Elizabeth Benton thought her graduate research would be simple—study online social interactions through a popular video chat platform called The Den. Her days and nights were spent talking to strangers from around the world, documenting conversations, and logging behavioral patterns. But one late-night session changed everything. A random connection loaded on her screen—a dark room, a masked figure, and behind them… a bound woman silently pleading for help. Before Elizabeth could react, the feed cut off. She tried to track the user, but the account vanished, and her messages to the platform’s support team went unanswered.
At first, she convinced herself it was a sick prank. But then the files on her laptop began disappearing, her webcam light flickered on without her touching it, and strangers appeared in her chats knowing personal details she had never shared. Soon, the masked figure returned—only this time, they spoke directly to her. They called her by name, listed the contents of her apartment, and showed live video of her boyfriend leaving for work. It was clear: she wasn’t just an observer anymore. She was the target.
Desperate for answers, Elizabeth dug deeper, uncovering a hidden network operating beneath the platform’s surface. It wasn’t just random chatters—it was an organized ring streaming real-time torture and murder for paying viewers. The more she searched, the more the walls closed in. Friends stopped answering calls, her accounts were hacked, and the police dismissed her claims as “online hysteria.” Each login to The Den brought her closer to the masked figure, and each encounter blurred the line between digital threat and physical danger.
The final act exploded in chaos when Elizabeth traced the IP address to an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town. Armed with nothing but her phone, she streamed her approach, hoping someone would see if she didn’t make it out. Inside, she found rows of laptops streaming dozens of victims, all monitored by silent figures in masks. Before she could free anyone, they surrounded her. The last thing her viewers saw was the masked leader leaning into the camera, whispering, “Now it’s your turn.” The feed cut to black. Somewhere in the dark web, a new chat room opened—its title: Elizabeth.
