Web of Darkness

by Bali Rai

  Kane nodded and picked at something on the table again.

  ‘Maybe he’s got a girlfriend?’ I suggested.

  ‘Yeah, he has, kind of,’ Kane revealed.

  ‘What – and you didn’t say?’ I must have sounded like Danny.

  Kane shook his head. ‘It’s like with you and your boy online,’ he told me. ‘None of my business.’

  I paused and wondered how to respond. Benedict’s constant messages were getting more and more annoying each day. Now, the real boy I would have given my right arm for was sitting opposite me. Having him so close just made that clear.

  ‘He’s not my boyfriend or anything,’ I said eventually. ‘We just chat about stuff. We’ve never even met.’

  ‘I thought he was Mr Model?’ said Kane.

  ‘That’s what he does,’ I replied. ‘But he’s in America.’

  ‘Don’t you Skype or anything?’

  The webcam popped into my head. It was still sitting on my bedroom floor, unused. ‘You know how old my computer is, I didn’t have a webcam until the other day,’ I told him. ‘Benedict sent me one.’

  That little nagging sensation returned, and it was doing my head in.

  ‘So why haven’t you hooked it up?’

  ‘Too busy,’ I said. ‘GCSEs come first.’

  Kane nodded again, and I felt bad for not telling him the whole truth. Yes, I’d been busy, but Benedict and the webcam thing made me feel uneasy.

  ‘So, is he still annoying you?’

  ‘Huh?’ I asked, shocked at his question. I hadn’t told him I was annoyed with Benedict. Was he reading my mind?

  ‘You said he was insistent – when we were in Las Iguanas?’

  Why was Kane so interested in Benedict? It couldn’t be because he was jealous. Or could it? I pushed the thought out of my head. I was being silly. Boys like Kane didn’t fancy girls like me. They went for the real beauties – the Tillys of this world. Even Molly, when she wasn’t wearing her warpaint. I was no match for them. I pictured Kane sitting staring out of the window in Las Iguanas. I could have sworn he hadn’t been listening.

  ‘He’s just been acting odd,’ I explained. ‘I told him I’m really busy and he doesn’t seem to care – he just wants to chat all the time. The other day, I told him I was going and he just carried on messaging me, even though I wasn’t replying.’

  ‘Sounds like he’s really into you,’ said Kane.

  I knew Benedict liked me – he’d told me plenty of times – but I didn’t want Kane to know that, for some reason. I decided to downplay it, remembering what Tilly had said about hedging my bets. Only not by lying to Kane.

  ‘He likes me,’ I admitted. ‘But I also think he’s just a bit lonely. I’m like a confidante, maybe?’

  ‘In that case, he sounds a bit weird.’

  I nodded. In my head, I made a choice. It was a risky choice, but I decided to go for it anyway. I decided to tell Kane the truth. ‘That’s what I was thinking,’ I said. ‘Like, this webcam. I don’t even remember giving him my address, but I must have forgotten I had and he posted it here. I thought that was odd.’

  Kane raised an eyebrow. ‘You must have told him,’ he said. ‘Otherwise, how could he send it to you?’

  ‘That’s the point,’ I explained. ‘Like, I know I must have told him, it’s there in our Facebook chat history, but I can’t remember doing it. It’s confusing me – I don’t normally forget things like that.’

  ‘And . . .?’

  I gave him an enquiring glance.

  ‘Feels like there’s something you’re not telling me, Lily,’ Kane added.

  I shrugged and picked up my phone. I found Benedict’s increasingly odd messages and, despite feeling a little apprehensive, showed them to Kane. ‘Here.’

  Lily? You stopped caring about me, Lily?

  Lily????????????????

  Please tell me if I’ve done something wrong, babe. I wanna connect with you so bad. Why won’t you reply????’

  LILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  As he read them, Kane shook his head. ‘OK,’ he said when he’d finished. ‘He’s definitely insistent . . .’

  ‘I’m a bit creeped out by it,’ I said. ‘Is that awful?’

  Kane shrugged. ‘I would be,’ he replied. ‘Man sounds like he’s got some issues.’

  ‘We’ve told each other a lot,’ I revealed. ‘Like, about feelings and stuff. I think he’s just a bit hurt that I haven’t been responding so quickly. I feel bad about it, but I just haven’t got time . . .’

