Free A Step to Nowhere by Natasha A. Salnikova

square jaw and huge, round eyes. “Listen, handsome, is this really a parallel world?”
    As I expected, he hadn’t answered, in spite of my flirty mood. What would that mean?
    “You guys are all like one and one like all. Charming. Do you get awards for it? Do they spank you for smiling?”
    “Go!” Brown-eyes barked behind my back.
    “You’re adorable,” I had to say. “Listen, are you married? Do you want to see a movie together?”
    I guess he’d had enough of me at this point because he plunged a gray thing with buttons into my side. I didn’t know what had happened, but it hurt. I felt like a butterfly penetrated with a pin. Pain cut through my body and I probably went out for a sec because when I opened my eyes I was on the floor and five men in gray overalls stared at me from above.
    “Did you grow wiser?” Brown-eyes asked politely.
    Ray has brown eyes. Brown-eyed demons.
    “What about you?” I asked. I still saw gray dust before my eyes, but I felt no pain, only slight nausea.
    Brown-eyes pursed his lips.
    “Listen,” I said without any attempt to get up from the floor. “Why don’t you like me? I didn’t do anything to you. Your people have injected some crap in my arm and kidnapped me. They brought me here. I want you to take notice that no one asked me if I wanted to be here. Your Ray … I don’t know why you let him see me … He lied to me. Okay? He set me up.”
    The man didn’t say anything.
    “You don’t want to answer my question? Is it so difficult? Do you hate me that much? Am I really in an alternative universe? Answer that at least.”
    “We are not allowed to participate in personal discussions with you. Get up.”
    “Who stops you? Why? I don’t understand what I did wrong or what rules I broke. I was pulled into this game without anyone asking me. Do you understand that?”
    “Get up.”
    “Stop being a damn robot! Just tell me Yes or No! Am I in a parallel universe? Is it true? Just answer me, damn it!”
    “Soon, you won’t be interested. Get up.”
    I stood up, facilitated by my own hands, trying to do it gracefully. No one helped me, of course. Everything seemed surrealistic.
    “Am I in another universe? Planet One?”
    Brown-eyes didn’t answer, but he also didn’t laugh or object. It meant that Ray was telling the truth. It wasn’t my planet. Incredible.
    It can’t be true, it can’t be true! It-can’t-be-true !
    “You are a piece of crap,” I said.
    “Go. Otherwise I’ll have to neutralize you again.”
    “You’re a piece of crap. A jerk.”
    He didn’t blink and didn’t wave his magic wand. Maybe he didn’t know the word jerk?
    “What about you?” I turned to a couple of men to my left. “Dumb? Deaf? Stupid?”
    “Go!” Brown-eyes shouted. I went. Where? Were they going to kill me now? Would they really kill me? Were they crazy? They didn’t have a right!
    “I don’t have the last word, as I understand,” I said. My voice trembled.
    Yes, I was scared, I admit that. Who wouldn’t be afraid to die? I didn’t want to die.
    “What’s going to happen to that person who pulled me into this?” I asked.
    Silence behind my back.
    “Do you understand that I have a family? You can’t just kill me without proper investigation and a trial. It’s against the law. On my planet.”
    Silence.
    I was scared, but I didn’t want to beg. What would I accomplish by doing that, anyway? Maybe I should try to escape? That would look interesting. I wouldn’t have time to gasp before they “neutralized” me, poking a TV remote into my side. Ray was gone. He said he would take care of me. Did he say that? Or did he say he would do anything to save me? Where was he? His wife had died and now he was killing me. No, my Ray wasn’t like this. Maybe he didn’t love me, maybe he didn’t even remember my name, but he had never been selfish. He would not let other people suffer because of his desires and his mistakes. He would never.
    I felt bad for my mom.