The Other Side of Me – Part 29
by Lily Rasputin

“Charlie? Are you okay?”

Sight and sound popped back into existence around me, revealing that I was in the living room of my apartment, sitting on the sofa with Samantha’s head resting in my lap. I glanced down to find her looking up at me with a concerned expression.

“Huh?” I asked, still trying to reacclimate to the dimensional jump. Unlike the previous swaps, this one was jarring. The difference between stepping across a threshold and stumbling across one.

Living and Loving in Dystopia
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

Nobody thought that it could get any worse for gay Russians with the fall of Vladimir Putin, but his successor seemed all the more keen to crack down on deviant behavior. The fact is that he had an ally in President Pence. It seems like both our countries are now controlled by the ignorant provincial conservatives who regard anything out of their normal as a religious crime. The “Heartland” of Russia is pretty much the same as the Heartland of America – hostile to gay people.

“So let me get this straight,” Ella said, rubbing her forehead. “You narrowly avoided dying after being set up by Victors friends, and now Rock For Brains thinks you're flirting with him because you managed to drop a shiny boulder on his head?”

“Pretty much,” I said, sinking deeper into my comfy chair.

In the center of Pakmal city Eriana thinks she is talking to someone who can get her an audience with the Arch-Count. The reality is somewhat different, however, and it becomes necessary for the company to make a hasty yet un-noticed departure from the capital. Ursula has a suggestion for the Kittrin.