"Please, savioress, try to calm yourself," grunted Aley's captor as she kneed him in the stomach again. "There's no need for this tantrum of a display."

"No need?" Aley yelped, trying to push herself up. Hanging down his back as he jogged was incredibly uncomfortable, his thick shoulder jabbed into her stomach with every step. "You freaking kidnapped me!" The pavement bouncing beneath her was blurred as she fought back the tears and the blood filling her head. And something else kidnapped Rocki ... "Where is my sister? What did you do with her?" She punched his back even though it hadn't proven to do anything in the past besides make her wish she worked out.

His steps slowed. "Good question." He spun around, almost making her almost throw up from the fast movement. There were still shouts going on in the area they had left, but she hadn't been able to watch what was happening. He made a sound of disgust at whatever he saw. "They're getting away." He grunted when her foot found his leg with as much force as she could muster. "That's enough of the kicking." He readjusted so her legs were pinned down before turning around again and heading in the same direction as before at a steady jog.

Aley groaned as her stomach clenched. She gritted her teeth, determined not to be a wimp in front of her kidnapper—she would have to be tough if she wanted to get away from him.

A few more feet and her determination dissipated.

"I'm going to puke," she said desperately, trying again to crawl backwards up to his shoulder rather than down his back.

"Don't," he responded.

"Not like I can control it. Put me down!" She clawed at his back, tears swimming in her eyes again. She opened her mouth to take in more fresh air, but only succeeded in gagging due to her upside-down position.

He growled, coming to a stop. They were under a large shadow, cause by an object Aley couldn't see. She heard hydraulics hissing and something landing on the ground heavily. Her unnamed kidnapper started moving again, but at a swift walk rather than the previously bumpy jog. He climbed an incline, and from her backwards-facing point of view, Aley saw the ramp beneath his feet, and then the walls closing them in.

Are we in a ship?! Oh my gosh, he's an alien! He's totally an alien! Despite her nausea, she renewed her frantic squirming. "Let me go! Put me down!"

"Gladly," he muttered, leaning down and dropping her in a seat. She surged forward, putting her hands on his shoulders to push him away, but he grabbed her by the throat, forcefully sitting her back down. She grabbed his arm, eyes wide, but he immediately let her go. "Apologies, but I do need you to stay put."

Now that they were so close, she got a better look at his appearance. He was young, probably her age or older if aliens showed age the same way as humans. His black hair was long enough to be loose, but not long enough to be considered anything other than short. His gray face was strong with high cheekbones and stubble sharpening his jaw. The eyes watching her were the most terrifying, black sclerae and electric blue irises staring her down with coolness and caution.

"Who are you?" she spat, stomach churning with fear and leftover nausea. "Where did you come from?"

He tilted his body down in a bow, but kept his eyes locked on hers. "I am General ArikSeirXinn of the sariun. We came from Kliktal to seek you out."

Aley's heart thundered. "To seek—No, wait, what about Rocki? What was that thing that took her? Where is she?"

His blue eyes practically glowed. "That thing, as you rightly put it, is a valicaran after the same thing as us: possession of the savioresses."

"The what?" she asked dumbly. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He glanced out the still-open ramp. "I don't have time to explain to you. We'll need to give chase to the valicaran if we have any chance of getting the other girl." Aley followed his sightline to see the other five creatures jogging towards the ship, growling at each other. Eric-Seer-Sin-whatever shouted at them in their other language, baring his sharp teeth, and they picked up the pace. As they boarded, he barked orders at them, beginning a mad scramble. After they were inside, one of them tapped a button and the ramp began to close with the same hiss as when it opened.

Panic bloomed in Aley's chest. Her head snapped over to glance at the leader, who wasn't paying her any attention, before she looked back at the closing door. I'm not going anywhere with them! She jumped out of her seat and streaked for the ramp, which was now parallel to the ground, prepared to make a leap out of the ship.

She made it maybe three steps.

She was flung backwards, falling over her own feet as she tried to quickly adjust to the change in direction. Her throat stung a little from the pull someone had given to the back of her collar.

One of the returned aliens started yelling at her in whatever language they spoke, towering over her with glaring black and blue eyes. She yelped, trying to scramble backwards, but running into someone's legs. She flinched when a hand from behind took hold of her elbow, trying to stand her up, but she tore her arm away, tucking both close to her chest. The yelling alien was still going on with words she couldn't understand, pointing at the now-closed ramp behind him.

Tears pricked her eyes as she stared up at him. Her heart raced wildly, thrashing to get out of her chest and escape this horrible situation. One thought coursed through her head almost as fast as her heart: Get out.

The general grabbed his shouting comrade by the shoulder, pulling him back with a few sharp words as he showed his fangs. The other alien snapped his mouth shut, chest heaving. "Please accept my apologies," said the general when he turned to her, anger dropping from his face. "Kers has a brother who lost an arm due to a ramp accident. He just wanted you to be safe." He extended his hand, but she only looked at it as she warily stood.

