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.

He never expected to find his long-lost sister in the cafe he visits every day, yet there she was, just sipping on a pumpkin-spiced latte like she hadn’t gone missing a decade and a half ago.

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.

The impossible creature stared at Jerry and his companion. Or, at least, Jerry felt that he was being perceived by the creature, though it had no eyes, as far as he could tell. He grabbed his friend’s hand and ran out without looking back.