Speaker 1: Welcome to micro Terrors, scary stories for kids where it's
always the spooky season, full of chills, thrills, and spine
tingling spooks. Micro Terrors are family friendly frights for those
ages eight and up, and while our stories are for
younger years, we are still talking about things that go
bump in the night, and some children may not be
able to handle what others can. Parental consent is recommended
now for tonights micro terror.
Speaker 2: The crab Acabra written by Scott Donnelly. I had never
been so bored in my life. This was the worst
summer break yet. It was hot outside, so going out
to play wouldn't be enjoyable. Inside was even worse. I
could have been playing video games, taking naps, drawing pictures,
but the way our power kept cutting out several times
a day made that nearly impossible. I'd be in a
game in the electricity would shut off. I'd be taking
a nap, but the air conditioner would die and create
a gross, sticky atmosphere, impossible for sleeping. I liked to
sketch crazy, nonsensical things, so drawing pictures worked to pass
the time for a little while at least, But I
needed music playing in the background while I did it,
and obviously, if the power kept going out, that meant
the music didn't stand a chance, and there was nothing
more infuriating than a good song cutting out halfway through
the rolling blackouts the air cutting off. It wasn't even
due to the heat of the summer. It was because
of my dad. He'd gotten fired from Science Tech, the
lab he worked for, and decided to move all of
his experiments and studies into our basement. Whatever he was
working on down there was using so much power that
it affected the entire house. My mom chose not to
say anything, claiming that since my dad had been fired,
he was desperately looking for a breakthrough with his research
in order to hopefully have his job reinstated, and for
the sake of my sanity, I wished him to be
successful in that venture. After all, that might have been
the only way for our consistent air and power to
flow through the house if he was gone and back
in his actual lab. I tried my hand to a
PlayStation game. Since there was a solid hour that went
by without the power shutting off. The thought I might
have been able to squeeze in a quick couple of levels,
but as usual. As soon as my game loaded in,
the lights flickered in my house and the TV shut off.
I heard the hum and the air conditioner slowly fade,
and within seconds our house fell into a deafening silence.
I screamed out in frustration. This was the worst summer
of all time. Just then the basement door opened to
my dad stumbled out. He looked like a wreck. His
hair was disheveled. His lab coat was torn and splotched
with grease and oil stains, which was odd since he
worked mostly with computers and technology. I did it, my
dad said, I actually did it. I rolled my eyes.
If by it you mean ruined my summer, then yes,
you did it, Dad. Congratulations, I said, tossing my controller
on to the table. Sharon, my dad called out, ignoring
my frustration. My mom came rushing in from the other room.
What is it, Harold, she asked, worried at first, I
did it. The AI RWM system works. I actually did it.
This will get my job back, not to mention a
huge payday for us. A smile grew on his face.
I have to go tell mister Robertsfeld. My dad grabbed
his car keys. Don't go down there, he urged as
he rushed out of the house. Once the door was shut,
my mom looked at me. Finally, she said, I got
the feeling. She felt the same way about the summer,
the power and everything as I did. She just never
said it out loud like I did. Right then, my
mom's cell phone rang. She looked at the caller and sighed,
it's your aunt Janis. She said, I'll only be about
three hours, she added with her own brand of sarcasm.
She answered the call and walked out of the room.
I was left alone with an open base door in
front of me, the place I was told not to
go into. But the power was out, it was hot,
and I was bored. Nothing was going to keep me
from descending those basement stairs to see what my dad
had been working on in secret all summer, killing the
vibes and moods around the house with each flicker of
a light or death of a cool burst from the
air conditioner. I made sure my mom was locked in
on the phone call, and then slipped down the stairs.
We used to use the basement as storage, but since
my dad moved his lab there, it didn't even resemble
a basement.
Speaker 1: Anymore.
