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Every year, one person is sent to the moon. This year, though you hid in terror, it is your turn to enter the rocket.

Posted in Science Fiction on Jul 17, 2021

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✍️ 124 stories

Off to the Moon

Submitted to Contest #52

         She watched the stars dotting across the night sky, popping in and out of sight as the clouds shrouded night. But from behind the midnight storms, the moon shined bright, brighter than the lightning, and more prominent than the thunder, it smiled down on the old lady in her rocking chair. Ever so gently, rocking back and forth to the beat of her heart.     The back door creaked open and out came a little girl with her blue overalls and striped white shirt, holding two cups of lemonad...

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The Picking

Submitted to Contest #52

Every year one person was sent to the moon. No one knew why this tradition had lasted so long, the story was lost in history, but they continued to do so every year. The person was chosen randomly, so no one fought that it was not fair. The Picking took place every tenth month of the year of the first day. The person was shipped off on a rocket exactly one week from then. The Picking was always a very stressful time for everyone. Not much work was completed during that time, but that was okay. The Leaders gave everyone the week off, so that ...

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The Goddesses of the Moon

Submitted to Contest #52

The annual election left me hiding in my mother's basement for 48 hours.  Not that I was very social, to begin with, but out of fear of being the one chosen, I didn't dare go above ground.  The government elected one person, age 12 to 50, to travel to the moon and join the colony.  There was limited contact with the human colony on the moon already, all I knew was that it was "safe" and "comfortable living".  But then again, it was the government's word. I could already tell something was off this year.  It was my ...

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To the Moon

Submitted to Contest #52

Let’s face it. Aging sucks. At eighty-five years old I was not exactly excited to celebrate my next birthday. It just meant that I was just that much closer to death. I guess you can say that I am one of the lucky few that still had most of my mind in tack. Looking in the mirror I still recognized myself. Even though now I was a silver fox, wrinkles were randomly drawn across my face and the bags under my eyes were now permanent. I still recognized it was me. I still remembered what and who I was. My body is not as strong as it used to be an...

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Ground Beneath My Feet vs. Ground Up In The Sky

Submitted to Contest #52

I used to be fascinated by the little blueish-white ball in the sky, rather than afraid. My first memory was of my mother teaching me that ground beneath my feet was called ‘earth’ and that ground in the sky was called ‘moon’. Through the glass we would gaze up at the moon, and Mum would tell me stories about the two million people that had gone to sleep in technologically decorated coffins beneath the surface just before the meteorite hit. Then Dad would tell me stories about the scouts that had flown to the moon to see if it was safe to ...

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Apollo 0

Submitted to Contest #52

Every year someone is handpicked from our small society to go to the moon. Ever since I was a little girl it has always been my dream to be picked. I've always been captivated by the stories of what's up there. We're not told much of what happens once someone lands on the moon but I do know one thing for sure: a better life awaits.You see, Earth is falling apart and it seems like Earth is dying faster these days. We're running out of resources fast and the farmers plowed their lands to ruin. Wildlife is slowly disappearing and what's le...

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Rocket to the Moon

Submitted to Contest #52

The black cat gingerly stepped over the dead body lying between its current location and the mouse. It sniffed cautiously and turned up its nose at the stench of the decaying human corpse. The tiny mouse ran as fast as it could to get away from the predatory cat, squeezing through a tiny gap in the wall until the mouse found itself in a large concrete area. This area lay below the rocket boosters of the space rocket that was scheduled to take off in a few minutes. The mouse had no idea it had wondered into a more dangerous area. At the time,...

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A letter from the moon.

Submitted to Contest #52

My darling Rene, That passion you were complaining that I lack. Well, here it is. I am writing you a letter. I can hear your shocked gasp in my head at this moment. Rather old school isn’t it? Yes, trust me as I put pen to paper the weirdness of this action is abundantly clear to me. That’s just what I would do for you – anything (in case I wasn’t clear). Sthandwa sam, mi amor, my love (yes, three languages) it turns out I’m quite well-versed in the language of love, despite your accusations. This seems to be going well, somewhat. I guess I’...

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The Moon

Submitted to Contest #52

I just knew if I was to dream it would be a strange dream. I knew it would have something to do with today. I dreamt that as I was laying in bed and there wI hear it. I hear it. “I HEAR YOU!!”, I scream from the other side of the room as I lay in my bed not really wanting to acknowledge exactly what I was hearing. I think I even subconsciously piled a stack of dirty laundry on top of it so maybe I could legitimately say, “I didn’t hear my alarm” and that’s the reason I missed my appointment. The thing is there is a mechanism inside my brain ...

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The Thirty-Third Launch

Submitted to Contest #52

It took them decades of hurling metal into the stratosphere to realize women were best suited for space travel. With every launch, the men from the lab sent two rats, a male and a female, to test what the influence of space could do to a body. With every landing, the female returned alone, her partner a lifeless lump, fur all gone and flesh dappled with dark circles humming with radiation. This radiation was everywhere in space, they found. It came from everywhere and if it could ravage the rodents, it could ravish their astronauts and that ...

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A Homeless Known

Submitted to Contest #52

The letter came for me when I was on one of my days off from the office. I was halfway through my cereal hoops when I heard it drift from the letter box and float to the muddy mat on the floor. ​I knew then that something was strange; the postman had already been, delivering junk mail and bills with a fake and wavering smile, just like he always did. I knew then that one of us was in trouble. The milk that escaped my mouth trickled down my chin and dripped back into the bowl, drip, drip, drip, and I swallowed my...

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The Great Escape

Submitted to Contest #52

4 hours left The second of November, the day everything goes to shit. Twenty years ago, the government announced that they had found a way to move to the moon, and had sent 5 volunteers on a one-way trip. When speculations about the veracity of this trip came about, the number of volunteers drastically went down. Then, they said they would only send 10 every year. The rumours soon worsened, and the government decided on a 5 per year policy. Soon, nobody wanted to go and the government had to forcibly choose 5, one from each city. Now, every ...

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Oceanus Procellarum

Submitted to Contest #52

Why do they tell us? Why give us time? I’m sure you remember me wailing this three hundred and sixty-three days ago. I know you remember me wailing these questions long into the night. You had an answer.  They should steal you from your bed on the day? People in masks with a bag for your head?  I told you then—how many times have I told you since?—that I wouldn’t say no to a bag, a blindfold, a cigarette. The classics, I snapped, no longer wailing, on the outside, at least. You fixed me with that look—I know you know the one—...

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Arlo, 2185

Submitted to Contest #52

It's the year 2185. I'm 25 years old and, truth be told, I'm not ready to die. Not yet.. My name is Arlo, and if you're reading this, it would seem that we both shared the same fate of being the Immolated. Congratulations! I like to refer to it as the "Chosen One;" makes me feel better in some way. Anyway, I'd like to tell you my story since you're going to be here for a while. Don't worry, it will all make sense in the end.  I was born in Pennearth in the year 2160 to parents Mary Anne and John. As you already know, per one of many...

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Familiarity is a Dangerous Thing

Submitted to Contest #52

Tears cloud your vision as the sound of the rocket’s engines fill your ears, and the knowledge that this would have happened eventually does nothing to soothe you.Your name had been drawn three months ago, and though you had hidden well, they had found you, as they always do with the runners.  You go over the mistakes you made in order to distract yourself from an itch that you cannot scratch. They had started paralyzing passengers ten years ago. The company line was that it made for a safer journey for the passenger, but as the rocke...

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