“We are not responsible for any physical, emotional, mental, or other harm that you might face while or after watching this content. Content is rendered to look as realistic as possible, but no one has been harmed in the making of this content. 

 

Otherwise, welcome to Cutting Edge Livestream, the weekly grindhouse livestream featuring up-and-coming, premier acting talent. 

 

If you love our content, don’t forget to check out our merch shop. Links are pinned below.

 

We hope you enjoy the show!”

 

I put the disclaimer in the description at the beginning of the livestream. It was pretty decent marketing, too. Not only was the chat room abuzz with what horror was going to fill their screens this week, but it brought in a healthy amount of merch sales, too. That and the AI program helped to optimize the sales. It had started making recommendations I wouldn’t have thought of on my own.

 

I took a slurp of my soda and belched. 

 

“Ok, are we ready to roll in five?” I asked Agent 3 through the radio.

 

He instantly replied. “Ready on your command.”

 

I have to say, he was as good as they said he was. Even in the network, you never quite knew who you were getting when making new hires, but an ex-operative with a résumé I didn’t ask too many questions about had turned out to be quite a keeper. Plus, he was pretty to look at.

 

I checked my reflection in the desk mirror. “Oh, the life of a director,” I muttered. I hadn’t showered in days, my shirt was stained with sweat. I tried to comb over my hair to hide the bald spot and how stringy it had become.

 

It wouldn’t matter in a few minutes. The crowd would forget about me as soon as the stream began.

 

I took a breath. “Showtime.” I grabbed my radio. “Ready in 5…4…3..2..1…now!”

 

The livestream flipped on, and I lit up with a smile. “Welcome to the Cutting Edge Livestream! I’m your host, Bailey, and we will be featuring a story with our beautiful actress, Shelby!”

 

The stream cut to the basement in which Shelby was being held. She was tied up and blindfolded. What little she could move, she was rocking back and forth, her lips moving.

 

She was probably praying. They normally do around this time.

 

“We are excited to see Shelby in her first role. We feel very honored to give so many promising actors and actresses their first taste in the acting world.

 

Remember, no one is being harmed in the making of these streams. Buckle up, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the show.”

 

The stream cut to the camera feed of Shelby, right on cue. This batch of Agents truly knew their shit. I would have to keep them around longer than the last ones.

 

The camera that focused on Shelby filled the frame with her tearstained face, until Agent 1 entered the camera view.

 

“Point the camera up a bit, we don’t want to see only Agent 1’s ass,” I said into the radio.

 

Upon command, the camera adjusted to just the right view.

 

“Perfect,” I radioed in. 

 

I watched the performance, my eye trained on the details. Agent 1 knew what he was doing, he had been with me the longest. I only had to radio in minor corrections, normally just with placement in the camera’s view. 

 

We wanted to see her face, her trembling. The audience wanted to see that.

 

The sequence ran longer than average. I monitored the comments for signs of boredom and dwindling viewer counts. At the first hint, I radioed in to Agent 1 to escalate and wrap.

 

He did, perfectly. I didn’t have to make even one suggestion. The crowd was impressed with the method, and just how believable she was.

 

“She is going to have one hell of a career in horror,” one user said. “This is positively unnerving!”

 

“Where do you find such talent? You have a great eye, Bailey!”

 

“Freaking gross! I love it!”

 

“Clearly, these people are actually dying. Wake up, dumb shits,” one commenter posted. “Does anyone ever see the ‘talent’ in any other films?”

 

“Should we call the police?” another said.

 

“Didn’t someone named Shelby go missing last week from the midwest somewhere?”

 

That one had got shot down hard.

 

“Please, that’s peak marketing. Relax!”

 

“Conspiracy theory much?”

 

I ignored it. I had long debated just turning off comments on the livestreams, or just deleting these types of comments. I always decided against it. It would just make me look suspicious.

 

No…the suspicion really worked in my favor here.

 

At the end, before Shelby was still for too long, I ordered the feed to be cut, and to do the closing take. The livestream faded to black before my video came up.

 

I smiled. “I hope you enjoyed this week’s stream! Until next week, stay safe and stay bloody.”

 

I took a deep breath. The work had just begun. “Great job team,” I radioed. “Ok, get the cleaners to get this all cleaned up. We need to film the alternative version, you know, the one we show any cops that come knocking. Oh, and we need to start sourcing for the next episode. Agent 8, that’s your job this week.”

 

“Already on it,” they replied.

 

I smiled and held my hand over my chest. “Damn, I love this.”

 

I checked the time. I didn’t want to be late for my meeting with the tax accountant.