7 Akemi goes out to get lunch!

This will put both of them in danger, so he just said,

"Your name might be Akemi, as that is what the app said. You might be from Japan. I do not know for sure where you came from. But do not ask the App about any details, as it won't like us questioning."

"I know. That was one of the rules which were installed in my brain. It says, always obey the App and also Quietus. Oops sorry, your name is Hastin."

When the app allowed Akemi to know all the rules and regulations, then why doesn't it allow him to see? That is really weird! But he did not say anything regarding this to Akemi and just said,

"Ok, come let us order food online. I don't know about you but I am starving"

At that time Akemi's stomach let out a big growl. She held the stomach and said, "Looks like I have some vicious animal-like Tegus inside my stomach. Look, it is even growling."

"That is because you are hungry. There is no such animal in your stomach" Hastin looked at Akemi like a fool.

He even laughed out aloud later. Looking at his laugh, Akemi also imitated the laugh. After seeing her laugh like a banshee, he guffawed even more.

This is his first time laughing so heartily after his father's death. Tears rolled down his eyes because of his uncontrollable laugh. He held the door to his bedroom and opened it.

A message popped up in his phone and his laugh disappeared from his face. Even a small smile was not left, but only terror occupied his whole body. He felt fear run down his spine and made him shiver.

Noticing his sudden change, Akemi held him and asked,

"Is something wrong, Hastin? Do you need some water?"

"No! Nothing. We will order it through the landline. I am getting a hang of using that recently. Do you know how we can order through the phone?"

"Sure, Hastin. But we need cash to pay. Do you have any money with you right now?" Akemi asked.

As Hastin never went out, he did not have any cash with him.

"No, I do not have any with me. But my father left me some money in the bank. I enter the username and password to order online. So I guess, we can use the same to order through the phone!"

"No! Then they would take your money and run away. We need to be careful while doing such transactions. At least do you have a valid bank card with you? Some people might bring a mobile card reader with them where we can use our debit or credit cards to pay them." Akemi explained clearly.

"I do not know. I remember my father used to carry one but I never had one of my own."

"Then you might have to apply for one online. Let me help you later once you have finished your next chapter. For now, I will go and buy something to eat from outside."

"No! If the app knows then we might get into trouble."

"But my rules book doesn't stop me from going out. So do not worry! The app won't say anything until we follow the rules properly"

Hastin was still unsure but did not stop Akemi from going out. He went inside his room to continue his novel. The app did not disturb him for that whole day.

He gave the victims who were locked in that abandoned warehouse, quite a scare by his writing. But also made sure that no one was hurt in the process.

Akemi came back after an hour with an empty hand. She looked at Hastin with tears in her eyes and said,

"I forgot that we do not have cash or cards. I went and ordered the food but later when asked to pay I realized that I have no money. The shopkeeper scolded me and sent me out."

"It's ok. Let us make something at home and eat. Next time, we will apply for the card which you mentioned and will try once again." Hastin said while patting her head.

"Ok"

"By the way, how do you know about all these details? Even I did not know!" Hastin said.

"I do not know how I know about such things. I cannot recall much but I feel like I have done all these before. Maybe I remembered something which was forgotten by me long ago. Should we ask the app?"

"No!" Hastin shouted and pulled her hands to get her away from that room.

They entered the kitchen together and Hastin helped her with chopping the veggies. Akemi made a simple dish of fried veggies along with mac and cheese.

"You need to use this time to write the story. I can do all the household chores. This is also my duty. If the app knows about it, then I will be punished." Akemi complained.

"Do not worry. I wrote two chapters when you were away. And also, I need to take a rest to clear my mind. No one can write all day, they would eventually run out of ideas sooner. If the app says anything, I will bear the punishment. You do not have to worry" Hastin said with so much confidence in the front.

But within him, he knows he was just lying to impress this innocent girl. He should have never installed that app in the first place. Then he would have not been put in this difficult situation.

It was almost a day and there was no improvement in the views. He just checked before coming out of the room that there were zero views. The app did not keep the promise and so he thought he had found a reason to uninstall the app. He could finally get rid of this situation once and for all.

He was so naive. He did not even know that the app could manipulate the views. His first five chapters already reached a view count of thirty thousand.

"Since you can go out, I think you need to run away from this place. You should never come back here. The app is very dangerous. It planned to kill you along with the other victims" Hastin said while consciously looking around.

Akemi who had innocent eyes till now, all of a sudden got up and pushed the plates down. She jumped up and held Hastin's head down on the table with force. She held one of his hands behind and twisted it.

"The app knows you were trying to save everyone. How naive of you to believe that the app would put an innocent girl next to you. We were trying to encourage you to write but what are you doing, Hastin? Trying to help those victims escape?"

Akemi laughed hysterically. Her eyes turned red. She twisted his arms even more violently. Hastin cried out in pain.

"We already gave you a final warning. Looks like you do not take us seriously. I will report this to the app and await your punishment."

She pushed him forward and left. Hastin sat on the dining chair with a horrified expression. He looked at his hand which was twisted by Akemi. It had turned red and that place started to burn.

He thought if she had twisted it a little more, then his bones would have broken into pieces. Tears formed in his eyes. He had not even cried when he received a call saying that his father's car drove towards the flooded river.

They couldn't find his body but it would be impossible to escape from that fall. Still, he hoped that one day his father would turn up at the doorstep like usual.