Chapter 16: Running Out of Time
"Time is relative, and his is borrowed."
Constant sounds of soft gurgles and muffled speech echoed in the darkness, waking Akikta from his deep slumber.
As his hearing came back, so too did his vision. When the darkness gradually receded, the first thing he saw was the ceiling of... an apartment room?
Akikta sat up, realizing he was snug in the blankets of a warm but worn-down bed.
A figure who sat beside the bed fidgeted at Akikta's activity. "Y-you're awake!" The figure said, somewhat excited.
While he perfectly understood what they were saying, he heard familiar gurgles accompany the voice in his other ear.
He turned, expecting to see Nakji watching over him like she always does. But instead of seeing an octoling, there was an inkling—It was Callie.
"Callie?" Akikta groaned, still tired.
The last thing he remembered was Rick removing one of his earpieces, so he wasn't wondering why he was hearing the sounds of someone gargling on water when Callie spoke. By now, he was aware the native language of cephalopods, and possibly all the new life, sounded like that. What caught him off guard was the fact that Callie's gargled speech sounded familiar...
Akikta never took his translators off around her, so he's never had the chance to hear what she sounds like normally. But he was certain he'd heard those exact gurgles before from somewhere. The pitch and tone of them were somehow unmistakable. But from where?
Akikta racked his head around for an answer. The recent past came back to him, and he recalled the time he was still stuck in Alterna. One time, he tried to talk with Sal through a radio; instead of hearing a man's voice, he got the sounds of two high-pitched gurgles.
His eyes widened when he realized one of those gurgles was hers. "That was you?" He said abruptly, causing Callie to tilt her head in confusion.
Suddenly, a drumming sensation pounded at his brain. He winced and grabbed his head, only to hear a faint chuckle. "Yeah, we all feel that."
Akikta looked up, seeing it was Pearl who said that. She sat in a comfy-looking couch chair that was far too big for her small body, with her head and arms partially wrapped in bandages.
After her, he noticed the condition everyone else was in.
The group were all wrapped in bandages and covered in various bruises. Their clothes were in shambles, especially Eight's. Coral and Biggie were the only injured ones who stood up and moved around. Frye, Misaki, and Nakji weren't even conscious. Their bodies lay on makeshift futons as they twisted and turned in their sleep, still in pain. Biggie and Rick were going around the room, giving everyone the same bitter drink Akikta had drank twice.
We're in shambles. Was the first thing Akikta thought. "What happened...?"
"Don't tell me that... thing hit you so hard you forgot everything," Metta said, a little worried.
She sat crisscrossed, bundled in blankets while rubbing Little Buddy, who shuddered and whimpered in his sleep.
The memories of Sal's attack suddenly flooded back into Akikta's head like a tsunami, causing him yet another headache.
He gasped and grabbed his head. "Fuck...I didn't think Sa—" Akikta caught himself, remembering Eight was in the room and still conscious. "I didn't think Eosalmo was that strong..."
"He shouldn't be..." Eight commented. "He's tough, I knew that. But this... it's like his power quadrupled since last I saw him."
Akikta started thinking about the times Sal mentioned Atlantis could change a person for the better. This place... that's how he grew strong. He's done something to himself to increase his strength. But what?
If only Akikta knew.
"I hate to say it, guys," Metta started, "But I think we're out of our league here..."
Akikta didn't want to agree, but Metta was right. Sal curb-stomped them during a single fight. The only people left uninjured were Rick, Marina, and Callie.
"No." Eight said. "Eosalmo is strong, but not unbeatable."
Metta snapped her head in Eight's direction. "What?! How can you say that after what just happened to us? Not even Grizz was this hard to beat!"
"There's a way to beat him..." Eight clenched her fists. "There has to be."
Metta must've realized Eight said that out of desperation rather than confidence, so she lowered her gaze and stayed silent.
"H-hey, Akikta," Callie murmured, gaining his attention. "You dropped this earlier..." She nervously handed Akikta the newly repaired tape recorder.
"Oh, damn. Thanks!" He was surprised it had fallen out of his jacket pocket. It must've been when he tackled Callie to the ground. It's a good thing, too; otherwise, he might've lost it when Sal pulled him down into the water.
Akikta paused after putting the recorder back in his pocket. "Oh, I meant to ask earlier... are you ok?"
Callie looked confused. "Y-yeah, I am. Why do you ask?"
"You didn't seem ok..." Callie shied away from Akikta's gaze. "Callie, did something happen between you and Eosalmo?"
"What? N-no!" she said uncertainly. "A-at least I don't think so..." As if in response to the confused look Akikta gave her, she continued. "I've never met that monster in my life. Never..." Callie raised her hands, which were incredibly shaky. "But when I saw him, I... I couldn't stop shaking. I've never been that scared before... Never..." She put a hand on her head. "And... he said he remembered me. He remembered me..."
