Chapter 5

Yafya was just lucky that the birds he subdued were young adults since they have underdeveloped brains. The four elders were heading down to the subway, the quickest way to the stallion's apartment.

They could rest for a bit before finding the designated location for their two tourists.

He was using the term 'tourist' lightly because they were not here to visit any shrines and temples. They were looking for an old friend and the stallion was shocked at how they were associated with the animal in the photograph.

He had met that said animal only because he was a minor inconvenience. However, things got way out of hand when that furry little thing was associated with Melon and the four former gang members when the Black Market was still around. Those gangs were the Shishigumi (lion), Dokugumi (Komodo dragons), Madaragumi (leopards/jaguars0, and Inarigumi (vixens).

Hell, that animal's own parent married to one of the ruthless gang leaders and HAD twins for god's sake!

He had not heard from the animals ever since Melon was behind bars. What for does he need that little scrap's help? Since that fateful day, he had lost contact with him despite having a tracking band in case something might happen.

"W-where are we?" Hershel asked quietly. Yafya arched a brow, wondering that could scare that hairless cat. All four of them were descending down an escalator to the ticket station. Gosha was standing beside Hershel while Lou was right behind him.

'How droll, a big scary reptile ready to kill me with one bite,' he thought to himself with a flick of an ear. His ears may not be sharp but he could tell that something was bothering Hershel as he was muttering something incoherent while his tail swished rapidly.

Does he know anyone here? Were they being followed?

While Gosha was purchasing the tickets, Yafya could tell that the smaller animals were nervous around Hershel and Lou, mostly the sphinx cat. Lou was doing his best to calm him down but the oncoming train had made Hershel let out a harsh caterwaul.

"Shhh! Do you want to cause trouble?!" Yafya snapped, hoping everyone does not hear the cat's sudden cry. What's wrong about the subway? Did something tragic happen or it's because his sharp hearing was hell for him?

Lou kneeled down as he comforted his blind companion. By now, a crowd had gathered to see what's going on. He had never seen Hershel curled up in a foetal position, rocking himself like a baby who just wet the bed.

If Hershel was crying, then it was a difficult sight to see since he doesn't have eyeballs to allow tears to stream down his face. He couldn't close those dark holes where his eyes used to be or express an emotion without saying a word.

"S'alright, Hersh," Lou soothed him as he rubbed his companion's back. Yafya was wondering whether the old cat was getting senile and was hearing things that were nothing more than bees in his brains.

Hershel was mumbling something incoherent but Yafya swore he could detect the word "tunnel" in his scrambled speech.

"What's wrong with the blind cat, mommy?" a young fawn asked fearfully as she clutched her mother's skirt.

"Do you need an ambulance?"

"Oh my god, is that cat having a seizure?!"

He was about to put an end to this but Gosha held him back. No words were needed when the Komodo dragon shook his head. Both of those foreigners were older than them and yet, it was horrifying to witness such an act.

He was planning on leaving the carnivores here but another part told him to steady himself.

"S'alright...s'alright," Lou's voice soothed the cat. "Yer not in the tunnels anymore. Come home...come home, Hershel..."

As the noise died down, Hershel's chest began to rise up and down. Then, he began to purr like a kitten wanting his mother. Throughout his studies, Yafya knew that all felines purr to heal themselves besides feeling content.

He imagined Hershel may have purred a lot.

"Don't send me down there," he whimpered, voice almost a hush in the breeze. "I don't want to go down there again..."

...

In the end, it was decided that Gosha will be taking a different route with Hershel that does not involved anything underground. On the other hand, Yafya wondered to himself if he was forever saddled up with reptiles all his life.

He and Lou entered the train, inside the reptile compartment.

The herbivore cart would be distressed to have a a carnivore while the carnivore cart will be gutting Lou down for being albino. At least in the reptile cart, those cold-blooded freaks wouldn't care if he had entered.

Reptiles mind their own business.

"Sorry 'bout Hershel back there," Lou spoke up quietly from where he sat. His shoulders were sagging, his wide-brim hat barely covered his face while his legs were stiffed since they were prosthetics.

Yafya sighed. "I never thought that he would react that way. I thought all cats love tight spaces."

He doesn't care for the fact that he was speaking too loud in the cart. Reptiles wouldn't say anything and the cart had a humidifier to suit their poikilothermic bodies. Lou leaned back in his seat, cracking a few of his stiff joints.

"Hershel ain't the kind for tunnels," said Lou. "Durin' the war, Ah heard stories 'bout him and a few beasts that were in the tunnels."

Now Yafya had learnt about the Great War at a young age which included the forbidden knowledge that was only given to selected dogs. But hearing this side of the story from a former veteran might be something he was willing to listen.

Or forget that it ever happened.

"So I take it Hershel was a tunneller?" Yafya concluded, earning a nod from the albino alligator. "I know small animals like gophers, rabbits and moles know their way underground. What was a cat like him doing underground when he could be at the front line?"

Now, this caught most of the reptilian passengers' attention. It's not like everyday they have two passengers conversing this long on board. Lou continued, "Hersh was assigned to dig up a tunnel. Secret tunnels to spy and take down our enemies."

"But then, there was a surprise ambush that he wasn't prepared for. Ah heard that whoever attacked him, they were the last ones he sees 'fore his eyes were as good as gone."

'That must have been a horrific way to go', Yafya thought to himself with a shudder. He fought his carnivores blindfolded but even he still had both of his eyes intact. Hershel had his eyes scooped out like ice cream!

"He lost 'em eyes back at the tunnels," sighed Lou, taking off his hat. "If it weren't for Cass or Ari, they would've taken more than his eyes. Friends of ours."

Before Yafya could asked, the train stopped to the next station. Most of the geckos and iguana passengers went off while a few frilled lizards came onboard.

He made a mental note to research about tunnellers that were serviced during the war. From his school textbooks, they mentioned about the Death Railways where many bovine animals died building railway tracks or the carnivore camps where they captured carnivores to be culled from the earth.

Let's not mention the Mongoose-Cobra Conflict that took place about two years after the Great War.

"So what happened to you?" Yafya asked, gesturing to Lou's legs. The alligator swung his legs involuntarily.

"Ah...Ah had the dumbest way to lose 'em," he chuckled. "Step in a place Ah shouldn't."

A few reptiles murmured amongst themselves and for the first time, Yafya felt the same. However, Lou continued, "Then I was captured, taken to a place called Sweet Home and it ain't as sweet as it sounds. Ah gave up the other one tryin' to escape."

The train ride became silent, only the sounds of the groaning railway tracks were heard. Yafya prayed that they reached his apartment in time and hope Hershel was in a better mood.

Because that damn cat was going to made him do something he would not regret.

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter, long ago

(Poem by Christina Rosetti)