Matt ran through the underbrush, panting and gasping for breath, leaping over a row of shrubs. He could hear the sounds and yells of people behind him, the screams of their clan as they were set upon, but he tried not to focus on that, focusing on keeping his grip on the hand clutched tightly in his own.

"Come on, Father! Come on!" he gasped out, glancing back at his father, Michael, who was clutching onto his son's hand and carrying his wife, his very pregnant wife, Dawn Marie, in his arms. Dawn Marie was gritting her teeth, crying out once in a while, and Michael whispered soothingly to her, his thinning and graying blonde hair tangled and wild around his shoulders, trying to keep her calm as they ran, though Matt could sense their panic...it would have been impossible not to.

"Over there!" Matt grunted when he was suddenly pulled instead, his father breaking out in front of him, and Matt saw they were running for a large church. He nodded somewhat, then released Micheal's hand, running ahead and putting his arm in front of him to shield his face as he plowed into the large, locked doors full bore, knocking them open and falling to his face as he did. He rolled quickly out of the way, letting his parents enter, then rushed to push the doors closed again, panting slightly as he managed to close them before the mob could catch up.

Micheal carried Dawn Marie a few steps inside before he went to his knees, laying her carefully on the floor, wincing at another cry of pain from her. "Matthew, find something for her head, please..."

Matt nodded and turned, looking around the church a few times, then running up to the altar, stopping and crossing himself once before rushing to the pulpit, pulling a thick cushion from the chair and hurrying back to them, holding it out. Michael took the cushion and lifted Dawn Marie's head slightly, resting her against it and taking her hand. "All right, Dawn Marie...come on...it's going to be all right..."

"Michael...Michael, we have to get out of here...those people will find us..." Dawn Marie gasped out, shuddering once.

"Shhh, shh, no, don't worry about them, we're safe now. They won't expect us to have hidden in a church. Focus on the baby. We have to get the baby first, then we'll get somewhere safe." He stroked her hair back some, then looked up at Matt. "Hold her hand, Matthew, stay with her."

Matt nodded, crouching and taking hold of his mother's hand as Michael got to his feet and hurried over to a large steel basin, easily hoisting it up and carrying it over. He murmured a vaguely Latin chant as he set it near, and Matt heard the hiss of steam as the holy water inside began to boil and steam, then abruptly stopped, as though it had cooled just as fast.

"It's all right, Mother..." Matt whispered, reaching down to cup her face with the hand not holding her's. "Everything will be all right."

"Matthew...I'm so sorry about this...we should never-,"

"Don't worry, Mother," Matt said with a faint smile. "Father is right, it's going to be okay."

Michael crouched down between Dawn Marie's legs, wincing slightly. "All right, Dawn Marie. Come on, you know what you have to do. We have to get this baby born. Come on, honey, push...push, the baby's ready, Dawn Marie, push!"

Matt winced as his mother squeezed his hand roughly, crying out as she bore down hard, but he bit his lip and snapped the sound off quickly. He stroked back her hair with the other hand, whispering softly to her as she grunted and strained again. "It's all right, Mother...it's all right..."

"Michael, it's so hard...it's so...AHHHH HARD!" Dawn Marie shrieked, arching her back.

"I know darling, but push! You have to push, you have to work, come on...come on, Dawn Marie, you're going to have to push hard...ready? Ready honey?" Michael watched as Dawn Marie nodded frantically. "Okay...okay...now!"

Dawn Marie gasped and screamed again, crushing Matt's hand once more, then fell back against the cushion a moment, grunting and raising her head as she tried again.

"That's it, honey, that's it! I can see...come on, Dawn Marie, push again...push again, the baby's coming, the baby's coming!"

"Come on, Mother..." Matt murmured softly. "You can do it, I know you can..."

Dawn Marie whimpered some, but gritted her teeth, starting to push again, and with the sudden effort, there was a dramatic transformation in her appearance. Shiny, brown, leather-like wings, the same color as her hair, suddenly sprang from her back, and a matching but smaller set rose from the top of her head, at the same time a set of cat-like brown ears formed in front of them. Michael brushed aside the brown furry tail that appeared from the base of his wife's spine, setting it aside so she wasn't laying on it awkwardly.

