''Come on you apes, you want to live forever?'' Cruise bellowed loudly as his Crew quickly gathered around him, collecting whatever equipment and weapons they could carry.

Isabel, Helen and Thane moved through the frantic crowd, gradually being led towards Cruise. Even Isabel was having difficulty understanding what was being said as everyone was barking orders at each other. Despite the chaotic outlook, they had managed to get everything they needed in an organized fashion fairly quickly. It would seem that the Crew was used to these quick evacuations. But, Isabel wanted answers to what was going on, so she muscled her way through and hurried to Cruise.

''What's happening?''

''We're on the move!'' Cruise said, half turning his head as he walked onwards.

''What about the sandstorm you told us about?''

''Our scouts say that it's died down. We should be able to get you back to your hole in the ground before next nightfall. But, that wasn't all they saw.''

Isabel and Helen shared a worried glance with each other. ''A Drake?''

Cruise smirked. ''Not as bad. But, I wouldn't want to stick around and say hello. Unless you've got a kink for having your insides drained out of you in the most agonizing way.''

It seemed like that was all Cruise was going to reveal for now, he was quickly getting everyone ready to leave and Helen thought it best to let him go about his business. Luckily for them, she and Isabel packed lightly. At this point, their heaviest cargo was Thane, who was now able to move without any aid, though there was still a slight limp in his step that meant running for long distances would be troublesome.

Isabel huffed and turned to her mother. ''If it's not as bad as a Drake, maybe I could…''

''No!'' Helen silenced her instantly. ''We don't know what we're dealing with. Once we get far enough, we'll ask Cruise again. But, for now, I want you to keep safe.''

Before Isabel could say a word, her mother fixed her with a firm glare. As much as she was yearning to get out of this bunker, she knew better than to argue with her mom if she feared for their safety. Isabel knew that she was right, it would be stupid for her to charge into something she didn't know. But, there was a burning desire inside that compelled her to fight. It didn't help that she and her mom had their moment interrupted because of this evacuation. She wanted to talk about it with her mom. But, with Thane close, that wouldn't be an option for now.

Isabel kept quiet and followed the Crew alongside her mother and Thane. Just as they exited the bunker and journeyed upwards through one of the tunnels, a strange scent drifted up her nose.

Whatever the Crew's scouts had seen wasn't human.

XXX

''Tarantino? Kurosawa? Anything?'' Cruise asked as his two scouts returned.

The rest of the Crew waited further down the tunnel. By now, Isabel and Helen knew their strategy. They would reach a certain point before the two scouts and Cruise moved on ahead. After the scouts moved further ahead, they would report back their findings to Cruise and move the whole group onward if it was safe. Isabel had to admit that it was a smart and careful strategy. And after her first impression of Cruise, smart and careful was the last thing she expected of him. While there was a bit of a distance between the group and Cruise, Isabel could easily hear everything reported back to him.

''We seem to be in the clear,'' one of the scouts reported to their leader. ''No tracks we can see.''

''Good, I don't want to deal with any eight legged freaks today.'' Cruise replied and then whistled loudly, giving the clear for the rest of the Crew.

''Eight legs?'' Isabel murmured to herself as she followed the group.

Helen turned to her. ''Did you say something?''

''Cruise said something about eight legged freaks.''

Beside her, Thane chuckled. ''Really? We're running away because of a few spiders?''

As much as Isabel hated to side with Thane, she had to agree that this all seemed over the top to run away from spiders. From what her mother told her about them, they could be dangerous, but they were small compared to other kinds of threats. And while the Crew weren't filled to the brim with weapons, surely they would be capable of dealing with them? It left her feeling more worried than when she didn't know anything.

Suddenly, they heard Pitt approach them. ''These ain't no dainty spiders that you dirt-walkers have heard about. They ain't even spiders if you want to be accurate.''

Helen stared at him curiously. ''Are they a new type of arachnid?''

''You could say that. I imagine you've been living underground for quite a few generations if you don't know about the experiments.''

''Experiments?''

Pitt looked at them grimly. ''It was bad enough when the Dragons were impregnating humans to create Drakes. But, that wasn't enough for them. They liked to crossbreed other animals to hunt down the humans they couldn't be bothered to look for themselves. These hybrids mutated over the centuries, becoming stronger and more deadly with every new generation. They're like wild dogs that kill anything smaller than them. That's what we're running from.''

