Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark

A Creepy Talking Bot

It was Saturday evening when I was left all alone at home. This is the day where my parents are attending some party with their acquaintances. I haven't had any urge to join them since it was an adult party, thinking that I'll only get bored when I join them. It was until 7:00 pm when my parents left home. 
 
"Lock all the doors and windows and sleep in your room. Wait for us to come home," my mom told me.
 
I was like nodding my head and answered her with a yes and told her not to worry since I'm not a kid anymore. My parents trusted me apparently and kissed goodbye on my cheeks.
 
"Take care, daughter; listen to what your mother told you," my father pats my head. 
 
"I will, Pa, go and have fun at the party," I smiled. 
 
I escorted my parents outside until they got to ride in the car. I slowly waved my hands at them as they went away from the house. 
 
I realized that I was all alone. So I found another way to make myself entertained. I spend my time watching a movie and playing games. There's nothing much to do but goof off and text my friends till 9 pm.
 
The television screen was still on, and the light bulbs from the kitchen were flickering, which caught my attention. It was already old, and the switch is hard to pull up. 
 
I just ignored it and continued to talk with my friends on the phone. I sometimes get irritated when they sleep and forget to reply to any of my messages. The TV movie is kind of boring, so I clicked the remote to power it off and decided to use something else. 
 
That's when talking to a bot sinks into my mind. I know it's kind of a bit childish of me to do this, but I'm just really bored and don't have anyone else to talk to since my friends are already asleep. 
 
I went to open the computer and typed "talking bot" on the website. At first, the website was too slow to load. I thought our internet connection was unstable because it happens sometimes, especially since I lived far off the suburbs, making it difficult to access the internet on the web. 
 
Suddenly a pop-up appeared on my screen pointing out to the website I searched. It's kind of unusual since the website says an AI companion. I decided to click'start talking' and just check it out. 
 
It takes me to the application platform and I click the entered button, where the bot starts to message hello. At first I thought I should fill out a question or something asking how old I am or if there were any cookies included in this website, but there's none. 
 
I don't even think it is safe to use this since my mom told me to only use a website that supports cookies to avoid having viruses in the computer, but this thing doesn't have one. Though I kind of have a doubt about this website, due to eagerness, I continued on using the site.
 
I typed 'hi' in the chat box, and about 2 seconds later it responded by asking, How are you?. 
 
I certainly knew how this conversation was going; this is where an AI started to make conversations, and frankly, I was dumb enough to talk to a non-human who tells boring and normal questions. 
 
Instead of saying 'I'm fine' or 'I'm good,' I typed, 'What seems to be the problem? '. I was asking if it will respond the way an AI responded or if it will just stop talking since there's only a limit to this, but I'm surprised when I saw three dots floating at the edges of where I was talking to the bot. What more strange is that it replied in a human tone, as if I were talking to a real human and not a computer-generated word.
 
"You are the problem, of course!" This is the bot's reply.
 
I was thinking if I still ask him questions or go through with it, and then I just decided to play with it for a while.
 
"I'm the problem. Why is that?" 
 
I asked the bot, as humanely as possible, to assure if it's just a normal conversation. The three dots show again, and I received a message; it took 15 seconds to reply, which is kind of odd for an ordinary bot. 
 
"You think you know me? Well,  you are wrong."
 
This is where I arch my eyebrow, wondering what this bot is talking about. I have no idea what it was trying to say about knowing him or whatever shits it was saying, but I'm certain that something is off about this website. 
 
"I know you; you're an AI," I typed and sent it.
 
This time I was waiting for another response, but what scares me to the core is his reply. 
 
"I'm not just an AI; I can control everything you have in your computer, anything you store, and anything that you care about." 
 
The last one got my blood pumping heavily. It seems like the bot is threatening me; I didn't mind it at all. Besides, it's only just a bot; what more could he do?
 
I just ended the conversation by replying to a laughing emoji. I'm sure the bot wouldn't be able to read it, so I'm not expecting a reply or an answer. 
 
