RUN

When he walked out, the 'mystery girl' was standing there. She gave him a strange look, turned around, and started walking. He followed behind her.

She was covered in black from top to bottom. If not for her sleeveless tank top that showed her wheat-ish complex, it would have been hard to differentiate between her skin and the cloth.  A simple loose, black tank top, jeans, and boots completed her attire along with a black mask that covered her face and even neck except her eyes and forehead. And of course, there were the holsters containing the swords.

She was strong, no doubt, after all, it takes lots of strength to rip someone's head off. But she also looked strong. Her biceps and shoulder muscles flexed with every movement she did. She carried an aura around her, an aura that said 'don't mess with me or I will make you regret ever being born'.

Issac remembered the moment he saw her standing in front of him with the blood-covered blades in her hands as her short, dark, black hair covered half of her face. She looked like an angel, an 'angel of death' with a calm look in her brown eyes, shining with specks of blue; calm almost to the extent that she looked menacing. Her expressions, unreadable beneath her mask.

He was brought back to the present by the noise of people screaming. It seemed like they were arguing. When they both made it to the bridge, a group of people was waiting for them. At least ten people were standing there, three of whom were dressed in all black just like the mystery girl. They were keeping their voices low and looked unbothered by everything. The rest of the people were the reason for the noise and looked disheveled and tired.

"What's wrong?" Issac asked as he approached them.

They all quietened down and one of them, a girl approached him. She touched his face and looked closely to make sure he wasn't hurt.

"I am fine." He replied, taking her hands in his, assuring the woman as she was hyperventilating. Worry was clearly visible on her face. Her brows were furrowed, forehead was sweating. She looked more than concerned.

Once she made sure he wasn't hurt, she looked towards the 'mystery girl', her expressions wary, just as she had with the other three of the squad. She looked back at him and asked, "Where is Kyle?" Her expressions, now turning from weariness to worriedness again.

Issac's face immediately turned somber and with downcast eyes he replied, " The scream we heard. It was his. He didn't make it." With the last words he looked up and into her eyes which reciprocated the sad emotion in his own.

These last four words carried more emotions and weight than even any other thousand words could. The air surrounding the place suddenly changed. All of the people expect the 'all black squad' looked grim yet more focused.

The woman nodded, her eyes slightly wet. She turned around and wiped her nose with the back of her hands.

The 'mystery girl' glanced at another woman who, as it looked, was with her. They seemed to be talking with their eyes. The 'mystery girl' gave her a very intense look and the other woman slightly nodded her head.

"As much as I hate interepting this emotional moment, we have to get going." The woman said abruptly, bringing all the attention to her.

"And what makes you think we are going to take orders from YOU?" Aiden said with a little more than needed emphasis on the word 'you'.

"That was NOT an order. I am just telling you, we need to leave this place." The woman countered. Her eyes showed her irritation but voice gave nothing away.

"Okay. Let's say that was not. Still. Why do you think we are going to follow you?" Aiden said in a very arrogant voice as he took a step forward towards that woman and folded his hands. His eyes were matching the arrogance in his voice.

But before he could close the space between the two of them completely, the 'mystery girl' stepped between them. The pace she moved at was inhumane. It was almost as if she has teleported herself. But if one looked closely enough, they would know she RAN at a practically 'vampire' pace.

"We are all dressed in black. Clearly ready for anyone's funeral if need be. Are you?" The 'mystery girl' said with her usual calm tone. Her eyes, however, showed a different emotion. Her eyes didn't contain just the usual calm emotion but instead had a deeper feeling, a mocking one.

She was mocking the guy in front of her. Stating a fact but with mockery. Marking her territory. Telling him who is the boss. Whatever you may call it, it wasn't a usual argument. There was heat, in their eyes and glares. It seemed that they all would break out in a fight any moment now.

"I don't understand what's going on here. I don't know what you all were arguing about before I got here. And I most certainly don't understand why you all are so inhospitable towards each other. BUT. This stops now." It was Issac who spoke up this time. Clearly he sensed the tension in the air and knew if nobody did anything to stop this, they would end up fighting among themselves.

