I Wish We Met Sooner (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 9

Daniel

"HOW'S YOUR INVENTION COMING along?" I got a can of beer from the refrigerator and sat by the kitchen counter where grandpa often does his work.

The kid—Oliver... was showering for a while now, and I guess that's fine. He could use it.

Grandpa had been wrecking his mind since they assigned him to create the death device. Or whatever it's called. He's been running to the store frequently in a day, staying up till sunrise, downing many cups of coffee—each containing a triple shot—and skipping meals.

I know he needs to work, but he'll only do better if he takes care of his health. Now that he's in his golden age, it's even more crucial to do so. If only I have the guts to tell him that.

"It's coming along great, actually," he sets down the experiment tubes after placing a few drops of liquid from them into another beaker. "In no time, I'll have this device ready, and guess what I'll call it."

"Surprise me," I rolled my eyes before downing some beer.

"The Nonexistent," he peers up to me. "It's only right to name it such because once it's placed on a victim, they'll cease to exist from the world and in the minds of people who know them."

"How are you able to do something like this?" I got serious. "At first, I assumed it was a joke, but you're getting serious. How are you able to wipe a piece of people's minds? You're just a scientist, not a magician."

"True," he stirs the beaker by moving it around. "But I know someone who's an expert in witchcraft."

Though I heard loud and clear, I still felt calm when I should have been shocked or filled with rage and disbelief.

"You bargained with a witch to make this device possible?!" I am, however, a little surprised. "Does the government know about this?"

"Does he know about this?" He scoffs. "He's the one who introduced the witch to me."

Who would've known that the internet was right about the government doing illegal things behind citizens' watchful eyes? There had been rumors speculating that the government and people involved were planning something huge for the country, and it involved supernatural assistance. I'm just surprised my grandad is one of those involved people.

"Her name is Felicia, a sixty-five-year-old gypsy who's dealt with powers unknown to man," he picked up a steel bar and began melting it into the desired shape. "And if you think she's just another woman with a cheap crystal ball who tells cliché fortunes, think again. I think she's not a human at all."

"What did she do? Sell her soul to the demon?" I joked.

He side-eyed me and then back to his experiment, and then I knew my joke wasn't really a joke but the truth.

"How is that possible? I always thought people make these things up."

"Oh no, they're very much real, Daniel," he said. "We're just not gifted to see them."

"You mean curse?"

"Could go either way," he chuckled. "The point is, I met her, and she gave me this."

He pulled out a small bottle the size of a thumb. It contains suspicious black liquid with millions of tiny bubbles rushing to the surface, nearly touching the cork sealing the bottle. It could easily be mistaken as soda.

"She calls it the Devil's Punishment," he said. "Upon completing the Nonexistent, I'll have to pour this all over it, and once the syringe penetrates through the victim's flesh, it'll do its thing."