Each slap of the metal, though, was valid.
She imagined it was Stefan, slapping his face for every lie. For all the times he wouldn’t call her, and had avoided her when he claimed to be at work.
“You lied to me,” she said, slapping the sturdy arch. The heat made her jump.
“You told me we were special.”
Slap.
“That we meant something.”
Slap.
The arch zapped her with what had to be the worst static electricity ever, and she jerked her hand back.
“We were supposed to be together.” She ripped the promise ring off her finger and threw it as hard as she could.
It tinked against one of the arches.
She sighed, and a few tears released.
She grabbed onto the arch that had shocked her before. She felt the tingling sensation again, but this time, she didn’t pull away. The pain seemed to—
Then everything went white.
Jana tumbled forward and landed hard on a metal grating, hitting her knees and just barely catching herself before she slammed face-first into the floor.
“What in the world?” The light dimmed, and she shook her head.
Voices were around her, but she couldn’t quite make out what was being said. It was another language, one she didn’t know.
It didn’t sound like any language she’d ever heard.
Her senses went on high alert. The first thing she realized was that the heat was gone. If anything, she was almost cold. The air smelled different.
Like inside an office building or something.
Manufactured, if that made sense. But it didn’t, because she was in the park.
She rose unsteadily. Sure didn’t look like a park. If anything, it resembled an office building. Sort of. A metal grid beneath her and wires running underneath that. Everything felt energized.
As she was getting her bearings, a figure came over to her, and pain stabbed her behind her ear.
“Ouch!” Jana cried out. It lasted just a second, and then it was gone. She swung out, attempting to make contact with the attacker, but no one was there.
“I’m sorry, that does sting a bit,” a soothing female voice said.
Jana turned to the voice and jumped back. The woman could have been Wonder Woman, she had that dark hair and those eyes, but her skin was pink.
And she had two little antennae.
Jana ran her hand over her face. Surely she was dreaming.
Nope, the pink-skinned woman was still there.
“Where am I?”
The woman held out her hand. “I’m Re-lee. You’re at the Intergalactic Dating Agency. Welcome.”