  ‘You and me both,’ said Kane. ‘Revision is killing me.’ He stood up, as though he was about to leave, and I felt a pang of hurt. How could he leave after I’d just confided in him?

  ‘You going already?’

  He shook his head. ‘Nah,’ he said. ‘I’m making tea, seeing as you didn’t ask.’

  ‘Sorry!’ I was that happy Kane was hanging around my reply had emerged like a squeal of delight. As I watched him fill the kettle, I forgot all about Benedict and his webcam.

  ‘I’m stuck on that stuff too,’ Kane added, nodding towards my revision notes. ‘Maybe we can work on it together. You know – two heads and all that . . .’

  I nodded, desperate not to give my emotions away. I felt like tweenie watching a new video by her favourite boy band. ‘OK, but no distractions,’ I warned. ‘I’m turning my phone off.’

  Kane grinned, as I remembered why he’d come round in the first place. I’d been so caught up in my own crap I hadn’t asked him any more about Max.

  ‘OK, Miss Basra,’ he said. ‘Anything you say.’

  ‘Tell me about Max first, though,’ I replied. ‘You sounded worried.’

  Kane shrugged. ‘I am,’ he said.

  Mum came in around eight p.m. with Dave in tow. They were smiling and I could smell wine on Mum’s breath. I resisted the urge to smile but inside I was really pleased to see them together.

  ‘Hello, Kane!’ said Mum, sounding a bit tipsy. ‘Haven’t seen you in ages. How’s your family?’

  Kane’s mum and dad were from Jamaica, which is where his older brother, Alfonso, had been born. They’d lived in England for twenty-three years, and Kane and his sister, Carmen, had been born here in Leicester.

  ‘Great, Mrs Basra. Nice to see you.’

  Dave looked at the mess on the table and smiled. ‘Good to see you’re taking your exams seriously,’ he said, glancing from me to Kane.

  ‘Hey, Dave,’ I replied, giving my mum a sly look. ‘You OK?’

  He nodded. His face was flushed and I could see little shaving cuts on his neck. He was wearing a grey suit over a light pink shirt and grey tie combination. He looked cool.

  ‘I’d better get going,’ Kane said, standing up.

  ‘No, no!’ said Mum. ‘Don’t leave because we’re here. Have you had something to eat?’

  ‘Not yet,’ I replied, when Kane didn’t answer. ‘I thought we could have the leftover lasagne?’

  Mum went to the oven and turned it on. ‘I’ll heat it up for you,’ she said. ‘Dave and I need to talk over some stuff anyway. You two can carry on working.’

  Dave looked at his watch. ‘I’ve got to be somewhere around ten, Laila,’ he said.

  Mum nodded. ‘We’ll be done by then,’ she replied.

  ‘I can reheat the lasagne,’ I told her.

  Mum smiled. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘Have fun, you two.’

  As they walked off to the living room, Kane grinned. ‘They’re a bit pissed,’ he said.

  ‘Hope so!’ I replied. ‘Means they had a good time. I’d love it if they got back together.’

  ‘Is it OK for me to stay a bit longer?’ asked Kane. ‘I don’t have to.’

  I tapped a finger against a chemistry textbook. ‘Yes you do,’ I told him. ‘You’re not going anywhere until we crack this rubbish!’

  Kane laughed. ‘OK then,’ he replied. ‘I’m all yours . . .’

  In my head, my delighted tweenie voice squealed.

  As
the drugged boy sleeps, the Spider watches and smiles. The boy is tied to a bed, fully clothed. His ankles and wrists are bound with wire and duct tape. The OTHER, having delivered this quarry for him, has gone.

  The boy had been shocked, in more senses than one. The cattle prod sent electricity coursing through his body. Anger, confusion and fear cascaded over him when he realized his MILF wasn’t all she’d promised to be. Both things had knocked him cold.

  Just wait until he wakes up, the Spider thinks. Now THAT will be fun . . .

  He leaves the basement room and heads back to his office. Several laptops sit idling. He wakes one of them. His fingers are a blur as they tap in commands. Somewhere else, a webcam comes to life. On the Spider’s screen, an image appears. A teenage girl’s bedroom, dark except for the glow of a small table lamp. In her bed, Girl #2 is soundly asleep. The Spider watches for a moment. Such a waste of precious time, he thinks, before logging off.

  She does not know it yet, but soon Girl #2 will be sleeping for ever . . .

