“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.

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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.