He didn't want to. But his body moved on its own. He bent down. Taped underneath the keyboard tray was a small, old-fashioned webcam. Its little red light was on. It had been on for weeks. Maybe since the first update reminder.

The Elias tile filled the screen. Inside the window, a video played on loop: Elias banging on the glass of the monitor from the inside, screaming silently.

It was counting down from 00:03:00.

At 99%, Marcus’s own reflection in the dark laptop screen smiled at him.

Written in Sharpie across the front were the words: Windows 8 Horror Edition.

The box arrived on a Tuesday, unmarked except for a smeared barcode. It wasn’t the slick, minimalist packaging Microsoft was known for. It was a standard cardboard sleeve, feeling heavier than it should, as if the disc inside were made of lead rather than polycarbonate.

Most stories involve a user downloading what they think is a custom theme or "lite" version of Windows 8, only to find the OS "watching" them.