"Come on, honey, this is it! One more, Dawn Marie, one more!"

Dawn Marie screamed shrilly, but there was suddenly another cry, a higher-pitched, more angry one, and Matt smiled down at his mother at the sound, still stroking back her hair. She pushed once more, then fell back with a weak groan as Michael scooted back slightly, a similar smile crossing his face as he held a squalling infant in his hands, the baby's fists clenched tightly as the howls of displeasure became louder.

"It's a boy, Dawn Marie. He's been born a little boy," Michael said, smiling and standing quickly, stepping closer to the basin of water and lifting the lid, using it to scoop out lukewarm water and clean the blood from the baby, including from his already formed navel, and the blonde, feathered wings and furry tail and ears.

"A boy..." Dawn Marie panted softly, smiling weakly as the baby's squalls became even more indignant at the washing than they had been at being born. She looked over at Matt. "A little brother for you..."

"A little brother," Matt agreed, chuckling some.

Michael finished cleaning the baby, then turned, pulling off his own shirt and wrapping it carefully around the baby, smiling down at him as he moved and crouched next to Matt, helping Dawn Marie to sit up and bracing her against his chest, putting the baby into her arms. Matt moved to her other side, looking down at the baby as he started to settle down, blinking milky blue eyes at them, still scowling and wriggling.

"Jeffrey..." Dawn Marie murmured, smiling. "Little Jeffrey...our new baby..."

The baby blinked at them and yawned, the sound halfway between that of a baby and a kitten mewling, then closed his eyes, almost burrowing against his mother. She rocked him in her arms, murmuring softly, and slowly, the bizarre traits from both of them faded away, leaving them looking perfectly human. She then closed her own eyes, letting out an exhausted sigh, laying more heavily against her husband.

"I never thought I'd have a little brother or sister..." Matt said softly, reaching out to touch the makeshift swaddling. "It's...it's different."

Michael smiled, putting one hand on his older son's shoulder. "Matthew, you have no idea how different this will make things become..."

Matt chuckled a moment, looking back down at Jeffrey, then gasped when there was a sudden loud pounding against the door.

"Inside!" a voice bellowed. "The demons have made their way inside our sacred place!"

"How did they find us??" Matt gasped, getting to his feet quickly. "How do they know, they can't think we came into a church!"

Michael stared at the door, then blinked as he sniffed, eyes widening. "Must be dozens of them...all around us..."

"What do we do, Father?" Matt asked, staring down at them. "We'll have to climb to the tower and try to escape from there, we'll never outrun them otherwise!"

"No..." Michael said softly, looking down at his wife, who was staring blearily at the door, holding the baby tighter to her chest. "No, we can't outrun them."

"Matthew..." Dawn Marie said softly, looking up at him, and he crouched next to her.

"Mother?" Dawn Marie lifted Jeff away from herself, against Matt's chest, and he blinked as he held the baby tightly. "Mother?"

"Matthew," Michael said, reaching out to touch his shoulder again, the grip harder than it had been before. "Matthew, do what you said. Climb to the bell tower with Jeffrey and escape with him from there. You'll have to move quickly."

"What about you?" Matt asked, eyes darting back and forth between them. "Aren't you coming?"

"Matthew...your mother can't run in her condition. Birthing and transforming a newborn is a very difficult and draining process for the mother. She won't be able to get out...and we can't carry her and a newborn to safety with this many humans after us."

"What are you gonna do??"

Michael put his arms under his wife, lifting her into his arms and carrying her towards one of the pews, setting her down in it and bringing the cushion along, putting it underneath her head to make her more comfortable. "I'm going to defend my wife. I won't leave her here."

"But...but Father, you can't fight them all off on your own..."

"And neither can the two of us," Michael responded, standing and looking at his eldest child. "Our entire clan was no match for this group. They will kill us all. That's why you have to take Jeffrey and escape while you still can."

"Father, I can't-!"

"You will," Michael snarled, but his gaze softened quickly. He let out a sigh, reaching out to take Jeff from Matt, holding him for a minute, staring down at the confused gaze, then lifting him closer, kissing the baby gently on the forehead, then cupping the back of Matt's head and kissing his as well. "Matthew, you two may be the last of our kind. You can't let them finish us off. You have to take your brother and get him to safety, somewhere that they can't find him."

