Published: 2025-08-22

A shrieking sound woke me up that night. It was like sharp nails on a chalkboard. It disturbed me. I had barely fallen asleep minutes ago; my luck wasn’t the greatest that day. Sometimes I feel like giving up. Doing the job, raising the kids, paying the bills, and still managing to be a “good daughter”. It’s exhausting.

“Please, Miss Chávez, stick to the facts, and only the facts.” Said the man at the other side of the table.
“Very well, but you’re not gonna like it.”
“Try me.”

The kids were not home that night, it was Friday, their father had them. I wanted to believe that it was nothing; maybe my mind was playing tricks on me, but I could not let it go. I wrapped myself in a blanket, turned the lights on, and went to take a look.

There was nothing but darkness in the corridor. I went to Lisa’s room, but nothing seemed out of place there. Except for the Legos scattered across the floor. I’m telling you, these kids…

“Miss Chávez.” Said the man.
“What? It’s a fact, and I’m stating it.”
“Proceed.”

I left little Lisa’s room and entered the boy’s.

“Let me guess. His name’s Bart.” Said the man.
“…As I was saying.”

I entered Kevin’s room, and again, everything was in order. I decided to forget about the incident and go to bed, but as soon as I left Kevin’s room, I heard the shrieking sound again. It seemed to come from the study. It startled me.

I grabbed a plastic bat from Kevin’s room and tiptoed my way to the studio…

“Why are you laughing?” She asked.
“You grabbed a plastic bag? You were armed to the teeth!”
“It’s not funny. Now, are you gonna let me tell you ‘the facts’ or are you gonna keep interrupting?”
“I apologize. Please continue.”

From under the studio door, I could see a blue light seeping out. Since I turned off all the lights before going to bed, I panicked a little. I thought someone was in the house. Someone climbed through the window and was in my studio. I waited, but I could not hear anything happening, thus I decided to enter. As soon as I reached for the doorknob, the shriek assaulted my ears again. I let a scream out. I brought my hands to my mouth, but the damage was already done; if there was someone in the house, they now knew I was standing at the other side of the door.

It was fight or flight. I opened the door and screamed my lungs out, “Get out of my house, you weirdo!” But there was nobody there. The window was closed, just as I left it.

“Let me guess. Everything was in order. Wasn’t there Legos on the floor in this room, too?” The man said. “Oh, but you see, not everything was in order.”

My computer was turned on. It was locked, but it was turned on. As I approached it, the shriek… I heard it, and I saw where it was coming from. It was the printer. It was trying to print something, but it was paper-jammed.

I opened the access panel and removed the jammed paper, and as soon as I closed the panel, it started printing. It kept printing the same word over and over, and sheet after sheet of paper kept coming out and sliding into the tray.

“Do you know what word it kept printing?” Miss Chávez asked.
“Enlighten me.”
“Die.”
“I’ll do, one day. And so will you, Miss Chávez.”
“It was the word that kept coming out of the printer. One after the other. Die, die, die.”
“And that’s when you called the police.”
“That’s right.”

I was convinced someone had entered my house and used my computer; therefore, I called the police. I changed and waited outside; I feared I might be in danger.

The police searched the apartment but they did not find any evidence of someone entering; they also told me I would have go to the police station next morning and file a report with the cybercrime division. “It’s probably some teenager messing with you; they can connect to your printer via WiFi. Don’t worry too much about it.” That is what one of the officers said to me before they left.

I couldn’t stay home that night; I didn’t feel safe. Since I didn’t want to call any of my friends, I called a taxi and went to a motel. The roof was moldy and the floor sticky, but it was better than home, at least for the night.

The next morning, I went to the police station and filed a report with the cybercrime division. They didn’t think it was that serious, but told me they would take a look anyway.

“And that’s the last time you talked to the police.” The man said.
“Yes. It was. They didn’t contact me after that, so I understood they weren’t taking me seriously.”
“Right, but you are here today. And why is that, Miss Chávez?”
“I’m getting there.”

I went home and tried to forget about the incident. It was the weekend, the kids weren’t home, and I was tired. I needed to relax, I owed it to myself.

The weekend passed, the kids came back, and everything was normal again. But then Friday arrived, and it happened again. The shriek, the blue light, the printing, everything, exactly the same as before. And then came next Friday, and it happened again. And again, and again, and again, every single Friday.

“Miss Chávez. As it has been suggested to you, this could be the job of prankster teenagers. Why don’t you just unplug the printer?” The man said.
“Oh, but I did.”
“Excuse me?”
“I did unplug the printer. I unplugged the computer. I even cut the power out.”
“What are you suggesting, Miss Chávez?”
“The printer, detective. It’s trying to kill me.”
“Right. Will you excuse me for a moment?”

The detective stood up and left the room. He walked to the water cooler and said to himself while laughing, “The printer is trying to kill me... Now that’s a new one.” He filled a paper cup with water and, before drinking it, said to himself, “Printer’s trying to kill me. These white ladies come up with the funniest shit.”

In front of the water cooler, the station’s printer kept printing “Die. Die. Die…”

THE END.