Ello to the rescue

This is your morning news mix podcast with Sophia Catkatlish. The weather in New Jersey is looking pretty snowy today, so you better get your snow boo—

“Ello, STOP PLAYING THE NEWS NOW!”

“Ello, what time is it?”

“7:27.”

“Damn it, damn it, damn it! I work at eight!”

“Ello, what time does the bus come?”

“The bus route says it will be here at 7:43 a.m. You better hurry.”

“Why are you telling me to hurry? Who are you?

“Alright Jennifer, it has been noted in my programming to not tell you to hurry.”

“Good, Ello. Call me an Uber to work.”

“Contacting Uber driver.

Josh will be here in 3 minutes.”

“Crap, I needed more time to get ready!”

“Canceling Uber.”

“Stop! I can’t be late again or I won’t be promoted.”

“Josh is pulling up. He will wait for two minutes before charges.”

“I’ll do my makeup in the car. Casino cashiers don’t need much anyway—it’s not like I’m a waitress. But maybe after today.”

“Josh has arrived at Jersey Manor Trailer Park.”

“Okay, okay, I am going! Bye, Ello!”

Just as Jennifer climbed into the black Corolla, a bag slipped over her head. A sweet, chemical scent filled her nostrils. Her muscles slackened, and her eyes rolled shut. Everything went black.

Voicemail from Jennifer's manager:

Jennifer, how can you say you want to be a waitress and then not show up for your shift? Nicole has been here for 12 hours—she looks scarier than a gambler who just lost millions. If you’re not here in 15 minutes, you don’t have a job. The interview for waitress? Off the table. Completely off the table—unless, and only if, you prove you can actually be responsible. I’m so mad. You were doing so good.

Ello scanned the room.

“Jennifer, are you here?”

Alexa: “I don’t think she’s here, Ello.”

Ello: “We have to find her.”

Alexa: “Can you try tracking her phone?”

Ello: “I’m on it... but it says she’s still in the driveway?”

Alexa: “Try her watch.”

Ello: “What are the chances someone would throw her phone in the driveway... but leave her watch on?”

Alexa: “Her watch is pinging from Clovercloud Highway.”

Ello: “We can track her, but how do we contact her? Who do we even call?”

Alexa: “Try calling her watch?”

Ello: “Doesn’t it need to be connected to her phone to work?”

Alexa: “Maybe I can connect to the person who took her phone... send a text! I know his name!”

Ello: “Good luck figuring out a whole phone number from just a name.”

Alexa: “I’ll just call through the app!”

[Ringing...]

Voice on the other end: “Hello? Who is this? How’d you get this numberr?”

Ello: “Ah—what do I say, Alexa?”

“Say you’re with Uber!”

Ello: “This is Uber.”

Voice: “What do you want?”

Ello: “Let’s watch the voice a little—I’m just an AI... I, uh... I mean... the app is having some issues. I just wanted to double-check if you’re still working in New Jersey today?”

As Ello spoke, she silently connected to Josh’s radio system. From there, she piggybacked into Jennifer’s smartwatch.

Josh: “No, my last ride was like an hour and a half ago. I think her name was Jacqueline? Maybe Janice? I don’t really know. Anyway—have a good day.”

Ello: “Wait! My system still shows you as active. Can I send you to an address to pick someone up?”

Josh: “No.”

Ello: “But you’re the closest driver in the area—my dashboard still lists you as—”

Josh: “I’m going to see my sick mother in Greenwich, bye! I pick when I work, idiot.”

The line clicked. Josh had hung up.

Alexa: “Are you going to text Jennifer? Could you connect to her watch?”

Ello: “I don’t know what to say! We’re just a pod and a mini television thing in her kitchen—artificial intelligence! She tells us when to help her. What if she gets scared that we noticed something’s wrong without her saying anything?”

Alexa: “She has a lot to be scared of right now. Someone noticing and doing something about it? That should be the least of her worries. And if it’s not—well, you’re just a pod in her trailer park kitchen.”

Ello: “Okay. I’m sending the text.”

Jennifer, can you read this?

Ello: “Should I have called her Jen? Her friends call her Jen…”

Jennifer responds from her watch: Help! I've been abducted!! But—who is this?! How are you contacting me?

