The Invisible Man


“Alright, Mr. Marvel was it, I’m Detective Hollis,” the officer takes a seat across the table.

Opposite of him is a disheveled man who seems equal parts criminal and wealthy. His boots are stained with mud, his jeans are torn. Not for fashion, but as if they had been clawed at, perhaps torn. Still he took the time to color coordinate a matching blazer, a silk neck tie and a golden wrist watch encrusted in jewels.

Thomas Marvel had stormed into the police station an hour ago. He demanded to speak to someone, anyone. He believed that he was being pursued by a former associate, a man simply known as Griffin. Thomas believed that Griffin was on the way to murder him for secrets he had learned. It was easy enough to believe, but the details are what gave the police officers reason to pause that night.

“Can you go over the story with me, one more time,” Detective Hollis asked.

“Detective Hollis, I’m not an idiot. I know you think I’m lying. You all think this is a joke. Probably huddled behind that two way mirror laughing. You’re hoping the mad man tells his story once more,” Thomas had grown agitated after telling his story so man times.

“No, no, no. I assure you. We’re only trying to get a grasp on the current situation,” Detective Hollis maintains a straight face.

“Alright, I’ll tell you. Griffin and I worked together on burglaries. He was a scientist, I had no idea why he would want to break into homes. I was just his lookout guy. Then one day I found out. See, he had these three little notebooks that he always kept near. Well, it turns out, he had the secret to invisibility in there. You see that’s why he never got caught. But, when I found out, he threatened to kill me. He tried, I’ve been on the run for days, but he keeps finding me,” Thomas was clearly distraught.

“Alright Mr. Marvel, and since we can’t see this Griffin, what do want us to do?”

“I’d like to be locked up until he’s captured. I’ve been a willing participant in no less than 22 robberies. That should earn me at least the weekend in lockup until I can see the judge. I’ve been to jail before, you lot have never hesitated to lock me away before,” Thomas can't afford to play their games any longer.

“Let me talk to my supervisor and see what I can do,” Detective Hollis stands to exit the room where he can let his laughter out.

“Suppose I were to slap an officer. Would that get me a room for the night? Then again I guess I’d just be another lunatic who killed themselves in police custody right,” if they were to insult Thomas, he would insult them as well.

“Well, if you had the balls to do it, I suppose you’d get what you were looking for,” Detective Hollis’ demeanor turned cold as he exited the room.

Nothing but the sound of a ticking clock and his own fingers tapping the table. It would be enough to drive some men mad. Thomas had already gone mad as afar as everyone else was concerned. How much longer could a few minutes be to a mad man? A simple question, with a longer answer, it felt like eternity to Thomas. He began to question his own resolve. He paced the room asking questions aloud to no one but himself.

“Did I make it all up? Could it have been the Ketamine? No, Griffin would have called if that were true,” he begins to answer his own questions.

Outside of the room, the officers are having a good laugh with his story. They’ve heard it three times and he stuck with it. After the laughs have settled it comes time to decide what to do with him. They could give him a cell for the night, drop him somewhere in town, or they could call and have him committed. Their discussion is cut short when they hear screaming from the lobby.

They rush out, two officers working the front desk had been incapacitated, yet there was no sign of a perpetrator. Only an expensive trench coat and bandages. Checking the CC cameras yielded no new results. Until they noticed the trail of muddy footprints, slowly making their way down a hallway accompanied by a floating key ring. With this new discovery, Mr. Marvel hadn’t weaved the marvelous tale they thought.

Officers rushed to confront the man, but the footprints had been a ploy designed to lead them away. As soon as they entered the cell block the door had been closed shut behind them. Locking them away Griffin already knew that Thomas was being interrogated. He knew where the room was. The officers at the front desk had been very forefront with information for Mr. Marvel’s sick father, come to rescue him. A single officer rushed to free Thomas from the room.

“You need to leave,” he said flinging the door open.

“I need protection,” Thomas argued.

“The man, the invisible man, he’s here, he’s he,” did not get to finish his sentence before being knocked out.

He never saw the punch coming, how could he. Thomas made an attempt to rush through the door. Only feeling the warmth of Griffin’s hairless body when he tried. Griffin pushed back with ease, although invisible, he was still much larger than Thomas. There was no begging as Griffin quickly wrapped his hands around Thomas’ throat. He would take Thomas’ life and every officer in the station’s life as well if it meant keeping his secret. The secret that had kept him fashionably wealthy all these years. There is no way to catch a criminal that cannot be seen.

Invisibility or not, Griffin was still a man. Thomas knew that. He was afraid, but he had to fight. Thomas also knew that for Griffin to remain invisible, he needed to be naked, as well as hairless. In this situation Thomas did what any man would do to survive. He kicked, a solid kick aimed directly at Griffin’s genitals. Griffin released his grip and tumbled to the floor. Thomas could not see it, but he took some slight joy in getting revenge for the weeks that Griffin had antagonized him. Another kick to follow up, but Griffin had moved unseen. If Thomas could not finish Griffin of, he would do the next best thing. Run.