Title: The day my robot lost control
by Abby from London | in writing, fiction
'Robot, bring me some orange juice, please,' I order, sitting in the light of the morning sun coming from the small kitchen window.
'Good morning, Miss, as you please.'
He walks over to the kitchen table and brings back a mug of steaming coffee.
I look at the coffee and the robot, puzzled.
'Turn around,' I order him, as a test.
'Yes, Miss, of course.'
The robot sinks to the floor and crosses his legs.
'Hmm, 'I think maybe I should''
Suddenly the clock strikes nine times. 'Oh, that's great. I must go, Robot. Bye.'
'Yes, Miss. Hello' He gives a small wave as I set off for work.
I'm on the tube going to work and I meet my friend, Zak. He works in the same company. In conversation I tell him about the robot.
'Yeah, and instead of bringing me juice he brought me coffee!' I laugh.
'Ha! That's strange, the same sort of thing happened to me. I asked my robot to run me a hot bath, as usual, but this time it was ice-cold.'
We look at each other and say that maybe there is a virus going around.
I'm at my desk, doing my paperwork. I decide to 'phone the robot supplier. I keep getting a message that the line is busy and please try later.
Arriving home after work, I put the key in the door to the flat. The room is pitch-black. As I take a step into the darkness, I hear something crunch beneath my feet. I take another step forward. I start to hear a deep, low humming sound coming from the kitchen. I try the light switch, beside the door, but the power is out. I move further into the darkness. My eyes widen as I search the room. Then suddenly I stumble and stretch out my arms to break my fall. As I fall to the ground, something sharp slices into my hand. I feel the warm blood trickle through my fingers. I realise that I am crawling over debris. I head towards the desk where I know there is a torch in the bottom drawer. I find the torch and turn it on. The beam reveals the room. Sofas have been torn apart and windows have been smashed. There is so much damage.
Slowly I make my way to the kitchen, where the noise is coming from. I cautiously
enter the kitchen.
Passing the beam around the room, I can see that a lot of damage has been done. The noise is louder now and is coming from the storage cupboard to the right of the freezer. I slowly turn the handle. I pull the door open and in the darkness of the cupboard, I see the red L.E.D. eyes of the robot, slowly blinking. The beam from the torch reveals the features of the robot's hard face. Suddenly, it lurches forward and grabs me around the neck. I manage to pull myself free and run, stumbling, to the exit pursued by the robot. Finally, I reach the door and slam it shut behind me. My hands shaking from the wound and from fright, I reach into my pocket, take the key and lock the door. As I turn around, I hear the robot smash into the door.
I'm outside my flat making a call to the robot company. There is a recorded message saying:
'Sorry, because of the weight of 'phone calls, we cannot answer you personally. If your robot has malfunctioned, please stay calm. Look at the back of the head, under the hairline. If you see a red light flashing, the robot needs to be reset. Please press the small reset button just above the red light. Your robot should function as normal.'
I 'phone Zak and tell him the problem.
'Yes, I've had the same problem,' he explained. 'I've already reset my robot.'
'I'm so scared,' I say in a shaky voice.
'Don't worry, I'll help you reset,' he says bravely.
Zak and I are now entering the flat. We have to push the door open because the robot is keeping it shut. Eventually, we manage to force the door open.
With the help of the torch, we are able to locate the fuse box and get the lights on. We go over to the robot who is slumped on the floor by the door. Zak lifts the hair from the back of the neck to reveal a red flashing light. He presses the small reset button and the robot slowly rises from the ground.
'Give an order,' Zak suggests.
The robot sits down, as I order. We both breathe a sigh of relief. Suddenly, Zak picks up a chair and hurls it across the room. He rushes at the mirror on the wall and puts his fist through it. He brings his arm down on the desk and damages it more than it already is.
'Zak! Stop! Stop!' I scream.
Instinctively, I order my robot to restrain him. The robot grabs him and holds him. They struggle for what seems a long time. Eventually, Zak stops struggling and slumps in the robot's arms, head forward.
Through the strands of his hair I see the flashing red light and the reset button waiting to be pressed.
I find myself staring at my shocked expression in the shattered mirror. Slowly, nervously, I reach around to the back of my head'
At school we were given this title for a writing competition.
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