The streets of Nexus City were unusually thin today. Although there was still a decent crowd of Nexians in the marketplace, it wasn’t even half as packed as it normally was at this time of day. Winter expected to see huge throngs of people in the streets as Nexians got off work and made stops by the marketplace to do some last-minute grocery shopping before going home.
But the marketplace was nearly barren. Many of the booths were closed, while the storefronts had ‘CLOSED’ signs hanging in their windows or on their doors. The few businesses still open had fewer customers than usual and a few booths were closing up as even Winter watched. He saw a large cyclops kick a mother and her ten-year-old son out of his hardware store—apparently named ‘Joe’s Hardware Store’ if the sign standing on