Helen turned away in shock. ''I can't believe it. Crossbreeding and mutating other animals?''

''You lot must have been buried under a very big rock to not know about them. I envy you.''

The group kept silent after hearing Pitt's story. Isabel felt her mother grab her hand and hold it tightly, wanting to keep her from running off. All the fight that Isabel was feeling earlier faded. She wasn't expecting creatures of such scale. It left her feeling angry with herself that she had let fear in. She wanted to fight the Dragons and felt that with her new powers she might have a chance. However, if she couldn't even muster up the courage to deal with an overgrown spider, what chance did she have against the Drakes and Dragons? She gripped her mother's hand tightly, trying to keep her emotions under control and not let her frustration slip out.

The Crew kept moving at a cautious pace until they finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Cruise's scouts gave the all-clear to their leader, but this time, he didn't whistle and instead walked back to everyone to address them personally.

''We're not out of the woods yet,'' he said to everyone. ''We can still be tracked. So, we move quickly. Scouts will be keeping an eye out on all sides so we shouldn't have any unexpected surprises. But, be alert and keep your ears open.''

That last statement seemed to be directed at Isabel as he locked eyes with her. Isabel nodded, though there was a slight bit of hesitation, which Cruise seemed to have noticed. He sharply turned back and took the lead, ordering the rest of the Crew to follow him as they stepped out of the mouth of the cave and back out into the world. Isabel, Helen and Thane breathed a sigh of relief as they felt air hit their faces, even if speckles of sand also stung their skin.

Sand covered the landscape and there was still few strong gusts of wind that created mini-tornados. They wouldn't cause any harm. But, there was always the fear that the storm could descend upon them at any moment. Or worse, a hybrid might use the weather to mask its arrival and ambush them. Isabel kept her ears perked and was always looking towards the horizon, watching for any kind of movement. All of the scouts walked to the edge of the Crew, creating a circle so that they could watch every angle. Cruise walked out in front to lead.

Isabel grinned. ''If this were the colony, our leaders would be at the back.''

She could feel Thane glaring at her from behind. ''I hope that wasn't an insult directed at my father.''

''What if it was?'' she probed.

''Isabel.'' Helen said. ''Don't antagonize. You're better than that…like Cruise is better than Thane's father.''

Anger flashed across Thane's face as his eyes switched back and forth between the mother and daughter duo, who shared a smug chuckle together. ''Well…I will remember this when I lead the colony. Then, I shall see what you have to say.''

Isabel smiled at her mother, who also smiled back at her in such a mischievous way. It caused Isabel's chest to warm and her heart to flutter. It almost reminded her of the look she would give her whenever they would…experiment. Isabel looked away, hoping that no one would catch her blushing. There was no time to be thinking about her mother in such a way. At least, not right now.

Then…Isabel saw something in the distance. Then, she heard the click of a gun loading.

''Get down!'' Isabel cried out and tackled her mother to the ground. A second later, a bullet blasted over them, right where Helen's head was a moment ago.

Cruise instinctively ducked. ''Ambush! Take cover!''

The Crew followed his orders instantly as more gunfire rained down on them. Chunks of sand spurted up from the impact of the bullets further ahead. It would seem that whoever was attacking them was too far to do any damage, all except for the sniper which had aimed for Helen. Isabel didn't need much time to figure out who was attacking them and who was the one that was targeting her mother. Anger swept over her as she rose to her feet and saw a dozen figures shuffling around in the distance.

''Stay here! I'll take care of them!'' Isabel growled and then dashed off before Helen could reply.

Isabel sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her. She was like a blur gliding across the sand. It almost looked like her feet were off the ground. She heard bullets hit the ground around her. She was moving too fast for any of the slave-traders to get a good shot. In no time at all, she had closed the distance was slammed her body against the closest gunman in front of her, sending him flying. Others tried to reload and aim their guns at her, but Isabel was always on the move. There was no rhythm or skill in her fighting, all that mattered was that she moved fast enough to avoid their bullets and hit hard enough to knock them down for good.

On one occasion, a bullet hit her leg as she ran. While it didn't pierce her skin, the force was enough to make her lose her balance and she tumbled to the ground, clattering into a few more slaver traders that were in her way. She swiped her arms into the ground, spraying clouds of sand into the air to blind her enemies. They fired aimlessly, hoping to hit her. With her superior senses, Isabel knew where they were before they could see her. She punched and kicked at them all, breaking their weapons and armor and leaving them whimpering on the floor or unconscious.

