Ten families agreed to be locked in a bunker for 30 days to go on a simulated trip to the moon. They knew the experience could be life changing. They never dreamed it could be deadly. Sixteen-year-old Lois and her mom, dad, and sister have signed up for a top-secret competition, hoping to win a life-changing prize. They have agreed to be locked in a state-of-the-art bunker with nine other families to go on a thirty-day simulated trip to the moon. During their "journey," their every move will be judged by anonymous evaluators. Families that don't have what it takes will be eliminated. Lois thought losing the competition was the worst thing that could happen to her. She was dead wrong. If you like suspense, clean romance, and jaw-dropping twists and turns, you'll love this gripping standalone novella that will keep you guessing until the very end! What readers are saying about THE DARKNESS OUTSIDE: "WOW!! I was totally blown away. The characters are perfect. The world building is great. LOVED IT!!!" - Winter, Goodreads ★★★★★ "One of the best books I have read. Great story and an ending that you will never see coming!" - Christine, Goodreads ★★★★★ "Full of twists and turns that even I didn't see coming. A great read which will keep you turning the pages from beginning to end." - Donna, Goodreads ★★★★★ An excerpt from THE DARKNESS OUTSIDE : We exit the Atlantis Tower through the dimly-lit back of the building, where an Astro Bus is waiting for us. The bus is completely black, except for the twinkling stars scattered all over it. Every few seconds, the FrontierXploration logo appears and then fades away on the side of the bus, almost in time to my breaths. There are real Astro Buses that transport real astronauts from the quarantine facility to the launch pads, but I have a feeling this isn't one of them. Although the bus that stands before us looks absolutely authentic, it is possible that, without the help of virtual reality, it is just one of the black-painted school buses that they use to give tours of the campus to elementary-school kids on field trips. But we're not supposed to think the way I am thinking. We were told by the people at FrontierXploration that we must treat this mission as if it is completely real. We are supposed to suspend our disbelief when we notice something that doesn't quite fit with the illusion. We must never even hint that what we are experiencing isn't reality. I know I am going to have trouble with this rule. It is my nature to question everything I see. Suddenly, I notice something that makes my heart race with anxiety. In the shadows flanking our path are two dozen large men with impressive-looking rifles. Their black jackets have a subtle stamp of the FrontierXploration logo over the left chest. FrontierXploration takes the security of their rocket launches very seriously. To this day, they have never had a security issue delay a launch, which is impressive considering how many launches they've done over the years. Twenty-four hours before every launch, the entire day campus goes into strict lockdown with only essential workers allowed to be present. Security drones fly around and check every office and restroom and closet to intercept anyone who doesn't have lockdown clearance. And there is a human team, just like this one, to ensure that the astronauts make it safely to the launch pad. But this is only a simulated launch. The armed men I see are probably merely virtual. As an experiment, I make eye contact with one of them. Disconcertingly, he seems to register an awareness of my gaze. Either this is a pretty sophisticated virtual reality program, which I'm sure it is, or the man is real. As he stares into my eyes, I can almost hear him say, "Don't even think about running, kid. It's too late to change your mind." I don't know if that is what the man is actually thinking, or if he's even really here. But I do know that, whether there are men with rifles flanking me or not, it is too late to change my mind.