The 'all black squad' glanced among themselves and then the woman spoke up, "Works fine with us. What about your teammates?"

Some of them were about to show their unwillingness to co-operate when Issac spoke, "We are gonna co-operate. But if you even think of pulling some funny trick on us, that won't go down well with my comrades and what they do after that will be on you." He said in a clear, commanding voice with a straight face. He was looking at the mystery girl. Their eyes were locked as if talking in some silent language.

She broke the eye contact and turned around and simultaneously the woman said, "We should get moving then."

"I am taking the twelve, leading. Cronos take the six. Hera and Ares you take the three and nine respectively. Keep your eyes peeled and mind open. Even the slightest mistake can cost a life." The mystery girl gave orders to her squad and they all started moving.

The Cronos guy looked the oldest among the four. His black hair with lustrous grey strands; brown eyes that had so much depth and experience, it was clear he has been living in this hell for longer than he would have wanted;  the small almost unnoticeable wrinkles that covered his eyes; the way he assessed everything, talked less and heard more; the way he stood and walked, everything told that he was the most mature and commanding among them.

Hera, on the other hand, was the other woman who looked very young comparative to Cronos. She had blonde hair that fell just below her shoulder even when she had them tied in a pony and icy blue eye that looked like glaciers. There was nothing specific to her and yet there was something about her, something special that was not very obvious.

Ares was a guy whose presence was hard to miss, he didn't utter a single word all the while and yet his presence was obvious. He was huge and bulky. Everything from his build and muscles to his aura and the scar across the right side of his big, black face, screamed 'Danger'!

Even though their faces weren't very visible beneath the mask, their eyes expressed enough about them.

One of the guy in Issac's group who was clearly intimated by this group of people who suddenly showed up out of the blue asked curiously,"What about us? Where do we have to be?"

The mystery girl turned around and looking him dead in his eyes said, "You all will be in the middle of the formation. If you break the formation without any specific order, the mutants will be the least of your worries." Her gaze alone was enough to make anyone tremble but the serious tone, she said this with was even more scarier.

"NYX!!" The Cronos guy exclaimed, "I apologise on her behalf, she didn't mean it that way---"

"I meant it just like that." The mystery girl whose name was Nyx apparently, interrupted Cronos, gaining an intense look from his side. She immediately went quite and looked down.

"Doesn't matter how she meant it. My name is Isaac and you, I am guessing are Cronos."

"Again. I apologise. We didn't introduce ourselves."

"We don't have time for introductions. Maybe when we get some distance between this place and ourselves?" Hera said looking from side to side.

"Before we go. Who are coming? What are you so scared of?" It was Aiden who questioned what everyone was thinking.

"MUTANTS!" All of the black squad and even Issac spoke in a monotonous voice, even the big, black guy spoke up this time.

"And we are not scared. Just to get the facts straight." It was again Hera. It seemed like she did most of the talking in the group.

"I can hear them closing in. Positions. Right now." NYX said in a commanding voice that was hard to not obey. Within seconds all of them were in formation even Issac's group.

The reason as it seemed to keep Issac and others in middle was that they weren't that well armed. All of them had weapons of some sort but not the effective kind. Chef knife, machete, axes, sickels, pitchaxe, and pitchforks, that's all they had.

The 'all black squad', on the other hand, was heavily armed. Semi-automatics, shotgun, pistols, knifes and machete, they had everything. They even carried a bag pack, expect Nyx. She was the only one with swords as her weapon, no guns, just a small knife as another arm. She also had no back pack, probably because she didn't need to carry any ammo.

All of them finally took the formation, "We are moving north. Don't break the formation at any cost. And keep your senses sharp. Anything can come from anywhere. You read me?" Nyx pointed out a few other things.

"YES!" Everyone affirmed loudly. Even Issac's group understood the gravity of the situation. And with these final words they started their journey.