《Multiversal》 Chapter 1 ¡°This universe sucks,¡± Lana said, so she moved on to the next. It was just a matter of pressing the button on her device, and *POP*, new universe, there you are. So easy. The technology behind it was also ridiculously simple, and it was so simple that nobody had ever thought of making it before. But she had. Switching universes was easy. Just hitching a ride, easy-peasy. It was finding one that didn¡¯t suck that was the challenge. Lana checked her phone. Damn, no connection! This sucky universe didn¡¯t even have Agora, for fuck¡¯s sake! ¡°Hello, Mister!¡± she waved at a man. He was dressed in business casual and was quite handsome. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Do you have internet on your phone?¡± ¡°Uh. Yes, I do. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°I need to look up something real quick. Just a couple of searches, won¡¯t even use too much of your data. Can I?¡± She bit her lip and posed as if she needed to take a wee. ¡°Uh, sure.¡± He fished his smartphone out and gave it to her. He seemed to consider his action only after he had taken it, which was giving a complete stranger his precious device. But Lana smiled at him and stayed close, to assure him that she wasn¡¯t gonna steal it or anything. It was a piece of crap anyway. This universe was so behind on everything. The Americans had a clown for president, Agora was nowhere to be seen and humanity still hadn¡¯t lived though First Contact with aliens so they still thought they were the centre of everything. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.Hah! She gave the phone back. ¡°Thanks a bunch!¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± He stared at his shoes. ¡°Hey, would you like to have coffee sometime-¡± Lana was already around the bend. Feet hitting the pavement faster than she cared to admit to herself, she glanced back all the time. The stalker. He was there, she knew it. She could feel it. The stalker who could somehow chase after her through the multiverse. Or was it a figment of her imagination? Perhaps an after-effect from all that hopping around? Perhaps she was losing it. No. That shadow did move, back at that street vendor. He had a cart full of nuts and a metal shovel to put them into a paper bag. Such a quaint notion. Why would anyone wanna buy nuts from a street vendor? Why not just buy them online? The peculiarities of the various universes never ceased to amaze her. She bought some pistachios cause she couldn¡¯t help herself. Just a handful or so, to push back her hunger. Her coins weren¡¯t of this world of course, but she had a couple that could pass as euros in this verse and she made sure to distract the vendor. Munching away, she caught a glimpse of the shadow. Chapter 2 Lana was having the worst day ever. EVER. Her cookie shop wasn¡¯t doing good, but this weekend had been the worst. She had burned two batches of chocolate cookies already to a crisp, and with expenses sucking money down the drain this wasn¡¯t looking good at all. She sighed and prepped another batch, her moves mechanical, her fingers deft, her mind elsewhere. How was she supposed to keep this business afloat if nobody ever bothered to come in the shop? She opened a window, waving the smoke away. Coughing and billowing with a towel, she looked at the franchise across the street. Cookie Coo was taking up all of the customers. She wouldn¡¯t mind some healthy competition, but this wasn¡¯t healthy at all, it was killing her. The bell at the door rang and a customer came in. ¡°Hey, Walter, nice to see you here! The usual?¡± she said, holding the cough down. ¡°Yes, Lana. But¡­ Cut it in half, okay? I want your cookies but my son demands that I bring him those Cookie Coo with vanilla he saw on TV. I¡¯m sorry, but you know how kids are.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.Lana cleared her throat and smiled at Walter. She weighed the bag and decided not to cry. No, sir. ¡°I understand,¡± she said, accepting the cash. ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad, Lana. Your customers love ¡®ya. I¡¯m sure the cookies are flying off the shelves!¡± ¡°They sure are!¡± Lana chirped, grabbing her apron. It had ducks on it and it was her favourite. Walter took his bag of cookies, then slowly crossed the street to get his son the Cookie Coo vanilla bitter extra, buy-one-get-one-free, this week only! Cookies weren¡¯t flying off the shelves. In fact, Mr Walter was the only client who walked in this entire day. She decided not to cry. She took a bite of her favourite cookie, chocolate mix. It always used to make her feel better, even if everything was terrible around her. Lana chomped it down. She decided not to cry. Chapter 3 Lana closed up shop. She carried the trays out and went straight for the bin. ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t we meet earlier today?¡± a man asked. Lana turned to him, her hand ready to shove the entire batch of cookies in the trash. He was tall and handsome. ¡°Oh¡­¡± she said, wanting to straighten her hair. Alas, she didn¡¯t have a hand to spare. ¡°Umm¡­ I don¡¯t think so? I¡¯ve been at the shop all day.¡± She nodded at her humble establishment. ¡°I could have sworn you bumped onto me earlier today? Asked for my phone, to look something up?¡± the man squinted, suddenly looking less confident. ¡°Did you find what you were looking for?¡± Lana shrugged and pressed her lips together. ¡°Must have been someone else, sorry.¡± Then she carried on with disposing of the cookies. ¡°No, stop!¡± the handsome man said. ¡°What? What did I do?¡± Lana said, freaked out. ¡°I wanna try some.¡± ¡°Of these? Here.¡± She raised the tray to him. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.He picked one up and tried it. His eyes gave it away. ¡°Oh, wow, these are great! And you were going to just throw them away?¡± Lana sighed. ¡°Business is bad. Please, you¡¯re a stranger, don¡¯t let me bother you with my issues.¡± ¡°Okay, you know what? Give me all of those cookies, but in a bag please, I can¡¯t get any more crumbs on my suit.¡± She giggled. ¡°Okay¡­¡± Why was she giggling like a teenage girl? Stop it, Lana. ¡°And¡­ I¡¯ll ask again for a coffee sometime. Please don¡¯t think I¡¯m only buying your cookies so you¡¯ll go out with me. These are really good. No, I¡¯m buying them, and, then I¡¯m asking you out for a coffee sometime, for the second time.¡± He gave her a big smile and waited for her reply. ¡°I¡­ Uh¡­ Seriously?¡± ¡°Very seriously.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ I guess I could do tomorrow. I¡¯m so overworked, so¡­ afternoon?¡± He clapped his hands together. ¡°Excellent! Now, can I get those cookies to go?¡± Lana contained her excitement. ¡°Sure.¡± Chapter 4 Lana walked home. It was late and the streets were empty, but it was well-lit so she didn¡¯t feel scared. She hurried down the street to get to her cosy home already, where she could sneak into her pyjamas and have a hot cocoa and just sit still under the covers. She got to her street. At the main entrance below, she spotted a girl perched nearby on a ledge. As she fumbled for her keys, she took note of her clothes. Flat casual shoes, white, swinging by the ledge. Black jeans, an also black leather jacket tied around her waist. Cute top, where had she bought that one from? It hugged the girl¡¯s breasts real nice. Lana should get one just like that too. Small red purse. Nice as well. Gosh, she needed to go shopping sometime soon. Orange nail polish, but short nails. Lana never painted her nails, she needed clean hands to make dough. Cropped hair, barely touching her shoulders. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.And the face looked just like Lana. No, it wasn¡¯t like looking in the mirror, cause when you did that the reflection was swapped sideways. This was¡­ like a picture from afar. You rarely see yourself like this. The other Lana smiled, then hopped off the ledge, bouncing on her white shoes. She stepped close to the stunned Lana, and said, ¡°No, I¡¯m not your fucking long-lost twin.¡± She stuck her hand inside the red purse and pulled out something. And then she tazed Lana right in the belly.