The forest was eerily quiet, as always. Only the whispers of the adults voices, the soft whine of a newborn piercing the air before it was hushed by several others disrupted the silence.

My eyes quickly looked at the source of the sound before scanning the group of humans I was traveling with. All of them wore the same cautious expression, glancing at the environment with each step they took, speaking to each other as quietly as possible. Everyone's clothes were in tatters; those that were lucky and brave enough had found some less weathered clothes in an abandoned shop.

It wasn't always like this though; life had been good for mankind at one time, according to the tales. We had everything we could ever want but it came at a price. Man always wanted more and more, their greed pushing beyond the limits of what was possible.

Can you actually believe that they didn't care that they were polluting the Earth, as long as they made a profit out of it? I've found shreds of old newspapers, where each and every attempt of stopping the global warming had come to a halt as the nations' leaders had pushed the deadline further away, placing the responsibility in the hands of people who still had to be born.

My hand touched the warped bark of the large oak tree, the bark of it rough to the touch and extremely thick. The whole forest felt doomed as my eyes peered through the light twilight provided.

It probably was, if the elves didn't find this place soon. The whole forest was blackened from a past fire, the trees reaching up with twisted, leafless branches that creaked in the wind, adding to the ominous feeling. 

"What was that?" One of the women gasped, causing a wave of agitation to run over the rest of the groups as everyone froze on the spot to find out if they were in danger or not. I relaxed instantly, shaking my head so they knew it was nothing before I moved slightly away from them so I was on the edge of the woods.

The fear clung to the air, the scared look in the kids eyes a constant reminder that we aren't safe. You see, our ancestors had kept pushing and pushing the Earth until she couldn't take it anymore.

The climate changed drastically, the polar caps started to melt, tropical storms became harsher and longer until scientists came with the ultimate deadline; There was nothing humanly possible to save the Earth from self-destruction.

It was then that the fate of humankind had been decided; you see, mankind had searched time and again for any life in the cosmos beside ourselves, spending insane amounts of money and precious recourses to find out if we were all alone.

I sneered in disgust, shaking my head at the stupidity of our ancestors. They never had to go so far; supernatural beings lived right under our noses as they tried to co-exist with humans, since they gave us the right to live on the same planet as them.

It was them that saved the earth, for the first time in their history united for a common goal as they took over governments and managed to save most of our planet. Forty percent of Europa washed away and several parts of the USA had been cut off due to raging storms and volcanic activity.

That was a millennium and half ago and still...when the planet was saved, everything out there turned to us and demanded answers, answers that our ancestors couldn't give them. Eventually we turned from the most prospering race to the most hated and now we were pushing the limits towards extinction.

"Thorn!"

The sharp snapped call made me turn around, ripped of my musings as one eyebrow rose angrily at the way I was spoken to. I was not a dog or a slave to be called to heel. Henry managed to stand tall under my stare but I could tell he was nervous.

"We need you up front." He simply spat out, staring at me in disgust before he went back to the group. His wife, Carla, managed a weak and shaky smile in my direction before I averted my eyes and sighed.

Everyone was waiting for my guidance as I slowly made my way to the center of the group. They were already starting to pair up, looking for their partners or closest friends to stick with until only two little forms remained.

Blake and Lyra were orphans I found earlier on when I was still on my own. Blake was twelve, Lyra six but both were very mature for their age. They always stuck to me no matter what happened since they knew and trusted me longer than the others. A soft squirming sensation at my chest pulled my attention down as a rare smile appeared at the corner of my lips.

The unnamed babe I found in the woods simply stirred and closed his eyes again when its cheek pressed against my chest, directly above my heartbeat. The child had been abandoned at birth, simply because it was born half vampire.

"Its just a child, it didn't ask to be born this way." I thought in anger, rubbing my thumb soothingly over the newborn's head so it would settle down. He did so after a little whimpered protest against the gush of wind that blew past, making me realize that I was only wearing my worn jeans and a loose, opened sweater.

I flicked two fingers through the air and signaled the group to start moving before I zipped my sweater up so the child was protected against the chill clinging to the air. Blake walked to my left as Lyra gingerly pushed against my right side, looking up at me with her brown eyes.

"They shouldn't hate you; you're helping them." She stated, looking at the other humans with a frown on her forehead before she flicked the blond hairs out of her face and grabbed a hold of my shirt.

I shrugged in reply, looking forwards as I replied softly, "I'm not surprised, it takes time to get used to me." My voice rasped slightly, causing several of the humans to look at me before they all glanced away before they could meet my eyes.

Ah yes, my eyes. You see, the baby resting against my chest wasn't the only hybrid present. After the outing of the supernatural world, we discovered that several of us weren't completely human anymore.

Lovers, brothers, sisters, everyone discovered a hidden side of the family when it was revealed that their partner, parent or relative were part of this new world. As soon as the other races discovered that our genes were compatible with their own, they decided to create an elixir to force the dormant genes to awaken.

But what about my eyes? Ah, you see, I can't even tell you what I am. I've been alone for as long as I can remember, always rejected by others of my kind because of my clearly inhuman eyes and hunted by the immortals because of my human heritage.

I had sharp blue eyes like any other human, except the whites were completely black. It was a sign to others that I wasn't a full human and the reason why no one would ever trust me, save for the three children I cherished the most.

The last parts of daylight faded, leaving the humans in complete and utter darkness. I could see their pupils widen extremely in a weak attempt to see something in the darkness. Glancing around, I saw all of them flinch when they saw my illuminant blue eyes scanning their faces before I snorted.

