PARASITIC

In a world where a parasitic virus has taken control of the population, only a cure can end the tyranny, but finding it may be impossible.

During a mission to discover the cure, a rover accident strands Juliette and Roman on the dark side of the moon. At odds with Roman and fighting her attraction to him, she must work with him to survive and find the cure. In the dark and alone together, they realize the virus has all ready overtaken one of them, or both of them. The first symptom is hallucinations and fear. Next comes deception. Then murder. The cure is supposed to be buried beneath the surface in the water-ice. The silence in the room is deafening, as though it has a life of its own. It's time to rewrite the fairy tale, but as before, the ending will not be of their own choosing, and it won't be happy. The virus will decide their fate.

My ONC 2025 novella is based mostly on Prompt #68 and also on loosely on Prompt #61:

68. In a world where a parasitic virus has taken control of the population, only a cure can end the tyranny, but finding it may be impossible.

61. The silence in the room is deafening, as though it has a life of its own. It's time to rewrite the fairy tale, but this time, the ending will be yours, and it won't be happy.