Tom sat at his desk, the blue light of his computer screen glowing in the dark room. It was 8 p.m., the same time every night. He stretched his fingers, cracked his knuckles, and leaned back in his chair. Tom was 65, with short grey hair and a short beard. He worked as a delivery driver during the day, but at night, he lived online. His favourite place was a chat site called “Free2Talk.” He’d found it years ago, a small corner of the internet where people shared stories, jokes, and secrets. For Tom, it was like a second home.
Every evening, he followed the same routine. He’d come home, eat a quick sandwich, and open his laptop. Then, he’d click the bookmark for Free2Talk, wait for the page to load, and dive into the conversations. He knew the regulars by their usernames: “ShadowCat,” “RedFox,” “BlueEcho.” They didn’t know his real name, he used “GhostRider”, but they were his friends in a way. Last night, he’d stayed up late debating RedFox about old sci-fi films. He smiled at the memory as he moved his cursor to the bookmark bar.
He clicked. The screen went white. A message appeared: “404 – Page Not Found.” Tom frowned. He clicked again. Same thing. “404 – Page Not Found.” His stomach twisted. This wasn’t right. Free2Talk always loaded. Every night, without fail. He refreshed the page. Nothing. Just those cold, black words staring back at him.
“What’s going on?” he muttered. He checked his internet connection—full signal. He opened Google, and it worked fine. YouTube loaded instantly. Everything else was normal, except Free2Talk. He typed the URL by hand, just in case. “www.free2talk.com.” Enter. “404 – Page Not Found.”
Tom leaned closer to the screen, his heart beating faster. Maybe the site was down for maintenance. That happened sometimes, right? But there was no warning, no “We’ll be back soon” message. Just the 404 error, like the site had vanished. He opened a new tab and searched “Free2Talk chat site.” The results were strange, articles about other chat sites, but nothing about Free2Talk. No reviews, no links, no trace.
He scratched his beard, confused. “It’s like it never existed,” he said aloud. But that was impossible. He’d been on it yesterday. He could still hear ShadowCat’s dry humour in his head, typing, “You’re too old to stay up this late, Ghost.” He grabbed his phone and opened the browser there. Same result: 404. His chest tightened. This wasn’t a glitch. Something was wrong.
Tom decided to dig deeper. He wasn’t a tech expert, but he knew a few tricks. He opened the command prompt on his laptop and typed “ping http://www.free2talk.com” The response came back: “Host not found.” The site’s server didn’t even exist anymore. He sat back, staring at the blinking cursor. How could a site disappear overnight?
His mind raced. Maybe it was hacked. Or shut down. But why? Free2Talk wasn’t famous, just a quiet place for a few thousand users. He remembered a post from BlueEcho last week, something odd about “watching eyes.” Tom had laughed it off as a joke. Now, it didn’t feel funny.
He scrolled through his browser history, looking for proof. There it was: “www.free2talk.com,” visited yesterday at 11:47 p.m. He clicked the link. “404 – Page Not Found.” He slammed his fist on the desk. “This doesn’t make sense!” he shouted. The room was silent except for the hum of his laptop.
Tom’s phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number: “Stop looking.” He froze. His hands hovered over the keyboard. Another buzz. “You won’t find it.” His throat went dry. He typed back, “Who is this?” No reply. The messages sat there, cold and unexplained.
He stood up and paced the room. The chat site was gone, and now someone, or something, knew he was searching for it. He glanced out the window. The street was dark, empty. His flat felt smaller, the walls closer. He sat down again and opened X, typing “Free2Talk down?” into the search bar. A few posts popped up, other users, just as confused. “Anyone else getting 404 on Free2Talk?” one wrote. “Site’s dead. What happened?” another asked. No answers, just questions.
Tom tweeted, “Free2Talk gone. Anyone know why?” Within minutes, a reply: “Same here. Weird.” Then another: “Don’t ask too much.” He stared at that last one. It wasn’t a username he recognised, just a string of numbers. His phone buzzed again. Another text: “I warned you.”
