Survivors of Alterna: Best for Last

Chapter 7: The Squid Captain

"Akikta." A voice called, snapping Akikta out of his dazed trance. He stood in the middle of a tall wheat field under clear blue skies.

A gentle breeze washed over him as the sun's rays shined down on his skin, warming him up.

Akikta wasn't sure what happened or how he got here. All he remembered was sleeping next to Nakji, near some old ruins.

"Akikta." The same voice called out, this time grabbing Akikta's attention. He turned to see... his brother, Chaska. The man was blurry, barely recognizable, but that was Chaska, no doubt. "Akikta..." his voice trailed off.

Akikta approached him. "Chaska? Chaska!" he yelled, breaking into a sprint toward his brother.

How was he here? Why was he here? On second thought, none of that mattered. Akikta was just happy Chaska was here and well... or so he thought.

"A...kik...ta..." Chaska groaned, his voice distorting the closer Akikta got. The boy's pace slowed, and the blurry haze obscuring Chaska's body melted into a black mess of goopy ink. By now, Akikta came to a complete stop as Chaska morphed into Subject 7.

The cool breeze suddenly became blistering cold. The blue skies lost their color and darkened, and the wheat field shriveled up and died at an impossibly fast rate.

Now, it was only him and the monster.

"AKIKTA!" Subject 7 screamed.

Akikta's eyes shot open, tears flowing like a waterfall. He found himself holding onto Nakji, who had been shouting his name the entire time.

Memories of what transpired minutes ago flooded his mind like a great tsunami.

After processing everything that happened in both reality and his nightmarish daydream, Akikta spoke. "H-how long was I out?" he asked, his voice shaking.

"Five- maybe seven minutes!" She replied hastily. They were zooming down the road at hazardous speeds. "What's the matter with you? You stiffened up as tight as a clam when you saw... whatever the shell that thing was!" Though she yelled angrily, her tone swelled with worry.

Akikta felt terrible. He didn't mean to make Nakji that stressed out. The two had only met yesterday, and yet she showed more care and concern than some of his closest friends.

"What was that thing, anyway?" She asked. Akikta's grip around Nakji's waist tightened in response. She jolted as a result.

When he realized what his hands did involuntarily, he eased up. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to..." Nakji slowed down and looked back at him, confused.

He composed himself and turned his head away. "He's...the whole reason I'm doing this favor." He answered. "Please. I don't want to talk about him right now..."

Akikta expected a judgmental look to wash across Nakji's face. Instead, she nodded and faced the road again. Her response surprised him, but he was appreciative she didn't pry.

His gaze drifted elsewhere as they kept a cruising pace. The blue sky caught his attention first, then the long bridge. They were no longer on the beaten-down sandy road. "H-hey, why aren't we in the desert?"

"Remember when we talked during our walk to Splatsville?"

"Yeah...?"

"You mentioned needing to get to Inkadia. I assumed you were referring to Greater Inkopolis, so I took us down the shortest route."

Akitka got a bit worried, thinking he didn't properly clarify what region they needed to go to. However, after checking the radio's map, it showed they were headed the right way.