I have a tendency to get obsessed with something new for a short period of time before moving on to the next fix. A new game, a new hobby etc etc. The dark web is something i’ve never been able to shake, something that’s always had my curiosity. I don’t know whether it’s the secrecy of it or the fact i could have anything that i shouldn’t, but after a recent experience it’s something i wish i never got so obsessed with.
One night, me and a friend, we’ll call H, had a night without our other half and took this time to have a well over due catch-up over some beers, everything was going well, it’d been a while since we’d had a night like that with us both getting older. I don’t know how, but the topic of my mentioned obsession, the dark web, had been brought up, with us having a fair few units of alcohol in our system, i decided to lift the lid of my laptop and load up the Tor browser and do some drunk exploring. I’ve only ever briefly explored the depths of the dark web once, maybe that’s where my obsession stems from. We’d been searching for a good 30 minutes before we found one link that peaked our interest more than any other, it read “Make A Miserable Life” It’s slightly worrying that we didn’t hesitate to view this one, a site popped up, a very simple interface with the title at the top, a logo at the bottom and multiple text boxes in between, all of which were fields for someone’s personal data, on the right was a short description of what they offer, it read as followed “Wanting revenge? Wanting to see someone at their lowest? Everything they have ruined beyond belief. That’s what we’re here for” Surely, they can’t do too much, was a thought i wish i never made.
Probably due to the dutch courage i decided it would be a funny idea to test this service with myself. I filled out my details and transferred the bitcoin to make the payment, cheaper than i expected i now just had to wait and see what happened.
I woke up the next day to my phone ringing, slightly hungover and still half asleep i stretched to answer the phone, my boss? “Hello?” i answered slowly, it was rare my boss rang at all, let alone at 8am on the weekend. “I’m sorry for this, but your actions from last night have led me to have to release you from your position, you need help.” The phone ended, left confused and rather frustrated i messaged H to see what happened, the message didn’t go through, i tried to ring, straight to voicemail. Strange.
I go turn on the TV and make myself a coffee in hopes for some more energy, the news displays a headline, “A male in their 20s is currently wanted by the CIA, videos have emerged of the male, slowly torturing another male by the name H, as well as multiple little children.” Taken aback i take a step towards the TV, it flicks to a picture of the male. It was me, there, on the screen. A loud knock at the door took my gaze off the news. I peeked through my curtains to see almost hundreds of people, including who i thought was friends and family, holding posters wishing me dead with some of them armed with bricks. Not knowing what to do i ran upstairs, petrified i opened up my phone, the videos from the news everywhere, quite clearly showing me, torturing my best friend, along with several children i have never seen in my life.
An email comes through “Thank you for using our service, the misery has been delivered we hope you’re satisfied with the results”
I haven’t left my house yet and i know if i did, i wouldn’t be given a chance to return. That’s the last time i ever record my favourite obsession.