Deadstream

NOTE: HERO is never seen. All footage is shot from a chest-mounted camera throughout. We see his hands, the landscape ahead, and his phone screen. His face is never revealed.

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We see a TWITCH STREAM INTERFACE. The chat is populating. The stream screen is black. Viewer count: 847 and rising.

HERO (V.O.)

(English, northern accent)

Hello, is this working? Can you hear me?

Chat erupts with responses. Excitement dominates — familiar names welcoming him back. A few trolling comments appear early, scattered among the positivity.

HERO (V.O.)

Great! Glad you can hear me. And it's great to be back!

The camera activates. We see a wide, green English field on a bright sunny day. The chest-mounted camera moves with his stride. The sky is vivid blue. It's beautiful.

HERO

So — wow. So many people here already!

He glances down at his phone. CLOSE ON SCREEN — we see the chat scrolling:

WelcomeBack_Hero: YESSS HE'S BACK

Gemma_Streams: oh my god oh my god

John69: lol where have you been loser

Bob443: SO HAPPY RN

He pockets the phone. His stride is easy, unhurried.

HERO (CONT'D)

Right, I guess I need to address some things. But first — look at this.

The camera pans slowly as he turns, taking in the surroundings. Open fields in every direction. Bird song.

HERO (CONT'D)

Isn't it beautiful? I won't tell you where I am just yet — you can guess if you like. I've been recovering here for a while. Life is just different here, the air is different, there's no urgency, no pressure. I love it.

He checks his phone again. CLOSE ON SCREEN:

Fuckwit20: probably his mum's back garden hahahaha

StreamerDave: Norfolk? Scotland?

Jaws: who cares lol

LoyalSince2019: I'm actually crying he's back

He says nothing about the trolling. Keeps walking.

HERO (CONT'D)

Dave, make sure to get a lot of the countryside in for the YouTube vid, oh and for the thumbnail.

A beat.

HERO (CONT'D)

On second thoughts, I'll edit it myself.

He checks his phone again.

HERO (CONT'D)

MODS - no need to ban anyone today, I meant to say but everyone is unbanned now.

Ok.

I was talking to my grandad this morning over breakfast — God, the eggs and bacon were incredible. So much better than I can usually get. Anyway, he told me to get straight to the point. Which I'm obviously doing by waffling about bacon.

A warm laugh in his voice.

NOTE TO READER: Loyal viewers will know that Hero's grandad passed away several years ago. This lands as a small, unannounced detail — the first clue that something is not quite right.

HERO (CONT'D)

(voice breaking slightly)

Fucking hell, Hero. Come on.

He stops walking. A beat of silence. Bird song.

HERO (CONT'D)

OK. This won't be news to a lot of you but last year I… let's not break TOS too early… I tried to unalive myself. As you can tell, I wasn't very good at it

He checks his phone. CLOSE ON SCREEN — the chat has almost stopped. A wall of silence, then:

LoyalSince2019: oh no

Bob443: hero we love you

Gemma_Streams: please keep talking we're here

John69: lmao drama queen

He sees John69's comment. A long pause. He puts the phone away.

HERO (CONT'D)

I started streaming during COVID, just a cozy tech chat with my mates really, talking about our projects because we couldn't meet up in person. Little inventions, little ideas. Nothing crazy. Occasionally a random would show up and sometimes they came back and tell their mates. That's when it was most enjoyable, no pressure, no worries, no dickheads.

But when the dickheads arrived man did they. It started with chat abuse from a few people, so I banned them. They made new accounts. I banned those too. I still don't know what I did to provoke it. But the attacks grew. Jealousy, maybe? Or just morons with too much time on their hands.

He pauses. Breathes.

HERO (CONT'D)

Then I was doxxed. And so were my parents. Takeaway orders i hadn't made, checks with the police, bricks through my windows. Some twats cornered me mam in the supermarket telling her to tell me to kill myself.

His voice hardens.

HERO (CONT'D)

That's when I went from scared to fucking livid.

