2/26/21 Kaitlynn Flint

You Are Being Watched

“I still don’t understand why you deleted your account. Everyone misses you!” 

I grunted, rolling my eyes. “They don’t miss me— they miss my stalking my feed,” 

“Well, I miss you!” Judy cried through the phone. “Remember those silly selfies we used to send each other? Remember all of those funny filters?” 

“Yeah,” I sighed. “Listen, Judy, just because I’m off social media doesn’t mean I’m not here for you. I am. So if you ever need someone to talk to, just call me,” 

My mom knocked on the door and poked her head inside. “Hey, Sabrina, your father and I are leaving now. Your pizza is in the oven,” 

I turned to her, pulling my cell phone away from my ear. “’K. Have fun. Text me when you’re on the way home tonight,” 

“I will. Love you and stay safe,” 

“Uh-huh, love you too, bye,” 

Judy chimed in. “Hi, Miss Hicks!” 

I smiled, looking at my mother. “Judy says hi,” 

My mother laughed. “Hi, Judy,” She looked back at me. “I’ll text you on the way home,” 

I watched her walk away and then continued my conversation with Judy. 

“Aren’t you going to miss it? Like, at all?” She asked. 

“Yeah, but I’ll get over it. I really think you should delete yours too. Can’t you see how controlling it is? We don’t need to post filtered selfies to show everyone who we are, you know?” I sighed, falling back on my bed, and then added, “The world got around fine without it before,” 

I heard her suck in a sharp breath, and I could tell she was irritated I told her that she should delete her account. She wouldn’t ever admit it, but her social media is what keeps her on her feet. 

“You know you sound nuts, right? Social media is controlling the world,” She mocked. “Ha! give me a break,” 

I lay on my back and stared up at the ceiling. ‘She won’t ever get it,’  I thought to myself. ‘Not even if I spell it out,’

“Okay,” I sat up and crossed my legs. “Do you remember when that viral clip was posted with that woman dancing like a robot? Remember she had spiky pink pigtails and white lipstick?” 

“Yeah, her name is Kit Rap,” 

“Whatever. Point is, everyone after that started dying their hair pink and wearing white lipstick and posting the same dance on their account. You even did it, remember?” 

“Well, yeah, Sabrina— it’s called a trend,” 

I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. “Call it what you want. Millions of people began doing that. Millions. In my opinion, that’s mind control, Judy,” 

She was quiet for a second. 

I went on, “I went to the mall after a week of that being posted, and I saw almost every girl dressed that same way. It’s not even attractive!” 

“Oh… I guess I understand where you’re coming from,” 

“And then I read the new policy,” I sighed. 

“Yeah, I know, I know. You already told me. It’s not even that big of a deal,”

“Not a big deal? Are you crazy? Being spied on 24/7 is not a big deal?! Judy, are you hearing yourself?”

“So? Your phone probably spies on you with or without the app,” 

My cheeks flushed. “And you’re not going to do anything about it? At my yard sale tomorrow, I’m selling the TV in my room, and the computer. I don’t need someone to spy on me in my own room,” 

“You sound insane, you know that, right? Insane,” 

“No, you sound insane—” 

The television hanging above my desk turned on, showing the news channel. 

I got up and grabbed the remote on my nightstand, flipping it off. 

“Sabrina, you there?” 

The television flipped on again. This time the sound was at its highest volume.

I pushed the off button with force, confused and bewildered. I waited a minute before setting the remote back down. 

“I’m sorry, my TV started acting weird,” 

“I thought you are against watching TV now,”

“I am. It just turned on out of nowhere,” 

“Yeah, sure. Anyway—” 

The phone went silent. I looked at the black screen and frowned. Thinking it must have died, I placed it next to the remote and left to grab my charger from my desk. When I returned, the screen was on, displaying the Kit Rap video. 

‘What the heck…?’ 

The screen went black again. I grabbed it and plugged it into the charger. It lit up, reading in green; 100%. I took it off of the charger, examining the phone. 

The TV turned on again, the sound piercing my ears. Shocked, I dropped my phone and reached for the remote. I pressed off, but nothing happened. I pressed it again and again, but the TV would not respond. I hit the butt of the remote against my palm. Maybe the batteries were dying. 

And then, my computer on my desk began flashing on and off, beeping and buzzing while it did. Forgetting about the screaming TV, I ran to my desk and ripped the plug out of the wall. The computer shut off instantly. 

I sighed impatiently, ‘What is going on?’

The reporter’s voice on the television echoed through my bedroom, bringing my attention back to the screen. My eyes found the black wire coming from the TV plugged into the outlet located in the corner in the wall, and I smiled. 

As I walked over to the wire, the TV began switching channels. At first, I thought it was a glitch, but then I began to hear a message in the channels. The message made all of the blood drain from my face. It repeated over and over again, using different stations as a voice. 

