The Invisible Hand - A crime novel

Chapter 16

It starts as a shadow. Something blacker than the night. Like a hole in the darkness. It wiggles at first. About 100 feet away. Across the street.

I'm not awake. I'm not asleep. But I'm here. Looking at this thing. The wiggles turn into shakes. The shakes turn into tremors. Then it blooms into the shape of a human.

It shuffles in place. Dragging its frame nowhere. Avoiding the glow of streetlights.

It's moving away from me. No. Toward me. Hard to tell. This must be a dream. Right?

I reach for the knife. It's not there. I go for the Mossberg 500 behind the seat. Not there, either.

I don't fear this thing, this shadow person. It's just there. A fact in front of me. No more terrifying than the moon. But still unsettling.

It's getting closer. I can tell that now. It's walking backward. I think. There's no face. No features. Just a shadow without a home. No light or objects playing tricks on me nearby.

It's closing in on 20 feet now. Should be easier to make out, but it isn't. I have to look to the side to see it. Definitely walking backward, though.

"Hello?" I want to say. I don't. Maybe it's an animal. I don't want to scare it. Just see it.

The air around me turns to static. Like I'm trapped in a TV screen trying to find a signal. Then I hear it say something. Like speaking through cotton. "Seriously."

Turn around. I want it to turn around. To see its face. Its eyes. Who is this? What is this?

It moves a shoulder. Its frame gets thinner. It's turning. Like it read my mind. Or is a part of my mind.

There's a knock on the passenger window. A real knock. The sound propels the shadow person away.

I look to the window and spot a smear of blood.

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