The Near Distant by Erin R. Howard, Brett/.,b Armstrong, and C. Kevin Thompson

On a day trip into the wilderness around Lake Tahoe, college students Ned, Tyler, and Everly stumble upon a monolith. No one knows its origin or purpose, but structures like this one have popped up all over the world, making national headlines. While not the local legend the group hoped to find, they decide to investigate, only to be engulfed by a blinding, powerful pulse of light. Instantly, the three friends find themselves in separate and drastically different worlds. They must quickly adapt to their new surroundings or perish.

If they can survive, the mystery of how to return to Earth becomes entangled in another question fundamental to our humanity: Where do I belong?