Editorial Content for Dark Inside

Mason is called to the hospital when it first begins. His mother has just been in a car accident, and the doctor isn’t too positive on whether or not she will make it through the night. Having lost his father years before, Mason feels numb at the prospect of losing another parent at such a young age. It is with utter disbelief, then, as he watches the hospital television report that his high school has been blown up from some rogue bombers. With his family and friends dead and gone, and the world seemingly going to hell, Mason isn’t sure what to do next.

"There is something about DARK INSIDE that registers on the inside, and you’ll remember this one for a while."

Aries is on a bus on her way to play practice when it first begins. She sits next to a man who seems insane and muttering about the world ending. Aries is more annoyed than anything, but as soon as he starts counting down, she begins to worry. As he reaches number one, the ground explodes, the bus topples, and suddenly she finds herself among the dead and dying. Helped by a mysterious man, Aries manages to escape the wreckage and get to the high school, but not before the man warns her that this is just the beginning. People are going to die, and it’s only a matter of time before they find her.

Clementine has gathered in her small town’s gathering hall for an update on what is happening around the world when it first begins. Something doesn’t feel quite right, though, when two of the town’s respected men enter with guns and slowly make their way to the front. For some strange prophetic reason, Clementine’s mother makes her get up and leave before the bloodshed begins. Once she is outside, Clementine hears the first shots ring through the night and immediately begins to run. Where to run, though, is the problem.

Michael is out driving around with his friend when it first begins. What starts as a usual night joyriding around town ends in tragedy. First Michael witnesses a terrible road rage accident in which a car practically runs over a motorcyclist. Once the police arrive, he then watches as they shoot down the driver in cold blood. He flees the scene and safely makes it home, but then what? People have turned into hunters and killers, and Michael isn’t sure whom to trust.

Mason, Aries, Clementine and Michael all have different experiences, and their determination and resourcefulness provide little glimpses of hope in their otherwise troubled existence. Debut author Jeyn Roberts weaves these four stories together in a future world that is both dark and grim. Perhaps the creepiest aspect of this book is that Roberts never really fully explains the reason for people turning on one another, and writes a stark reality of the nothingness of the world that sometimes threatens to overwhelm even the strongest of individuals. There is something about DARK INSIDE that registers on the inside, and you’ll remember this one for a while.