Web Friends

Enter Username : kritika_agrawal23

Enter Password : ********

I Logged in to my FriendsBook account. Checked some random posts, no new messages, no new likes or comments, no friend requests. I yawned. How do other people manage to get so many likes and comments? I was about to log out when I saw a new friend request. Some Jeff Narvon. I immediately checked his account. Lives in Bangalore, India. 23 years old. The technician at the Mariana web. Has 2000+ friends. 

Cool !!! Such a man with so many followers wants to be friends with me. For a person like me who never had even a single friend even in school or college, at the age of 20, the idea of having friends and fun seems like a good idea.

I immediately accepted it and texted him - "Hii"

In no time reply came, "Hii Kritika. How are you?"

There was some instant energy in his message. 

"I am good. How are you?"

"I am fine Kritika. So what do you do?"

"I am a finance student. What do you do? "

"I am a senior techie at Mariana web" 

"Great! So why do you wanna be friends with me?" An obvious question by my side.

"HaHaHa...Because I like making new friends. I am a curious person, I believe the more you explore, the more you stay young. Tell me why do you wanna be friends with me?"

"Because I don't have many friends."

"OH, sad! We can be friends if you want to be."

"Sure I would love to. So friends?"

"yup deal sealed. Remember there's no backing out now :)"

Kritika smiled after seeing his message - "Sure, done" She replied.

Days passed, Kritika became close friends with Jeff. They would share everything. She would talk to Jeff all day. Jeff was also very fond of her. She started posting pictures on the web, Jeff would comment. But apart from just 1 DP, there was no other picture from Jeff's side.

"I think we should meet, What say?" Jeff asked one day.

"Sure. Where?"

"Since you live in Ahmedabad, I'll come there. I have a business meeting also there in the coming weeks"

"Sounds good. Ok, let me know when you reach here."

Kritika shared this news with her single mother, who initially was not very happy with the idea of meeting a stranger but later agreed for the sake of the happiness of her lonely daughter.

It was Sunday, as it was planned, Kritika arrived at the City center Café to meet Jeff. She was dressed in her favorite red dress and was waiting for Jeff. 

She texted him - "Hey Jeff, I have reached, hoping to see you soon."

Jeff replied with a picture attachment with a caption - "Click and you'll know where I am" . Kritika clicked it, but in return she see a message that the image format is not supported. Maybe some error she thought, and left it as it was. In a minute she received a message from an unknown number - "Pasta123",which was her password. First she was puzzled to see her password as a message, but then she thought it as a mere coincidence because Pasta is a really common word. She deleted the message.

Just then she received a call from one of her project teammates. Although Kritika had no friends, she was a part of a routine project at her college. In that project too, she chose not to talk to many people and simply accepted the work given to her by the team leader. Today was the deadline to submit her part of the work, which she forgot because of her meeting with Jeff. She picked up the call.

"Hello Lucie, Kritika here"

"Hello. Where is your part of your work? Mail me asap, I have to compile everything and send it to the professor." The voice on the other side said.

"Lucie, I will but please give me some time. I am out with a friend, so will mail you by tonight." Kritika said hesitatingly. But she also wanted to tell Lucie indirectly that she too has a happening life, She knew Lucie was a total gossiper, and it will not a minute for the news of her amazing friend to flood in the college campus, a campus where everyone thinks she has a sad or doomed life. People will start taking her seriously too.

"Friend? You have friends?" Lucie asked.

"Yea, He is a great friend of mine. His name is Jeff, he is a techie at Mariana web" Kritika replied proudly, the fact for a college Grad was quite overwhelming that she was friends with a person elder than her.

"Mariana web? Oh is it. Haha. Stop making excuses. Send the file to me"

"Excuses? Why would I? It's a real firm. He is a real friend."

"Oh silly girl, when you choose to lie, at least lie wisely. Do you even know what Mariana web is? Anyway, I don't have time. Quickly mail me the file or else you're out of the project"

"What nonsense! I know what Mariana web is .OK. It is some technology company."

"Technology company, Damn! Stupid girl it is the darkest side of the web. Go search google..."

Lucie was about to say something else, but the phone got disconnected. Neither Lucie nor Kritika disconnected it, then Who?

Kritika was stunned for a moment, she quickly googled it. Mariana web, the darkest side of web. said to have the deepest darkest secrets of the world. Some say its a myth, some say it is not. Followed by a creepy video downloaded from Mariana web. But she couldn't see anything much.

Before she could take any action, she got a message from Jeff - "Sorry, couldn't meet you today. Have some work at my firm."

"Where is your firm?" She asked feeling scared.

"WHY ?" An indifferent reply.

"My friend said it is the dark side of the web, please tell me what is it?" She typed, her hands shivering.

There was no reply from the other end. She quickly grabbed her belongings and decided to leave the restaurant. As she was about to leave there was another message from an unknown number. It was a kind of picture, A picture was taken from the top of her head, She could see her hair, her dress, and she was standing where she was right now in the picture also.

