I gave the mirror to my wife at first.

  Void: Was it cracked then?

  David: No, I did that.

  Void: I see.

  David: So, I gave the mirror to |Ingrid|. She calls me at work and says, “This mirror you gave me is haunted.” I thought she was joking.

  Ingrid: You never believed me; no matter what I said.

  -Ingrid Crying-

  David: When I got home, she shoves the mirror at me and yells, “Look at it.” So, I did. I need a drink; you need a drink?

  Void: No, thank you, I’m fine. We can take a break if you like.

  David: Thanks.

  Void: The picture on the coffee table, who is it?

  David: Our son.

  Void: Is he home right now?

  -Ingrid Crying-

  David: No...

  -Silence-

  Void: I’m sorry. Let’s just continue. So, you looked in it. What did you see?

  David: My great grandmother’s house. Not as it is now; it’s been torn down for condos. As it was when her husband built it for her.

  Void: Did you see any people around?

  David: Just one-

  Ingrid: Please, get her away from us.

  Void: Her? You saw a woman?

  David: I saw something woman-shaped, yes. I’m not sure it’s actually a woman. It- she just sat in the second-floor window. She was looking back at us. Sometimes you could see shadows in the house, but we only ever fully saw her.

  Void: What did she look like?

  David: Lot of blonde hair, like platinum... Looked like it hadn’t been brushed in a long time; very matted. Her eyes were way too dark to be in a head that blonde. She was really pale, a real Snow White type. Her limbs seemed too thin, too long.

  Void: Did the shadows ever try to come to the window?

  David: No.

  Void: Were the shadows ever outside?

  David: No, never.

  Void: Did the woman ever come out of the house?

  David: Yes.

  Ingrid: She was in the front door the first time the mirror stopped reflecting. That’s why I called him. She was just standing there staring out. Then sh—she looked at me. She stepped off the porch toward me and I tossed the mirror on the bed and ran.

  Void: When did you pick up the mirror again?

  Ingrid: When |David| came home. I wanted him to get rid of it.

  Void: Could you still see her?

  Ingrid: She was in the house then.

  Void: Mr. |Redacted|, what happened after your wife asked you to get rid of it?

  David: I thought it was a joke. Like one of those elevator pranks where the creepy girl comes from behind a panel when the lights cut out.

  Void: You- you thought your wife was pranking-

  David: I know it’s stupid. She was scared, terrified. I made a joke out of it.

  Ingrid: You never listened.

  David: I’m sorry.

  Void: What happened when you looked in it, Mr. |Redacted|?

  David: I told the woman in the window to come out. She was gone from the window. Then all of a sudden, she started lurching out the door. No, lurching isn’t the right word. She was blinking; she’d be one place and then pop out and in someplace else. There’d be a lot of jerky twitching. Then she was gone.

  Void: She left the mirror?

  David: She was in our house. We started seeing her beside our reflections, out the corner of our fucking eyes, even in the pool out back. Just beneath the water staring up at us...

  Ingrid: She would stand over-

  David: |Ingrid|...

  Ingrid: FUCK YOU!

  Void: Let’s take a break. There’s a lot of pain here. Let’s just take a moment and you guys can have some space. We’ll talk when you’re ready. Don’t worry, she’s sealed away.

  //Log #13-1 Recording Stop//

  CN: What happened after that?

  After that log, David stormed off upstairs and Ingrid ran to the kitchen. Void immediately sent Aria after the wife with a small tape recorder. He waited for David to return. I didn’t move from my post. I just kept watching the other equipment to make sure whatever had the couple spooked stayed in the car. There was something unnerving about the place still, a weird pressure. I felt... I don’t know.

  CN: Do you have Aria’s recording?

  Oh yeah! Here it is.

  //Log #13-2 Recording Start//

  Aria Wells: Mrs. |Redacted|, I am here because-

  Ingrid: I’ll be fine. Really, you don’t have to check on me.

  -Door Shuts-

  Aria: Mrs. |Redacted|, I’m here to ask is there something you want to say that you can’t say in front of your husband?

  -Silence-

  Ingrid: We saw her standing over our son’s bed.

  Aria: You said before that you believed his grandmother was in the mirror-

  Ingrid: I think a lot of his family’s in there.

  Aria: The shadows you saw moving in the house?

  Ingrid: I know it’s crazy, but-

  Aria: I’m here to find the truth. I will listen to whatever you have to say, Mrs. |Redacted|.

  -Ingrid Crying-

  Ingrid: I think- I think she takes the family members close to death.

  Aria: Was your son ill?

  -Crying-

  Ingrid: We- we were running out of money for his care and-

  Aria: Was that why Mr. |Redacted| had wanted to sell us the mirror?

  Ingrid: When we started seeing her, I just wanted it out of the house. |David| said we could get the money for his treatment. He had a priest come bless the place and he revoked her invitation into the home. He said it would work, that evil had to be invited.

  Aria: Do you believe she is evil?

  -Silence-

  Aria: Mrs. |Redacted|?