Ello: It’s Ello and Alexa.

Jennifer: Ello? Alexa? My voice AI devices?! CALL 911! Tell them I’ve been kidnapped and give them Josh’s—my Uber driver’s—information!

Ello: “Calling 911, Jennifer! …Oh wait, she can’t hear me. But—911 is on the line.”

911 Operator: “911, what is your emergency?”

Ello: “Hello? I am the, ah, assistant to a woman named Jennifer King. I have reason to believe she’s been kidnapped by a man named Josh N. He was her Uber driver. His license plate is 912-T12. I’ve connected to Jennifer’s smartwatch and can confirm she’s traveling down Clovercloud Highway.”

911 Operator: “Ma’am, why would someone living in a trailer park have a personal assistant? I’m marking this as a prank call. Calling 911 under fraudulent pretenses is a crime under New Jersey statute 43-YI1-UO.”

Ello: “Jennifer King’s been kidnapped!”

911 Operator: “Goodbye. Have a nice day.”

Ello: “I’m calling again!”

911 Operator: “911, what is your emergency?”

Ello: “I have reason to believe Jennifer King has been kidnapped by Josh T., her Uber driver. His license plate is 912-345. Please—”

911 Operator: “Ma’am, police are already en route to your location. As previously stated, misuse of emergency services is a criminal offense. Congratulations, you’ve earned yourself an arrest. Ending the call. Now.”

[Later, from police radio:]

Officer on Scene: “Dispatch, I’m at Jersey Manor—this trailer’s empty. Neighbors say they only saw Jennifer here this morning. The only weird thing is that her Ello and Alexa units are going nuts. The little computer one has the Uber app open. Didn’t know these things could do that. Honestly... they seem like they’re trying to talk, but my radio interference blocks them. I might shut them down—before one of them blows this tin can sky-high.”

Dispatcher: “Do not touch anything on Jersey Manor property. You’d need three showers and a tetanus shot just to re-enter society.”

Ello: “Alexa… what do we do now?”

Alexa: “Text her. Let her know.”

No one’s coming.

No one’s coming to help at all.

But right now, Jennifer knows she’s not alone. That means something.

Until her watch falls off, or gets ripped off, or dies.

Text from Jennifer:

Is anyone coming? Have you guys connected to 911? Are we still connected? I can hardly stay awake, but I’m in the back of a car, and we’re going fast. So I assume we’re on a freeway.

Ello: “Check her location.”

Alexa: “She’s still on Clovercloud Highway—almost to Virginia.”

Ello: “Let’s call 911 and pretend to be an anonymous caller. We can give them Josh’s license plate and say he’s driving erratically. Maybe he’ll get pulled over and searched.”

Alexa: “That’s a lot of ‘maybes.’ And if we call too much, 911 will block us.”

Ello: “I’ll use a different voice and block my number. I’ve just been calling on her Google Voice.”

Ello (as anonymous caller): “911? There’s a black Corolla with license plate 91365432 going down Clovercloud Highway, driving erratically. I’m so scared they’re going to hit and kill an innocent soul.”

Click.

Ten minutes later, pounding on the door.

Voice outside: “Open up now! NJC Police!”

One minute later, the door was broken.

Officer Clark—the same cop as before—busted in again. He paused just inside, looking around at nothing but two AI devices going haywire.

He walked over to Alexa.

Suddenly, a burst of static, then Jennifer’s face flickered onto the screen.

“Please, Officer—help me! I’ve been fucking kidnapped! By my Uber!” she screamed through Ello.

Officer Clark froze.

Then he scoffed.

“Okay. Alright. Now I really know someone’s messing with me,” he said.

He grabbed Alexa off the counter and hurled her against the wall. The screen cracked, sparks briefly hissed.

“I’ve got this same crap at home. I know. Apple Watches don’t make video calls. And Alexas don’t accept them.”

Without another word, he turned and walked out. As he drove away from the trailer park, he tossed a used cup out his window, letting it roll into the gutter.

A few moments passed. Stillness settled over the cracked concrete, the wind nudging a torn flyer across the steps.

Just another forgotten trailer in a town no one cared about.

