Sam is not embracing every aspect of her new job. What started as in-home care for an elderly man has now expanded into monster hunting. That sounds fun and exciting and it probably was until one of her friends was killed during a hunt. Now she's having second thoughts and wants to walk away from it entirely, but she's been marked, bit by a strange creature. She's having visions, like waking nightmares that are exposing the supernatural underbelly of the town.

The switch between reality and Sam's visions happens abruptly and without warning. It's a nice effect throughout InferNoct that keeps you on your toes, forcing you to question what you're seeing. Given the monsters we've witnessed in the series to date, it's not crazy to think that everything on the page is real and actually happening.

Artist Eli Powell jumps seamlessly between the two settings. The visions stand out a bit more, probably because they deal with supernatural monsters and strange Cthulhu-like tentacles. They strike an ominous tone in this issue, culminating in a horrific three-faced demon spewing hate from its open maw. Its appearance is rough and gritty, as if it's piercing through from another reality to peer into ours. As it descends upon Sam, it's yelling obscenities that spiral around it and everything nearby, like it's infecting the world with its words.

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The demon creature seems to eat the light around it, creating a dark void wherever it appears. Colorist Tristan Elwell creates a perfect feeling of dread and despair, coating the scenery in shadow. This helps reinforce the dire circumstances Sam finds herself in. The death of her friend was just the beginning of the heartbreak she's has in store if she continues down this path.

Sam tries to pull herself out of this world, but it's too late. She confronts the old man that first exposed her to this madness and he has no sympathy for her. He sees this as black and white. There are monsters that need to be stopped. Until this time, he was able to do that on his own. As he stares down death, he realizes he needs to pass the torch, but Sam is reluctant to accept it, feeling like she's been thrown into the deep end. She's not wrong as she's received little to no training, however she seems uniquely suited for such a task, given her outsider status.

InferNoct is a creepy book. It's one that will get under your skin the more you dwell on it. The idea that a supernatural world exists just beneath our own, filled with monsters ready to consume us whole, is a frightening one. Writer Mina Elwell has crafted a unique blend of foreboding and outright terror.