My story Marvelous, South Dakota is up at Fiction Southeast. It is set in the South Dakota Badlands.
Badlands, proclaimed the Lakota Sioux, because it was such a difficult place to cross.
During the height of the Cold War, South Dakota housed many of the nuclear missiles that could have destroyed the world. Some of those underground silos are now part of the Park Service. By the time I visited, many of the nearby tourist attractions were manned by young women from the ex-Soviet republics seeking opportunity and a new life.
Svetlana Backslash Jessica arrived days later. While Irina was dark and flat, Svetlana Backslash Jessica was light and layered. She surrounded a stiff Irina with careful hugs, like trying to wrap a colored ribbon around the crumbling statue of a Politburo member.
The main character is reeling from a divorce. See if you think he has a chance to make it out of the desolate landscape.