He resumes walking. In the distance, the vague outline of a town.

HERO (CONT'D)

And then I was in the pub one night, and one of you started giving me shit to my face. So I punched you in yours. And then things really got out of hand.

He looks directly down at the camera — the closest we'll ever get to eye contact.

HERO (CONT'D)

Are you here, John69? Yeah. You deserved it. And I've given a lot of thought about doing a lot more to you. And you, Fuckwit20. And you, Jaws. And you other pricks.

He checks his phone. CLOSE ON SCREEN:

John69: try it mate

Fuckwit20: hahahaha he's lost it

Jaws: someone call the police lol

LoyalSince2019: Hero please stay calm

He reads. A quiet, almost imperceptible exhale. He pockets the phone.

HERO (CONT'D)

BUT!

He stops. His voice lifts — audibly lighter now.

HERO (CONT'D)

BUT!

I am still here. And I'm happy! It's taken a lot of therapy and a lot of heartache. I'm genuinely feeling better than I ever have.

In the background, almost inaudible, the sound of a bus passes. Its engine note is wrong — older, heavier. Period. Few viewers will notice.

HERO (CONT'D)

So I've decided to draw a line under it today. You're all unbanned for this, my comeback and my finale. I'm in a good place. And you can't hurt me anymore.

He checks his phone. CLOSE ON SCREEN — donations flooding in, chat euphoric, the trolls completely buried:

StreamerDave: LEGEND

Bob443: I'm not crying you're crying

Gemma_Streams: we missed you so much you can't stop

John69: whatever

Viewer count passes 3,000.

HERO (CONT'D)

The usual suspects are embarrassing themselves I see.

His stride continues toward the town. Steady. Purposeful.

HERO (CONT'D)

I'll give you a clue since nobody's guessed — I'm in Norfolk. And I reckon I'll hit town pretty soon.

Beat.

HERO (CONT'D)

(quietly, almost to himself)

I wouldn't want anybody to miss this.

HERO (CONT'D)

Right. So. I suppose there's something I need to do.

He continues walking.

The town is getting closer.

HERO (CONT'D)

I've got somewhere I need to be.

He checks his phone.

CLOSE ON SCREEN — CHAT:

Bob443: where are you actually?

Gemma_Streams: yes where ARE you

StreamerDave: I'm guessing somewhere near Manchester

Fuckwit20: probably still in his mum's garden lol

John69: this is getting boring mate

Jaws: seriously where the fuck are you

HERO (CONT'D)

(smiles)

Nearly there.

He pockets the phone.

He walks into the town.

There is something subtly wrong with it.

The buildings look older. The road markings are different. The cars parked along the street are old — really old.

HERO doesn't react.

He knows exactly where he is.

CLOSE ON PHONE — CHAT:

Gemma_Streams: wait

Gemma_Streams: where is this?

Bob443: I recognise it

Jaws: no fucking way

John69: what?

Jaws: I used to live round there

The camera turns down a residential street.

HERO walks slowly.

CLOSE ON PHONE.

Jaws: THAT'S MY OLD STREET

Gemma_Streams: why are the houses different?

StreamerDave: they're not different

StreamerDave: they're OLD, i mean everything's older

HERO keeps walking.

Someone has noticed something.

Jaws: wait

Jaws: WAIT

Jaws: I know that house

HERO stops outside one of the houses.

The chat explodes.

Jaws: THAT'S MY OLD HOUSE

Jaws: I GREW UP THERE

Jaws: that's my fucking house

HERO looks at the front door.

He raises his hand.

Knocks.

Nothing.

He knocks again.

The door opens.

A YOUNG MAN appears.

JAWS notices immediately, so do some of the chat who know him IRL. He is unmistakably Jaws.

Except he is much younger.

The chat stops.

For several seconds, nobody types.

Then:

Gemma_Streams: oh my god

Bob443: that's him

StreamerDave: holy shit

John69: what the fuck

Jaws: ok this isn't funny anymore

The young Jaws says something we cannot hear. Wary. Defensive — a kid who doesn't know why a stranger's on his step.

