Cigar Encourager

"Are you sure, it's safe to swim here? I mean, you heard the stories too, right? That the cigar factory dumped all those chemicals in the water?"

"Yeah, man, but that has been decadea ago. They have abandoned it years ago. and look at the nature, it looks beautiful! Trust me, it's perfectly safe. The water is great, don't tou think?"

"You're probably right. The water is really nice, indeed. It makes my skin feel all tingly. It's really relaxing. It's a bit strange, though, I have this urge to go deeper into the water, lime something is pulling at me."

"Yeah, I feel it too, man, like we should go fully under. Let's go deeper."

Hours past. Everything seemed like it had always been this way. The two men didn't come up again. Day turned into night and suddenly the water started to ripple. Two figures emerged. Dark water dripped from their now glossy black skins.

They stood silently there. No words were needed anymore. Their minds had become one. One with each other and one with something larger and powerful than they could ever dare to imagine.

They slowly waded through the water towards the factory. They needed to go there. To finish what was started...

THE NEXT DAY

You had reveived a text from your friends, inviting you for a nightly swimming party in the lake near the abandoned tobacco processing plant. You wondered what had gotten into your friends. Didn't they know it was strictly prohibited to go swimming there? Everyone knew the area was used as a waste dump. You had written this in your answer to your friends, but they didn't react on it. But the only reply you got was "Join." You worried. They really shouldn't get into the water. You texted them again. You tried to call them, but each time you got the same text as a reply: "Join."

So, that night you went to the lake industrial terrain. There was no one there. You sighed. Maybe they had called it off anyways. You looked at the abandoned factory. But was it really abandoned? The sign on the building was burning. Did they restart the facility?

As you were looking at the building, your lungs were suddenly hit by smoke. Thick cigar smoke. You bent over and started coughing, unwillingly forcing the smoke deeper into your lungs. As you came up again, you saw two strong men, completely geared up in black glossy uniforms, standing in front of you, staring at you, while smoking their cigars. It took you a few seconds to realize that these were your friends that were standing in front of you.

"Bill? Tom? Is that you? What happened to you?"

Both guys remained silent for a bit, simply puffing on their cigars, filling the space between the three of you with strong, pungent smoke. Then one of them started speaking, in a monotonous voice, only to stop to take a drag from his cigar. Then the other man continued,in the same voice, as if they were one.

"We joined."

"We became better."

"We became one."

You started to get nervous. Your friends had never behaved like that.

"Bill? Tom? Is this a joke? This isn't funny!"

"Names are irrelevant."

"Individuality is irrelevant."

"We joined."

"We became better."

"We became one."

"We joined."

"We became better."

"We became one."

You tried to interrupt them, but without succes. Your friends kept repeating their mantra, only stopping to take drags from their cigars. The smoke in the air between you and your friends became thicker and thicker. You couldn't help but breathe in the smoke. The first times it bothered you, but after a few breathes you didn't really notice it anymore. In fact, the more you breathed the smoke in, the more relaxed you felt. You looked again at the two men. They looked so different... they had so much more muscles, perfectly accentuated by the glossy suits they were wearing. They really looked better. It was mesmerizing to look at.

You were so mesmerized by your friends, that you didn't notice that the mantra had changed:

"Join. Become better. Become one."

You also didn't notice that your friends were no longer moving their mouths, yet you could hear their monotonous voice loud and clear in your head. The only mouth that was moving was in fact yours, chanting the mantra over and over.

You didn't know how long you were standing there, simply chanting and breathing in the smoke, nor did you care. It was as if with every breath you took the voice in your head grew stronger and you cared less.

Eventually your friends led you to the lake. You knew what to do. You needed to get into the water. To join. To become better. To become one. You stood there, at the edge of the lake. For a split second you seemed to hesitate. It was as if a part of you tried to tell you to get away. To safe yourself. But this inner voice was weak, as if it was smothered by smoke. You smiled.

Individuality is irrelevant.

You then stepped into the water. Your whole body started to tingle as it welcomed the presence in the water. You could feel how it was entering you through every opening, through every pore, making you better. Making you one.

On the shore, your friends smiled as they lit up fresh cigars. They could sense how your individuality was being erased as you were becoming one. Soon their numbers would have grown enough to get the tobacco facility up and running. Then they could share the bliss of becoming one with every man on earth...

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