Survivors of Alterna: Best for Last

Chapter 9: Is The New Life All That Bad?

The two-day ride was agonizing for Akikta. Why? There were a few reasons.

Until recently, Akikta never had to deal with sleeping in uncomfortable places, like on the hot sand or on subway train seats.

The jostling of the train kept waking him up whenever he drifted to sleep. And once up, the slight shaking of the train would give him an uncomfortable reminder that his muscles were still painfully sore from what Coral did to him.

Akikta would also experience fits of violent coughing, accompanied by a swelling tightness in his chest. So much so, his throat would've become hoarse had it not been for the food and drinks provided to him.

The assistant conductor was kind enough to check on Akikta periodically. And every time, he would offer the masked teen a drink and food. It was nothing big, mainly small bags filled with fried prawns or some other type of shellfish paired with a simple bottle of water.

The food was alright. Oddly enough, it tasted like the fried products back in Alterna. The same could not be said for the water. He wasn't sure how they screwed up bottled water, but it was excessively filtered to the point where it had a weird taste.

Water products aside, Akikta quickly grew to like Astro. He was the friendliest sea creature he'd met, aside from Nakji. He learned the inkling's full name was Astro Mahi Mahi.

Akikta also learned why Astro's smile faltered earlier when he mentioned being an octarian. According to the conductor, C.Q. Cumber, one octarian octoling put a company known as Kamabo Corporation out of business.

Since the conductor was an employee of said company, Astro figured C.Q. Cumber would resent or even hate octarians. Luckily, the blue slug was indifferent to his company's downfall.

Astro went on to ask why Akikta and Nakji wanted to go to Inkopolis. Akikta didn't give him a straight answer, which didn't bother the assistant. Though, it bothered Akikta that he asked at all. His skepticism quickly faded when Astro explained his reasoning behind the question.

Apparently, octarians and inklings have been on less-than-ideal terms for quite a while. Something about a war that happened between the two species, long before Akikta woke up. Long story short, the inklings were victorious, and the octarians got the very short end of a shitty stick.

Some years ago, Inkopolis started unknowingly accepting octarian octolings back into society. That information became known to the public a few years later; it received mixed emotions.

As it stands, Inkopolis is not necessarily a 'kind' environment to octarians. Completely opposite from how Splatsville seemed.

It was strange how similar inklings and octarians were to humans. Though they evolved from cephalopods, they all took on a humanoid appearance, built human-like structures, used vehicles, and even waged war. It was like they were his kind's successors.

"Here." Someone said blankly, interrupting his train of thought. It was Nakji, handing him a bag filled with those delicious prawns.

Right, Astro wasn't the only one bringing him food. Nakji had been scavenging around the train and sharing whatever she found.

Akikta would always selfishly scarf down whatever he could. His appetite demanded to be satiated, and he didn't want to disappoint it. Though the way he ate was ravenous, akin to a wild animal. Nakji saw this as him being starved, so she sometimes gave him her snacks.

He graciously took the bag, but she quickly turned and left before he could thank her. Nakji had been growing more distant ever since they boarded the train. It was no mystery why. Akikta got on her when she was just a tiny bit skeptical about Sal. Perhaps he was too harsh?