"Sometimes you wanna go—where everybody knows your name—and they're always glad you came ..." Aley mumbled the song to herself as she smudged her foundation around with a sponge. "Gosh that song must be so old now." She picked up her phone as she patted the makeup, muttering under her breath as she opened the internet. "'82?!" She wrinkled her nose. "Oldies but goodies I guess they say."

As soon as she put her phone back on the counter, it buzzed with a text. She picked it up again, eyes drooping in annoyance.

Carter: What time are you all heading over?

Leimomi: Where are we going again?

Carter: The Blue Storm.

Carter: It's that new bar we've been talking about trying out for like three months now.

Aley scoffed, shaking her head. Carter was her closest friend, besides her sister Rocki, and Leimomi was right on his tail. They saw each other almost every day during theater season, but still made time to get out and just enjoy the world. She shot a reply back, grammar taking a backseat in lieu of trying to get her message in before they moved onto a different subject.

How many times do I have to tell you to just scroll back through the previous conversations Mimi

Leimomi: Too much work

Carter: You think everything is too much work.

Leimomi: Says the guy who asked me just yesterday to carry him up the stairs

Carter: Hey now... let's not talk about that. I don't like discussing my near-death experiences.

That had been fun. Carter was practically a twig, so it wasn't hard getting him on Mimi's back. The hard part was keeping her balance as they ascended the stairs and tried not to slip on the tile. Aley had been recording, as well as laughing her head off as they almost threw Carter down the center of the stairwell where he would have plunged all the way down to the first floor.

Aley smiled as she applied blush. It seemed her life was full of fun times, never a dull moment between her family and friends. The smile slowly drifted off her face as she remembered what she had been thinking about last night. She hadn't slept very well, the question banging around in her brain for hours.

Where was her life going?

Some days, now more often than not, she was only drifting, like she didn't know where she was going or what she was doing. What was her goal in life? Everyone else seemed to have one. Mimi wanted to help troubled kids who had problems with suicide on a mass scale, not just the few she reached through theater; Carter was already on his way to being the best ballerino on the islands; and people were buying Rocki's books like tourists bought Hawaiian shirts. They all knew what they wanted to accomplish and had at least a vague idea of how to do it.

Rocki, for example. She wasn't a people person, but she had a lot of intelligence. When she wanted to get her first book published, she doubled down and started talking with everyone she thought would be beneficial, publishers, beta readers, agents, she worked and worked and worked until she had what she wanted: a finished novel that people adored.

There were days Aley had to admit to herself that she wanted to be more like her big sister, sharp, focused, straightforward. Which was ironic considering that a few times Rocki had confided that she wanted to be more personable like her.

I've always said I wanted to be an actress, and I am, and I'm glad I am. But is this really what I want to do for the rest of my life? Acting was great, she loved it and the audiences loved her, but what was acting contributing to the world? Did playing Eliza in Pygmalion or Glinda in Wicked, or Hero in Much Ado About Nothing (although she would have preferred Beatrice), really bring anything to anyone other than entertainment?

It seemed even the 501c3 high school theater she directed at was a waste of time some days. She loved teaching the kids, but was she really helping them the way someone like Mimi did? She wasn't making enough money to give significant donations, even between her acting jobs and YouTube channel. She never seemed to have extra time to give to help other people. What was the purpose of her life?

Am I really just going to live like this forever? Even if I become rich, which is unlikely, will I be helping people?She took a moment to stare herself down in the mirror. Her blue eyes, a few shades lighter than Rocki's, reflected the white lights. Her hair was also similar to her sister's, but much longer. She liked having the options for different hairstyles when she was acting.

I wonder what Rocki is doing tonight? Probably not going to a bar. She smirked at herself. I'll bet she's working on her next book. She's so one-track-minded sometimes. I need to stop thinking about my life right now though, there are more enjoyable things to do, like getting ready to go out with my friends.

She finished her makeup and headed to her room to check how she looked in the full-length mirror. Her white tank top, green shorts, and tan sandals were well-suited for the sun, although she would probably be chilly once they got into the air conditioning of the bar. Maybe it will have an outdoor area. I look cute and I'm not changing for mere temperature comfort. She sat on her bed to text her friends again.

I'll be there in like thirty minutes.

Mimi: Great, we'll all be late together.

Carter: Very bold of you to assume I'm going to be late.

Ur always late

Mimi: Your always late

Mimi: Jinx. Your buying me a drink later.

U know, its amazing you never seem to buy ur own drinks

Carter: No, it's amazing that neither of you managed to spell "you're" right.

Shut up, Carter.

CRASH

The piercing sound of glass shattering nearby drove Aley to her feet, her heart almost jumping out of her chest.

