Zero Hour Shift: A Sci-Fi Horror Short Novella

by Ceri Clark

You don’t notice the first time the loop resets. But your body does.

On Europa Rig Theta-9, gravity technician Elizabeth Evans keeps the lights on, the atmosphere stable, and her nightmares buried. Until one morning, her HUD flickers—and time skips backward. Just a second. Then a minute. Then more.

The power grid is humming with something it shouldn't. Footsteps echo when she's alone. Her reflection doesn’t always move with her. And in the looping hours between system resets, she begins to see... herself. Other versions. Some screaming. Some silent. All broken in ways she hasn’t learned to be yet.

Now, as the station fractures into flickers of alternate timelines and collapsing corridors, Elizabeth must outpace a countdown she doesn’t understand and a fate already written in the static.

A tense, cerebral sci-fi horror story about identity, recursion, and the terror of being overwritten.

62 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 14, 2025

About the author

Hello, my name is Ceri Clark and I write children’s books, YA and Techie guides for everyone! I am a stay-at-home mother of an energetic 3 year old with no pets apart from the occasional spider which finds its way in. *shudders*

Would you like a free book?  I’m giving away free copies of A Simpler Guide to Online Security and my Space: A Minkie Monster Coloring book!

If you would like one (or both) of these free gifts, go to:

COLORING BOOK: http://minkiemonster.com
ONLINE SECURITY: http://cericlark.com

****** Until September 1 (its launch week)  I am giving away review copies of Space Puzzles: Minkie Monster and the Birthday Surprise. It is a puzzle/story book aimed at 3-5 year olds. All you have to do to get the free PDF for your little one to print out and puzzle over (and the chance to win prizes) is to register at MinkieMonster.com and choose the Launch friends membership! *******

What books have I written?

Puzzle books for up to 6 years of age:



Simpler Guides:



Secret Password Books:



YA Fantasy:



If you are interested in finding out more about me, keep reading! :)

Ceri Clark’s first book, Children of the Elementi was published in 2011. Since then she has published over 10 books, a couple of which she submitted to Readers’ Favorite and received 5 star reviews!



She lives in Wales in the UK with her husband and son. Although she has written several books, her heart lies with children's books.

She created Minkie Monster after playing around with a drawing app on her tablet. Her toddler (at the time) loved the character so much she began to tell stories about him and his naughty friend Bob. Visit http://minkiemonster.com to find out more about Minkie and Bob and the adventures they go through.