Night Owls

Jerry glanced down at the photograph in his hand, then back up again at the woman sitting alone at the back of the cafe.

"That can't be her," he thought. I mean, sure, he'd had some oddball clients before, but this was pushing it a bit even for his particular line of work.

All at once a blinding light coursed through the space. Jerry and the woman froze. And then a creature appeared, seemingly from the air itself.

He drew his knife without thinking and raised it to throw. "Wait, don't hurt it!" cried the strange woman, jumping to her feet. The creature was becoming more and more material. Jerry did not lower the blade. "And why should I not?" he asked, genuinely curious.