Parker

Case Number: [REDACTED] 

Incident: Officer KIA 

Reporting Officer: Lieutenant Montgomery Hitchens           Date: 21 April [REDACTED] 

Keyword: “Parker” 

 

On the 21st of April my team and I arrived in town by train. On the ride there, our youngest officer, Private Parker, pressed his face against the glass and stared off into space. I had to nudge him to get his attention. 

The target was a 4-point anomaly in the poor part of town. That usually means that an anomaly is aspiration-based. Aspirational anomalies are caused when somebody wants something bad enough that the psychic tension catalyzes into a rift in objective reality. These can be very dangerous for young officers who have not yet checked their impulses. I told my team to keep their wits about them. Parker responded a few moments later from the rest of the crew. His eyes were glassy. 

In town, we gathered at the site: a low brick farmhouse with sunken foundations. We began preliminary preparations. Parker trudged towards the door but I stopped him. We had not calibrated our equipment nor done our rituals. I asked him to lead us in oath. I advised him that it is easy to let protocol become an afterthought. Afterthought begets sloppiness. Sloppiness begets danger. Parker nodded and joined the group. 

Trying to start the oath, Parker furrowed his brow. His cheeks flushed. My second-in-command Officer Rawlin leaned in and whispered the first few words to him. Parker continued, “All things are made as they are. We shirk unity when we reject truth. Grant me the strength to reject falsehood, the heart to embrace objectivity, and the mind to know the difference.” I concluded the oath with a customary, “Willinna guide us.” 

Because it was early and I knew the dangers of aspiration-based anomalies, I gave one last speech to my team. I told them to take their time and make absolutely sure to ground themselves in reality. Afterwards, I gave the call to synchronize their watches. Rawlin patted Parker on the back. 

The main issue with aspiration-based anomalies is that they have a tendency to feed off of the desire of whoever interacts with them. For example: an anomaly’s catalyst may have originally been lust, but it will adapt and feed off of greed or hunger or suicidal ideation. It can prove especially influential on orphans who suffer from parental neglect. 

While the others calibrated their watches Officer Rawlin approached me. His fingers probed the lapel of his coat.  

He told me that he didn’t think it was wise to bring Parker on this mission. 

I told him that the boy was old enough.  

Rawlin said that the problem was not with his age but with his training. He brought up the issue of Parker not remembering how to start the oath. The oath is one of the first things a Private learns. 

I told him that we need the men. Training is no substitute for field work.  

Rawlin countered that Parker has a whole career to gain field experience. The boy was only 16. 

I told him that with all due respect, I was 12 years old when I started. It is important not to coddle a boy or else he becomes soft. He ends up rotting behind a desk in the archives or blowing his brains out after hours in the arsenal. Boys need to grow up and learn how to face their daemons. Parker was coming with us and that was my order. 

Rawlin snorted but said nothing else. 

The moment we breached the house I could feel the pull of the anomaly. A faint droning reverberated throughout the house. While inside the affected area, it is sometimes difficult to determine where the origin point for the system is but nonetheless it is possible to identify distinct highs in the warp of reality. I found one such pocket in the workroom.  

I confirmed my intuition with my watch. A timekeeper’s watch is a very complex instrument. It is distinct from a standard pocket watch for its unique ability to tell objective time as distinct from local time. In other words: it tells time as it is and as it should be. One of the most reliable symptoms of an anomaly is a distinct warping in the rate of local time. I used my watch to check the degree of warp. 0.08 seconds per second. Far above baseline. 

From the other room Rawlin announced his discovery of a local third-order pocket. I asked if anybody had found any larger pockets; second or first order. Parker announced that he had. I congratulated him.  

I then began the process of neutralizing the third-order pocket in front of me. I closed my eyes and centered my psyche. Inside I felt the anomaly reach out. It steered me towards missed opportunities and regrets. It showed me reuniting with my dead parents: a dream I commonly have. In response I remembered old pain. I remembered joys from my career. I remembered truths about myself that I have long since accepted. The effect of the anomaly faded. 

When I opened my eyes I checked the reading on my watch again. It had stabilized to .02 seconds per second, a value consistent with the baseline reading on most anomalies of this size. I quickly logged in my book a confirmation on the anomaly being aspirational (item number 02.) I then entered the kitchen. 

Rawlin stood at the edge of the room looking towards the stove. He said that he believed he found the epicenter. I agreed. 

Midair in front of the stove floated a head-sized ball of white light. Visibility typically indicates an advanced level of degeneration. A slight magnetic force tugged at my coat. I ordered Rawlin to wait for another officer to arrive before we began neutralization. Through a side door to the parlor I saw Parker. His face was twisted in heavy concentration and a single outstretched hand shook. 

Rawlin asked whether we should help Parker. 

I told Rawlin that Parker needed the practice. 

Two other officers entered the room and kept close to the wall. I reminded the team that it was important not to give in to any of the anomaly’s promises. It was capable of switching places in the environment to get closer to whoever gave it mental energy. I then gave the order to begin neutralization. 

I closed my eyes. A faint high-pitched ringing filled the room. Again I felt the anomaly reach out. This time the temptations were more difficult to resist; the images that filled my mind were vivid. I focused on the ticking of my watch to ground myself. Gradually the pull of the anomaly lessened. I could feel in some part of my spatial imagination that the four of us were closing in on it. Just before it vanished I felt a slight shift as one does when they reach the top of a staircase too soon. 

I opened my eyes. Rawlin high-fived another officer. 

I checked my watch. .02 seconds per second. The baseline had not abated. Rawlin checked his watch and looked confused. He asked if our equipment was giving a faulty reading; the baseline should have dropped to zero unless somebody had drawn out the epicenter. 

In the other room Parker screamed. Pale light poured out of the adjoining room. I rushed into the room followed closely by Rawlin and the rest of the crew. I groped for my service weapon. A thin line of blinding white light pulsated in the middle of the parlor. 

“Parker,” I yelled over a thunderous drone. “What in Gilohet’s corner happened?” 

He did not respond. His face was turned away; his gaze was locked on the anomaly. Faintly I heard him say “Mother!” 

Rawlin approached Parker with his hands outstretched. He reached to grab Parker. At that moment a thin black tendril shot out from the center of the light and reached through Rawlin’s shoulder. He collapsed to his knees. A damp red-brown stain grew on his back. I urged Parker to ground himself. Meanwhile the thin band of the anomaly expanded. Inside I saw a swirling black mass. Another tendril emerged and burst through a floor board.  

I could tell that Parker was feeding the anomaly. With a captive imagination the anomaly would continue to grow. Unmoored from its original epicenter it had lost some of its initial stability. It would not last long without Parker’s attention. I unsheathed my 8-inch service knife (see item 01). I rushed forward and jammed it through Parker’s neck. 

The three remaining officers neutralized the anomaly in a matter of seconds. We loaded Rawlin onto a stretcher. I covered Parker’s face with my jacket and loaded his corpse onto a second stretcher. We called the station and they arranged transportation. 

Lieutenant Montgomery Hitchens 

 

 

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