Impostor Among Us
Chapter 2
by MagisterAthena
Tags:
#assimilation
#consensual_kink
#consensual_non-consent
#mystery
#no_sex_no_nudity
#realistic
#serial_recruitment
#resistance
“So, we’re already one down,” the Conversationalist said, as they all sat down. They’d all gathered back at the table after the app the Technologist had made for this day chimed, telling them that someone else had become an Impostor.
The Vampire looked around at the six others, trying to see if anyone looked particularly glassy-eyed, like they’d just been hypnotised. Or were looking too smug, like they’d just sneakily converted someone else into another Impostor. Two of the people around the table were Impostors, but all the Vampire knew was they weren't one of them — everyone else was suspicious.
Everyone looked equally suspicious. The Conversationalist sipped at his coffee, casting his gaze across the others at the table. The Technologist’s eyes flickered from person to person, taking in details before moving onto the next one. The Confuser took some steadying breaths, excited and on xir guard.
The Trickster, clearly loving the whole mystery part, cleared their throat. “So, can anyone establish an alibi for the last quarter-hour? I spent most of it talking with the Confuser, but I don’t have anyone else to back up that neither of us hypnotised the other. I assume we’re all the same? Speak now, and be proven to be innocent!”
The Vampire stayed silent, while looking around and seeing everyone else doing the same.
The Trickster cackled. “Sooooooo,” he continued, a mischievous grin on their face, “looks like none of us have an alibi. That means we’ll just have to wait until next time and see if we can come up with anything else!”
The Mesmerist interjected with her laconic drawl, eyes sharp beneath her neatly-combed raven hair, “Your plan is to just wait until the Impostor gets another person? I’d think the Impostor would want us to waste our chances to vote,” she said, making the accusation clear.
The Trickster happily clapped at the thought of being suspected. “Well, then how would you propose we narrow things down?” The silence stretched out. Then the Trickster dramatically nodded his head at the Mesmerist, sending strands of their long brown hair flying. “As I thought,” he announced smugly.
The Technologist, seeing the discussion was over, tapped her tablet, sitting in the middle of the table. The voting interface came up on the Vampire’s phone, and they abstained. Seconds later, the results came in — four abstentions, one vote for the Trickster. Of course, the Impostors' votes didn't count — that would make it far too easy later.
The Trickster cackled on seeing this. To the Mesmerist, they said. “I’m flattered by your trust in me.” Then he swept out of the room, their own suggestion to split up taking effect, and everyone else followed suit, scattering in different directions. The Vampire decided to follow the Mesmerist, wondering if she had more of a rationale for suspecting the Trickster.
The Vampire caught up with the Mesmerist in the loft. The Conversationalist had a huge house — a converted hat factory, which thanks to its history had plenty of rooms and out-of-the-way nooks. Normally, the rest of the Conversationalist’s extended family filled the space, but they were out on a trip, so the seven of them had the whole place to themselves.
The Vampire winced against the bright sunlight shining through a skylight, then smiled at how appropriate that felt. Autistic light sensitivity for the win! They joined the Mesmerist, taking care to stick to the shade. “So, suspicious of the Trickster, are we?”
The Mesmerist turned, her laconic expression allowing only a hint of a smile through. “You’ve got to admit, it’s not like we’ve got anything else to go on.”
“No — the Impostor’s covered their tracks well so far.” The Vampire got a devious grin on their face. “Maybe they’ve already gotten you, sneakily putting you in a trance, so you don’t even know you’re an Impostor. The Trickster does like their hypnotic amnesia.”
The Mesmerist’s mouth opened for a moment, then she closed it, clearing her throat. A hint of a blush started to rise up onto her face, her laconic expression breaking a bit. The Mesmerist was pretty blunt and confident most of the time, but she was so easy to tease when it came to hypnosis.
“Or perhaps, that’s what I’m going to do now? Just get you to look into my eyes?” The Vampire’s voice grew soft and soothing. “Wouldn’t it be fun to stare, to feel your thoughts getting sucked away, perfectly mindless and ready to turn into another Impostor?” The Mesmerist’s blush deepened — and she looked like she was trying to resist gazing into the Vampire’s eyes.
The Vampire switched back to their regular, more energetic voice. “Shame I’m not the Impostor then, isn’t it?” They grinned, having fun teasing the Mesmerist.
The spell broken, the Mesmerist’s flustering faded — most of it, anyway. “Hang on, what are you doing? Getting me flustered and off-balance so you could hypnotise me? That’s pretty damn suspicious.” Her eyes narrowed in a glare, even as her cheeks were still flushed red, clearly very much liking the idea of being sneakily hypnotised.
The Vampire gave a parting mock-salute. “Nah, just teasing — your reactions are so fun!” The Vampire left, satisfied after toying with their prey.
The two Impostors chatted to the Conversationalist, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Finally, there was a moment of quiet, and one of the Impostors pretended to get a notification on their phone. That Impostor pulled out their phone, quickly tapping to bring up the right website, while frowning at the screen, feigning confusion.
“What is it?” asked the Conversationalist, unaware of the other Impostor readying themself behind his back.
“I’m not sure. Here, what do you think?” replied the first Impostor, bringing the screen up to the Conversationalist’s eyes, revealing the whirling, spinning spiral on their phone.
The Conversationalist wasn’t expecting that, and his surprise gave the other Impostor enough time to wrap their arms around him, holding him in place while the first Impostor held the spiral in front of his eyes.
“There we go,” cooed the first Impostor into the Conversationalist’s ear, speaking quickly. “Watch the spiral, feel how it spins you around, throws you off balance, sucks your thoughts away.”
The other Impostor whispered, pouring soothing words into the Conversationalist’s other ear. “Isn’t it such a fascinating pattern to watch? Constantly shifting, catching your eyes and pulling you in. It’s so nice to look at, yes?”
The Conversationalist, off balance, started to nod before stopping himself.
“Putting up a fight?” the first Impostor asked, grinning. “But you’re still looking at the spiral, right?”
The Conversationalist twitched, but managed to suppress the nod.
“But if you’re looking at the spiral, then you must be falling into trance? And if you’re falling into trance, you must be sinking deeper,” the first Impostor spoke, guiding the Conversationalist’s train of thought.
“And it’s such a lovely feeling to sink deeper,” the other Impostor followed, taking their cue. “Every breath, every moment, just brings you even deeper into that feeling. And if you’re sinking deep into trance, then you must be…” they trailed off, seeing if the Conversationalist would finish the thought.
“Hypnotised,” mumbled the Conversationalist, spacily. There were clearly no thoughts behind his eyes, glassy and staring into the spiral. The first Impostor chuckled on seeing the spiral reflected in his eyes, looking like the cartoons that gave people spirally eyes when they fell into trance. It was very satisfying to see the spiral work so effectively, too — they’d coded it, as with all the other visuals loaded on their phone.
Then the two of them felt their programming engaging, ready to convert the defenseless mind in front of them into another Impostor. “And now,” the first Impostor continued, “as you sink further into the spiral, you’ll become an Impostor, just like us…”