"On Halloween night in 2020, I came home from work in a terrible mood. I'd had a bad day, and was thinking, F-everybody. My wife's sister was hosting a party that night and I had two costume options Jesus, or Homelander, the psychopathic superhero from Amazon Prime series The Boys. Because of my state of mind, I went with Homelander."
"Chelsey took a turn down a road as we neared her sister's house and that's when I saw flames shooting out of another house. I said, Honey, pull over and call 911. As I leapt out, Chelsey said, What are you doing? The kids were both staring from the back seat. Don't worry, I said, I'll be right back, and took off towards the burning house."
"There were people out front, including some big dudes. I ran up and asked, Is anybody inside? The biggest guy looked at me and said, I'm not sure. I was shocked, and said, What? Why is everybody just standing out here like they're at a hog roast? Pulling open a screen door, I hollered, Is anybody in here? I heard the sort of noise someone makes when they get hit in the stomach and lose their breath a kind of wheezing sound."
"I felt kind of like a douche I'd have been much more comfortable in jeans and a T-shirt I'll be right back, I said again, and dived in, thinking, This is going to be really tough. As I did so, my cape hooked on a bannister and for a moment I was caught. Then the Velcro gave out and the cape floated back to the street, where a woman caught it."
On Halloween night in 2020 the narrator returned home angry and chose a Homelander costume. The family drove toward a nearby party when flames were spotted coming from another house. The narrator told his wife to call 911, jumped out of the car, and ran toward the burning house while the children watched. People were gathered outside but uncertain if anyone remained inside. The narrator forced a screen door, heard a wheezing sound from within, and entered despite concern about the polyester costume melting and the difficulty of the rescue. The cape snagged, then detached and floated back to the street where a woman caught it.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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