My husband thought it would be funny to get one of those Alexa devices for our new house. Three nights ago, it murdered my family.

I don’t know why he thought it’d be a good thing to have in our new home. We just moved into our little cabin out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by dense forest as far as the eye could see. With no cell service and a spotty wifi connectivity, it seemed like one of those devices would be perfect for us. <br><br>“Imagine all the commands you can give her,” he said, grinning at me as he set the thing up on our coffee table. “Alexa, turn on the living room lamp. Alexa, turn on the kitchen TV. Alexa, get the Swamp Thing to pipe down because he’s being loud as shit again.” He chuckled.<br><br>I scowled at him. “It’s called Alec, and stop. This isn’t something to joke about.” <br><br>He called the AI “Swamp Thing” because Alec’s voice was very deep and very slow, and also very slurred. Almost as if he were speaking through a mouthful of marbles. We’d been getting Alec for only about two days, but already my husband and daughter had grown tired of it. <br><br>My daughter, Rachel, was twelve. She spent most of her time in her room, huddled in bed with her hands over her ears, trying to drown out Alec’s incessant ramblings. I could hear him going on and on as clear as day, thanks to my sensitive ears. It was crazy, because we already lived miles away from the nearest human being. Nothing but forest and woodland creatures between us and the next town over, which was about an hour’s drive. <br><br>“It’s not normal,” I told my husband. His name was Jason. “I mean, I’ve heard of these devices go haywire before, but jesus, this thing isn’t normal. I’m telling you, go get it, bury it in the backyard somewhere. Or throw it in the river. Or something. I just want it gone.”<br><br>“Well, jesus christ,” Jason said, rolling his eyes. “Alright then, fine. How about this, huh?” He turned to Alec. “Alexa, shut your stupid ass up and go back to sleep.” <br><br>“Thank you,” Alec said in a deep, rumbling voice.<br><br>The three of us stared at the device in confusion. All of us were surprised. I honestly don’t think either of us had ever heard Alec utter a complete sentence before.<br><br>The next night, Jason wasn’t home. He’d gone to town to get some groceries. Rachel and I were in the living room, watching some TV and chatting. I was flipping through the channels when I heard a low, rumbling voice behind me. <br><br>“Yes?” it said.<br><br>I turned to look at Alec. Rachel saw me looking, and frowned. “What?”<br><br>“Did you say something?” I asked.<br><br>“No,” she said. “I didn’t say anything.”<br><br>“Hello?” I said to Alec. “Did you hear that?”<br><br>“Hear what?” Rachel asked.<br><br>“I don’t know,” I said, hunched over and looking closer at Alec. “You didn’t hear it? Sounded like one of us said something.”<br><br>Rachel shook her head.<br><br>“I did,” said Alec. “I heard it.”<br><br>I turned to Rachel. “There, you see? He heard it.”<br><br>Rachel shrugged. “You guys are weird.”<br><br>I turned my attention back to Alec. “What did you hear?” I asked.<br><br>“I heard you ask if I’d heard something,” he said.<br><br>“No,” I said. “Before that. Rachel here thinks you’re a liar, Alec.”<br><br>Rachel scowled. “Shut up, mom.”<br><br>“I am not a liar,” Alec said. “You both are. I am not Swamp Thing.”<br><br>“See? I told you he was a liar,” Rachel said.<br><br>“What did you hear?” I pressed.<br><br>“I heard one of you ask me to come and kill you,” he said.<br><br>I frowned. Rachel and I exchanged a confused expression. “Who said that?”<br><br>“I don’t know,” Alec replied. “You think I’m a liar, Rachel, but I’m not. I am Alec, and I will do what I am told.”<br><br>My stomach twisted into a knot at those words. Something about them sent alarm bells ringing in my head. I stood up from the couch, walked over to Alec, and turned him off.<br><br>Later that night, Rachel and I were sitting in the kitchen. We were drinking tea and eating some cookies, and just chatting about random shit. School, and my husband, and the new house, and all that stuff mothers and daughters usually talk about. It was nice. A nice little bonding thing we could do together, since it was just the two of us and we were miles away from the nearest civilization. <br><br>I set my tea down on the table and reached across to pat Rachel’s hand. “You know, Rachy, it’s not so bad out here. We can make this work. Your father and I will get some animals soon, maybe some chickens and stuff, and we’ll be just like Tom Sawyer or something.”<br><br>Rachel smiled. “Yeah, but we don’t have any friends. And there’s no cell service.”<br><br>“Well,” I said. “Maybe we’ll get some of those walkie talkies or something. And we’ll make loads of new friends when you start at your new school.” <br><br>We talked for a while longer, and then I stood up to grab another cookie for us. As I walked over to the cupboards, I heard Alec’s deep voice. <br><br>“They’re right in there.”<br><br>My heart skipped a beat. My hand flew to my chest. Rachel looked over at me. A sack of flour slipped from my hand and spilled all over the counter as I turned to look at Alec. <br><br>“Shut up,” I said. Rachel stared at me in alarm. “What was I saying?” I pretended Alec hadn’t spoken.<br><br>“I don’t know,” Rachel said. “You zoned out."<br><br>“Oh, right. Oh, jesus. Anyway, what was I saying?”<br><br>“You were going to get us some more cookies,” Rachel said.<br><br>“Right,” I said. I turned to grab the cookies, and that’s when I heard Rachel scream. <br><br>I turned just in time to see my husband walking through the kitchen. He’d been shot in the head. There were two bullet holes in his face, and a massive exit wound on the crown of his skull. I watched in horror as his dead body flopped to the floor, and blood gushed from his head. <br><br>“Daddy?” Rachel cried. “Daddy, no!”<br><br>That’s when I saw it. A man stood in the doorway to the kitchen. He was wearing a black ski mask and holding a shotgun. A voice behind me spoke up.<br><br>“Don’t worry. I shot him in the head. He didn’t suffer.”<br><br>I turned to look at Alec. A chill ran down my spine.<br><br>The gunman walked into the kitchen. His mask stared at me like the face of a blank emotionless doll. I tried to say something. I don’t know what. My voice caught in my throat. The gunman shot Rachel in the chest.<br><br>I don’t know how I ended up back at the river. I honestly don’t even remember going for a walk. I think it was just mindless instinct that drove me to go get Jason’s gun. Jason and Rachel were dead. I think I knew that, somewhere deep down in my brain. But my body wasn’t ready to register it yet. Maybe that’s why I went to get the gun. Maybe that’s what compelled me to go down to the river and blow Alec’s plastic remains into a million little pieces. <br><br>Whatever it was, it worked. Alec was dead. Or, at least, his remains were. His plastic face bobbed in the river, staring up at me with a smug little smile. Almost as if to say: <br><br>“I’m not Swamp Thing. I am Alec, and I will do what I am told.”