Speaker 2: It looked like a science lab with brick walls and
a washing machine in the corner. I walked through his lab,
checking out the strange equipment on the tables and shelving
units he'd installed. None of the machines looked familiar. For
a lack of better term, they all looked futuristic. What
even looked like it could be a prototype for a
time machine. Then I laid eyes on it, the AIWM system,
as my dad had called it. I only knew this
was it from those letters scribbled on it. Otherwise it
looked like a strange concoction of machines strung together with
blinking panels and multicolored wires. There was also a computer
screen attached to some kind of metallic saucer behind it.
I tapped the computer screen and it flickered to life.
Our house might not have had power, but my dad's
basement lab certainly did. Must have all just been filtered
down here when he was using his machines. The screen
turned white and at the top for the letters AGAINRWM system.
As the screen continued to load, the acronym was finally
defined beneath it, the Artificial Intelligence Real World manifestation system. Curious,
I skimmed the information that appeared along with it and
realized what my dad had done. AI had come quite
a long way in such a short time, allowing anyone
to create an image and have AI it to life,
or even just put in a prompt and have AI
do it all on its own. This, however, appeared to
be the next step in the ever evolving world of AI.
A user could input a prompt on screen or create
an image themselves, and not only would AI generate it
or animate it, but this machine would actually manifest that
image into the real world using its metallic saucer base.
The more I thought about it, it was like a
three D printer for AI. Two options at the bottom
of the screen said prompt and create. I tapped create
out of curiosity and boredom. A blank screen appeared.
Speaker 1: Next.
Speaker 2: I used my finger to draw a circle on the
screen and then tapped generate. The metallic saucer came to
life with a loud hum and blinking lights. Smoke billowed
from it, and once it cleared, a spherical object sat
in the center of it. I was blown away. I
reached for it, careful not to burn myself. In case
it was hot, but it wasn't. It was room temperature.
I couldn't exactly tell what the sphere was made out of.
It was heavy, but not like metal or rock. It
was smooth and also seemed to emit some kind of
static discharge from it. I set the sphere aside and
went back to the computer screen. I need to try
something cooler, I said, something insane. Let's test this puppy out.
I tapped into my nonsensical sketching skills and drew a
person's body with a giant crab claw as one of
its hands. When it came to the face and I
wanted something just as bizarre, I thought about the most
random creature I could, a chipacabra. To the best of
my ability, I drew the cryptid's head on the body.
It was a little wonky, but it would do. I
tapped generate when I was done, and watched the metallic
saucer explode to life again with smoke, lights and so on.
There was a lot more smoke than there was with
the spear. I waved it away from my face just
as the machine shut off, I stepped back and through
the smoke, I saw the silhouette of my creation. It
was life size, the size of a full grown person,
and when the smoke cleared, it was even more hideous
than I imagined it would be. It was a human
creature hybrid with two massive crab claws for hands and
a snarling head of a vicious choopacabra. It roared like
an unholy beast as it jumped off the table at me.
I turned and ran as fast as I could up
the stairs. The crab cabra or whatever it was, was
hot on my tail. I burst into the kitchen, where
my mom was now yelling at Aunt Janis about something. Mom,
there's a monster after me. My mom sighed, did you
hear that? She said to Aunt Janis on the other line,
This is how bored he is. I just wish he'd
The crab acabra clambered into the kitchen and my mom screamed,
throwing her phone at it. It beamed the monster in
the head, which only upset it more. It growled, bent down,
and snapped the phone between its claws, and then devoured it.
We could hear Aunt Janie screaming in terror on the
other line as the crabicamra swallowed it Janie, my mom screamed.
I grabbed her by the hand and tried to lead
her out of the kitchen through a second entrance, but
she resisted, screaming and crying over her sister. Janis no mom,
It was just a phone. I tried to tell her,
but it was all to no avail. The crabcabre lunged
forward and snapped its claws around my mom. Her screams
became blood curdling as the monster lifted her off the ground,
unt hinged its jaw like a snake, and began to
swallow her hole. I panicked and ran for my life.
