Survivors of Alterna: Best for Last

Chapter 10: Last Stop

Akikta and Nakji made their way through a dimly lit tunnel. About halfway in, the train tracks ended. "Guess they really don't come through here..." He said to himself.

Akikta looked behind him at Nakji. He planned to use this time to talk to her some more, but she looked so caught up in her own little world. She was grinning from ear to ear, swaying her head side to side.

She didn't even notice Akikta looking at her, so he refrained from saying anything, not wanting to disturb her happy mood.

Nakji broke from her walking pace and started skipping ahead of Akikta. He only smiled as he now followed behind.

That smile didn't last.

Akikta straightened his lips as his brows lowered. A nagging feeling kept poking the back of his brain. His instincts told him something was off, but he couldn't tell what.

The tunnel looked normal, with nothing being out of place. And even though Nakji was in her own world, she had sharp reflexes. She would've been the first to notice if something was actually afoot, but she had her guard all the way down.

Maybe it was just him, but the atmosphere felt familiar... like he was being watched.

Akikta turned around, seeing nothing but the darkness of the tunnel. He faced forward again, seeing Nakji was still merrily skipping along. If someone were ahead of them, she would've noticed by now. "I guess it's just me." He figured, only to steel himself to ignore the nagging feeling.

The further they walked, the worse the feeling grew. Something internal screamed at him to turn around, so finally, he gave in. He looked over his shoulder to satisfy his paranoid mind, expecting to find nothing.

He found something.

Akikta yelped in surprise before turning around, garnering the attention of Nakji, who stopped skipping.

A figure about the same height as Nakji quietly stood before him. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to scare you..." The figure said, their voice soft and hushed.

To prove their innocence, they stepped further into the more well-lit area of the tunnel. Their black boots clacked against the ground, echoing.

Aside from the boots, the first feature that stuck out was their hot-pink tentacled hair with suckers on the top. On the underside of their hair was nothing but a smooth white color.

They were another female octoling, like Nakji, though their skin tone was slightly darker.

She wore a black sleeveless top, which exposed her stomach. Further down was a black leather skirt, accompanied by a small black band with a white buckle around her left thigh.

She awkwardly grabbed her arm, and Akikta noticed the neon yellow bands around her left wrist and right ankle. His guess for what they were for was as good as anyone else's.

Nakji returned to Akikta's side, and they both watched the octoling. Her gray eyes avoided direct contact with either of them. She was nervous... why?

Actually, before that, how did she get right up behind them so quickly? She would've had to run to get as close as she was to them. Only a minute passed since Akikta checked their six. No doubt, that's what she did, but how'd she do it without making noise? Her boots clanked earlier when she stepped into the light, but she made no noise prior to that.

"Can we help you...?" Akikta asked, not understanding who this octoling was or why they were in a tunnel alone. Honestly, they creeped him out. But he didn't want to be mean. After all, they seemed overly shy, and a little afraid. Maybe they were lost?