  18

  I found out at school. There was a buzz – not excitement exactly – more amusement and shock. At the gates, a gang of lads laughed and joked. They all had their phones out.

  ‘This is some sick shit, bruv,’ one of them said.

  I ignored the rest of their conversation, walking through the main entrance. Normally I’d see Tilly or Danny hanging out by the library. But they weren’t around.

  ‘It is sick!’ I heard an Asian Year Eleven say to his mate.

  ‘Imagine being him, though,’ the first one added. ‘Like, having to come school and that.’

  ‘No way is he showing his face at school today,’ said the second.

  I checked my phone. I had several text messages waiting. Every single one was from Tilly – we’d fallen out, so what was going on? But it was the fifteen missed calls that made me realize something was wrong. I looked at the list and saw two names – Tilly and Danny.

  ‘Shit!’ I whispered, as Kane walked in wearing a serious expression. He didn’t smile at me.

  ‘You seen it?’ he asked me.

  I shook my head, my stomach starting to churn. ‘Seen what?’ I asked. ‘What’s going on?’

  Kane rubbed his head. His eyes grew narrower. ‘What – you seriously ain’t seen?’

  ‘No, I fell asleep straight after you left, and then overslept,’ I told him. ‘What’s happening?’

  ‘It’s Max,’ he revealed.

  ‘What about Max?’

  Kane looked around, making sure no adults could hear. ‘He posted a video on Facebook – last night when we were at yours. It’s nasty.’

  I felt my eyes widen. ‘Nasty how?’

  Kane looked away for a second. ‘You know,’ he said, like he was uncomfortable. ‘Like – him sitting at his computer, in his boxer shorts and that . . .’

  I shook my head. ‘Kane?’ I asked. ‘Tell me what you’re on about!’

  He looked around again, just to be sure. ‘Max filmed himself . . . er . . . masturbating. Then he put the video on FB.’

  The horror in my expression must have been obvious. It had to be a mistake. Max would never have done that – no way.

  ‘See?’ said Kane. ‘I told you it was nasty.’

  ‘I don’t believe it!’ I replied.

  Kane nodded. ‘I don’t want to believe it either,’ he said. ‘But it’s true. I’ve seen it.’

  I shook my head. I wasn’t having it. ‘His page must have been hacked. That’s the only explanation.’

  Kane ushered me into the library. Mrs Band was at her desk, working. She saw us and smiled. We went over to the Teen Fiction shelves – out of her earshot.

  ‘Thing is – I can believe his FB getting hacked,’ Kane continued, ‘but what about the other sites?’

  ‘What other sites?’

  ‘He posted the video on a couple of blogs and linked them to FB,’ Kane explained.

  ‘So? That doesn’t mean he wasn’t hacked,’ I pointed out, though I didn’t really know what I was talking about.

  ‘Fair enough,’ said Kane, ‘but he still videoed himself doing that. Unless he’s saying it’s not him in the clip.’

  ‘Did you watch it?’ I asked.

  Kane looked sick. ‘It got taken down quick,’ he told me, ‘but I watched a few seconds. Just wanted to be sure.’

  I saw Tilly walk in with Danny. Both wore strained expressions. Tilly actually tried to smile at me, though. I smiled back before returning to my conversation with Kane, relieved. Despite the situation, maybe things with Tilly were fixable, after all.

  ‘And it was definitely him?’ I asked.

  ‘Yeah, and it wasn’t good,’ said Kane.

  As Tilly and Danny joined us, I shook my head in disbelief once more.

  ‘I’ve been trying to call Max all morning,’ said Tilly. ‘He won’t answer.’

  Danny lowered his voice to a whisper, as I saw Dr Woods, Mr Dhindsa and Mr Warren gather in the corridor outside. ‘Probably hiding in shame,’ he replied. ‘Have you seen his wall today? It’s, like, swamped with nasty comments.’

  Tilly nodded. ‘I saw it this morning . . . I just don’t get it,’ she said. ‘Why would Max do that?’

  Danny looked at Kane, shaking his head. ‘Come on, now, Ice Queen,’ he said. ‘What do you think hetero boys do all night?’

  Tilly fought back her anger. I could see it in her eyes, and I understood it too – Danny was being flippant at the wrong time.

  I think Danny realized it before Tilly snapped at him. ‘I know what they do,’ she replied. ‘I just don’t know why he’d record himself and post it.’