As I blew through the house, listening to the disgustingly
loud digestion of my mom in the kitchen, I was
stopped dead in my tracks when the front door blew
inward and an electrically charged blue smoke fuddeled in. I
just stared into the smoke and watched a figure materialize.
Speaker 1: It was a man.
Speaker 2: One of his arms was made of metal, and on
his head was a futuristic helmet with blinking lights. He
removed the helmet and stared at me, creating an unsettling
feeling in the pit of my stomach. I recognized this man.
He looked like me, only older. I am you from
the future, Kenny, he said, confirming my insane, implausible time
traveling theory. I came to stop you from making a
decision that will alter the future. I trembled, What are
you talking about. There's a machine in your basement, one
that allows AI images to manifest in the real world.
You must not touch it. I gulped. I I already did.
The me from the future dropped his jaw. You mean
I'm too late, I nodded. No, no, no, he panicked,
checking a strange computer like device on his wrist. Oh,
I could have sworn, I am put in the correct
time coordinates. The crevacabra is here right now. It's from
the next room, and the future me grimaced. Please tell
me it hasn't eaten mom yet, or even Aunt Janice.
It just did, I stammered, and his dad home yet,
the future me asked. I shook my head. No, okay,
the future me sighed, showing some kind of relief. Then
there might still be time. There's another machine in the basement,
one that we thought looked like a time machine prototype. Remember,
I nodded, you need to go down there, and what
on earth's going on here? My dad's voice boomed from
behind the future me, Who are you? I'm your son
from the future, The future me said, I've come back
in time to warn myself not to mess with the
ai RM system. It creates a race of crevicabras that
are very close to taking over the entire northern hemisphere.
Crab o, what my dad questioned, Like like the Chinese
food appetizer. No, the future me hounded, that's crab rangoon. Look,
we need to focus here before the creature eats. Suddenly,
as if ironically on cue, the crabacabra bounded into the
living room and grabbed the future me, unhinged its jaw
and devoured him. I was left and shot. If I
was eaten in the future, what does that mean for
me in the past?
Speaker 1: The present?
Speaker 2: Harold stood there as he watched the monster devour the
future version of his son. Once he was gone and
dissolving in the stomach acid of the beast, the younger
version also faded away into oblivion.
Speaker 1: Harold's jaw was.
Speaker 2: On the flooring kill me, Harold stammered, but there was
no one there to answer. Kenny, young and old was gone,
Charon was gone, Janice was gone er kind of. And
then a flurry of heavy footfalls clamored up the basement stairs.
Dozens upon dozens of Crabacabras blooded into the living room,
Some scurried through the house, others filed outside. Harold could
do nothing but watch as the catalyst for the Crabacabra
apocalypse transpired before him. Club Harold swallowed. Maybe this won't
be so bad, he thought, incomplete denial. But before he
had a chance to think any further, several cravacabres clamped
their claws around him and shared a meal. From that
day forward, the future of the entire Northern Hemisphere was
in jeopardy. The Krabacabra Apocalypse was just beginning. Hey, big news,
micro terrorist fans. The first ever micro Terrorists short film,
The Dire More Phantom, inspired by the twenty twenty three
micro Terror's original story Bump in the Night, is now
available to stream over in the fan club. If you're
not a member, now is the perfect time to join.
From July fourth through August first, twenty twenty six, you
can use the promo code c by Summer when you
sign up to get fifty percent off your first month
in the Terrified Tier. That's sci fi Summer all. One
word over at micro terrors dot com when you sign
up for the Terrified Tier. Thank you all for being
such dedicated micro Terrors listeners. We'll see you next week
when a dark secret is unearthed about an abandoned swimming hole.
Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to micro Terrors. Join us each
Saturday for another scary story. For more fun, visit our
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I hope you'll join us again soon for Microterrors scary
stories for kids