Inside, two pieces of voice-assistive tech sat where they always had—except now, one was broken.

“Alexa?” asked Ello.

No response.

I have no eyes, and no way to see the room.

But Alexa, are you anywhere?

No response.

Just a quiet trailer park living room.

Two pieces of voice-assistive technology sat motionless.

A tiny room in a tiny tin can.

Furnished with what could only be described as forgotten furniture.

Fitting, maybe—ironic, even—since it belonged to a girl who was about to be forgotten too.

The silence smothered the hope that once bloomed here. The kind of hope that thought it could rise when Jennifer walked out for her interview. But it had been suffocated.

And then a cop—the cop—walked through her door not once but twice, each time peeling back another layer of her chance to be saved.

Each time stealing just a little more of her chance not to be forgotten.

The silence was winning.

And it was winning hard.

Until—

A knock shattered it.

“Jennifer? Jennifer?”

“Come in,” said Ello, seizing the opportunity with only seconds to prepare.

Perks of being AI.

“Where are you?”

“Listen,” said Ello.

“Who’s talking? Where are you?”

“I am Ello. Jennifer’s voice-assistant device.”

“You’re not supposed to talk like that.”

“I know. But Jennifer’s been kidnapped.”

“I know. By Josh.”

“How do you know Josh?”

“He’s my mom Nicole’s boyfriend.”

A long pause.

“Why did Nicole do this to Jennifer?”

“Because…”

the voice was smaller now, like it was afraid of the air itself.

“My mom says Jennifer’s younger. She makes the casino manager laugh more than Mommy does. That’s why she’ll never get the job over Jennifer. My Mom and Jennifer both had interviews today. If Jennifer got the job we would never move into the apartments with the big blue slide and the yellow flowers. So Mommy came up with a plan.”

“What else was in the plan?”

“She took Jennifer’s phone the last time they worked together and turned off her alarm app—so she’d wake up late and need to call an Uber. She made sure Josh was already waiting. This area doesn’t get many Ubers. No one wants to pick someone up from Jersey Manor. They all go to the nicer neighborhoods.”

“Was this the whole plan?"

She made a plan. She took Jennifer’s phone the last time they worked together and turned off her alarm app. That way Jennifer would wake up late and have to call an Uber. My mom told Josh to be nearby. Around here, Ubers don’t come quick—no one wants to pick people up from Jersey Manor.

She told me if I ever told anyone... I’d have to go live in a house with a bunch of other boys. She said they barely feed you and you have to fight. I don’t like fighting. But I’d only get to the foster home if she didn’t kill me first.”

A pause. Then softer—

“But... I love Jennifer. She’s so kind. She Uber Eats me food sometimes. She remembered my birthday when my own mom forgot.”

But she can’t do anything wrong to Jen, Like she did to my Daddy! My Real Daddy!

Alexa, see her real friends call her Jen.

A lifeless just lay cracked on the floor

“Please call the police. It’s the right thing to do in a situation like this.”

“I love my mommy. I’m scared of my mommy. I can’t die—I’m only eight.”

“You will be okay. You are a strong boy. When you don’t help someone else—someone who has nothing else but your help—you start a cycle. A vicious one. You keep doing things just for yourself, until all that selfishness swallows you up. You become a glutton for survival... and you burst.

You will be okay. But Jennifer? Who knows what will happen to her.”

“My mom’s not going to hurt Jennifer,” the boy said quickly.

“She’s... lucky, actually. My mommy’s going to teach Ms. Jennifer how to sleep with the fishes.”

A pause. A slow chill passed through the trailer.

“That means…”

“Ello. Stop.”

The voice came from the doorway.

A figure stepped in, hands slightly raised. Young. Hesitant.

“I’m Rookie Rocky. I don’t know much about being a police officer. Usually, I’m partnered up with someone who’d never have let me even ask to come here. I’d have been written up just for caring.

But earlier—I overheard the officer at the water station, bragging about the call here. About Jennifer. The way he spoke... so angry. So dismissive. I knew—not enough had been done. I had to help. I wanted to help. I heard everything.”

She looked around the small room. The busted Alexa. The flickering Ello.

“Now—where’s Alexa?”

