It had been a long, long 10 hour shift . My body was aching, and I needed something to zone out to for a little while. So naturally, I hopped on my phone and started watching videos.
Swipe
An ad for an obviously fake video game.
Swipe
A woman screaming at the camera while a smoke alarm beeped incessantly.
Swipe...
Ad.
Swipe
dance video.
I rolled my eyes. The algorithm was all over the place tonight.
Swipe.
A live video. Interesting. A man and a woman sat at a small round table, enjoying a secluded, candlelit dinner. They were engaged in conversation, seemingly enjoying each other's company.
Why would somebody be filming a date? That's oddly invasive and...unromantic.
Whatever. I kept watching,absentmindedly as I lay in bed, slightly dozing. The sensation of falling awakened me as I jolted upright . I glanced at my screen to see the couple still sitting, but the tone had changed.
The woman was no longer smiling, giving guarded looks to the man sat across from her. And I could see why. What used to be average looking, upper class man, had....shifted. He was taller, his hair changed from a light auburn to a smoky cinnamon. His jaw defined, and his cheekbones sharpened more than humanly possible.
Is this a speed dating thing? I immediately thought. Then I realized the men were wearing the same exact suit, with the same exact accessories.
My attention was rapt now. This wasn't normal. And then, she looked directly into the camera, a panicked look in her eyes. Something was definitely off.
Suddenly, a message from an unknown user appeared on the top of my screen. " I know you're watching..." it began. I tapped on it immediately, fear burning in my chest.
" I know you're watching. Please. I don't know this man. I don't know where my date went. I'm scared." I look back at the screen, and see the woman sitting alone, typing furiously into the phone, hurriedly putting it away, and sitting awkwardly still as the man came back into view.
He sat down, and stared at her, a small grin creasing his face. I looked on in horror, as her shoulders began to droop, and her eyes looked like they had trouble opening and closing.
"He's drugged her.!" I shouted to my empty apartment. I went to hit the report button, but then it would automatically close the live.
If I was going to help, I needed more information.
I needed to know what is happening.
Where it is happening.
Why it is happening.
Once she's seemingly asleep, the man walks over to her, and taps her on the shoulder. She doesn't move. He gestures to someone offscreen. Mouth agape in horror, I watch two men come into view. They pick her up from the table, and carry her away.
The man then straightened his suit, walked towards the camera, his eyes burning holes through the camera lens.
Horror gripped me as I realized his entire body was shifting. It was as if he was scrolling through different characters, the smile on his face growing larger by the second. With one last step, he crouched down until his face was in full view.
Still flipping through faces, the smile dropped from them, and a serious look appeared. He raised his finger and shushed the camera. Then everything went black.