HERO looks at him for a long moment. Says nothing.

HERO (CONT'D)

(quiet, almost gentle)

See you later

He turns and walks away before the door even shuts. Behind him, young Jaws stands in the doorway a beat longer, confused, then closes it slowly himself.

CLOSE ON PHONE.

Jaws: what

Jaws: what did that mean

Jaws: HERO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN

No response.

Jaws' username stays exactly where it is. Still there. Still typing.

HERO continues walking.

He reaches another street.

CLOSE ON PHONE.

StreamerDave: wait

StreamerDave: I know this place too

Bob443: how many people on here are from this town lol

StreamerDave: no

StreamerDave: I mean I KNOW this place

StreamerDave: that's where John used to live

John69: shut up

StreamerDave: number 18

John69: how the fuck would you know that

John69: HERO

John69: don't you fucking dare

HERO turns towards the house.

John69: STOP

John69: I'M SERIOUS

John69: STOP

HERO walks towards the front door.

John69: HERO

HERO

This one's different, John. This will definitely break TOS. I'll have to blank the screen in a moment.

He knocks.

A beat too long. Longer than the last time.

The door opens. A man answers — recognisably John69's Dad, but younger than John69 has ever seen him. Confused. Half-smiling, the way you smile at someone you don't recognise but assume you should.

John69: dad?

John69: DAD?

John69: HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT ADDRESS

The camera is shut off. The twitch chat now fills the screen. A voice — older, ordinary, bewildered — starts to speak, then rises, then is cut off entirely.

Silence.

Gemma_Streams: John?

Gemma_Streams: are you still there?

No response.

Bob443: guys

Bob443: his name

John69's username disappears from the chat entirely. Not "offline." Gone — like it was never registered.

Bob443: it's not saying he left

Bob443: there's no name there at all

StreamerDave: what the fuck

Gemma_Streams: John?

Gemma_Streams: JOHN?

Gemma_Streams: what just happened

StreamerDave: his account's gone

Fuckwit20: lol probably rage quit

Gemma_Streams: no

Gemma_Streams: He means GONE

Bob443: I can't find him at all!

Nothing.

HERO turns the camera back on. We see his view as he walks away from the house.

The camera passes a row of terraced houses.

The architecture is becoming increasingly old.

The street is almost completely deserted.

CLOSE ON PHONE.

Bob443: what the hell's happening?

Bob443: look at the phone number on the shop

Gemma_Streams: what shop?

Bob443: on the corner, that dial code hasn't been used in years

An old bus passes. Its destination display shows a route that hasn't existed for ages.

Bob443: that's not possible

StreamerDave: what year is this?

No answer.

HERO keeps walking.

Bob443: HERO

Bob443: WHAT YEAR IS IT

HERO finally looks down at his phone.

HERO (CONT'D)

You know, I always wondered what it would be like to come back.

He looks ahead.

HERO (CONT'D)

Turns out it's exactly how I remember it.

He walks on.

CLOSE ON PHONE.

Gemma_Streams: what does that mean?

Bob443: someone tell him to stop

StreamerDave: HERO STOP

Gemma_Streams: don't go to the next house

HERO stops walking. Doesn't approach anything else.

HERO (CONT'D)

I was at my happiest when no fucker watched me, when people didn't follow me, online and IRL. When I'm done I'll know that feeling again.

CUT TO BLACK. NO SOUND. TWITCH CHAT FILLS THE SCREEN AGAIN.

Bob443: where did he go?

Gemma_Streams: I can't see anything

StreamerDave: is everyone still here?

Chatters begin quietly dropping off — no explosion of departures, just names going quiet one at a time, the way a chat thins out after something too big to keep talking about.

Bob443: hello?

The viewer count ticks down. Not a crash — a slow bleed.

347

201

89

StreamerDave: I'm still here

StreamerDave: anyone else? guys?

Nobody answers him.

Chat is dead.

Viewer count: 0

Follower count: 0

The stream ends.