Hoax Live

My name is Jenny, and I'm a pet vlogger. One day, I was doing my usual "playing dead" prank on my Alaskan Malamute, Balto, for a livestream. Suddenly, Balto stood up on his hind legs and… lit a cigarette. The comments section exploded. "The dog’s like, 'She’s actually dead? Time to drop the act!'" someone wrote. After that, I went viral filming Balto mimicking human behavior. I was raking in the views, living the dream. That is, until another pet vlogger, Mark, requested a live collab. His face was pale as he asked me, "Does your dog… have a stitched-up scar on his back?"

I froze, petting Balto’s head. "Yeah, he does. Why?" Balto was a big boy, and six months ago, he’d saved me from being hit by a car. He almost died himself. The vet managed to save him, but he had a lot of scars, the biggest being a long one down his back, from the base of his skull to his tail. I’d thought it was weird, needing such a huge incision for surgery, but the vet said his spine was fractured and required extensive repair. I didn't question it further, even sent the vet a thank-you basket.

"No reason, no reason," Mark mumbled, shaking his head, his Maltese, Princess, nestled in his arms. He was a smaller channel than mine, always hustling for viewers. He rubbed his tired eyes. "This is going to sound crazy… your dog’s been visiting me in my dreams."

The chat blew up. "Dog dreams? What?" "Only dead people have ghost dreams!" "Is this some new promo stunt?" I stared at the screen, holding Balto tighter, a single "Huh?" escaping my lips. Was I dreaming, or was he?

"It's Balto," Mark insisted, pulling out a piece of paper and sketching furiously. "He told me to tell you something. Look, is this your house?"

It was. An exact replica. "It is… but—"

The viewers weren’t buying it. "Fake. Jenny shows her house on stream all the time." "Yeah, what does this prove?" "Dog dream messages? Does this dude speak dog?"

For the next ten minutes, Mark described my house in detail. He knew which drawer I kept my underwear in. "And," he continued, his voice dropping, "you’ve started growing hair all over. Fine, downy hair. Really fast. Your nails are growing faster, too." He even knew Balto’s and my daily routines.

"Do you have a hidden camera in my house?" I clutched Balto, my scalp prickling. My mind was racing, already planning a post-stream camera sweep. The livestream numbers surged as viewers devoured the drama. "That's detailed. Maybe it's real?" "Definitely hidden cameras!" "Creepy! This is giving me chills…"

"Woof!" Balto nuzzled my face, seemingly trying to comfort me. I felt a pang of affection, until I saw Mark’s face drain of color. He shivered. "Please, I'm begging you, stop streaming. Just for a few days." Princess, who'd been asleep, woke up, looked at the screen, and started barking ferociously. Mark held her tight, looking panicked. "Stay away from your dog! Stop streaming! Promise me!" Princess lunged at the screen, snarling. In the chaos, Mark abruptly ended th...