The Dimension of Us

Suzanne Shea

“Stella, good baby. Come here, sweetheart.”

She almost reached through that light that seemed harsh enough to burn straight through flesh. That should’ve scared her more than it did. The beam widened with another pulse, the floor shuddering beneath her feet as the walls swayed, and strands of Stella’s fur lifted and drifted like snowflakes.

She stumbled forward, falling toward Stella, and a high, unnatural sound split the air. Pressure built in her forehead, and she heard popping, like bones were breaking. The bright light encircled them, catching them when they should have fallen. Her sense of distance went wrong, as if her arms and legs had become too far away from her. A violent jolt followed, and her body snapped back as if all her cells had been taken apart and then realigned.

This was nothing like Earth.