Chapter 11: The App’s Return

Suddenly the system sent an emergency alert,

'Warning: System shutdown! The system is being shut down by unknown force'

Akemi held her head because of the splitting headache she was experiencing. There were numerous unknown characters and digits were being displayed in front of her eyes.

Meanwhile, Hastin's phone started to receive a lot of 'Code: Red' messages.

"Warning: Error: Alert: The server is being shut down!"

The messages popped up for almost fifteen minutes, then everything went silent. When Hastin came back after checking those messages, he found Akemi lying down on the sofa lifeless.

He ran near her and tried to wake her up. But how much ever he shook her, she did not respond to him. This time, he decided to call the emergency and report the situation, even if the App sent the Slaughter to kill him.

"Hello! This is the emergency call center. I am Nina. May I know who is on the line?"

"Hello, hello, I am Hastin. I called you to send a…"

"Hold on! Simon, I think this is your guy..."

Simon had already informed everyone in his team that if anyone by the name Hastin calls, then forward it to him.

"Hey Hastin. What's up, man? Did the Tegus hit the emergency call button once again?"

"No! No! Listen, I have a girl named Akemi in my house. I flipped her over! But she was fine a few minutes ago, just a little hurt. Then she held her head while shouting in some unknown language. She might be in Coma right now, I guess?

"You... you flipped her over your head. And then she went into a coma? How? I mean why?"

"I will explain everything to you later. Can you send an ambulance to my place? It is an ambulance right which will take injured people to the hospital? Or did they change it to something else?"

"It is an ambulance, I will send the rescue team right your way! No! I think I will first come and check the situation. Then we will decide. Wait for me, dude. I am on my way! Do not go anywhere. Anyways, you don't go anywhere. Am I right? Ha Ha Ha"

Simon drove his car at high speed and got two tickets before he reached Hastin's house. He did not think that at this time there will be any patrolling. But look at this, everyone is busy working even at night just like him. He pressed the intercom and waited patiently.

"Leave the parcel at the gate! Oh! I am so sorry. Simon! I usually only get deliveries. It will be the first time a human being will enter my place through the gates. I am coming there. Just a few minutes...Hang in there… I am on my way."

Hastin drove his bike to the gate and opened the door for Simon to enter.

"You could have just opened the door using the intercom. You did not have to come here all the way."

"Yes! Really, there is an option like that! I read the manual before but completely forgot. Come in" Hastin let Simon enter.

"This is a long driveway to your mansion. You have such a huge house. How do you live here all by yourself?" Simon asked.

"I am pretty much used to it."

"Cool, man."

Simon looked around the grandness of that mansion. The antiques definitely would fetch millions if put on the black market. As he heard from his grandfather's tale, this mansion had unlimited riches hidden within; especially the dark forest which spread behind the mansion.

There were treasures buried beneath that forest's land. All he had to do is befriend Hastin and dug out all of them.

"So, where is our little girl whom you mentioned before on the call?" Simon asked.

"I don't know! I cannot find her. She was just here on this sofa! I saw her before I ran to fetch you. But she disappeared now. Maybe she is upstairs, let me check." Hastin rushed through the stairs hurriedly.

When he opened the door of a room, he found it to be empty. After checking almost all the rooms, he went towards the terrace.

"It looks like you got one more prey to devour for us. Quietus is truly a genius, I must say. He understands us better than anyone else. I was wondering how we could hunt for more food, now that we got a new member in our team, Troodon. You are amazing, aren't you Quietus?"

Akemi turned towards Hastin while petting Tegus. The giant lizard hissed and put its tongue out moving up and down.

"You are back! What did you do with Akemi this time? Is she dead? Where is she?"

"Shh... Relax! Don't you think you need to check on your friend downstairs first? Maybe Slayer already started playing her game…" Akemi laughed cruelly.

"Nooooo! No no no no no…. Please let him go!" Hastin jumped down the stairs even more fastly skipping three steps at a time.

Since Hastin left, Simon thought to check out the house. He wanted to see what he can take home today to keep it as an anamnesis. When he was about to lift the Jade sword, he noticed some movement from the nearby room.

All he knows was that he opened the room's door, a giant Troodon jumped on him. His poor soul left his body in a few minutes because of the venom, it injected into his body. Slayer flew out of the opened door to report to Akemi.

Hastin, who watched this scene in horror, fell down halfway on the stairs. He slowly backed away without making much noise. He did not know what that creature was but he knows one thing for sure, it is even more dangerous than any animal he saw so far.

Troodon lifted its head up and stared at Hastin once. Then later continued to dissect its prey.

"What is that thing downstairs? What is it doing at my house? Why is it even here?" Hastin shouted at Akemi.

"It seems like you met my new creation. It is a Troodon. Yes, he was extinct but I brought him back from the dead. Oh! I forgot to let you know, we have planned to shift completely to your house for the time being. You must have seen the messages saying that the server was shut down. So we are moving here. Welcome us to your house, Quietus!" Akemi said smugly.

All the birds, animals, and insects which the App created stood behind her, except for Troodon who was now finishing his meal in the living room.

"No! No! You cannot stay here. Leave at once. I will call the cops right now."

"Can you?" Akemi snapped her fingers, all the animals jumped on Hastin and brought him down.

"With another snap, I can make sure that you will be dead like the guy below. What will you choose now, Quietus? Listen to us or die? Death or life? Tick- Tock, Tick- Tock! You do not have much time left to decide, all you have is exactly five seconds. Five-Four-Three-Two-..."

"I want to live! I want to live… I will do anything you want, Please don't kill me… Please"

"Good choice, Quietus! A very good choice indeed. Congratulations! You now have lots of work to do…"

He then turned towards the animals and said," Fly or run away, for now, my comrades… Dark forest awaits you…"

Akemi held Hastin's one hand and pulled him all the way down. When she met Troodon with a smile she said, "My dear, Troodon! It is time for you to go. I will call you back when the need arises."

Troodon, one of the smartest animals among the creations, screamed at Hastin and ran away.

"Now, let us get back to work! Shall we? I want you to convert your basement into a server room. I don't think letting all of them roam around your house will do you any good. Make preparations for that! Here, I jotted down a list of things to buy when you went to pick up your friend. I am going to look around this place for the time being. Last time when I visited, I had to leave early so I did not get time. Now make haste and do not waste much time. I cannot control all the animals for long. If they escape, then whatever happens next I am not responsible" Akemi said and moved towards the back door.

"What should I do with Simon? His car is still standing outside the mansion."

"Quietus, what did I say before? You make a mess, you clean it up! This one over here is your problem, not mine." Akemi left shaking his two fingers after pointing at the poor Simon, whose hands and legs were missing.