Viral Monster

Chapter 1: The First Upload

We were three idiots with one phone and no plan.
Arjun. That is me. Rohan. Priya.
Final year ECE. Hostel room 404.

It began with an Excel file.
A leaked one.
Fifty crore. A minister’s name. Shell companies.

We uploaded it at 2:47 AM.
By 3:14 AM it crossed one million views.

The comments came faster than we could read.
People were angry. People were cheering.
Everyone said the same thing. Share it before it is deleted.

We refreshed the page again and again.
Rohan shouted when a news channel picked it up.
Priya started crying.
I just watched the number go up.
It did not slow down.

At 3:47 AM the minister appeared on live TV.
He smiled and said it was fake.
He said it was a deepfake.
He said we were anti national.

At 4:12 AM our college group message arrived.
All three of us were suspended with immediate effect.

At 4:30 AM Priya got a call from an unknown number.

A man said delete the video or we delete you.
She laughed and said it was too late.

At 5:00 AM the hostel warden knocked.
Two cops stood behind him.
They told us to come with them.
We refused.
They left.

The corridor camera blinked red.
It was recording.

At 6:00 AM the news ticker changed.
It said engineering students take bribe to defame minister.
They showed a photo of fifty lakh cash in our room.
We had never seen that money.

At 7:00 AM Rohan’s mother called him.
She was crying.
She said they showed his face on TV.
She said they called him a traitor.

At 8:00 AM a crowd gathered outside the college gate.
Students were shouting for us to leave.
They called us traitors.

We slipped out from the back.
Priya’s hands were shaking.
She dropped her phone.
The screen cracked.
The camera was still on.

At 9:00 AM my phone buzzed.
The platform said our video was removed for guidelines.
But mirror uploads were everywhere.
Ten million views.
Then twenty.

At 10:00 AM Rohan froze while scrolling.
He showed us his screen.

A new channel was live.
The name was ViralMonster_Live.
The thumbnail showed Rohan’s hostel bed.
Cash stacked neatly on it.
Our room. Our faces.

The title said confession we were paid.

We clicked it.

It was Rohan’s voice.
Perfect.
Clean.
AI deepfaked.

He said we lied.
He said the minister was innocent.
He said sorry.

At 11:00 AM Priya screamed.
Her Instagram was hacked.
Fake nude photos were posted.
They were not real.
They looked real enough.

At 12:00 PM my parents called me home.
I went.

My mother opened the door.
She said nothing.
She handed me a matchbox.

My childhood photos were burning in the sink.
She said I was not her son anymore.

At 1:00 PM I returned to the hostel.
Rohan was gone.
Priya was on the floor crying.
She said they took him.

At 2:00 PM the police were at the gate.
They said Rohan was found dead.
They said suicide.

They showed a photo.
Rohan was hanging.
His neck bent at the wrong angle.

A note was pinned to his chest.
It said he sold his friends.
It said he was sorry.

We knew his handwriting.
It was not his.

At 3:14 PM Priya looked at me.
She said we are next.

I opened my laptop.
I started recording.

This is Chapter 1.

If you’re watching, the monster already has your IP.

Don’t refresh.
Don’t comment.
Don’t share.

Or you’ll be Chapter 2.

Author's Note
If this scared you, vote and comment.

Don't share the story.
Or it starts watching you.

Mr Unknown