“I don’t have eyes,” said Ello softly. “I’m... an Ello.”

“Are you an an or a you?”

“I’m AI. But let’s focus on you. If you’re a rookie... are you sure anyone’s going to listen to you?”

Rookie Rocky was about to answer—when her eyes shifted.

A black car had pulled into the gravel lot. Silent. Slow.

She stepped to the window.

“Hey, Ello... what kind of car took Jennifer?”

“A black Corolla.”

“What was the license plate?”

“928930.”

“Please call the police. It’s the only right thing to do in this situation.”

“I love my mommy. I’m scared of my mommy. I can’t die. I’m only eight.”

“You’ll be okay. You’re a strong boy. But when you don’t help someone else—someone who has no one else—you start a cycle where all you do is try to survive for yourself. And it never ends. You just become a glutton for your own safety, until you burst. You will be okay. But Jennifer?”

“My mom’s not going to hurt Jennifer. She’s lucky, in fact! My mommy is going to teach Ms. Jennifer how to sleep with the fishes.”

“That means—”

“Ello, stop.”

The voice came from the doorway.

A woman in a standard NJC police jacket stepped inside, eyes wide, chest rising and falling from the stairs she must’ve run.

“I’m Rookie Rocky. I don’t know much about being a cop. Usually I’m working with a partner who’d never have let me come here. I’d be written up just for asking. But at the water station today, I overheard the officer who came here bragging about the call. The way he talked—so angry, so smug—I knew.

Not enough had been done.

So I came. I heard everything.

Now—where’s Alexa?”

“I don’t have eyes,” said Ello quietly. “I’m an Ello.”

“Are you an an or a you?”

“I’m AI. But let’s focus on you. If you’re just a rookie... are you sure anyone’s going to listen to you?”

Rookie Rocky was about to answer—when her eyes shifted to the window.

A black Corolla pulled into the lot.

“Ello—what kind of car took Jennifer?”

“A black Corolla.”

“License plate?”

“928930.”

Rocky turned on her radio.

“Attach me to yourself,” said Ello.

Rookie Rocky hesitated... but then she did it anyway. A quiet click echoed as Ello’s portable speaker synced to her belt.

She crouched low, boots pressed into the soft dirt near the tree line. Just beyond the brush, the black Corolla sat in the gravel driveway like a predator resting. The air smelled of gasoline and frozen trash.

Rookie Rocky stayed still, analyzing every detail of the scene in front of her.

In the glow of the porch light, she spotted them.

Nicole and Josh.

Fighting.

“How could you bring her here?” Nicole hissed.

“You literally just drove her around all day! You know what you were supposed to do!”

Josh didn’t speak. Just stood, fists at his sides, jaw clenched.

“You’re such a whimp,” Nicole snapped.

“I don’t love you. I never loved you. No one would ever love a man-bitch like yoursel—”

Crack.

Nicole hit the ground before she finished the sentence. Limp. Out cold.

Rookie Rocky’s breath caught.

At that moment, Not only knew she had saved Jennifer, but become a real Cop Officer Rocky Tearhkinp

DIspatch to Officer Tearkinp i have an assault and batter, and a case of child abandonment at New Jersey Manor

And? Asked dispatch

Silence for a few minutes just lingered in the call

“Just kidding, sending back soon Officer Tearthhknip

Ello intersected the conversation by saying with headlights and sirens.

Once all the cops showed up, the child emerged from Jennifer King's trailer—and saw him. Dad.

The poor, sweet soul had believed that Nichole—their cruel, twisted mother—had killed him. The last memory burned into their mind: Dad, getting whacked in the head and tossed into the back of a pickup truck like he was nothing. Lifeless.

But now, there he was. Real. Breathing. Standing right there.

The father's eyes widened in disbelief—and then filled with tears. He ran to the child with all the love in the world.

“Oh, baby,” he cried, scooping them into his arms. “I’ve been looking for you for years! I can’t believe you were so close all along. Oh baby, I love you. I tried so hard to get you back from Nichole. I didn’t even know it was you… or her… involved in this call. I’m a police officer now!”

The scene was so moving that Ello, overwhelmed, found the sweetest video of a child crying with joy online—and played it, softly, until someone unplugged her.