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The Dark Web Infection
An unreleased short story from the book:
The Infection Spreads How the World Became Undead
Eliot sat in the dim glow of his computer screen, eyes tired but wide with excitement. He’d been on the dark web before, of course, but today was different. Today he was going to try something new, something that promised to be the ultimate experience. A peer-to-peer message board had been flooded with rumors about an underground game, a viral, immersive simulation that was said to blur the line between reality and virtual worlds. Everyone on the board swore it was the next level of gaming—an experience that transcended the typical, one that promised something far darker, far more real.
The download link was only available for a few hours. He didn’t hesitate. His fingers raced across the keyboard, carefully typing in the cryptic string of numbers and letters. There it was: the file. The Game of Flesh. A digital experience that promised a heightened sense of immersion. Eliot, like so many others, had been drawn to it like a moth to a flame. It wasn’t about the game—it was about what the game could make him feel. The promise of danger, of something visceral, of something alive.
He clicked on the file.
Within minutes, the screen flickered, distorting into glitchy waves of neon color. A loud, sharp noise, like static and a scream in unison, pulsed from the speakers, but Eliot barely flinched. His hand hovered over the mouse, eagerly waiting for the game to load. But then, something unexpected happened.
His entire system began to freeze. The mouse wouldn’t move. The screen was no longer showing the game—it was showing something else. Lines of code, long strings of cryptic letters and numbers, filled the screen like an alien language.
And then a pop-up appeared, a message in red text:
“You’ve been infected. Welcome to the end.”
Before Eliot could react, the computer shut off completely. He sat frozen, staring at the black screen in disbelief. His heart raced, adrenaline spiking through his body. Something had gone horribly wrong, but what? His mind raced, but then, as quickly as it had started, it stopped.
Minutes later, he felt it. A dull, creeping sensation in his body—something like coldness, but deeper, more profound. He shook his head, trying to shake it off. But the feeling grew stronger, swirling in the pit of his stomach, down his spine, into his limbs. His body felt heavy, like something was pulling him under, and a dark haze clouded his thoughts.
Suddenly, an uncontrollable urge overcame him. It was like a primal, base need to feed. The hunger, so intense, so raw, clawed at him from within. He stumbled toward the kitchen, disoriented and shaking. His mouth felt dry. His vision blurred, but there was one thing he knew for certain: something was wrong. The hunger was eating away at him, suffocating him, and nothing—nothing—could stop it.
His thoughts were no longer his own.
When he stumbled into the street, a strange groan escaped his lips. It wasn’t a cry—it wasn’t even a scream—it was something animalistic. His hands, shaking and trembling, reached out to grab the first person they saw. The man—a passerby, a stranger—barely had time to react before Eliot’s teeth sunk into his neck. The blood, hot and metallic, rushed into his mouth, but it wasn’t enough. It was never enough. The hunger surged again, stronger than ever, until Eliot felt himself pulled back by something larger than him, something terrible. Something impossible.
He didn’t know what he was anymore. He didn’t care.
It wasn’t long before the virus spread beyond him. The dark web was a place where the unseen flourished, where the forgotten, the dangerous, the forbidden lived. And the virus was no exception. As soon as the game’s download was executed, the infection spread like wildfire across the networks, its reach expanding with every click, every download. Those who had clicked on the file—who had experienced the thrill—began to transform, too.
And it was quick.
Sarah, a college student living on the same block as Eliot, was the next to succumb. She’d downloaded the game hours after Eliot, drawn by the same allure, the same promise of something new, something darker. She was in her room, eyes glued to her computer screen, when the infection took her. By the time her roommate found her, Sarah was already hunched over, her face contorted in grotesque hunger, tearing into her own reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were glazed, empty, lost to whatever had invaded her brain. The virus was altering her, making her something else. Something hungry. Something monstrous.
The outbreak spread rapidly. Those infected by the virus were no longer themselves. They were driven by one thing: hunger. They tore through their communities, attacking anyone they could find. The virus didn’t just corrupt their bodies—it rewired their minds, severing the connection between humanity and savagery. The infected were walking, feral creatures, no longer in control of themselves, lost to the primal urges of the virus.
And just as quickly as the infection had spread, so too did the horror. It wasn’t just confined to the streets anymore. The virus hijacked the internet itself, mutating into a living thing—an infectious presence, altering the very fabric of the digital world. The deep web became a breeding ground for the virus, infecting users through every download, every file transfer. Those who accessed the infected sites began to change, their bodies and minds contorting, reshaping into something otherworldly.
There was no escape.
Governments tried to intervene, but it was too late. The infected were everywhere, spreading their insidious virus through every corner of the world. The death toll skyrocketed as cities crumbled under the weight of the outbreak. Hospitals overflowed with the sick and dying, but the sick had become the very threat they feared. Infected, bloodshot eyes watched from every dark corner. The survivors who were not yet infected fought desperately for food and shelter, but they were hunted. The virus was always one step ahead.
And it wasn’t just the infected who were a threat. The true horror of the virus was in how it had broken the very fabric of reality. The lines between the real world and the virtual had become indistinguishable. The dark web was no longer just a place—it was a presence, a virus that haunted every corner of the internet, feeding on the souls of the desperate, the curious, and the weak.
Eliot, the first to be infected, wandered through the abandoned streets in a daze, his thoughts now distant, clouded by the hunger that had consumed him. He was no longer the man he had been. He was a puppet, strings pulled by the virus, by the hunger. And there was no turning back.
The last survivors—those who had managed to avoid the infection—fought, but it was a losing battle. There was no salvation. The virus, like the darkness it had emerged from, had consumed everything. The digital world had bled into the real one, and the end was inevitable.
The Dark Web Infection had claimed the world, and there would be no escape. Only the infected remained, endlessly hunting, endlessly consuming, in a world now consumed by their own madness.
If you enjoyed this short story you will probably like our latest release available now:
The Infection Spreads How the World Became Undead
$3.99
The Infection Spreads: How the World Became Undead is a chilling collection of dark, morbid, and mind-bending short stories that explore the terrifying origins of the zombie apocalypse. Each story reveals a new, unexpected cause of the outbreak, blending science fiction, horror, and dystopian terror in one unforgettable anthology.
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