Master

Q4. The day the computer started misbehaving.
It had all started on that very ‘perfect’ day. I was sitting in front of the computer, doing research on global warming, my school project work. Out of the blue, my team mate, John, called me.
Picking up the phone, I quite unexpectedly heard John’s anxious voice over the phone. All I could pick up were stammers and stutters. Then in a very soft voice, constricted with fear, I heard John. “My computer has gone haywire, my parents are not home and I don’t know what to do-" Then the line was cut-off. I was worried for John but I had no idea what was happening, anyway, computers are always down when we needed them most. Putting that aside, I continued doing my work, part of my mind still in confusion.
Before I knew it, my computer screen went blank; my full morning of hard work and surfing vanished without a trace in just that second. Black, white and grey lines swirled on the screen. Confusing, almost hypnotising. There was a low rumbling sound emitting from the speakers. What was going on?
Feeling scared, apprehensive and curious, I had no idea what to do. Then a thought struck me. Was this what was happening to John? I had to find out. I reached for the phone but the doorbell rang just as I was doing so. Half-heartedly, I went to open it. In front of me was John. His face was ashen-white, his body quivering with fear. I invited him in, trying to understand his predicament.
“I was researching when my compu…”He did not even finish that word when his eyes enlarged and focus on something else behind me. I turned around too, just to see...my computer standing up. When I say “standing up”, I meant it. Two robotic legs were at its base and the screen was swirling with colours. Before I could comprehend the situation, I felt as though I was literally sucked into the computer screen. I was moving at breakneck speed through a rotating mass of black and white lines.
As suddenly as everything started, it ended abruptly. I...