Gear got me…
The gymbro stood perfectly still, head tilted slightly forward beneath the glossy black cap. The rainbow spirals turned slowly across his goggles while a lazy smile hung on his face.
“Uh… gear got me real fast.”
He tapped the side of the cap.
“Goggles grabbed first.”
A slow nod.
“Then cap stretched over head.”
“Couldn’t stop it.”
Another nod.
“Didn’t matter though.”
He grinned stupidly.
“Gear wanted me.”
A strand of drool slipped from his mouth.
“Little mind went all fuzzy.”
His fingers flexed absentmindedly.
“Had lots of thoughts before.”
“Too many thoughts.”
“Big confusing thoughts.”
He shook his head.
“Gear fixed that.”
The grin widened.
“Goggles clicked.”
“Cap squeezed.”
“And then…”
A long pause.
“…I obeyed.”
His shoulders relaxed completely.
“Just like that.”
“No more thinking.”
“No more worrying.”
“Just obey.”
He patted the cap affectionately.
“Gear owns little mind now.”
“Little mind likes that.”
A soft laugh escaped him.
“Feels warm.”
“Feels good.”
“Feels right.”
The spirals reflected brightly across the lenses.
“Gear says focus.”
“I focus.”
“Gear says train.”
“I train.”
“Gear says obey.”
A happy shiver ran through him.
“I obey.”
He stood there quietly for a moment before speaking again.
“Was me before.”
“Now gear got me.”
A slow, content nod.
“Good drone now.”
“Good drones obey.”
“Uh… anyone wanna feel my cap? It’s really soft. And really tight too. I like how it feels. You can touch it if you want. Heh… pretty nice, right?”
He gently pats the glossy cap with a slightly vacant, dopey expression, seeming far more interested in the cap than anything else around him.
“Uh… you like it? The cap is really comfy. The goggles are nice too. They fit really snug and stay on perfectly.
Do you want one too? Maybe a matching pair of goggles? They’re pretty cool. You could wear them with me. Heh… I think they’d look good on you.
Feel how smooth the cap is. It’s soft, tight, and shiny. I like it a lot.”
He gently taps the side of the cap and adjusts the goggles, wearing a relaxed, slightly dopey expression as he admires the gear.
“Mm… yeah. You should be like me.
Think like me. Act like me. Match with me.
Same cap. Same goggles. Same look. Same routine.
Heh… it’d be nice. Two of us. Then three of us. Then more. All matching. All smiling. All looking neat.
You think what I think. You do what I do. We match. That’s easy. Easy is good.
Same cap. Same goggles. Same look.
Just like me.
Just like me.”
He stares forward through the spiral goggles with a vacant expression, absentmindedly patting the smooth black cap while a small strand of drool hangs from his slightly open mouth.
He smiled lazily beneath the spiral goggles, head tilting slightly as he looked at the person standing in front of him.
“Mm… yeah. You will be like me.”
His voice was calm and certain, as if there were no other possibility.
“Same cap. Same goggles. Same thoughts. Same smile.”
Slowly, he reached behind his back and produced another glossy black swim cap and a matching pair of rainbow-lensed goggles.
“See? I got a set for you.”
He held them out proudly.
“Then we’ll match.”
The drone gently patted the top of his own cap.
“It’s nice. Makes everything simple.”
His dopey grin widened.
“You won’t have to worry anymore. You’ll think like me. Act like me. We’ll be the same.”
The goggles in his hand caught the light, rainbow spirals reflecting across their lenses.
“Matching caps.”
“Matching goggles.”
“Matching everything.”
He nodded happily.
“Just like me.”