"This way. Stay together, don't fall behind and help each other." I stated louder before slowly walking ahead as I followed my instincts and foreign abilities to keep us safe.

Blake looked back at the group before cupping my shoulder and looked at me with his golden eyes, giving it a squeeze as he fell back to help the humans at the rear of the group. He was only a quarter of a werewolf so his abilities were even weaker than my own but he was able to see sharper in the darkness than the others.

"...can't believe we have to trust these things to keep us safe..." one of the men muttered under his breath before he was elbowed by his brother, who hushed a sharp, "Quiet you bloody idiot! They can probably hear you! I don't like this either but at least we're safe."

I sighed deeply, wondering why I didn't just say no when I had crossed paths with the small group of ten, why I had offered to guide them safely away from danger and towards a place where they could find food and shelter for a while.

"When are we going to name him?" I felt a smirk pull at my lips while I grasped a hold on Lyra's hand, lifting her effortlessly over a fallen tree. "I don't know, why don't you think of a good name?"

She huffed and rolled her eyes before clutching back at my leg, since she was a full-blooded human, as far as I could tell. There were no telltale signs so far... She pursed her lips pensively and kept silent for a few minutes until she looked back up at me and raised her hands, indicating that she wanted to be lift up.

I raised both eyebrows but did as requested and smiled when she opened my sweater to peer down at the baby. The soft shock of black hair on his head reminded me much of my own before he frowned slightly and opened his eyes.

They were an interesting mix of red and baby-blue, revealing an amazing shade of violet eyes. They seemed to look directly at Lyra, who smiled at the newborn before she reached down to place a gentle kiss on his head.

"Welcome to our world, Noah." She whispered, making him turn his head before he made a cooing sound ending with a smile that showed off his miniature fangs. Lyra giggled while I placed her down before I pushed on, feeling the humans grow more and more annoyed with each day they had to stay with me.

"Maybe we should leave them...they're getting on my nerves with their comments on how disgusting we are." Blake said as he appeared by my side, overlooking the group of humans as they slowly managed to climb up the hill.

I frowned down at the kid and shook my head. "We're better than them Blake, not because of what we are but who we chose to be." He frowned but nodded, sighing deeply while I looked back in the darkness surrounding us.

The deep blacks that were impenetrable for the human eye were mere shadows for me. My vision was extremely well at day, and even better at night, enabling me to lead the group safely through the thick forest.

We were getting closer to the center of the forest, where we would wait for a few moment so the others could get some sleep before we would travel again, covering more distance at night.

Oh, you wonder why we travel at night? Its simple really, the vampires and werewolves know of the human's poor night-vision and they take advantage of that, playing a cat and mouse game when the humans are on their weakest. Luckily for me, I have a few cards on my hand.

My powers might be limited 'cause my immortal side was still mostly inactive, but I was able to see which path I should take. Wisps of midnight blue flashed through the air, showing me the safest way through the forest. Dark shadows mixed and danced with the blue, always following its partner until danger arrived; then it would show me where the danger was coming from, so I could safely make my way out of there.

"Okay, enough of your whining! We'll stop here so go to sleep already!" Blake said in clear irritation when the adults complained for the umpteenth time about their sore feet, that they were tired, blablabla.

I smirked down at the boy, who looked at me with his golden eyes before smiling apologetically but I could understand him; if you were talked down to and degraded all the time by the people you were trying to help, you're nerves could only take so much before you'd snap.

Too bad that Henry decided to get on my nerves when everyone slowly settled down and kept each other warm by cuddling together. Lyra was already pushing against my side, sleeping with her head on my stomach while Noah remained on my chest, the fabric of my sweater clutched tightly in his little fist.

Henry glared in my direction, his nose curling up in disgust before his eyes trailed down to the lump where Noah was. The child was getting hungry and because of his heritage, he was nuzzling against the pulse point in my throat. "You should've drowned that thing when you had the chance!" he spat in disgust, making my blood boil while I clenched my fists tightly.

"One. Other. Word." I said coldly, my eyes flaring up with anger for this obnoxious human, who thought himself to be better than us simply because he was a 'pure' human. Henry trembled on his legs, since I've never grown angry during the several weeks I had guided them over the mountains.

It was a rare event, for me to get angry but touch my family, and you were a dead man. My ice-cold glare was getting the point across, because Henry shivered in fear before he tried to cover it up. "Just keep that disgus-"

"Shut. Up! Give me an excuse, human, and I swear..." he quickly clamped his mouth shut at the not so subtle hint that he was weaker than me before he spun on his feet and stomped back to his wife.

I sighed before reaching a hand up so Noah could suckle on the spot where my thumb met my wrist. He made a happy sound and nuzzled the spot before his sharp little fangs dug down. A shiver coursed over my skin but simply sighed and closed my eyes, ignoring the humans around me as Noah fed on a little amount of my blood.

When he stopped drinking, I looked down and smiled when I noticed he had fallen asleep, my skin still in his mouth. Carefully withdrawing my hand, I swiped it clean on my pants before tucking the baby back in the shirt and closed my eyes again.

When Blake laid down beside me, hesitantly cuddling into my side, I felt completely relaxed and fell in a light slumber, always wary for the dangers of the waking world.

We were alive and free, and I knew I was going to fight tooth and nail to keep myself and these kids alive. Because they were everything for me, along with my freedom.

And nothing would ever take that away from me.