Genre: Paranormal
Ever since I was a child, I always wondered: "What would it be like if I'm invisible?" I always thought invisibility is just a dream.
A scientific impossibility.
A work of fiction.
I never stopped dreaming its possibility. It would be great being invisible since no one will ever notice your mistakes.
Your imperfections.
Your sins and vices.
Freedom is a lie, but invisibility makes it true. That is, if invisibility was actually real. Unfortunately, both of them are just illusions. Both are not real.
Well, that's what I thought.
What stood in front of me is a capsule-like chamber with a comfortable seat in it. It is small and would only fit one person. By the looks of it, no one with claustrophobia will ever dare to go in it. Of all the things in this private laboratory, this contraption is the most peculiar. The electronic door of the lab opened and Doctor Browne entered, wearing his usual lab coat outfit.
"Are you ready, Mr. Wilson?" He asked.
"Do I really need to go in there?" I said with a hint of nervousness present in my voice.
"What's the problem? Claustrophobia?" He said.
"No, it's just that........I'm the first living human to test it, right?"
"Yes, but I assure you it's perfectly safe. We have already tried it on both living and non-living subjects, except a living human. Do you trust me, Cedric?" He questioned.
"I perfectly trust you, Dr. Browne. But still........" But he cuts me off.
"Look, Cedric. You just need to remember 3 things:
One, the invisibility lasts for three hours only.
Two, take note that 10% of the population has the ability to see you, invisible or not. Take caution and stay away from the immune ones.
Lastly, there will be some instances where you won't be able to physically affect things. If that happens, just use the right amount of will."
"Whoa, okay. Here I go."
I took a deep breath, entered the capsule-like contraption and took a seat. The cover of the machine hissed and slowly sealed me shut. On the glass window of the metal door, Dr. Browne gave me a friendly wave before activating the machine.
Soon, the capsule is filled with a fragrant white mist which sticks to the skin and clothing, giving it a glossy appearance. I closed my eyes and waited for the process to be complete.
*******
When the metal door hissed back, my eyes adjusted from the light outside. I slowly took my way outside the capsule and looked for Dr. Browne, only to find no trace of him. I noticed something on the table: a mirror with a sticky note attached to it.
It said:
To Cedric Wilson,
Sorry for leaving you so early. I have an emergency to attend to. So to make it up, here's a mirror to check the success of the experiment and witness the first invisible human in history.
That is, if you can SEE yourself. Hahahaha!
From,
Dr. Dave Browne
I took the mirror to check if it's really true. I checked myself on the mirror, only to find......no one.
The invisibility is a success. Finally, for the first time in my life, I felt so free.
Out in the crowded streets of Manila, I walked with confidence for the first time. I walked past the people without the disgusted faces or the sympathetic stares. No one can see my hideous face, burned a long time ago in a fire accident.
No one will see me make mistakes. No one will see me with my sins and vices. No one will be there to judge me. No one.
Just me.
*******
I can still remember it like it was yesterday. When I was fifteen, our entire house was caught on fire. I was sound asleep when it happened. When I woke up, the entire house was already filled with black, acrid smoke. I looked out the window and saw a horrible sight: the entire neighborhood was engulfed in a sea of flames.
Houses collapsed, children turned to ashes, and lives were taken instantly. Spine-tingling screams were heard everywhere and the cries of pain and agony intensified the dreadful feeling stirring up inside me. I felt the horrid smoke trickling in my lungs, suffocating me and threatening me to death.
My instincts kicked in and I quickly took a wet towel to cover on my mouth and nose. I went to my parent's room to check on them but I was too late. I witnessed the most horrible scenario ever: seeing my mom and dad on such pitiful state. They died in front of me. The stench of burnt flesh, hair and skin filled the air, which gagged me. I can still recall the taste of bile rising from my throat, urging me to vomit. Seeing my parents dying on such a hideous way, I felt my tears gushing from my eyes.
Suddenly, the inferno that burnt my parents alive took form of a floating ball of flames with a face of a man. The fiery orb looked at me then rapidly passed through me, burning a large portion of my face. Despite the excruciating burn on my face, I managed to run out of our house and follow the enigmatic flame. When I got out, I saw the face of the culprit. The orb of fire entered the ring of a man not so far from my location. My father got in a brawl with him a week ago. I will never forget the face of that man.
********
2 hours left.
Through the years, I worked so hard on my own investigation to look for this man. Until one day, on my 26th birthday this year, I got some news about his location. Back then, I don't know what to do. I can't go and report this case to the police because aside from my lack of evidence against him, I'm sure they would only find it ridiculous that a man can conjure a floating orb of flames with his ring and destroy an entire town.
That's when Dr. Dave Browne entered my life. He's a well-known scientist with a good reputation on creating unique and unbelievable devices. He gave me an offer that's perfect for my plans. Our agreement stated that if I agree to be a test subject for his new prototype machine, successful or not, I would receive 500,000 pesos with a 50% assurance payment before the testing.
I really didn't sign up for the money; I signed up for revenge. If I can't report my case, then I guess I'll just put justice in my own hands. I can't believe I'll ever do this, but I'm already here and there's no turning back anymore. His bedroom door stood in front of me. I opened the door and entered.
As if fate is on my side, Wilson Baldonado laid down on his bed, sound asleep. This is my chance. I went to his bathroom to get my tool for revenge. However, when I tried to grab the plastic bottle, it passed through my fingers. Then I remembered what Dr. Dave told me: "there will be some instances where you won't be able to physically affect things. If that happens, just use the right amount of will."