When the dust settled, Isabel knocked out the last slave-trader in her way. She heard another group approaching her from behind. She turned, but was relieved to see that it was Cruise and a few of his Crew coming to her aid, not that she needed it as she stood over a dozen of battered bodies.

Cruise nodded and folded his arms across his chest. ''Impressive, most impressive.''

Isabel shrugged. ''I think I'm getting used to this.''

Cruise observed their fallen enemies and then his smile slowly disappeared. ''Where's the sniper?''

Isabel froze and her eyes widened in horror.

Back with the rest of the Crew, Helen and Thane stood at the back for protection. From where they were standing, they were too far away to see clearly what was happening, especially with clouds of sand shrouding the battle. Helen was so focused on trying to see her daughter that she failed to notice the figure stalking her from behind. Something hard and metal smacked her across the back of her head, knocking her to the ground. She grunted and rolled only to see Angelique pinning her down and pointing her rifle at her face.

The others in the small group heard the struggle and turned with their weapons, but stopped when they saw Angelique had Helen down.

''If anyone moves an inch, I blow her brains out!'' She warned. She then glanced over at Thane, who was standing close to them. ''Do you want to play hero, big boy?''

Pale with fear, Thane retreated, leaving Helen under the woman's mercy.

Helen grit her teeth. ''You're surrounded. After you kill me, there's nothing stopping the others from taking you down.''

''True,'' Angelique said and pressed her finger against the trigger. ''But, it's a price I'm willing to pay. I can't kill your daughter with a gun. But I can destroy her with this one bullet!''

Helen closed her eyes as she felt the barrel of Angelique's rifle press against her forehead. In the distance, she could hear Isabel cry out for her and run like the wind. However, she knew that Isabel wouldn't make it in time. Helen held her breath as she waited for Angelique to pull the trigger.

Suddenly, she felt the ground quake beneath her. She opened her eyes and saw Angelique stare at the ground in confusion. Whatever was happening, the others had noticed, and Helen knew that it wasn't natural.

Behind Angelique, something exploded from the ground. Angelique turned and aimed her gun at whatever had emerged, expecting another Viper attack like before. Sand crushed down on her, blinding her and preventing her from shooting at anything. From out of the geyser of sand, a giant scorpion pincer appeared and ensnared Angelique. The slave-trader could only let out a gargled, painful yell as she was lifted into the air before the pincer snapped, cleaving her in two.

Helen quickly crawled away as the creature skittered forward to reveal itself. She thought back to what Pitt had told them earlier, but even his brief description was nothing compared to the nightmarish horror she saw before her. With eight hairy, black and orange legs that resembled that of a tarantula, and the pincers and tail of a scorpion, the hybrid towered over her. The scorpion-tarantula mutation was the size of an elephant. The top half of its body was layered with thick, protective shells. It looked like the ultimate killing machine, and its eight eyes were all looking towards Helen.

Just as it lunged forward to trap Helen with its pincers just as it had down to Angelique, Isabel finally reached them, stepping between her mother and the hybrid. She caught the pincers and pushed with everything she had. However, the Scorpula's pincers continued to close. Isabel couldn't push back. She saw blood dripping from her hands as the inside of the pincers cut into her palms.

Isabel had finally met a creature stronger than her.

XXX

DUN DUN DUN! IT LOOKS LIKE ISABEL HAS MET HER MATCH! I'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE THIS IS ISABEL'S FIRST BIG TEST SINCE SHE GOT HER POWERS. WILL SHE BE ABLE TO SAVE EVERYONE AND DEFEAT THE SCORPULA? THE NEXT CHAPTER IS GOING TO BE ACTION-PACKED, AND FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS, EVERYTHING IN THIS STORY IS GOING TO MOVE UP TO 11 FROM THE VIOLENCE TO THE SEX TO THE HORROR. I HOPE THAT YOU ARE ALL LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT'S COMING NEXT. I STILL CAN'T GET OVER HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ENJOYING THIS STORY. I HOPE TO KEEP IMPROVING AND GIVE YOU ALL THE BEST STORY I CAN WRITE. I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING THE MOST SUPER AMAZING READERS ANYONE COULD ASK FOR. STAY SAFE. TA-TA FOR NOW.