The starting point

In this world, at this moment, everyone is busy with their daily lives. Some of us are jogging early in the morning, preparing for work, walking their pets, sleeping, or praying. Elsewhere, some of us are already eating lunch, finishing last-minute homework, or chatting in a sunny park while others are putting on their pyjamas, washing dishes, or watching one "last" episode of a new series.

Different times, cultures, and lifestyles, but one thing connects us all and allows us to communicate from one side of the world to the other: the Internet. Its accessibility seems limitless, its knowledge infinite, with resources at our fingertips: dating apps, video tutorials, reaction videos, intellectual content from professionals, archives, books, and more. Content consumers indulge in their favourite media, constantly seeking more to entertain themselves, while content creators chase clout and likes, hoping to turn their passion into their primary income, no matter the cost.

Alone in her small rented apartment, Sachiko has just taken her shower. Comfortably lying on her bed wearing a fluffy and soft nightgown, with a towel carefully wrapped around her hair, she waits for her facial mask to work its magic while mindlessly scrolling through cat videos.

In a park at the corner of her street, Jenny is on the third lap of her daily jogging course. Her smartphone is secured to her bicep with a sports armband, allowing her to enjoy her favourite true-crime podcast while breaking a sweat before work.

Martin is dedicated to improving his cooking skills. In his kitchen, a glass of wine on standby ready for sipping, he carefully watches Chef Aarav Mehta performing the ultimate butter chicken recipe, hoping to perfectly replicate it and impress his date.

Grandma Wang is about to sleep, but not before thoroughly scrolling through the hundreds of pictures of her grandchildren on her daughter's social media. She misses them even though they just left her home a few hours ago after enjoying a delectable homemade traditional dinner she cooked with care and love.

In a calm suburb, 12-year-old Jacob heads downstairs in his school uniform. His mother is still cooking breakfast, so he pulls out his phone. He opens his favourite video app, scrolling through clips of 'extreme pranksters,' but quickly realizes he's seen them all. Switching to the live tab, hoping to find something entertaining, he comes across a stream titled 'The Ultimate Prank! Invisible Fire!' displaying the small 'airing soon' mark at the bottom of the thumbnail. Blissful, Jacob joins the live stream.

"Invisible fire?! What could it be?" thinks Jacob, growing more intrigued.

The live pre-stream countdown shows only 30 seconds left. Jacob glances at the top of his phone's screen, glad to see he still has 50 minutes before he has to leave for school.

"Maybe I should wake up at 6:30 every morning," thinks the boy, who happened to wake up earlier than expected but decided to drag himself off the bed and go through his morning routine instead of dozing on and off until his alarm rang.

The stream countdown reaches "3... 2... 1..."

"HEY! Welcome to Extreme Pranksters! I'm Tom, and today we're pushing the limits with the invisible fire prank!" introduced the streamer with an enthusiastic and inviting voice.

Jacob's eyes widen. He brings the phone closer to his face, eager not to miss a second.

"Today, we'll use a really special material for the prank," continues Tom, keeping his engaging tone.

''This is called Methanol!,'' reveals Tom, flashing a nonchalant grin as he shows the camera a transparent flask of liquid resembling water.

"What does that even have to do with fire?" Jacob questioned himself, examining the liquid that appeared to be completely harmless, his expression quizzical.

''Methanol is a very unique combustible fuel,'' states Tom, as he picks up another flask labelled 'Gasoline' and pours both liquids into separate small metallic containers before igniting them.

''See?! That's why we call it invisible fire,'' explains Tom, filming the first container burning gasoline with a tall yellow flame. He then slowly pans the camera to the other container, where only a small, almost invisible blue flame can be seen. The camera zooms out to show both burning containers for viewers to compare.

"Don't underestimate methanol! It's likely more potent than the gasoline you see here," advises Tom, pointing at the yellow flame, which diminishes in size as the gasoline is consumed.

"As the gasoline fuel is nearly done burning out, the methanol fire is still in the peak of its combustion!'' adds Tom to impress the viewers.

''Right now, we see a faint blue flame since we are indoors, but the prank will take place outside, in broad daylight, where the flames will be completely invisible to the eye!'' enhanced Tom, gesturing like the incredible showman.

''Come with me now!'' exclaims Tom, inviting his audience with a beckoning gesture before walking to the streaming device to relocate it.

"So here we are! I'm hiding you right here," he whispers, placing the phone in what looks like a bush in a backyard. 

Jacob watches as the prankster spreads a big jug of the liquid onto a specific area of the cement-paved enclosure, douses himself with water probably for security matters, lights the liquid, and goes hiding further into the courtyard. A few seconds later, the upper head of a man shows up behind the backyard's wooden fence door.

"HEY! What are you doing here? I was waiting at the front door!" asks the man.

The man in question is named Nicholas, and he often participates in his friend's prank content. Nicholas is Tom's best friend, and they used to prank each other a lot during childhood just for fun, getting more and more daring over time as people around them kept laughing and encouraging their silliness. Eventually, they got the idea to create an entire media account dedicated to their pranks for everyone to enjoy. They soon managed to gain 1.5 million subscribers, and their pranks reached a level no other content creators could match, using unusual materials, large structures, and sometimes dangerous stunts.