He dropped the phone like it burned him. His breathing was shallow, his palms sweaty. This wasn’t just a missing website. Someone was watching him. He shut the laptop, unplugged it, and turned off the lights. The room went black. He sat there, listening to his own heartbeat.
The next morning, Tom tried again. “404 – Page Not Found.” The texts had stopped, but the fear hadn’t. He deleted the bookmark, cleared his history, and swore he’d never search for Free2Talk again. But late at night, when the flat was quiet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something, someone, was still out there, waiting.
Vocabulary Notes
Bookmark
Definition: A saved link in a web browser that lets you quickly return to a website.
Example: “Then, he’d click the bookmark for Free2Talk, wait for the page to load, and dive into the conversations.”
Additional example: “She added a bookmark for her favourite recipe site so she wouldn’t lose it.”
Similar words:
Link: A clickable address that takes you to a website. (“He sent me a link to a funny video.”)
Favourite: Another term for bookmark, often used in browsers. (“I saved the news page as a favourite.”)
Shortcut: A quick way to access something, like a bookmark. (“The app has a shortcut to the settings.”)
Load
Definition: When a webpage or program opens or appears on a screen after being requested.
Example: “Free2Talk always loaded.”
Additional example: “The game took a long time to load because of my slow internet.”
Similar words:
Open: To start or display something on a device. (“She opened the file on her computer.”)
Launch: To start a program or website. (“He launched the app with one click.”)
Refresh: To reload a page to update it. (“I refreshed the page to see new comments.”)
Vanish
Definition: To disappear suddenly or completely, leaving no trace.
Example: “Just the 404 error, like the site had vanished.”
Additional example: “The thief vanished into the crowd before anyone could catch him.”
Similar words:
Disappear: To go out of sight or existence. (“The sun disappeared behind the clouds.”)
Fade: To slowly vanish or become less clear. (“The music faded as we walked away.”)
Evaporate: To disappear like water turning into vapor, often used figuratively. (“Her confidence evaporated during the test.”)
Mutters
Definition: To speak quietly or under your breath, often because you’re upset or thinking aloud.
Example: ““What’s going on?” he muttered.”
Additional example: “She muttered an apology as she bumped into someone.”
Similar words:
Whisper: To speak very softly, usually so others don’t hear. (“He whispered the secret to his friend.”)
Mumble: To speak unclearly or quietly, often hard to understand. (“The tired man mumbled his order at the café.”)
Grumble: To complain or mutter in an annoyed way. (“He grumbled about the rain all day.”)
Trace
Definition: A sign or evidence that something existed or happened.
Example: “No reviews, no links, no trace.”
Additional example: “The police found no trace of the missing car.”
Similar words:
Clue: A hint or piece of evidence. (“The detective followed every clue to solve the case.”)
Sign: An indication that something is present. (“There was no sign of life in the old house.”)
Proof: Strong evidence that confirms something. (“She kept the receipt as proof of her purchase.”)
Pace
Definition: To walk back and forth repeatedly, often because of worry or nervousness.
Example: “He stood up and paced the room.”
Additional example: “She paced outside the door, waiting for the doctor’s news.”
Similar words:
Walk: To move on foot, more general than pacing. (“He walked to the shop every morning.”)
Wander: To walk without a clear direction. (“They wandered through the park for hours.”)
Stroll: To walk slowly and calmly, unlike pacing. (“The couple strolled along the beach at sunset.”)
Shallow
Definition: Not deep; can describe breathing that is quick and light, often from fear or effort.
Example: “His breathing was shallow, his palms sweaty.”
Additional example: “After running, her shallow breaths made it hard to speak.”
Similar words:
Quick: Fast or rapid, like shallow breathing. (“He took quick steps to catch the bus.”)
Light: Gentle or soft, sometimes used for breathing. (“Her light snoring filled the room.”)
Rapid: Very fast, often linked to panic. (“His rapid heartbeat showed his fear.”)
Story written by Grok 3 AI
Image created by Flux Schnell – Black Forest Labs AI
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