Him (a very fictional love story)

Camille was 40, childless, and unbothered by it. While the world spun in chaotic loops around her, she did her best to laugh. Political uproar, elections rigged, economies collapsing, climate on the brink of disaster… Camille found solace in her curated corner of the internet. Her social media presence was subtle yet magnetic: movie recommendations, political musings, funny memes and pictures of her cat. She was by no means an influencer, but she had a following. A niche one. The kind that attracted people who thought too much and felt too little.

One of them was him.

Noah at least, that was one of his names lived alone in the woods, off-grid, surviving on generator power and cached internet. Camille didn’t even know what cached internet meant. He had found Camille by accident, or maybe fate. A late-night scroll through a philosophy thread had led him to her page, and then to her mind. He had been alone for years, by choice, rejecting society, rejecting them. The ones who controlled the narrative, the ones who had poisoned everything real. But Camille still thought for herself. He liked that.

At first, he was just a lurker. Then he was a ghost account that liked her posts. Then another account, and another. Each one with a different voice. A tech entrepreneur. A struggling poet. A journalist. A political exile. A beautiful woman. A disabled man. He built them meticulously, feeding her different angles, different types of conversation. She responded to all of them. She was engaged. Curious. Lonely.

And then, there was Liam. That was the account she liked the most. The one that belonged to a guy in his 20s, mysterious and totally unavailable, politically disillusioned but hopeful in a way she found charming. She had no idea Liam was also Elliot and David and Sebastian. She thought she was forming an intellectual bond with a kindred spirit. Really, she was being circled by a single man with a dozen faces.

She would be flattered if she knew, Noah told himself.

As weeks turned to months, Camille found herself waiting for Liam’s posts. They talked about everything and also about nothing. The biggest thing they had in common was their general dislike for people and their love for movies. Neither of them knew how to love anymore in this digital world.

He never told her she was different. Never said she was special. He never said he had never met anyone like her. She was delusional enough to already believe that for herself and respected that he knew it too.

Meanwhile, Noah wasn’t just following her account, he was watching her live. Hacked security cameras, phone GPS pings, traffic light footage. She moved through the city oblivious to how much of her was already his.

Then the world started cracking.

An election scandal sent riots into the streets. A cyberattack took down the financial system. No one could access their money. Governments locked down borders. Rumors spread about an AI-controlled surveillance program targeting citizens who spoke against the system. The internet had become a war zone of misinformation and Noah was losing his domain.

Camille panicked. Liam comforted her. Come to me, he said. I can keep you safe.

She hesitated. I don’t even know what you look like? I don’t even know your real name!

Does it matter?

She wanted to say no. She wanted to say she trusted him.

But before she could answer, the power went out. Everywhere. A coordinated strike, cyber warfare, EMP attack, no one knew. The world was slipping into darkness, into silence.

In his cabin, Noah watched her last message flicker on his dying screen. She was alone, vulnerable, unprotected. The perfect time to step out from behind the screen.

The world was ending. And he was finally ready to meet her.

THE END