“You are—” Before the reporter could finish, the channel switched to a cooking channel. “—being—” The next station was an advertisement. “—watched,”

The TV flipped through every station, repeating the same message:

YOU ARE BEING WATCHED.

The television took words from every channel and spoke to me. 

YOU ARE BEING WATCHED. YOU ARE BEING WATCHED. YOU ARE BEING WATCHED. 

I felt like fainting or maybe throwing up, but instead, I marched over to the plug and ripped it from the outlet. 

The TV let out a defeated sigh as it went black. 

I stood frozen for a solid minute, trying to process what had happened. 

“My TV just talked to me,” I said to myself. “And my computer… it well… and my phone...” I turned around and walked to my phone that lay upright on the ground. It played the Kit Rap video again. 

The TV’s message repeated in my head, ‘You are being watched.’ 

I picked the smartphone up and tapped the screen to close the video. I dialed my mother’s number and waited. 

“Hey, Sweety, what’s up?” She questioned in a gentle voice. 

“Where are you guys?” 

“We just got to the restaurant. Is something wrong?” I heard the worry in her voice. 

I took a deep breath, trying to sort out my thoughts. Something was wrong, but how do I explain myself without sounding completely and utterly crazy? 

“No, everything is fine. Can I go to Judy’s place?” I asked, looking back at the dead TV. 

“Um…” My parents normally didn’t let me leave the house when they weren’t home, but I needed to tell somebody what just happened. 

“Mom, I’ll be fine. It’s only a block away,” 

She paused for a moment, “I suppose you can. But text me when you get there. Don’t forget to type in the code before you open the door, or the security system’s alarms will go off,” 

“Okay, I will. Enjoy your date-night,” 

When I hung up, I slipped my phone in my back pocket and exited my room, heading downstairs. The lights throughout the house were flickering, and every radio and TV blared at its highest volume. 

A panic swept over me, causing me to run as fast as I could down the hall. When I passed by the kitchen, I stopped dead in my tracks. All of the lights turned off, the TVs went dark, and the radios silenced. And then, a robotic female voice spoke;

“Hello, Sabrina,” said Alex, lighting up blue. 

I gasped, remembering that I never programmed my name into the machine. 

“Alex, turn on house lights,” I commanded. 

It gave no response. 

“Alex, call Mom,” 

Still, no response. 

My body began to tremble. Something was not right. Your electronics aren’t supposed to do this. This was beyond a simple malfunction. 

They were messing with me. My electronics were messing with me. 

“Alex, turn on house lights!” I cried. 

All of a sudden, every lamp and light fixture began to flicker. The lamp’s lightbulb closest to me exploded, sending sparks on the carpet. Flames caught fire, and I stomped on them until it went out.

The blinking lights made my head spin. “Alex, turn off house lights!”

Instead of obeying, the lights began to blink faster. The ceiling lights busted, and the lamps near me began to let out a static noise. 

Not wanting to stay in the electronic warzone any longer, I fled for the front door. My eyes caught the security cameras in the corners of the rooms. They moved in my direction as they watched me run past. When I made it to the door, I typed the password on the small screen in the wall and then waited expectantly to see the screen flash green, indicating it was safe to leave. But instead, the screen turned red and began to flash. The house alarms sounded, and I could hear Alex call me from the kitchen. 

I yanked on the door, but it was no use. Every door and every window was locked now. 

I was trapped. 

The floor lamp next to me busted, and sparks flew into the air. A fire began to grow on the carpet, and it only got bigger as seconds went by. I stomped on it, but then the lights in the hallways all broke, and a trial of fire began to form. 

I ran into the den and unplugged the shouting TV. The light-fixtures started to blink faster. I grabbed the cord to switch it off, only to find it bite back with electricity. I held my hurt hand up to my chest, using my good one to rip the cords from the wall. 

But it was too late. The small flames from the hallway grew into a massive fire, and it now made its way into every room. My lungs began to hurt, and it was getting more and more difficult to breathe. 

I needed to find a way out of there. 

Alex let out a soft ding! that usually indicated she was complying to a voice command. “Oven is turned on at a temperature of 450 Fahrenheit,” 

I went to the nearest window, banging on it as hard as I could. “Help! Someone help!”

“Sabrina,” started Alex, and for the first time, her voice sounded sinister and evil. “Should I call for help?” 

“YES! CALL—” Before I could finish, my legs gave way, sending me to the floor. I coughed and tried to find the strength to get up. Red glowing fire surrounded me now. It was creeping nearer, its blazing flames calling out to me with hunger.

I pulled out my phone from my back pocket and dialed my mother’s number, but the screen went black before it could call out.

“No!”