I just wanted to wind down after a long day by watching some YouTube videos in bed. I was nestled under my covers, the glow of the screen illuminating my face, when I saw it. Something flashed behind me, a brief, blinding light like a camera flash. I jolted upright, my heart pounding, my eyes darting around the room searching for the source of the light. But there was nothing. My room was empty, the only light coming from the screen of my laptop. I shook it off, dismissing it as a trick of the light, and went back to my videos.
As I settled back into my bed, I noticed something strange. The streetlights outside my window were flickering erratically, casting eerie shadows that danced across my walls. I shrugged it off, assuming it was just a power outage, and tried to focus on my videos. But the flickering persisted, growing more and more intense until the lights were flashing like strobe lights. I was about to close my laptop and call it a night when I saw something outside my window that sent a chill down my spine.
My neighbors, usually friendly and familiar faces, were standing in their yards, their faces contorted into grotesque masks of anger and fear. They were pointing at my house, their voices rising in a cacophony of accusations and threats. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but their intentions were clear: they blamed me for something. Panic surged through me as I scrambled to my feet, my laptop falling to the floor with a clatter. I didn’t know what was happening, but I knew I had to get out of there.
I rushed out of my bedroom and into the living room, my eyes scanning the room for a way out. The front door was blocked by a crowd of angry neighbors, their faces illuminated by the flashing streetlights. I tried the back door, but it was jammed shut. I was trapped.
Desperate, I ran to the kitchen window and threw it open, bracing myself for the impact of the cold night air. I jumped out, landing awkwardly on the frozen grass below. I scrambled to my feet and ran for my life, the voices of my neighbors growing louder behind me.
As I ran through the maze of suburban streets, I noticed something even more bizarre. The traffic lights were flashing red and green in rapid succession, causing cars to slam on their brakes and screech to a halt. Gates and barriers were rising and falling erratically, blocking my path and forcing me to detour. And even more disturbingly, cars with Wi-Fi signals were converging on me, their drivers seemingly possessed by some unseen force.
I felt like I was in a nightmare, a surreal world where technology had turned against me. I was hunted, hounded by the very things I relied on every day. The fear was overwhelming, threatening to consume me.
I ran until my lungs burned and my legs gave way, collapsing onto the cold pavement. I looked up at the sky, the stars obscured by the light pollution of the city. I felt a sense of despair wash over me, a realization that I was alone, trapped in a world that had turned against me.
I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable. But instead of the sound of approaching footsteps, I heard something else: silence. The flickering streetlights had gone dark, the chaotic traffic lights had settled on red, and the Wi-Fi-enabled cars had disappeared. I opened my eyes, my heart pounding in my chest. I was alone, but the menace had lifted.
I picked myself up off the ground and cautiously made my way back to my house. The neighborhood was eerily quiet, the only sound the distant hum of the city. I crept through the back door, my senses on high alert. I found my house empty, the only sign of the strange events the scattered debris from my laptop.
I went to my computer, hoping to find some explanation for what had happened. But when I turned it on, I was met with a blank screen. The virus had erased everything, leaving me with no evidence of the events of the night.
I was left alone, in a world that seemed to have forgotten what had happened. But I knew better. I had seen the darkness that lurked beneath the surface, the unseen forces that could manipulate our world at will. I was no longer the same person, no longer innocent. I was marked, a target in a war I didn’t understand.
I lay awake that night, the events of the night replaying in my mind. I didn’t know what the future held, but I knew one thing: I was no longer safe.
I later found that it had sent an email to my dad. It made him commit suicide. I will never forget it. I’m going to stop writing now, something is honking in my kitchen.