The Queen of the Desert

Jane is simply trying to survive. In a world of nuclear post-apocalypse, blood-crazed Objectivists, immortality-seeking cultists, NFT-obsessed killbots, power-hungry narcissists, and nymphomaniac Anarchists. A stoic soldier with a heart of gold. How long will she go on until the past catches up with her?

10,500 words of visceral action, black humor, and extreme weirdness.

The story is SUPER silly, but it has an important purpose. I'm only publishing it to raise funds for my hometown in Ukraine. As a city of 300,000 on the eastern border, Sumy was one of the first to be attacked by the Russian army. For more than a month, we suffered from airstrikes, artillery, blockades, and hunger. The city was encircled, yet it never fell.

Now that Russians have retreated, we see death and destruction across the whole region. The Sumy volunteer community created a charity fund to help us survive, rebuild, and protect against the new attacks.

Our website https://www.fond.sumy.ua/ lists different ways you can help the Sumy region. You can choose to donate specifically for:

- Medicine
- First aid kits
- Optics
- Communication devices
- Armor plates for the territorial defense
- Other needs (including clothing and food for the elderly, disabled, and most vulnerable people).

Like many of you I've been a pacifist for my entire life, but now the only way to stop these horrors is to ensure Ukrainians have enough weapons to defend themselves. So if you want to help the Ukrainian army, the best way is to donate to the country's biggest charity fund Come Back Alive (https://www.comebackalive.in.ua/). Over the past 8 years, they've collected over $20 million donations and have a crystal-clear reputation.

Please, donate if you enjoyed my story. And if you found it to be the shittiest thing ever written - roast me in public or in person - and I'll double your donation;)

Raise the awareness! Now every penny, every word can save a life.

Temporary cover by Anastasia Rey