The feeling of being surrounded by aliens pressed upon her like an expectant audience. She crossed her arms, closing herself off as she never would on stage. "I want to go home," she said as firmly as she was able, although a slight waver escaped. "Let me out." The ship jolted a little, even though they hadn't left the ground yet, so she had to widen her stance to keep her balance.

One of the aliens called from the front of the ship and the general answered before looking back at her. "We're taking off now. Sit down." He nodded at the seats lining the walls.

Her face blanched, arms tightening. "No! Let me out!"

He said something to one of his underlings, who grabbed her and forced her into a seat. She screeched, flailing as much as she could but he still managed to strap her in. Since she continued to attempt to free herself, he sat down beside her and pinned her hands together, softly speaking to her in his own language. The general abandoned her to sit at the front of the ship, while the other aliens sat in the seats along the walls.

When the ship jolted into the air, Aley flinched, then froze completely, the only moving part of her was her chest as she gasped for air. Tears lined her eyes. There's nothing I can do. She had lost her phone somewhere along the way, and it was unlikely she would have cell reception much longer anyways.

Her blue eyes flitted around the ship, trying to take everything in at once. There wasn't much to the ship, just an open area lined with seats, like a military transport plane, and then two places at the cockpit for the general and a pilot. Above the seats were closed cabinets that she imagined stored necessities, or even weapons. Everything was brown or black except for the lights, which were a dim yellow that cast poorly on the gray faces around her.

Speaking of gray faces, most of them were looking at her, including the alien that was still holding her hands. He said something quietly, grip relaxing a little.

"I don't know what you're saying," snapped Aley, jerking her hands away from him.

The general looked over his shoulder at them, speaking towards the alien beside her, whose eyebrows went up and he nodded. Aley crossed her arms, turning her glower toward the male across from her. He smiled slightly, bowing his head.

"I apologize," said a voice beside her. "I didn't realize that you wouldn't have a translator."

Her head whipped back over to stare at the male to her right. "You do speak English?"

He almost looked sheepish. "Yes, I just wasn't thinking."

"I want to go home," she said.

"That's where we're taking you," he said with a slight smile. His voice was tinted with the same accent as the general's. "You'll be among your own people again."

She recoiled. "That doesn't make any sense. You just took me away from my apartment. We're in a spaceship for crying out loud. Where are we really going?"

"Home, like I said. Back to Kliktal." He glanced at the pilot and general, who were bickering at the front. "But first we have to rescue your sister."

The ship made a sharp turn, making Aley gasp, hands shooting out to grab the handle hanging from the ceiling. There weren't any arm rests, just the handles reaching down like she had seen on subway trains. It was incredibly inconvenient because it meant she had to uncross her arms, but she would prefer to hold onto something other than herself.

"Rescue Rocki?" she said after the ship's course smoothed out. "From who? That freak with the wings? Did he take her?!" Panic crowded her throat as she remembered all the talks she had received from her parents about safety and not getting kidnapped. They had given those talks to Rocki too. Now both of them were gone.

Mom and Dad are going to be so worried. Did anyone see us leave the apartments? I was screaming so loudly I can't imagine no one heard us. There had to be a witness. But what are they going to tell the police? "Yeah, I saw that one girl who lives down the hall get taken away in a spaceship by aliens." Believable.

The alien's disturbing eyes hardened. "Yes, he took her. But we'll get her back. We have to." His eyes flicked to the floor, pain flashing through them. They sat in silence for a long moment before his eyes raised to hers again. "You probably would like to know who you're traveling with, right?" He chuckled a little. "You may call me Rokh. This is also Lore, Caif, Kers, Jirn, and you've met Xinn." He flicked his finger at the individuals as they were named. Lore was the pilot, Caif was the only one with completely blue hair, Kers was the one who had yelled at her about the ramp closing, Jirn had narrow eyes that made him look more calculating than she hoped he was, and Xinn was the general.

Aley took in a breath to tell him her name but restrained herself. Maybe I don't want them to know my name yet. They probably already know it though.

The ship jerked again. She inhaled sharply, grabbing the handle again.

The general growled from the front, twisting around to yell back at them. "The valicaran is gone. We've lost the savioress." Every member in the ship either growled lowly or gave a literal roar of disapproval. Aley shrank back into her seat, hoping they weren't the type to turn on their prisoner in a moment of rage. "We're going to take the savioress we do have home. I'm sure that's where the valicaran is heading as well, so we'll just have to get the other savioress back once we return to Kliktal."

The entire group grunted in unison and sat back in their seats. The engine rumbled, and then they took off faster than they had been going, the gravity of the speed pressing Aley into her seat. When the ship shuddered, she whimpered a little, bending over to tuck her body together as much as possible.

She whispered into her arms, "What is happening?"