Chapter 8: Run
"And don't stop."
"Why me? Why me?! WHY ME!" Akikta shouted as he legged it through the halls.
This was the third time he's run into the inky abomination, Subject 7. Could it track him via his scent? The thing had no nose, so Akikta wasn't confident in that explanation, though it had to be tracking him somehow. Akikta refused to believe the last two encounters were by chance.
Not that it mattered what he believed in. His thoughts and theories didn't stop the monster from barreling through the halls like a starved predator. However, something was odd about this chase.
Last time, Subject 7 was constantly just a few steps behind him. This time, the ink monster only seemed to be close. Occasionally, the schlopping noises of its footsteps would be faint, as if it lagged behind.
Akikta couldn't help but look over his shoulder as he ran. He caught Subject 7 cease their chase for a few moments to devour one of the golden eggs he passed by.
The fact it could eat perplexed Akikta, but he was even more puzzled that it found these eggs as a viable food source. He assumed it didn't need to eat to survive, so why was it doing so?
Questions flooded Akikta's mind rather quickly. He snapped back to reality when he tripped over a golden egg. As he tumbled to the floor, he turned over, only to see Subject 7 splashing its way over to him.
Akikta looked down at the egg responsible for tripping him. His face scrunched up. It was him or the egg; and unfortunately, only one of them had legs.
With a heavy heart, Akikta lightly kicked the egg toward Subject 7. The ink monster would stop its pursuit once again to consume the egg, which gave Akikta enough time to get back up and continue to flee.
Along the way, Akikta would pick up any golden eggs he came across. He could only carry three at a time, as they were medium-sized and surprisingly heavy.
Whenever the schlopping noise behind him grew loud, he'd drop one of the eggs he carried.
Despite being eggs, they weren't fragile at all. Subject 7 seemed able to eat them whole without chewing, so Akikta assumed the ink monster had acidic properties—all the more reason not to get caught. Of course, that was easier said than done.
No matter how many golden eggs Akikta dropped in the decrepit hallways of Alterna's Space Center, Subject 7 took only seconds to gobble them up. To make matters worse, eggs became more scarce as he got further into the space center.
Akikta dropped his last egg once Subject 7 grew too close again. He turned the corner and looked over his shoulder to see how long it'd take for the ink monster to do the same.
It didn't take Subject 7 nearly as long as Akikta had hoped.
He shifted to face forward, nearly falling face-first as he forced himself to skid to a halt.
Down the end of the hall was a dead-end wall. On that wall was a large hole that Akikta would've fallen through had he not stopped himself. The drop on the other side was massive, and at the bottom was the ocean of Alterna.
Subject 7 practically locked onto Akikta and showed no signs of stopping. He hesitated to jump, as he wasn't confident in his swimming skills. But what choice did he have?
When Subject 7 was nearly an arm's reach away, Akikta leaped through the hole without thinking and plummeted toward the deep waters. Before he impacted the surface, he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. The last thing he heard was a loud splash.