It Was Supposed To Be A Joke

It all started with a joke photo of Jake's girlfriend, Amber. She played dead; he put fake blood on her body, and he would take a couple pictures of her. It was awesome to gain so much attention, but then the comments came. People wanted to know who Amber was and where she lived. They both even got doxxed, and Jake lost his mind after that. Not in a million years would he have thought that their lives would become hell due to that. Sometimes jokes aren't funny...

***

Jake was an ordinary guy with an extraordinary sense of humor. His girlfriend, Amber, was the light of his life—a quirky cutie pie with a penchant for whimsical paintings and a laugh that could brighten the gloomiest of days. They lived in a cozy apartment overlooking the city of Seattle. Almost every day, it rained, but that was what made the city beautiful. Both Jake and Amber's love story was etched in the boring-colored walls of their neighborhood, which dripped constantly with freezing waters.

One fateful evening, Jake stumbled upon the dark web, a murky underworld where secrets whispered louder than screams. He'd heard horrific rumors about its existence, which is why he was scared to ever enter the unknown, but curiosity gnawed at him like a persistent rat. Armed with his new laptop and a mischievous grin, he delved deeper, navigating through encrypted forums and hidden marketplaces. Every day, he would log in to his secret web browser and observe different sites. Some are more vulgar than others. That's when his addiction to the forbidden web set in.

One stormy afternoon, Jake came across a section labeled 'Jokes and Pranks.' Jake's eyes widened. What harm could it do? He thought. Amber loved a good laugh, after all. He clicked on the site, and hundreds of prompts quickly loaded onto his screen. Overwhelmed, Jake took a second to relax his eyes. Once everything stopped, he began to scroll and click. Jake saw pictures of crazy people in silly costumes, videos of funny animals smacking their humans, and actual jokes that he knew he shouldn't utter out loud. Jake was inspired, and he wanted a piece of all that attention. He hoped Amber would be just as enthusiastic as he was.

The next day, Jake would ask Amber if she would participate on the jokes and pranks site. She hesitated due to it being on the dark web, but then she thought it could be fun. Maybe if they took a crazy original photo, then it would break the internet. Amber thought it could also make her popular if she had the best idea of them all. Maybe even use the inspiration to become her own artist one day. So, both Jake and Amber got to work. They would create a crime scene so real that God himself would wonder.

Amber got dressed, laid down on the plastic on the kitchen floor, and waited for Jake to pour blood on top of her in a strategic way. He would then set the camera up to take a picture within 10 seconds. Right before the camera snapped the shot, he would position the fake knife covered in blood on Amber's chest. Snap! The camera flashed, and the picture was complete. "Perfection," they both whispered.

Jake uploaded the photo of Amber. He couldn't believe they were both so strange, but that made him love Amber even more. Once the upload finished, Jake added a caption: "Not real, or is it?" Innocent enough, he believed.

But the dark web has a way of twisting a little innocence into malevolence. The photo spread like wildfire, morphing into something grotesque. Amber's laughter eventually turned into a haunting echo, and her eyes, once filled with joy, now bore an otherworldly sadness. The caption changed multiple times in the comment section. The worst ones read, "We know where you are, little lady," or "he's a killer; get him," or "we're coming to get you."

Jake dismissed them as tasteless taunts, but the repercussions were swift. Their cozy apartment turned ominous, the dark clinging to every corner, and the creaks were louder than usual. Amber's sleeping patterns warped; her eyes were so tired, she began to envision grotesque shapes around her at night. The happiness that once flowed through their peaceful home was no longer there.

Amber changed rapidly. Her spirit lost its strength, and her love was replaced by a distant gaze of horror. She stopped going outside. She even stopped enjoying a good joke from Jake every now and then. Jake tried to console her, but she'd mutter about voices in her dreams, urging her to follow them.

The dark web had woven its spell. Jake's prank had consequences beyond his comprehension. Amber's mental health deteriorated. The shivering cold nights, soft knocks, and distant laughter from outside their bedroom door grew their fears. Amber would wake up screaming, her voice echoing like a siren's death cry.

Desperate, Jake sought answers. He returned to the dark web, seeking the elusive "Prankster's Remorse." The forum buzzed with warnings of the sites to be aware of. Jokes and pranks was on that list with captions: "You've angered the unseen." "Beware of the website's wrath." "They cannot be undone." Jake read so many things about the site, but that just made him want to look deeper. He needed to undo the curse.

The remedy was cryptic—a riddle wrapped in enigma. Jake couldn't just delete the original photo, even though it was the mistake that ruined their lives. He wanted to eliminate it completely, but that was impossible. You can't just clear your information from the dark web. It's the dark web. Jake still attempted to rectify the situation, though. He deleted the photo from the jokes and pranks site and wiped out any trace of him ever being associated with that forum. A couple weeks later, he found a new place to live, taking his beloved with him.

After six months with no issues, Amber's eyes regained their light, but the trauma remained. The shadows retreated, leaving behind a fragile reality. Jake vowed never to play with the dark again. But sometimes, late at night, he'd hear Amber talk in her sleep. "They're coming," she'd say, scaring Jake to the core every time. Forcing him to constantly remember that some things should stay hidden and not all jokes are funny.