The watchers in daylight

I thought the streets were safe in daylight. That was naive.

At the central square today, I saw three of them. They weren’t hiding. They weren’t pretending. They just stood there, tall and still, their skin shimmering faintly like bad rendering in a video game. Not human. Not trying to be.

People passed within meters. No one blinked. A woman stopped right next to them to take a selfie — and in her camera preview, they weren’t there.

But I saw them. They wanted me to see them.

I logged the encounter immediately:

[09/22/2021 15:41]  
LOCATION: central square  
OBS: 3 entities, humanoid, skin shimmer effect  
NOTE: not visible in camera preview  

That wasn’t a mistake. It was a message. If this note ever disappears, then they’re already reading over my shoulder.