"Father..." Matt chewed his lip, wrapping his arms around the larger man, feeling the baby squirming between them as the two men embraced a moment. Michael then pulled away and guided Matt over to Dawn Marie, who was smiling reassuringly at them.

"Don't worry, Matthew..." she whispered, raising one hand, as Matt crouched next to her. "Don't be afraid. You know what to do, you can do it. You can make sure our race survives. But you have to hurry, son, you have to." Another pounding at the door underlined her point.

"Mother..." Matt whimpered, not even trying to hide tears as he buried his face against her neck, feeling her put an arm around him and kiss his temple lightly. He sat back as Michael lifted her, and she took Jeff in her arms once more, kissing him as well.

"You two are the future. You're our children and we will always love you." Dawn Marie sniffled, blinking back her own tears, then turned and handed Jeff back to Matt. "Go. Go quickly, Matthew. If they're distracted, they might not even see you escape."

He hesitated only an instant, but as she said again, "Go!" Matt turned away, sobbing softly as he bolted for the altar, rushing up it and into a nearby doorway, clutching his baby brother against his chest. He stopped one last time in the door, staring back at his parents, who were sitting together in the pew, arm in arm, watching them, and Matt sniffed again, trying to keep his vision from blurring, then turned again, rushing into the dark stairwell, sprinting up the stairs. He reached the door at the top, stopping to open it carefully, not wanting to jar Jeff, and gasped when there was an unmistakable sound behind him in the church-two loud gunshots.

"Mother...Father..." he whispered, turning to look back down the stairway. He heard angry shouts and voices, men rushing about the church, and he stared a second more, then looked down at the baby wrapped in his arms before kicking the door open hard, racing out into the tower of the church, the open air and the giant bell of the steeple greeting him straight away. He made his way gingerly around the large bell, heart pounding in his chest so hard that he thought the instrument might begin gonging from the vibrations. He looked down at Jeff again as he reached the railing around the deck, chewing his lip at the sight of the baby still staring up at him, seemingly more confused than anything else.

"I heard something!" a voice behind him called, and Matt gasped, whipping around to stare at the open door, hearing thudding steps rushing up the stairs. Without another hesitation, he turned to the rail, getting a running start and leaping over it, squeezing Jeff against him so hard that the baby let out a shriek of displeasure, and in an instant he was airborne, weightless-and as quickly as he was, his shirt tore and shredded apart as four enormous leathery black wings-two larger ones with smaller wings splitting off underneath at the same base-sprung out from his back, spreading on the air and causing him to swoop up away from the ground, moving out over the trees, Matt beating them furiously to gain some altitude.

BANG!

Matt screamed at a sudden sharp pain that burst through his right wings, and he faltered badly in the air for a moment, almost falling straight into the trees, and he glanced back to see a man with long, curly brown hair and wearing a long black trenchcoat aiming at him again. He heard more shots being fired, more guns, and winced as he made a quick decision, abruptly curling into a ball, wrapping his wings around himself, keeping Jeff shielded between his chest and legs as he fell out of the sky, down towards the treetops, crying out as branches whipped and smashed against him, cracking and breaking under his weight. He gritted his teeth, and just before he hit the ground, he managed to unfold himself from his fetal position, hitting the ground hard on his back, hard enough that his teeth cracked, but keeping Jeff safely and firmly tucked against his chest, bearing the full brunt on himself.

Matt lay there a second, eyes squeezed shut, trying to force back the intense agony, but the shrill cries of his new brother forced him to get up, to sit up and get to his knees, rocking the infant, shushing him. He blinked when he noticed his father's shirt, still wrapped around the baby, was stained red, but realized just as fast that the blood was his...his wing was gushing and he was scratched and cut all over from the fall through the forest canopy. He stood slowly, groaning at the jolts of pain through his entire body as he did, but kept rocking the baby, trying to calm him.

He grunted when he realized he probably hadn't fallen all that far away from the church, and glanced back through the woods, almost expecting to see the mob upon him. Matt moaned a little, then turned and started running, folding his wings as best he could against his back, keeping them from snagging on anything as he rushed away, desperate to escape before the humans could catch up and finish the two of them as they had already done to the rest of his family.