The Aldrin home had burned down.
Burned down.
The whole community was shocked. Everyone knew the Aldrin's, and not simple because of the eight kids and three with disabilities. Rose Mary Aldrin was a huge contributor to local charities and organizations, she was constantly praised for her belief and perseverance. She single handedly kept the Humble Harvest, an organization that gave away free clothes and toys for families in need, alive in their area. Nick Aldrin, the head of the family, was always working hard as a doctor, helping kids in at risk neighborhoods for free before actually going to work at his general practice.
The three oldest boys, Patrick, Andrew, and Xander, were all out of the house, but all were praised for their manners and their work ethic. Patrick was living his life off in North Carolina, having gone to a college down in N.C. He had stayed their, and opened his own firm to his family's delight. Andrew and Xander were in their specialized years of college, Andrew studying marine biology in California and Xander getting a journalism degree in Connecticut. The youngest boy, only ten years old, was Pearce, who loved monster trucks more than anything and could destroy absolutely anything in five seconds flat. In short, he was an angelic monster.
The four girls of the Aldrin family, Valentine, Zee, Clarissa, and Melody, were all over the spectrum just like the boys. Seventeen year old Valentine was deaf, the first child of the Aldrin's with an affliction. But Valentine made up for it the minute she could walk, she was a fighter. And not only a fighter, but one of the best in all of New York City, and having gone to sparring nationals, proved she was also the best in the country. With fiery red hair and intense green eyes, everyone knew better than to mess with that fireball.
The second eldest was Zee, and like all her brothers before her, could hear perfectly fine and loved to chatter. Zee was the resident model in the neighborhood. That was what she wanted to be, beautiful, rich, powerful, and have even more guys bow at her feet than she did now. With dark black hair and bright, crystal blue eyes and creamy perfect skin, Zee was ready to take the fashion world by storm by the time she was six.
Clarissa and Melody were born next, twins, born only two minutes apart but had a whole year for difference. They were both born with a slight defect, Clarissa being born blind and Melody mute, but they grew up just like all the siblings before them, strong, stubborn, and independent to a certain degree. Clarissa was a light brunette with a glossy blue eyes, with one of the kindest souls a girl could have. As long as a book was in braille, she would read at the library to the little ones, patient at all times and happy to help people in any way she could. She was a blessing in the community, although people tried to lead her by the hand when it was obvious she could lead the pack herself.
Little Melody was different, mute and shy, she tended to hide behind her mother and was timid of new people. When she was growing up, she had a panic attack when her mom tried to leave her at school for the first time, and had an attack the rest of the week as well. Apparently, that wasn't 'normal' behavior, as the teacher put it, and Mrs. Aldrin enrolled her daughter in ballet, hoping the dancing could help her erratic daughter. And thankfully, it did. With blond hair and happy green eyes, the twin fit the perfect model for a dancer.
But last week, the Aldrin home had burned down. The community was shocked, thankful all of the boys in the family had disappeared up into the mountains for a retreat and hadn't been home at the time, but the girls had. After firefighters had gone through the debris, and police too, no bodies had been found, which begged the question: Where were the Aldrin girls?
No one had seen them since the explosion, one of the neighborhood kids saying they had watched Val take down a purple dragon before walking her sister Clarissa home, but that was the last sighting of the sisters. Someone thought they had gone to stay with relatives, but none of the extensive family had seen hide nor hair of them since the last get together a month ago. Everyone was worried, and rangers had been sent to tell the remaining Aldrin's about the crisis. All the guys were back now, everyone scouring everywhere for the girls.
They had simply vanished.
"We must pray for their return." The priest told the congregation the next Sunday. "The Lord will bring them home, but His will must be done first. We may not understand the circumstances now, but in time His plan will be revealed." Summer continued with uneasy acceptance, amber alerts being broadcasted and missing person packets filled out.
Nothing came back.
Only odd sightings of a girl dropping into the sewers were the reply, but since it came from a hobo it wasn't taken seriously. The police left the investigation open, but as the days passed no one knew what to expect if they were found. The only lead they had was the symbol of the purple dragon burned into the Aldrin front yard, with, All Return, written beneath it. The only problem, the purple dragons seemed to disappear. They left the streets, seemed to withdraw completely from the communities they were known to inhabit, and police everywhere prayed it wasn't some gang convention where they learned how to be better criminals. The purple dragon gang was extensive, but they were just gangsters who didn't really know how to be criminals, but if they actually learned...the police force would have to double, immediately.
It was weird, but the citizens of NYC were thankful they didn't need to fear the night as much, even though the usual bad guys roamed the night. But family and friends still wondered, worrying, where the girls had gone. Where Rose Mary and her daughters had disappeared to. On Nick's side, the whole family had been alerted, but on Rose Mary's side...no one answered. Her parents had passed away long before Nick had met Rose Mary, but all of her siblings, all guys, had disappeared. Some turned out to have died, somehow from purple dragon involvement, and some had just fallen off the radar, but her family had seemed to go underground. Of her five brothers, three were dead, two were under the radar, and the last, well Rose Mary never spoke of him. The Aldrin side was lost, they loved Rose Mary, and the girls were just dolls, wonderful children.
The house was rebuilt under Nick Aldrin's watchful command, wanting to have rebuilt their home when his wife resurfaced. Patrick, Andrew, and Xander all had to return to their homes shocked, continuing on with their lives as their mom and sisters stayed missing. Pearce cried, but stubbornly knew his mama had to come back for him so he was pouting until mama came back. Time held its breath as night came on, and unbeknownst to them, five beings creeped out into the night.
Four turtles, and one human girl.
