Monster on Our Land

Chapter 5 : Superhuman

"You just came to this town, right? You look so innocent with everything going on here," Anne said with a mysterious smile.

"Yes? I just arrived yesterday." James replied, getting annoyed with that smile.

"You're so innocent, handsome." Anne strolled to pick up two canned coffee drinks on a small table. She then tossed one of them to James. He caught the coffee.

"Drink up. You've been sleepy since we met in the car." Anne opened the mouth of the can, then she gulped down the liquid inside. Unconsciously, a few drops of coffee flowed from her neck to her chest.

James wasn't in a good mood at the moment, but Anne was right, he hadn't slept since last night. He needed something to keep his focus. Finally, the man opened the mouth of his coffee can, too, and started gulping down the black coffee inside.

The liquid made him feel more refreshed. James was ready to receive the new information that Anne was about to throw at him.

"James Winter, I will start telling you what happened. But first, I want to ask you a question. In this world, how many living things do you know?"

"Plants, animals, and humans, right?"

"True, but that's not quite right. There are actually four kinds of living things in this world. Plants, animals, humans, and monsters. There's a lot you don't know yet."

James furrowed his brow. James had seen monsters but had only heard of them as a classification of living things.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't know anything about those monsters. Even I probably do. There is no information on when the monster people came here or where they came from. But the fact is that they have been among us for a long time. They mingle with us, live like us, have human lovers like us, but eat us," Anne said as she strolled towards the man sitting on her bed.

"These monsters are knowledgeable. They can resemble humans, can communicate, and think like humans. They can easily come and blend into our environment. But strangely, the human monsters will only eat humans who know their identity as monsters. In this city alone, there are probably thousands of monsters ready to attack people like us, humans who know their identity," Anne stopped right in front of James.

The short blonde-haired woman then ran her fingers through James' hair, "Aren't you going to be their target now too, James?"

Anne's words with her mysterious smile sent chills down James' spine. If what Anne said was true, he was in a dangerous situation. The creatures could come to attack him, just like Jessica did before.

"I don't want to die. How can I fight them? There is a way to fight them, right?" asked James frantically.

"Are you scared?" Anne's hand dropped from James' hair to his cheek. Anne felt the coldness of his pale, panicked skin.

"You're funny when you're panicking," said Anne smiling. Then she walked over to the chair by the table. She sat on it with her chin resting on one hand.

"Of course there are. Humans can fight them," Anne added reassuringly.

"Tell me, please," James said with trembling eyes.

"Those monsters have many abilities. As far as I know, they can disguise themselves as humans. They can make their skin filled with hard scales. Their nails have incredible strength. Their fangs can tear apart a human body with ease. And, of course, their strength is greater than that of humans. However, some humans can resist them, humans who have experienced an awakening."

"Resurrection?"

 "Yes, some humans can activate superpowers, powers hidden within the human body. These superhumans can fight monsters. The humans who bear the great responsibility of destroying those cold-blooded monsters." Anne practiced this superpower by extending her right palm and turning it into a metal sword. 

"You're one of them?" James was wide-eyed at the power of Anne's hand again.

"That's right, James. I can manipulate and control metal, including turning parts of my body into metal. Strong metal will be able to pierce their scales. With this power, I can fight and kill them. Rader could also stab Jessica in the chest because I aimed it with power. The psychopath who tried to kill you the other day also seems to be a person with super abilities as well. He may have killed a few monsters but was too conspicuous to be accused of being a serial killer."

James looked at his own palms. Anne's answer didn't relieve the uneasiness he was feeling. James was not a person with superpowers like Anne, there was no way he could protect himself when he met those monsters again.

"But me...what about people who don't have superpowers? What about me?"

"As long as you're around me, you'll be safe, James. I have above-average abilities compared to other superpowered humans. I can easily kill them. And you may meet another superpowered person who can protect you. If we, the people who know this secret, work together, then protecting each other will always be possible."

The idea bothered James even more. He didn't like always hiding in someone else's arms.

"Is there no other way for a commoner like me?" James asked.

Anne's charming facial expression suddenly changed. She became more serious now.

"That's the problem, James. Do you know how many superhumans there are and how many monsters there are?"

James just shook his head. He had just found out about the existence of monsters. Obviously, he didn't know how many there were.

"Only one in a thousand. There are a lot of monsters, and not many humans can activate their superpowers. In this game of hunt and chase, the superhumans often secretly battle. We can't do battle on the surface, or we'll be hunted down by those cursed creatures. Humans are still outnumbered."

James' ears perked up again, a pressure in his chest that seemed to want to escape, holding his breath until he felt claustrophobic. The realization took him entirely by surprise.

James felt his head hurt. He didn't know what to do anymore. He already knew about the monsters. He didn't have superpowers. And he had no one in this town.