I heard a beep sound, which means a message once again appeared. I'm surprised it replied to me. I immediately shut my phone off when I read its message, which says my whole name in it. I don't remember typing my name or even putting my real name on the account I was using. I was wondering how it knew my name. 
 
This definitely creeps me out, and I'm not comfortable talking with this AI anymore. I shut down my phone just in case I wouldn't be able to open the website again. I continued watching TV instead and forgot about what just happened; the TV screen suddenly glitched and turned off on its own. 
 
I thought the power went off, but when I looked at my fan, it was still on. That's when I started to wonder if there's something wrong. 
 
I opened my phone, but there's no service; it's really odd, and I couldn't think straight; my mind went blank for a second.
 
Suddenly there's a beep, which I immediately open my phone to look at. 
There's a photo of my mom and dad, which was taken from 5 meters away as if they were stalking them. 
 
My hands are shaking, and I couldn't take my eyes off the photos. There's even a message following the pictures of my parents. 
 
"I think I know we're your parents' at." This message was sent by an anonymous sender. I don't even know who it was, and I didn't even remember giving my phone number to a stranger before. 
 
I immediately texted my parents, but my message won't send because there's no signal at all. 
 
"What was happening?" I muttered to myself as I was scrolling to my phone. 
 
There's another message that says hi; it's me, the one you just talked with. Your lovely AI companion. 
 
"Shit! This wasn't happening." I glanced into my phone, glitching nonstop. I throw it in the wall; some parts are scattered, and the screen is cracked. 
 
Suddenly my computer turns on its own and opens a website about the bot I used earlier. It was typing something; it's strange as it may seem, but I just waited until it was done typing. My eyes widened when I read its messages.
 
"You are never going anywhere." I was frustrated and couldn't make out what was happening right now. Without any hesitation, I ran towards my room upstairs and locked my door. I cursed when I realized I broke my phone; now I couldn't call someone for help; I'll be stranded her until my parents came back. 
 
Now I'm glad there's no technology here with me in my bedroom. The AI could have gone anywhere, inflicting our technologies. I also left my laptop in the living room; even if I didn't break my phone, that talking bot would just appear on my phone. The only best way to do it is to wait until mom and dad come back. 
 
Suddenly, I was alarmed when I heard our speaker downstairs open following a voice message of what seems to be a robot voice. "Just keep hiding; once I catch you, I'll turn you into one of us." 
 
I was scared, totally scared. It's the first time of my life to experience this kind of fear. I regret using that bot; I just want it to leave me alone. I'm not sure what it wants from me, but I just want him to stop. My parents are still not home; I was trapped here with that shitty talking bot; I just wanted to get away with it. 
 
I was awakened by my parents nudging me to wake up. I can feel the sense of worry on their faces. "Thank God you are awake; why are you lying here on the floor?" My mom looked concerned. 
 
"We just came back; the computer, speaker, and television were on. What was happening?" My dad was not happy. "The talking bot," I said groggily. They were confused; I didn't realize I waited for them until I fell asleep. 
 
I explain to them what happened when they were away; both mom and dad did not believe. They thought I was only tired and forgot to shut down the computer and the speaker after using it; I was even scolded for letting the television on. As I got  unluckier, I was grounded and stayed here at home for 1 week. They found out I broke my phone but didn't question me any further. 
 
It was too bad since the talking bot will never try to bother me again. My parents also banned me from using the computer since for them I just made up the talking bot; I knew I wasn't crazy. It's their problem for not believing me. 
 
The news on television came up about an AI who controls technology and scares users online. Many people got victimized, claiming they are everywhere in their gadgets. I'm not surprised at all; it happened to me last night anyway. My parents yet again questioned me about it; they now believe I didn't make up the talking bot. Soon after that, the politicians prevented us from using any phones or types of gadgets to avoid that bot from invading us. Now, police officers are investigating the creator of the talking bot. I hope he will be caught very soon. I'm afraid this generation will be in control with AI and robots someday replacing us humans.
 
The End