Akikta probably shouldn't have brought that back up. Whatever happened between them clearly traumatized her; frankly, it was none of his business to begin with. "S-sorry. I didn't mean to remind you."
Callie shook her head. "N-no. It's fine. Really..."
Akikta didn't feel it was fine, but even if she said so, he'd rather not linger on the topic. "By the way, how long was I out for?"
"Not long. Just maybe twenty minutes... or half an hour."
Akikta squinted his eyes for a moment. She wasn't keeping track of the time, but when he woke, she was obviously watching him. "How long have you been sitting there...?"
Callie perked up, only to rub her neck and awkwardly chuckle. "Oh, I just sat down, actually."
"She sat there the whole time," Rick revealed. Since Callie couldn't understand the salmonid, she was unaware of the fact she got busted.
"Really?" Akikta raised a brow.
Callie's ears wiggled. "Y-yeah! I wanted to make sure I gave you your device back, that's all!"
"Why do you sound so nervous, then?"
"I'm not!" Callie blatantly lied before Rick spoke again.
"She's probably feeling guilty for treating you so poorly. She's been acting like this ever since you saved her—Even went so far as to carry you all the way here."
Akikta couldn't help but smile. If Callie did all that, then maybe she was finally starting to like him. Of course, he wouldn't fully forgive himself until they rescued Marie, but this was a start.
"W-why are you smiling? What did that overgrown fish say?!" Callie looked between Akikta and Rick. Rick merely responded with a slight grumble.
Akikta, ignoring Callie's flustered look, spoke to Rick. "Speaking of here... Where exactly is here?"
"We are in the Residential Zone," Rick answered. "I believe it was a living space your ancestors used way back when."
"Oh." Akikta wondered why they were in an apartment room. Now he knew.
"So, what's the plan?" Metta asked.
"What do you mean?" Eight responded.
"I mean, what are we gonna do now? Most of us are in rough shape, and we're no closer to rescuing Marie."
And Inka. Akikta said internally, but remained quiet.
Eight's lips curled into a frown. "You're not suggesting we abandon her, are you?"
"Of course not! But how do you expect us to save her in our current condition? If we go back out there now, we might as well be handing ourselves over on a silver platter."
Shiver raised a hand. "Why don't we call reinforcements? I'm sure if Grizzco Industries heard of this new salmonid structure, they'd send a ton of workers to clear them out."
Marina shook her head. "I can't connect to a signal anywhere outside of this place. No one would hear us call for help."
There was a pause in the conversation before Eight suggested something else. "Let's go find Eosalmo."
Everyone turned to her in shock.
"We barely escaped that freak! Now you're telling us you want to go back?!" Metta shouted.
"Think about it. He won't expect us to come for him after what just happened. We could get the jump on him, plus he's alone. If we have any chance of killing him, it's now. If he's dead, the rest of the salmonids may leave us alone."
"Eight, do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? We couldn't beat him when we all fought. What makes you think our chances will be better now?!" Eight, not having a logical reason behind her suggestion, lowered her head.
Sound drained from the room, leaving the group in silence.
Akikta noticed Pearl do a double-take out of the corner of his eyes. "Whoa," she murmured.
He turned to see her staring right at him. "What?"
"Is that normal for humans?"
"What is?" She took a finger and wiped the spot below where her nostrils should've been. Akikta mimicked her and felt something slick on his finger. When he pulled back, a red liquid with a metallic odor drenched his fingertip. "Oh..."
There was more silence as Akikta wiped the blood away.
He didn't want to acknowledge it, but he remembered the drink Rick served him only blocked out the pain. Not the symptoms.
"He's running out of time," Rick said, turning to Eight, who mumbled the same thing to everyone else.
"Then what are we doing sitting around? Let's go cure him!" Callie said, standing to her feet bravely.
"Callie?" Akikta looked up at her, surprised. She was the last person he'd expect to vote for his treatment over the retrieval of her cousin.
"She's right," Agreed Eight. "We've stalled long enough. Any longer, and we may lose our best chance at beating Eosalmo and saving Marie."
And Inka. He furrowed his brows, seeing everyone forgot two people needed to be saved. Not one.
Eight looked to Coral, who nodded. Eight softly exhaled before turning to everyone else. "We'll take Akikta to the Rejuvenation Center. After, we'll decide how to go about saving Marie."
And Inka! Akikta wanted to yell but didn't since everyone finally agreed on what to do next. Though he wondered if this was really the best course of action.
It made him happy that they'd all be willing to make him a priority. However, it also filled him with immense guilt and pressure. They were basically banking everything on Akikta's survival.
Hopefully, the gamble was worth it...
