download

David Halliday's The Invisible Man

 

 Children have nightmares. They wake up in a sweat and cry out for their mothers. A village can have nightmares too. The villagers wake up and cry out for each other. These stories are about that nightmare.

Mackenzie Phillips sat up in his bed. He needed to stay awake. All the news about the dead body in the valley had spooked Mackenzie. Maybe Mackenzie was the next on the list. Glancing out the window he watched the slow sway of the treetops. His eyes became heavy. He began to dream.
Mackenzie walked along Dundas Street. He took a seat on the bench across from the empty lot. And after the empty lot, there was only sky. A man sat at the other end of the bench reading a newspaper. Mackenzie had to think. He sat down.
“God has been watching you,” the man with the newspaper said.