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Caught and Released

Frank gave the sky a worried look that trailed across the horizon. There were things hiding in the sky. Inhuman things, invisible most of the time, except when they weren’t.

His watch beeped. It was an old one from the eighties set to go off every twenty minutes, in case his mind wandered. Sometimes it did. He knew that. How long had he been standing at the crosswalk?

People surged around him but gave him a wide berth, avoiding his eyes as they crossed the street. Some of them were spies for the Watchers. Traitors. They didn’t know that the Watchers didn’t keep their promises.

It was so hot out. Who was making it hot? Was it us, or them? Frank pushed his filthy sleeves up past his elbows revealing scars that dotted his skin giving the impression that he’d been grappling with an octopus. Pain was the only way to drive the Watchers back to the shadows. Cigarette burns were the easiest way, though cutting himself worked just as well.

Whispers he couldn’t shake repeated the same thing. They were coming.

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