Assassins and Thieves
Chapter 05
There's a possible chance that the time is 7 at night. The only thing Chrome and Killus was able to see is a tunnel with a talking mole. It begged them to follow it, to aid it. Chrome and Killus both knew that it's a test, but not what kind of test it was. Is it just a trap for all the hunter applicants to be buried deep into the ground? Is it a trap for the mole to separate the two children and kill them one by one? Maybe it is just a talking mole that needed help to unbury its wife from a landslide. The two children didn't know, but they know only one thing: they have to follow it.
Killua and Chrome looked at each other in confusion. The boy just shrugged at her, and proposed, "Let's go. We're not getting anywhere if we stay."
Chrome nodded in agreement, but there's something that bugged her. "You know, it'll be pitch black inside the tunnel." The two children jogged into the dark tunnel, trying to keep up with the rushing mole.
A hand was constantly scrapping against the moist dirt on the tunnel's wall as Chrome blindly followed the scurrying sound of mole's digging. The whole tunnel is completely moist with wet dirt. This tunnel has recently been dug out. Thinking about it, Chrome shouldn't be dragging a hand on the wall. She didn't know if the tunnel is only one way or if the paths could split into different paths. If Chrome kept going left by hugging the wall, she might get separated from the mole and Killua. That wouldn't be the ideal situation now.
"K-killua, where are you?" Chrome stuttered as her hand is removed from the dirt wall.
"Over here," his voice replied just to the right of her. Slowly, Chrome shifted towards the voice. They're not far apart, maybe a few feet. "Are you doing okay?"
"J-just keep talking," Chrome asked. Instead of trying to use her eyes, she closed them. There's no use for them now, so she rather just block the sight scene out now. Focus on sound and touch.
"Why?" Killua responded with a short question, but instead of waiting for an answer he started to talk to the mole a couple of feet in front. They are able to keep up with him even though they're in complete darkness. "Hey, mole. How far is that landslide you were talking about?"
"U-uhh, it's by the mountain. J-just a couple of meters away." The rusty voice replied front the front. "P-please, my wife needs our help. H-hurry!"
Getting closer to Killua, Chrome tried to pat onto the boy, seeing if he's really there. With a soft touch, she was able to identify his arm and grabbed onto his sleeve. Surprised by her gentle touch, the boy jumped back ready to attack anything. Chrome flinched back. She should've at least warned the boy before taking a hold of his arm. "Killua, it's me, Chrome. We should stick together like that." Once Killua calmed down, the girl wrapped her left hand around his right wrist. "If not, we might get separated." Chrome only heard a subtle grunt from him, but he didn't protect her action.
A few minutes had passed by, but there were no sight of the end. Killua and Chrome seemed to be able to navigate through the dark pretty well. The mole was ahead by a couple of feet, digging the passageway to the so-called landslide. Through the silent jog in the dark, Chrome had a firm grip onto the boy as she thought about a nagging thought in the back of her mind. That mole, its voice sounded very familiar. She is certain that she had heard its voice somewhere recently, possibly heard it earlier the day. She just can't remember where.
"Hey, Killua." Chrome whispered over to the boy, asking for help. "I've heard that mole's voice somewhere today. I need to remember where. Can you talk to him for me, until I remember where?"
"Huh?" the boy got puzzled by the sudden request, but he complied. Killua called out to the talking animal, "Hey, mole."
"A-ah, I haven't you told my name," the mole turned around in the mist of digging to face them; even though it's completely black. "You can call me Tanuku. What's your name?"
"Oh, I'm Killua" The boy took over the introduction for the both of them, "and she's Chrome. So we've been in this tunnel for a while, how far away is that mountain?"
"J-just a couple of minutes." The mole replied with a stutter, "We're close by."
"You said a couple of minutes a couple minutes ago. Are you sure we're close by?" Killua questioned the credibility of the underground animal.
"You don't believe me?" The mole's hoarse voice sounded hurt and offended, but that didn't stop him from digging.
Wait! You don't believe me? I've heard that phrase with the exact same voice, Chrome thought. That rough voice, where have she heard it from? However, she's sure that she heard that voice earlier the day. Just have to retrace her steps. She was on that boat for a week, but it's definitely not from the ship. She heard enough of those irritating men and their seasick stomach. Then it was the sailor after the ship. His voice was much softer than that rusty, sandpaper voice that came from the mole. The bar, perhaps, he was in the bar. The only person Chrome heard was from the bartender and that man who tried to misguide her.
It took Chrome a few seconds to make that click. It was the man who said he knew where the Hunter Exam is and lied, but why is he a mole? Isn't he a human? Perhaps it is a creature that can transform itself into a human. There are many mysterious creatures that inhibit this world, so it's not so surprising that the Hunter Committee might have set up such strange creatures as testers, or whatever they're called. Anyways, now that she knew the creature who's leading them in a black tunnel, Chrome had a slight advantage than she does ten minutes ago. This is all a play, and that man from the bar is the "real" mole. She knew that he is a bit softy for children. That mole will not lead these two children towards death. Perhaps if they were adults, that'll be a different story.