  ‘He wouldn’t,’ I said, looking into her eyes and hoping that our argument was over. ‘Come on – he’s our friend. We know him. I’m gonna call him.’

  ‘No point,’ said Kane. ‘I’ve been trying all morning too, like Tilly. He isn’t picking up.’

  Kane was about to say something else when Dr Woods walked in. She looked tired and irritated. ‘Form rooms,’ she ordered. ‘Now, please!’

  As we walked out, Kane finished what he was saying. ‘I know why he was recording it,’ he said. ‘I’ll tell you later, though.’

  Tilly shook her head. ‘No – tell us now!’ she demanded.

  ‘Later,’ Kane insisted. ‘Dr Woods looks pissed off.’

  I caught up with Kane by the gates, as school ended. He was watching DC Evans getting out of her car. This time she was in uniform and wearing a hat. She looked tense.

  ‘What’s that about?’ he asked me.

  ‘Dunno,’ I replied, avoiding the officer’s gaze as she passed us and entered main reception.

  ‘Have you heard from Max?’

  I shook my head. ‘And I’m worried.’ I’d checked my phone obsessively all day. Nothing.

  Kane ran a hand across his head. ‘Me too,’ he admitted. ‘Sent him plenty of texts this afternoon. He ain’t replied to one.’

  ‘No surprise,’ I said. ‘Like, just imagine how he’s feeling.’

  ‘Don’t want to,’ he told me.

  ‘So, tell me why Max was recording himself,’ I replied. ‘And why didn’t you tell me all of this last night?’

  Kane’s expression darkened and he averted his eyes. ‘I dunno why,’ he said. ‘Didn’t feel right, I guess. It was Max’s secret. She’s some woman – like, this older babe he met online.’

  ‘What older babe?’ I asked. ‘Is this the girlfriend you were on about yesterday?’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Kane. ‘He didn’t give a name, though. Just said he was in some chat room and this woman messaged him. They were webcamming and that . . .’

  ‘What?’ I thought of Benedict and the webcam he’d sent. He might have annoyed me recently, but at least he wasn’t into shit like this.

  Kane looked at me and shrugged. ‘What can I say, Lily?’

  ‘I want you to tell me the truth,’ I replied.

  ‘OK,’ he said, ‘but it’s seedy, you get me?’

 
; ‘Seedier than wanking online, for the world to see?’ asked Tilly from behind me.

  ‘Hey, Tilly – you OK?’ I asked.

  Tilly ignored me and I felt deflated. After the way she’d been earlier, I thought we were over the worst. Now I realized that I might be wrong. Tilly was my best friend but she could easily walk away and find someone else. She was chatty and fun, and exciting. I wasn’t. I’d always felt lucky to have her on my side. Now I was scared that I might never have her on my side again, and it hurt.

  ‘Well?’ she asked Kane.

  Kane nodded. ‘She started sending him pics and that,’ he told us. ‘Then she wanted videos and he sent them.’

  I shook my head. End-of-school chatter echoed all around us. Parents, parked on double-yellows despite the warning signs, waited for their Year Seven angels. The sun peeked through white clouds and a gentle breeze floated across the fields behind school. It could have been any normal afternoon – except it wasn’t.

  ‘Max was doing that?’ I said in surprise.

  ‘Yeah,’ said Kane. ‘He showed me a pic of the woman – proper MILF.’

  ‘Kane!’ yelled Tilly. ‘I hate that term!’

  Mother I’d like to—! I hate it too, I thought, only it wasn’t important. Max was our only concern, surely?

  ‘You know what I mean,’ Kane protested. ‘Anyway – he really got into it. He was staying up all night and that . . .’

  Once again, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Max just wasn’t like that. How could there be an entire hidden side to him that I hadn’t spotted? He wasn’t my best friend but I knew him better than most. How did I not see? But, then again, maybe we all kept stuff from each other. I glanced at Tilly and thought about her secret.

  ‘Did this woman know how old Max was?’

  ‘Yeah – course she knew his age,’ Kane replied. ‘That’s why she messaged him – younger man and all that.’

  ‘Shit – what’s going on?’ Tilly asked suddenly.

  I followed her gaze to main reception. Mr Warren was standing with Mr Dhindsa. Dr Woods and DC Evans quickly joined them, and then Dave’s car – a BMW – pulled into the drive too. Something was up.

  ‘Look at their faces,’ Tilly added. ‘Something’s wrong – I’m telling you.’