Gabriel Comes to Town

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Pete, a 16-year-old whose love for video games was second to none. One day, he found himself at his friend Eddie's house, engrossed in a world of digital adventures while Eddie and his mom were out shopping. In the same house wandered Gabriel, Eddie's 11-year-old brother. Gabriel was a special needs child; brown hair framing his bright brown eyes, clad in his favorite superhero t-shirt and shorts. He drifted through the house, curiosity dancing in his eyes until he stumbled upon Pete's unguarded phone. Not one to miss an opportunity, Gabriel quietly entered Eddie's room, swiping Pete's phone while he wasn't looking, and disappeared into his own room. Pete immediately noticed his missing phone and instinctively knew who the culprit was. He chased Gabriel into his room, only to come to a halt as he saw Gabriel clutching his phone in his small hands. "Please, Gabriel, give me back my phone. What are you doing?" Pete asked, already resigning himself to humour his friend's younger brother. Gabriel looked at him, lisping in the innocent tone he typically used when speaking, "Yeah, I want a friend. You want your phone back, yeah? Play with me, and you can have your phone back." Pete sighed, inquiring, "How do you want me to play with you?" In response, Gabriel handed him a pair of shorts identical to the ones he was wearing, "Put on the shorts I'm wearing. I'll hand them to you." Without a second thought, Gabriel tossed his shorts to Pete, who caught them with surprise. Shrugging, Pete decided to go along with Gabriel's request, slipping the shorts over his legs. But the second Pete was in the shorts, Gabriel charged at him, knocking the unsuspecting teenager off balance. Gabriel swiftly pressed his hands onto Pete's feet and legs, causing them to tingle inexplicably. Pete looked down horrified to see his own legs shrinking until they fitted perfectly into the shorts –not only that, but they looked entirely like Gabriel's. Pete panicked, struggling to resist, but Gabriel seemed to possess an unnatural power, his hands transforming Pete bit by bit into an exact copy of himself; superhero t-shirt, brown hair, brown eyes, everything but his head. When Gabriel finally transformed Pete's head, including his voice which became Gabriel's pitch, he stepped away. Panicking, Pete sprang to his feet, rushing over to the mirror. His reflection confirmed his fears - he looked exactly like Gabriel. "Oh my God! Gabe! What did you do to me? Turn me back! I don't want to be you!" Pete cried out, his voice reflecting the fear and bewilderment he was feeling. Unfazed, Gabriel put his hands on either side of Pete's head and pressed his thumbs into his temples. Suddenly, Pete felt his memories fading away, leaving only the simplicity of Gabriel's mind and recollections. Gradually, he forgot that he was ever Pete and only remembered himself as Gabriel. "What were you talking about again? Are you okay? What's your name?" Gabriel asked, releasing the transformed Pete. "I uh, my name is Gabriel yeah, sorry I. I'm 11 years old and uh, I, I don't remember what I was doing. Why am I holding this phone thingy in my hand, yeah?" the new Gabriel lisped in the same exact tone, speech pattern, and inflection as the actual Gabriel. Looking down, he noted the strange object in his hand – the phone – something entirely unfamiliar to him. He dropped it on the floor and stomped on it with his transformed foot, his mind fully purged of any memories associated with the tech gadget and his previous life as 16-year-old Pete.