Somebody just broke my window. Hey, somebody just broke my window! She gripped her phone tighter and dashed into her living room, which was only a few steps away considering how small her apartment was, expecting to see a baseball or football on the floor surrounded by a plethora of fallen glass. She figured she would have to scold some dumb kids who were playing sports too close to her building and then talk to their parents and try to get them to pay for the window, which would be a pain but she sure as the sun wasn't about to pay for it herself.

Instead, she screamed at the six men standing in her house. "What the heck?!"

They were terrifying, and not just men-who-broke-into-your-house terrifying. Their skin wasn't white, tan, brown, or black; it was gray. Stone gray, accenting their horrifying void black and electric blue eyes, the same black and blue that tinted their hair.

All of those chilling eyes locked onto her. One of them gasped softly and another looked away almost immediately, placing his hand on the side of the window to lean out slightly. The man ... alien ... thing ... closest to her began to kneel as she was frozen in front of them, trying to figure out what on Earth was happening, but another grunted something in another language. The one who spoke moved swiftly towards her, but she screamed again and ran for her front door. It was only a few feet away, but she had to cross the top of the living room to get to it instead of retreating completely like she wanted to, but it was the fastest way out, and potentially the only way seeing as she had never really used her fire escape.

"Help!" she shrieked, grabbing the door handle and yanking. It didn't budge. The lock! She threw the deadbolt back, but a pair of arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back. She shouted for all she was worth as he threw her over his shoulder and moved them back towards the window. "Stop! Let me go! Help! Help! Kokua!" She kicked her legs and beat against his back, squirming all the while, but she only bruised herself by hitting his heavy clothing that seemed to be some sort of protector.

One of them growled something, but it was still in a foreign language that wasn't English or Hawaiian. While they paused, Aley managed reached back and grab her captor's hair, that was a little longer than his companion's, and jerked it as hard as she could. When his head was pulled back with a cry of pain, she used the leverage to boost herself high enough to get her upper body onto his shoulder rather than halfway down his back, then shoved away while his grip was loosened.

Now instead of being kidnapped she was falling to her death.

She hadn't realized how close he had been standing to the broken window and fell backwards out of it. She shrieked as she plummeted two stories down towards hard concreate, but one of them dove after her, grabbing her and pulling her to his body before landing in a roll with his body tucked around hers and standing. She grunted at the impact, most of the air knocked out of her lungs despite his attempt to keep her safe. An angry sound rumbled in his chest, and he ducked almost all the way to the ground suddenly with her in his arms.

Aley squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of heavy wings and a shriek, unable to look between the way she was being held and her own fear.

The creeper holding her stood again as his buddies joined them in the parking lot. "You're too late, valicaran," he snapped in an almost British-like accent. "Now give us the other girl."

"Never," shouted another voice. Aley opened her eyes but couldn't see much as the group of monsters dodged something. When they steadied, her eyes landed on the black chunk of burnt pavement where they had previously been standing.

What in the sun?!

Her captor held out his arm, changing her to a one-handed grip. Aley watched in horror as a blade shot out of his wrist into the air. She didn't have a chance to see what he was shooting at thought, because she shrieked and struggled away from his one arm. But she wasn't able to go anywhere before he grabbed her again and wrapped his arms around her waist as he jumped away from what seemed to be a white fireball. He heaved her up, so her feet were no longer touching the ground, and she was reduced to kicking and screaming without actually doing any damage.

"You can't win, valicaran," he shouted. She couldn't see who he was talking to, but it didn't seem like the words were directed at her. "Give it up, hand the sister over."

Sister? Aley's head snapped up, her eyes finally catching on what the creature seemed to be fighting. It was a person ... maybe. Except he had giant dragon-like wings that were whipping the wind furiously as he kept himself and the person in his arms aloft. She had short brown hair and was wearing dress pants just like ...

"Rocki!" she screamed, arms twisting fiercely as she tried to free them from the thing holding her. What is that monster doing with Rocki?! "Let me go you—you—freak!" She kicked his kneecap with all that she had, making her captor wince. She immediately surged forward, taking advantage of his weakened grip, but he renewed his hold almost as quickly as he lost it. She shrieked angrily, clawing at his sleeves with her newly freed hands, but it seemed to have little effect on him.

He took a few steps back. "Get the other girl. I'll secure her." He spun around, throwing her over his shoulder before dashing away from the battle.

"Aley!" She heard her sister calling after her.

"Rocki!" she wailed, trying to lift her head, but she couldn't get high enough to see the sky where her sister was hovering. Tears began to come as she was taken away from her home, and more importantly, her sister.