Killua and the mole were still talking about their destination. From what Chrome heard, their destination is just a few meters away for the fourth time today. The boy next to Chrome was getting slightly impatient. She could tell by the slight tense in his voice and the muscles tightening in his arm that she was still holding on.
"I swear I'm going to kill this mole if we don't get there within five minutes." The boy mumbled to himself, but Chrome was able to hear him with the limited distance between them.
"If there is a landslide, it should be on the surface, right?" Chrome questioned the mole. "Why are we still underground?"
There was a slight nervous laugh coming from the front. "W-well you see, m-my wife. She was in our bedroom, a-and the ceiling collapse on top of her."
Bedroom? Ceiling? Sounds completely human. Chrome thought. Perhaps he's more used to being a human than a mole. "But, Tanuku, you don't have a wife."
"What?" Killua and Tanuku asked in unison. Chrome heard the mole stop digging and felt the silence stare from Killua. "W-what made you say that, Chrome?" the mole asked.
A smirk grew on Chrome's lips. She got him. Now his story will crumble. "Well first one all, you didn't object. Your first reaction should be 'what are you talking about? I do have a wife.'" Chrome pointed out. It's not direct proof, but it's just a planting the bombs onto his story. "You should be defending your wife, not asking about my statement."
"T-that doesn't answer my question." The mole stuttered. "Why did you think I don't have a wife?"
Again, he didn't state that he has a wife. "Well if your wife is really in a landslide, you shouldn't have stopped digging." Chrome pointed out another acting flaw of the mole.
"Where are you going with this, Chrome?" Killua butted into the conversation. "Does it matter if he has a wife or not? We just have to get him to tell us where the Hunter Exam is."
Chrome looked at Killua, or at least in the general direction. "He could be leading us further away from the Hunter Exam right now. We need to get him to stop digging. We all know he's lying about the landslide and his wife." Chrome turned back to Tanuku. "Tanuku, I'm sure you remember me, right? The girl from the bar." She asked a rhetorical question. "Well, I remember you." A smirk grew on her face. "You didn't have a wedding ring. You weren't married. So tell me, Tanuku, do you have a wife?"
"You know him?" Killua asked.
"Yeah, I just remembered." Chrome answered, "I'll tell you about it later."
The girl waited for the mole to answer her question, but all he did was laugh, but it wasn't a cheerful laugh. His rusty voice sounded evil and menacing. "You did good, Chrome, so observant. You figured me out. However it will be your downfall." The mole finally agreed to his trickery. "You're all trapped underground in the dark. No way to escape. I can just kill you two and no one would ever know. I am the master in this tunnel. I can see unlike you blinded children…"
As Tanuku continued his rant, Killua stepped forward, and Chrome had to let go of his wrist. A second of brief wind, the mole stopped talking. It was choking and hacking. "Look mole, lead us to the Hunter Exam, and I don't have to kill you, okay?" Killua's cold and soulless voice was heard from the front. Chrome guessed that he had the mole against the tunnel's wall with his hand pressing against the furry throat. "You are nothing compared to me."
The mole chocked more as his hand pressed harder. "Stop it, Killua." Chrome blindly walked forward with a hand against the soggy dirt and the other waving around hoping to find the two. "He's probably the only one who can take us to the Hunter Exam."
"S-she's right." The mole managed to choke out. "Y-you two passed. I-I'll take you there."
Within that second, Killua let go of the mole, and it coughed violently to recover its breath. "Wow, Killua. So evil." Chrome chuckled, as she was able to find the boy's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Tanuku, if that's your real name. I couldn't control Killua here." She bent down and tried to help the mole up, but instead of touching its fur, soft human skin took its place. Shocked by the surprising texture, Chrome flinched away. "Oh, you're human again."
"Yeah, well there's no point on hiding it anymore. You'd figured out my whole plan." The adult male stood up by himself. "Let's go back to the surface. I'm sure you're all stick and tired of this tunnel. I have a house just above here. You guys can take a rest. I'm sure it'll be better if we walk in the morning."
"I'm not really tried." Killua shrugged. "But, I rather get out of this tunnel."
Chrome agreed with a smile.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading Chapter 05 of Assassins and Thieves. Sorry it took so long! My homework had dragged me into its dark and scary tunnel, and I had to climb out of it just to write this chapter. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing, but do you know what makes writing more enjoyable? You guessed it! Reviews! Did you guess that Mr. Human-Mole was the man in the bar earlier or did you forgot all about him? And as always, please review! All those who review will get many thanks and possibly something a little bit special. *cough*every 10 reviews will receive more than just a thank you*cough*