Nicholas is well aware something might come up, but seeing no sign of cameras or unusual installations, he opens the fence and enters the backyard before closing it back behind him and makes sure to keep his guard up.

"I was just getting some work done in the backyard. Can you come and tell me what you think about it?" answers the prankster, full of anticipation.

Nicholas is thinking his friend must have been working on the next prank for a future video and probably wants to brief him before performing it. Letting his guard down, he takes a few steps before feeling heat waves. Wary, he stops, looks around, and sees nothing burning or hot nearby.

"That must be it," thinks Nicholas. "He's probably blowing some heat from somewhere to get a reaction from me, then will come from his hiding spot laughing at me holding his camera to my face," He predicts as he continues to move further cautiously, showing no reaction in an attempt to counterplot his friend's prank. Suddenly, however, the heat waves intensify.

''He's really not going to back off on this one,'' thought Nicholas before taking another step which felt like his leg was stuck to a hot radiator.

"WHOA! What's going on here?! It's hot!!!," exclaims the man completely confounded.

''What are you talking about, man?!,'' Asked Tom, pretending ignorance.

"The heat, bro! This isn't funny anymore! What are you up to?!" yelled Nicholas, as his wariness turned into full reluctance, with his instinct poking him, signalling potential danger.

''I don't feel anything here, bro! I'm working on the next prank! what are you up to over there!?,'' shouted Tom, feigning impatience, as if he had enough with his friend's nonsense.

Nicholas scans his surroundings, but nothing unusual catches his attention. He tries to take a peek at what his friend is doing behind the wooden patio attached to the backdoor of the house, but the distance obstructs his visibility. The only thing making Nicholas apprehensive is the unusually thick heat shimmering visible onto the pavement in front of him. Unable to find a logical explanation for this phenomenon, he convinces himself that the culprit is the blazing afternoon sun. 

Losing his patience and unwilling to get worked up over nothing, Nicholas reassured himself that whatever happens, his friend would never put him in extreme danger without warning. He walks confidently in Tom's direction. Before he can even think about the overwhelming heat, Nicholas feels a sharp burning sensation in his foot. Confused, he frantically rubs his foot and ankle. Nicholas starts panicking as the pain quickly grasps his hands to climb to his elbows with a firm grip. He suddenly sees his shoes melting and his clothes getting engulfed in flames. His darkening skin shrivelling under unbearable pain, instantly makes him desperately roll on the ground.

"I'M BURNING! WHAT'S GOING ON?! I'M BURNING! WHAT THE HELL! I'M BURNING! HELP!," The man shrills at the top of his lungs. 

Unfortunately, Nicholas is rolling into the zone where Tom spread methanol earlier, covering his entire body with the burning fuel.

Nicholas's piercing scream alarms Tom, who doesn't lose a second to jump out of his spot to rescue his friend. The moment Tom sees the disturbing scene, it's as if he has crossed Medusa's gaze. It takes him a moment to snap out of his petrified state, grab the water hose, and try to extinguish the fire, but things only worsen. The prankster now feels the intense heat growing around him.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!! YAAAAHHHHH!!!! MAKE IT STOP!," An indistinguishable spine-chilling voice is coming from the burning man, now convulsing on the ground. His body completely darkened and shrivelling flesh slowly peeling off.

Despite Tom's efforts to extinguish the flames, he can't see where the fire has spread. An almost inaudible sound whizzes from the soon-to-be completely charred body. Tom disconnects from reality at the sight of the blackened, struggling figure with its disfigured, grimacing face.

In the quiet neighbourhood, only the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves in the wind can be heard. But this time, the peaceful ambiance is shattered by the loud wail of emergency sirens. Using thermal imaging cameras, firefighters quickly locate and extinguish the fire. The paramedics give a pitiful look at the body positioned as if the victim was frozen into time during his struggle and rush to provide first aid for Tom's foot, which was burning when they arrived on the scene.

"I hope you have a good explanation for all this, boy," says one of the firemen, applying ointment to Tom's burns.

"I... I... I...," stutters Tom, unable to breathe or speak properly.

Tom feels as if his chest is weighed down by a huge rock, and his throat is constricted in a tight knot. His entire body is shaky and weak, refusing to obey his commands as if his brain has blocked all communication. His mind is foggy, unable to form a single coherent thought.

"You know, your friend is dead. He burned alive. Why the hell were you playing with such a dangerous flammable chemical? Did you even do any research before this? You can't put this out with water. You need foam or other special materials, you're lucky hundreds of viewers and neighbours called the fire department, you could've also been in great danger. Not just you but even your neighbours could have their place burned down to aches in the worst-case scenario." the fireman scolds harshly, frowning in disbelief while bandaging Tom's foot.

Tom is now silent. His vision blurs as tears well up in his eyes and trace warm paths down his cheeks, forming two dark spots on the driveway's concrete. The spots grow larger as Tom's despair and regret turn into sobs.

"You'll need to wait here, son. The investigators are on their way," says the fireman. After regaining his composure, he places a hand on Tom's shoulder for a few seconds without saying anything more, then leaves Tom alone.

Twelve-year-old Jacob sits at the dining table, silent and drained of all colour. His mother, done cooking breakfast, sets the plates on the kitchen counter before bringing them over. But the moment she glances at her son, her heart skips a beat, and she immediately drops everything to rush and call an ambulance.