I did what he said and it worked. I came back to the room with a bottle of muriatic acid. For safety precautions, I carefully removed his ruby ring without waking him up. Then, I opened the bottle and vengefully poured its contents on his face. He woke up with a terrible burning sensation on his skin. He shouted and shouted in agony while his eyes are closed. His skin sizzled and burned, and his cries were like music to my ears. That's for killing my family and destroying my life.
However, when almost all the contents of the bottle were poured, he immediately grabbed his phone and dialed a peculiar number by memory, raised the phone in front of me and shouted:
"I CALL UPON THE FLAMES......."
But I interrupted him before he could even finish his sentence. I jammed the mouth of the bottle in his mouth to shut him up. I didn't know that there were still some contents left in the bottle. He accidently swallowed some of the acid and it only took a few minutes before he stopped moving. I checked on his pulse and his breathing. He's dead.
********
1 hour left.
I escaped the place as easy as taking a pee. After what I did, I walked around mindlessly, reflecting upon what I have done. As I continued to use my new gift, an old woman, probably in her late 60's, approached me. She was wearing an outfit that makes an impression of a soothsayer. At first I thought maybe she was looking at someone else. But then she spoke while looking straight on me. That's when I confirmed that she can actually see me.
"Playing with your body to hide from society, eh? Science can really stretch the boundaries of the impossible!" The old woman said.
I remained silent, hoping that I'm just mistaken and that the woman in front of me is not an immune one.
"Oh, no need to keep silent! Your mind is louder than your mouth. Immune one, eh? So that's what scientists call us." The woman said giggling.
I tried to examine her further to get more details about her. However, it seems like she examined me a lot further than I examined her.
"You're troubled, young one. You're guilty of something horrible. Your emotions overpowered your wisdom of right and wrong. Am I right?" She said.
I was shocked by the accuracy of her statement. I looked around and saw different stalls offering palmistry, tarot card reading, charms and other peculiar stuff. That's when I realized where I am: I'm in the mysterious areas of Quiapo. I returned my gaze back at the old woman who is still looking at me, smiling.
"So I assume you're a psychic?" I finally said.
"Indeed I am, boy. Hmm.....I can see something.......ah! You killed a conjurer! And an evil one, I see. He deserved it. Using elementals as his slaves....that's horrible! The Santelmo must be free from his grasp by now. Don't feel bad, son. It's called serving justice. He might have killed more if you didn't kill him."
No matter what she said, the heavy burden of guilt did not fade away. I also can't understand some of the things she said. Elementals? How can I even believe this woman? However, when I looked at her eyes, I was shocked. All my doubts about her instantly faded. This woman is not just a psychic.
She is blind.
"Go on, child. Go back to where you came from. Maybe you shall find answers there."
********
When I came back to Dr. Browne's workplace, there is still no sign of him. I looked around the laboratory to check for any signs of him. While exploring the vast room, I stumbled upon a large bookshelf. There were many books neatly piled along the shelf, but one book caught my attention.
The black, leather-bound book with red inscriptions gave the book an enigmatic and intimidating look. When I opened it, the title page said: The Book of Shadows.
I quickly scanned upon the book only to find numerous mystical symbols and procedures about different specific intentions like weather manipulation, levitation, etc. It's very surprising to find a book like this in a scientist's workplace especially since they don't believe in stuff like spells and magic.
A bookmarked page caught my attention so I decided to open it. I was shocked to find the spell written in the page: Spell for Soul Extraction
I've read the page further and found out that the mixture of fairy blood, ashes of mermaid bones and a photophobic material for the spell were the same mixture that was sprayed on me inside the machine. I checked on the capsule and I was shocked to find my body lying inside.
I'm dead.
Suddenly, I heard the voice of Dr. Browne. Finally, he's back.
"Looks like you've figured out my plans. Good for you, Cedric." He said with a maniacal smile on his face. He took the mirror on the table, smashed it into pieces, picked up a shard and inflicted a wound on his left palm, letting the drops of blood splatter on the ground.
"W-what are you doing? What exactly are you?" I asked.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm a modern-day sorcerer. I use a mixture of science and magic to do things unimaginable." He looked at his wristwatch and smiled even more. "Oh, would you look at that! You have five minutes left to remain in this world."
"You extracted my soul from body! For what?!" I shouted to him.
"Demonic sacrifice. You see, I want more power. By sacrificing your soul, I shall be a lot stronger than before!"
"Not if I can stop you!" I said.
"Oh, what can you do against me? You're already dead." He mocked me.
With that, he raised his hands out front and chanted an incantation:
Diablo, Diablo, dinggin ang panawagan,
Iyong tuparin ang aking kahilingan,
Alay ko'y kaluluwang makasalanan,
Sya'y iyong ipasok sa apoy na pintuan!
The drops of blood on the floor started to glow crimson red, cracking the ground and revealing a large fissure filled with fire: the gates of hell. However, before the spell was finished, a large shard of glass pierced Dave's neck and went through his throat. A large, demonic hand came out of the gate and grabbed him instead, pulling him into the fiery crater. I managed to levitate a glass shard to kill him just in time. The laboratory floor returned to normal.
My instincts kicked in and I immediately went to the controls to shut down the machine. However, when the contraption refused to stop no matter what I did, I lost all hope. I knelt down the floor and prayed, remorseful for all the sins I did. I prayed for forgiveness and salvation.
Before I knew it, a blinding flash of light pulled me in, bringing me to the ethereal realms.
*********
The laboratory floor cracked once more, revealing a much smaller crevice filled with fire. Out of the fiery fissure, a demonic figure came out. It was Dr. Browne, now in a form so hideous that you won't recognize him easily.
"I can feel the power coursing through my veins......."
"I am now a demon."