Nightmare town

Boyd, a burly black man, frowned and voiced his displeasure.

"What is Homelander?"

"Someone who stands in the sky and looks down on this land."

Ryan recalled the Supe movies he had watched before. Plenty of people knew Spider-Man, but few bothered to remember Peter Parker beneath the suit.

A Supe's alias being better known than his actual name was perfectly normal.

Boyd did not seem to care about the name itself either. He took a bite of the bread in his hand and looked out the window. "All right, Ryan. First, you need to know that nights here are dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

Ryan paused. He honestly did not know whether whatever Boyd was talking about was more dangerous than Ryan himself.

Still, interrupting someone was rude, so Ryan motioned for Boyd to continue.

Unease surfaced on Boyd's face in the yellow-orange light. "This town is cursed."

"Curses don't exist. I recommend reading more books on materialism."

"I didn't believe in them either, until I'd lived here this long."

Boyd pointed at the curtained window, as though something beyond it was peering into the house. "At night, there will be people outside in this town. Or rather, monsters with human faces."

"Monsters."

Ryan finished his bread, walked to the window, and pulled the curtain aside. Cool moonlight lay outside, and the road was deserted. "Where are these monsters you're talking about?"

"Usually, they disguise themselves as living people and trick you into opening a door or window to let them inside. Then they tear out even your heart and lungs."

As he spoke, Boyd walked over to the window in disbelief and cautiously peered outside.

It was completely empty. Nothing was there.

After a long moment,

Boyd drew the curtain back over the window. "Tonight... it's unusually quiet."

"It isn't normally