She took an Auto and was about to leave for her house when she remembered that Jeff once told her that the meeting is at Paradise hotel. She told the auto driver to take her there. As soon as she reached there, she talked to the receptionist, 

"Hello, Is there any meeting related to Mariana web happening here?" She asked,

The receptionist Mohita was a lazy lady, she replied - "No miss. I don't think so."

"But I have proofs. OK Is there ANY cooperate meeting happening here?"

"Umm...First - No cooperate meeting scheduled for today. Second - Nothing like the Mariana web exists. Third - even if it does, I am sure they are not gonna do a meeting so openly"

"But..."

"excuse me," The receptionist said and left.

Now Kritika was completely scared. She was about to leave when the guard stopped her.

"Madam, I believe Mariana web exists. Need any help?" The guard asked.

"Really? Yes, please. Do you know any guy named Jeff?"

"No, that I don't know. But I know about a cooperate meeting that was to be held here 2 years ago, something related to fresher recruitment for company - M , but then something happened and nobody reported here. The few guys who reportedly jumped off the window. This was the first time in the history of this hotel that some firm spent thousands of money on the meeting and then such a thing happened. I feel it is related to the Mariana web because you cannot find any evidence about the event on the internet, and I have heard what happens but is not on surface web, exists on Mariana web. Also, the higher authorities of the hotel decided to keep quiet. One day when I was cleaning the owner's cabin, I found a file that contains some disturbing images, maybe from CCTV camera, but I choose to leave it as it was." The guard said quietly.

Kritika showed him Jeff's DP, "Do you know this guy?"

"Oh! He...You are here for him?"

"Yea...Tell me, by any chance he is related to all this?"

"Sorry, but he is the same guy who jumped off the window."

Kritika was stunned. 

Beep Beep. There was a message from Jeff- "Where are you I am at your home" 

Now she recalled the events. Jeff ones said he never celebrated his birthday after 2018. He never opened up about his personal or professional life. She tapped on his account and looked at his friend list. All the 2000+ people, all of them were tagged in a common post by any of their relatives, It was a Rest in peace post. 

Fear struck her, 

Another message from Jeff - "This is where you should stop. "

Panic drove she reached her house. 

Her mom was sitting on her usual chair, she went closer - "Mom, Is there any guest in the outhouse" She said almost crying.

"No Honey." Her mom replied and went to sleep. She also closed the door and went to her bed, but sleep was far from her eyes. Just then her phone beeped again.

A new notification. 

Your friend Jyotika is now friends with Jeff and Arnav, tap to see the expanding network. Jyotika was his mom. And Arnav was some person on Jeff's friend list.

She went to her mom's room and checked, she was sleeping peacefully.

She texted Jeff- "Who are you? What do you want? STOP!!!"

There was a reply - "Knowing where to stop is very important. Welcome to the world" 

She again started searching for Mariana web. There were some scary face pictures and some horror stories related to it. But the scariest of all this was a chat transcript, it was the chat of her and Jeff so far, But instead of Jeff's name, now there was another name - Jeffery Narvon (Virtual service From 1995 - 2018; Real service - 2018 to present; Members added - 2008; recent activity - added 1 member) And in a minute her inbox was filled with random messages from strangers - all containing 000111000101010101010 and similar bits. 

Horror filled her when she realized the fact that she was not able to view all this information when she was in the Café, then how come now.

She was frightened. Just then again on Friends book, there was a notification, 

Jyotika added a life event - "Got an Internship from Mariana web"

What nonsense! No! No! Mom! she found an image added with the post. It was her mom's backside sleeping peacefully on the bed, exactly the same as she saw her a few seconds back.

"She messaged Jeff - "Please leave my mom, Please!"

"Ok then you join the community, as I have already signed that I am adding a new member today" 

"please no, Leave us" She typed crying.

"Click the link, else your mom will." was the message that she got, followed by few other messages - "Remember I said - There's no backing out now" and another message - "Jump off the window" 

Her mind started dwindling now, she could hear only one line ;

There's no backing out now

There's no backing out now 

There's no backing out now 

There's no backing out now 

She could see only one scary face now - It was Jeff's face. In a fit, she clicked on the link and threw her phone out of the window, but with the phone, she was also dragged by some force and she fell down.

Kritika opened her eyes, She could see her mom typing a message on FriendsBook - Kritka Agrawal "Rest in peace" with tears in her eyes.

Kritika could see all this happening from the other side of the screen, but she felt as if she is trapped in a computer, From where she could see everything and everyone, but she couldn't come out or no one could see her. She banged on the screen hoping her mom would hear her, but her effort went wasted. She could see every user of friendsBook, who is messaging whom, what people are chatting about their public and private activities and everything. 

The time was morning 6 AM

there was a message from Lucie to her at 12PM last night "You!!! You didn't send the file no, Now no marks for you"

Kritika gave a creepy smiled and looked at her Mariana web community page, 

 "Kitika signed to add a new member in the community" She typed and added a picture of Lucie sleeping in her bedroom, and clicked the POST button.

Beep! Beep! 

Lucie's phone beeped.