This is an 8,500 word short story based on Hugh Howey's WOOL books, published with his encouragement. Karma lives in a Silo deep beneath the earth. She isn't sure of much else… only that the wallscreen shows an outside view that is barren and swirling with toxic clouds. Most of the others seem content—except for the ones who jump to their death from the hundred-level spiral staircase. And the ones that are pushed. After the doctor prescribes a special liquid and tells her to avoid tap water, Karma begins to remember a very different world. Despite the fog in her mind, she is convinced that something came before. Such memories are dangerous to talk about, or even to know. She must figure out who can be trusted. The doctor… her husband… or no one at all.

This is a 20,000 word novella set in the world of WOOL, published with author Hugh Howey's permission. Three more parts to come! \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Five years have passed since the airlock slammed shut on the 4,000 souls condemned to live in the Silo. Karma can remember now that there was a time before—before she was locked into this cylindrical tomb under the earth. But all she can see of the outside are dead hills and the dark clouds swirling through what remains of a toxic world. She clings to this barren life not for herself but simply to keep her child safe… and to preserve the forbidden truths about what has been lost. Among the lost is her friend Andy, the first person sent out to Clean. Sent out to die. With every step and every stair, Karma vows to survive so that her memories of the world that once existed will live on in those who come after.

Karma has endured twenty-five years underneath the earth. Her path in life—a path she never bargained for—has included marriage to a man she never chose, whose powerful position forces her to hide her memories of the time before. On the day her son takes as his bride a girl from the Down Deep, an explosion resounds throughout the Silo. Is the anger and frustration of the people spilling over to the long-feared uprising? As the toxic view of the Outside still lurks on the wallscreen, and the inside erupts in ever more violence, Karma must strike out to protect her family.

Following "The Sky Used to be Blue," "Cleaning Up," and "Deep Justice," this 15,000 word novella set in the world of WOOL is the fourth in the bestselling Kindle sci-fi Karma series. "After a hellish three months locked in the private inner sanctum of IT, Karma and her family emerge, bloodied and forever changed. Rick is a man who is no longer in control. Mars has become the power in the Silo. And Karma is about to be charged with murder. Death came with the uprising. Fighting with guns, knives, and bombs, many killed or were killed. Now those who survived must pick up the pieces and go forward. Twenty-five years into Silo life, the realities are still the same: the stairs, the water, the Outside… and the suffocating Inside.

Hey Patrice ~ I LOVE this story idea! You have my complete blessing. Hugh Howey, author of WOOL \\\\\* The kids are fighting in the Silo—gangs engage in battles between the Up Top and the Down Deep, with the Mids caught in between. There are too many young people without work. They ink themselves with primitive face tats and guard their territory against incursions from below or above. In Karma’s family, there is a critical fault splitting them right down the middle. Who will toe the line and stay loyal to the head of IT, Karma’s son… and who will join his wife in supporting the resistance? Karma herself must go further than she ever has to protect her family and to help the Silo survive. Whatever she chooses, this is the end. This is a novella based on Hugh Howey's WOOL books, and is the fifth and final best-selling ebook in the Karma series. Karma of the Silo: The Collection, which includes all of the episodes in the Karma series, is available now as an ebook, to be followed by a print edition. Praise for Patrice Fitzgerald and the Karma series A definite PLUS to the Wooliverse, and a must read if you want to be well-versed in all things WOOL! Michael Bunker, author of Dunes over Danvar, Pennsylvania, The Silo Archipelago, and WICK The author does a fantastic job of retaining the atmosphere and claustrophobia of life underground and the characters are carefully constructed, exploring not only the effects of Silo life on the family dynamic, but the often complex relationships between the different Silo classes through the eyes of Karma and her family as she realises who she really is and has to decide whether to remain subdued and forget her past life, or choose a different path than the one chosen for her and challenge the status quo. Eamon Ambrose, "Eamo the Geek" Fitzgerald has created another masterpiece here. She has such an immediate style of writing which grips you from the start and takes you on a wild journey through the desperate lives of those living in the Silo. W.J. Davies, author of The Runner and The Diver I think I’m in love with Karma. I was curious about her life when Hugh Howey mentioned her in SHIFT. I highly recommend, not just this book, but this whole series! Hanna Elizabeth, author of Visions of Wool Fitzgerald’s characters come alive and threaten to leap off the page, they are so engaging. Jerilyn Dufresne, author of Who Killed My Boss? Any Meat in that Soup? and the Sam Darling Mysteries The Sky Used to be Blue manages the difficult feat of placing itself within the existing narrative, just like a missing piece of the great puzzle, and not just a parallel story or spinoff. It is well-written, gripping and filled with suspense. All the ingredients necessary are here: good writing, action and unexpected twists, characters you care about, and a deeper meaning. Max Zaoui, critic extraordinaire Patrice is a sci-fi, political thriller, and mystery writer who had a past as an intellectual property attorney. She also runs a niche indie publishing company and is a professional mezzo-soprano in her spare time. She's the Mom of four (pretty) adult children.