Chapter 7 - My Boss

My boss

Boss (Noun). A person in charge. A superior. (Dictionary)

Right here, right now, Mr. Rattiphat, almost thirty, foul mouth, on the first day of work, is in a dilemma. In front of me is a teenage boy who still has a human finger in his mouth. Pieces of limbs scattered on the floor. The puddle that I stepped in just now is also blood, which is emitting a smell so overwhelming that I almost want to run away to vomit. Next to the boy is a handsome man who is still smiling relaxingly while greeting me.

I take a deep breath, eyes glancing back at the close door behind me.

Well… here goes nothing.

I point my finger at them, speaking with a voice loud enough to complete with the singing from the music club upstairs who are still practicing.

“ Y- You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you at government expense… ” [1]

“….”

Hah. How is that!? Surprise, right? I felt that this quote is very cool, so I memorized it from the cop movie that I watched when I was a kid. I can even say it in both Thai and English too! Even Though I can’t really translate some words.

……..

……

…

The room fell into complete silence.

Hah, you didn’t see that coming, right!

I didn’t see it coming either! What did I just say!? Why did I say that? That’s so embarrassing! Sob! Please, someone, give me something to cover my face with!

I scream bloody murder in my head before my handsome boss finally burst out laughing.

“Ops.. Hahahahahahahaha. Mr. Phat… You really are something.”

Go ahead! laugh as much as you want!

The teenage boy whose mouth is covered with blood looked at me and then said, “Boss, I’m not eating this guy. He seems stupid.”

Hey, now that’s offensive But he is correct, I am a completely brainless person, please don’t eat me.

“I- I.. I didn’t see anything. I won’t call the police either. So.. p- please let me go.”

“Police?” Boss said with astonishment. “Mr. Phat, do you really not know where you are right now?”

…Where am I? The medical room? A locked-room? I glace left and right confusingly.

“Mr. Phat. Do you really not know… that you have special sense [2] ?”

Mr. Rattiphat, have spiritual energy and special sense, don’t forget to leave a like and subscribe- Hold it! “Me? But I have never seen a ghost or anything…” Thing… I suddenly recalled the strange creature that I just saw today. The lifeless, bulging eyes as it fell from the top floor are still haunting me.

“Mr. Phat, don’t you often have dreams… that foretell the future?”

“!” I freeze as I look at my boss’s face.

“I have told you before, your family name… “Naiyapornsakun [3] ” … you really have a pair of good eyes, Mr. Rattiphat. It’s just that sometimes what you see does not happen when you are awake, but when you are asleep. The dreams that can foresee the past, present, and even the future…. Am I right?”

I can’t help but gulp… I should have denied what he said. I should laugh and tell him that what he said is absurd. But I can’t. Because it’s true… I am the kind of person who doesn’t dream often, but when I do, my dreams would always have some special meaning…

Just like that dream back then… of the crushed, ripe tomato in my hand.

“!” I take a deep breath to full myself together.

“Moreover, the fact that you can see our company website, has already proved that you definitely have special sense, Mr. Phat.”

“What do you mean, how can http check someone special sense?” I argue. Is there some kind of computer protocol in this world that can detect spiritual energy? The person who invented it must have been really bored or just completely nut. This doesn’t even count on the fact that spiritual energy should not be real in this world.

The other side just laughed with a deep voice. “Yes, the http we use is not the ‘Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)’ but the ‘Himmapan Trust Transfer Protocol’ … People without special sense would not be able to find the website at all.”

A word in the boss’s sentence caught my attention. This ‘Himmapan’ … is probably not a kind of nuts [4] .

He continues to smile without saying anything more. I force out a laugh. “Boss, are you telling me that all of my colleagues are some kind of Garuda and Naga [5] ? That people in this company… are some kind of mythical creatures that we learned in Thai literature?” …Even Though my grade is really bad, I did go to school alright.

“That is correct. Your senses are really exceptional.”

“…” I glance around from left to right. Maybe this place is not a company, but a Psychiatric hospital. Then, I froze once again when I saw the apathetic expression of the teenage boy who is now chewing on a finger while looking at my face.

….Gah. I feel like I might faint.

“I thought you already knew what kind of place this is from the start?” Boss says relaxingly while slowly stepping closer… and closer to me. Close enough that I can feel his breath blowing on my face. I feel like running away, but my legs have no strength.

“Because you… have a faint scent of our kind.”

“!”

A strange noise sound before all the light went off and the room plunged into the darkness yet again. Under the emergency light from outside, I break out into a run.

“Wait, Mr. Phat!” The sound of the boss’s shout after me. Why would I wait, I’m not that stupid!

I run as fast as I can, fully intended to go down to the first floor and find the nearest exit to get away from here. I am tripping on my own two feet as I hear the footsteps of my boss who is running after me.

While running, I crashed into someone, hard enough that the impact sent me down the floor on my butt.

The moment that my body is flying through the air, I thought that if I am in a movie, then, the mass of something that I crashed into, more than 90% sure must be another monster.

Footnotes:

[1] In the original text, this is in English, followed by a Thai translation of the same quote, so I decided to just use the English one here.

[2] This can also be translated as spiritual energy, ghost energy, or special (six) sense.

[3] “Naiyapornsakun” is Phat’s family name, which means a family with good eyes.

[4] Cashew is called “Himmapan nut” in Thai.

[5] Garuda is a creature mix of eagle and human while Naga is a serpent-like being half-human and half cobra. Picture.

Translator Notes:

This chapter is quite short, but we finally get to see some reveal! And the next one will be even more exciting!