Sherri Moorer

“The End of the Line” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #275

“You’re the end of the line.” I remember my brother’s comment the day we picked Dad’s burial plot. It seemed that our squares were filling up with grandparents gone. Now another generation was passing from this world. My brother and I never had children, and as the youngest, I was the end of our family line. Now another generation has passed. This world is fading away and growing dim. I’ve bid them all farewell and now, in my brother’s self-fulfilling prophesy, I follow. I see the light beyond, but I’m not ready to go. I’m tired of th...

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“Sundown” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #274

Why am I here? Crows call from the swaying branches of the trees, the wind sweeping through the open playground into the neighborhood beside the abandoned school. Cold air sways rattles the chains of the swing set behind me. I smell the old metal of those swings, of the nearby monkey bars, the dull sliding board, and the dirt of the abandoned grammar school playground. A shiver wracks my body as twilight sets in a place passing into decay. But I don’t see decay. I see colorful leaves blowing through the sunshine, swirling in the cheers and ...

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“Karma Can” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #268

How did it come to this? Dr. Eris Baronas lay on the narrow cot, staring at the cracked ceiling. She needed a drink. Or a vape. Or something stronger. All she got was a bologna sandwich and water somewhere amongst booking, fingerprints, facial scanning, DNA swabbing, and shoving her in this cell. Criminal justice had come a long way in the early twenty-second century. I wonder if they’ll let me out for Mom’s funeral? Her thoughts toggled between the charges won’t stick to not likely. She sniffed and swiped her tears away with a corner of h...

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“Awake” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #260

Beep! Beep! Beep! Symone turned and slapped at the alarm clock, stretching and staring at the ceiling in the grey morning light, shaking off sleep. The dream plagued her again: being trapped in her old office, stuck in the musty, dingy brown walls. Nothing like a dream job turned into a nightmare to smash the visions of your youth. Then again, it was just a nightmare. She left that job fifteen years ago. She sat up and gently pulled the covers over Galen’s shoulders, mussing his short, dark blonde hair. He was still on medical leave, recove...

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“Align” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #247

Personal Log: May 1, 2198 (Martian Day 15) No eye has seen what I have seen. Robots have, but real, human eyes have not taken in this planet. No ears have heard. Nobody has touched this surface, until now. The Martian year runs longer than an Earth year. We discussed developing a Martian calendar when we came out of stasis, but everything was based on Earth time. It didn’t seem right to base Terran's time on a new world. We decided to see how time passes on Mars before undertaking that. Perhaps scientists and engineers aren’t the best ones ...

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“Resurrection” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #239

“Who are you?” Areceli stopped wiping the water off the coffee mug in her kitchen sink. I know that voice. “Why are you in my house?” Arecelli froze.  Maren did it. She didn’t think it was possible, but she figured it out. She knew what Cilian discovered, and she was determined to see it through. Areceli turned slowly and stared at her great aunt’s confused face. The mug slipped from her hand and exploded into pieces on the hardwood floor. She stiffened her spine, trying to force breath through her throat. “Aunt Emylin, it’s A...

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“Reality” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #232

“Are you sure about this?” Kyra fiddled with the drone. “Of course I am. Don’t you want to see the sun? To see blue skies and green trees? To see life?” Bryn gently touched Kyra’s chin and tilted her face up, staring deep into her eyes. “What if the histories are true? What if there’s nothing to see but scorched earth and barrenness? Or worse yet, darkness?” She smiled. “There’s only one way to find out.” Bryn turned to the large, iron door splotched with rust. As he suspected, it was sealed shut. He would have thought it was from four...

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“Absolution” by Sherri Moorer

“It took you long enough to show up.” Karis rocked back and forth on the swing in the elementary school playground, the long chains creaking softly in the twilight. “I don’t know why I’m here.” Reina’s light body descended into the swing next to Karis. “We agreed that we’d meet here in the end. I’ve been waiting for you.”  “It’s your fault. You didn’t tell me.” Karis stared into the trees beyond the playground swaying in a cool autumn breeze. “Why did I have to find your obituary online?” “You’ve worked so hard to build a life. I ...

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“Redemption” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #219

What were they thinking? Nova rushed through the hallway of the ship, the lights flashing in rhythm to the claxons resounding through the groaning metal hull. Sparks rained on the crumpled bodies strewn across the floor. She stumbled over one, gasping as she realized that it was her best friend, Sola, staring at her with bloody, unseeing eyes. “Keep moving!” Kylan shouted as he rushed past her. Nova choked back tears as she glanced at Sola one last time and fell into step beside Kylan. “What happened?” “We were hit by the anomaly near...

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“One Last Time” by Sherri Moorer

“Welcome to the Eaton Estate,” Kaya said as her heels clicked on the marble of the entryway. “This mansion is the foundation of our town, and home to the founding family who helped to make us into what we are: an evolving community. It’s been a site of intrigue for generations, hosting the annual Halloween festival, but is it really haunted? The family invites you to explore its history and consider the future of this historic home as the foundation of our community.” She spun around the large center room at the base of a wide staircase, s...

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“The Earth Initiative” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #210

“I can’t believe we gave these idiots the Internet,” Ugleck said as he shuffled through the streets of the crowded city, sweating in the uncomfortable human suit. “You should have used it to research modern dress codes,” Malook said, breezing through the street in her shorts and T-shirt. “People don’t wear suits anymore unless they’re in high-power occupations. We’re supposed to be civilians. You look funny.” “Everybody looks funny,” Ugleck said as a man with green dreadlocks bumped against him on the sidewalk. “Our climate research is a...

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“Trigger” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #202

This is how it ends. In silence. Senara roamed up the empty street, the shotgun slung over her shoulder. Would she be able to use it when the time came? Would it matter? Was there enough of her left to do what must be done? A hot wind blew through the street, spreading dust across the broken pavement. At least they weren’t littered with bodies this time. She still didn’t know how she survived that awful, rotting stench four years ago. I’ve never been so sorry to be right. They thought they had come so far. The brave survivors of the 2...

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“Splice” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #190

“I’ll make her pay for what she did to me.” Eliana stared at the replicating strands on the slide under her microscope. This was it. She found the cure for cancer, and probably every genetic disorder on the planet. All it took was splicing the variant of the viral RNA on the human genome. The AI stabilized the variables to a 100% success rate. She swiped a tear from her eye and leaned back, stretching in the green fluorescent glow of the lab. Politics might have gotten Crystal the bid for the nanotech project, but these results were unden...

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“Click Click Boom” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #184

5:15 p.m. Reminder for September 25, 2161: Do you want to send the video message? Cinia stared at the “yes” and “no” buttons on her computer screen. The decisive moment had arrived. The office was silent except for the cool air blowing through the vents and the hum of the fluorescent lights. All that remained was her and this decision whether to say “yes” to the reminder on her screen. Her stomach twisted as she looked out of the window. She could see the glow of the spatial anomaly burning like a second sun in the sky. Where did it lead?...

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“Rise” by Sherri Moorer

Submitted to Contest #183

Terra tilted her head to the canopy of stars over the glade. A cool wind blew from the trees surrounding her, covering the area with the energy of the earth and stars. She stretched her arms overhead, the silver bond around her wrists sparking in the full moonlight. Your energy is mine. “This tribunal is called to order,” Alinta said from her throne on the north end of the circle. Her dark form glowed with the fire of her magic, warming the space in front of Alysia. “Alysia, you are charged with magic negation. How do you plead?” Terra’...

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