Dream up a secret library. Write a story about an adventurer who discovers it. What’s in the library? Why was it kept secret?

Posted in Adventure on May 17, 2024

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✍️ 97 stories

“The Last Spark” by Ettore Cerchi

Submitted to Contest #251

Hours had already passed as we walked aimlessly. I felt the wind beginning to whistle, bringing with it the deadly cold of the desert night. We set up our tent and lit our campfire."Honestly, Tom. You know this is a fairy tale. Sure, we have some evidence, but that´s nothing like the Indiana Jones movies you loved so much when we were teenagers."Leo's pessimism had become routine over the past month. After being fired from his job as a chemistry teacher, it seemed another person had taken over his body."Man, I get it. But we agreed to d...

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“Gods of Alabaster” by Harvest Wemhoff

Submitted to Contest #251

They say that the slopes of the Alabaster Mountains have twenty thousand steps carved into them. Reaching the cliffs by appropriate measures can take pilgrims several days and nights, as it is customary and tradition to stop at each statue of a god to pray. Though Diana Sabino was no pilgrim, she stood idly in front of a headless figure, a dozen feet in height, vaguely of human form, with what appeared to be six missing arms of seven-- the remaining pointing directly upward towards the thinning tree line above them. “We won’t stop at this on...

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“Badlands Homecoming” by Joe Smallwood

Submitted to Contest #251

The badlands had ceased expanding, and there was just enough food to support one or two researchers—well, maybe only one—and that would be me.The bishop had his hands full. A guard saw me into his office, and the bishop sat waiting behind a huge, salvaged desk between us.The desk, a marvel, held my gaze. Its rich, brown hue was a testament to its unique origin, a strange wood with a veneer of such smoothness, partially burned away, creating a mesmerizing play of colors. I couldn't help but wonder about the lives that were risked to retr...

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“Overdue Knowledge” by Bethany Walters

Submitted to Contest #251

Prologue The library was being breached. Alfred could hear men shouting for reinforcements. He didn’t have much time, but luckily he had an escape route. When he built his secret library he made sure of that. That was before Huxley Marrow came to power, but he was glad that he decided to put a secret exit in the library. Behind the last shelf on the left was a book with an embossed E on the spine. Pulling on it would open up a passageway that would lead Alfred to freedom. He quickly gathered what would fit in his satchel. Someone had betray...

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“The Underground Library of The South New Order” by Kay Valentine

Submitted to Contest #251

The mission was simple: destroy. The savage men who stood, arm-in-arm, were locked, stone-faced and stoic, blocking the perimeter of the only standing hospital of the South New Order. Sweat beamed down their brown, marred foreheads, stinging the open wounds that marked their unreadable faces. They’re not men, they told us. Look at them! They aren’t human! I looked into one pair of eyes - golden, deep and mysertious, but vulnerably pleading with me, wordless. What could I do? These could be the men who butchered my brother. These could be the...

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“Salvage” by Aeryn Goodspeed

Submitted to Contest #251

“That shouldn’t be there…” Wren let the Stardrake cruise to a halt…well, as “halted” as anything could be in the shifting void of the universe. The impulse engine purred in its stasis, creating a soothing background noise as the old adventurer checked the readings on her screens and instruments. The sector she’d found herself in was devoid of any nearby celestial bodies, apart from asteroids that reminded her of driftwood in the ocean. Useful, sometimes, if collected from properly, and sometimes with bits of fishing line–in this case, thick,...

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“Indy and the Library of Babel” by Suman Amarnath

Submitted to Contest #251

When Alfred Lang died two years ago, obituaries mostly covered his stock market achievements. For in a lifetime Lang had made over $120 billion in profits starting in late '90s and through the Dotcom bust of '00s and the recession of '08. This success got covered in books, magazine articles (many in this publication) and two successful films. And then as if to balance it out, the obituaries allotted a requisite amount of print space to Lang’s 'minor' eccentricities (by billionaire standards): owning a 150 foot yacht and making angel investme...

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“What We Bury” by Matty Chard

Submitted to Contest #251

She gave Ky the key and told him to go down to the shack by the beach. He did not recognize the woman. Did not know anything of her clear, pale eyes or fiery hair. She seemed to come to him out of nowhere, and then just as suddenly she was gone again, the rusted key in his hand the only proof that she had ever been there at all. Despite this, though, Ky had decided to follow her wishes, something in her voice convincing him that she must be trusted. The cool afternoon wind whipped around him as he walked along the shoreline towards the shack...

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“Serving Your Husband” by Leslie Cieplechowicz

Submitted to Contest #251

Serving Your Husband Abby glanced at the cracked screen on her iPhone, trying to get Google Maps to work. She looked up, her pale ash eyes skipping over the unfamiliarity of the city, buildings decorated with rusty slate tile roofs and blackened gargoyles. Cooper would chuckle, whispering what a silly girl she was, roaming a strange town that they just relocated to. “You couldn’t find your way out of Target, if I didn’t help,” he would add. She had to locate the library and get a book about improving her marriage. She ...

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“Secrets of the Past” by Christine Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #251

Darkness shrouded the empty halls; the tattered carpet reeked of smoke and the feasts of yesteryear. Jarod explored his latest purchase with a flashlight in hand. Who would have thought that exploring the woods would lead me to this? From the outside, it’s a weather stone relic covered in moss and vines. The interior is a time capsule. Another medieval Manor waiting silently for someone to love her. What secrets are hidden behind these walls? The solid timber doors groaned as he pushed them open, their m...

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“The Invitee ” by Sean Mallery

Submitted to Contest #251

Darryl entered the large waiting room. All marble floors and elegant decadence strewn around a brightly lit space. On the other side of the room, there were two large double doors adorned with pearl knobs. He took a seat and reached for his phone. It was missing. Damn it, he left it in his coat at the check-in counter downstairs. Darryl stood to go back for it, but when he turned around, a large hooded figure stood before him.“Hi, welcome to the library,” the man in the hood said.“You startled me,” Darryl said, clutching his chest.“Ah, sorry...

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“The Central Library” by JP G

Submitted to Contest #251

The frozen wilderness was silent. Adalyn felt like she had been walking for hours. How did she get here? Where was she, and where was she going? Something was very wrong. The forest felt... off. A fog drifted over the landscape, making it nearly impossible to find her way. Step by step, Adalyn moved forward, careful not to make a wrong turn. The ground's elevation was hard to judge, and she couldn't afford a dangerous fall. She was completely alone. Her only option was to keep moving. Darkness was falling. If she couldn't find any landmarks ...

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“The Crypt of Browerwood” by Brandon Cox

Submitted to Contest #251

Envy is a bewitching intoxicant. It invades the mind through fleeting thoughts of want and desire and gradually builds itself into an obsession. For those strong in will, envy may even manifest itself as ambition. In the end, however, envy always rots. The tethers tying you to your own reality will fall away, your sense of self-worth will crumble beneath you, and envy will almost certainly turn you to desperation. Under the darkness of night, a student was meeting the price for unchecked and incautious want. Clawing along the grubby stone fl...

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“Wade's Regret” by Lily Finch

Submitted to Contest #251

Wade spotted the roofline and walked the perimeter of the woods until he found an opening to a well-worn, tiny path. He stepped onto the porch, pondered his next move, and looked around, nervous and alert. He turned to go, but a gust of wind swept him into the house. The door slammed shut loudly and delivered Wade into the foyer. He heard a woman’s voice and his name. It came from behind him. He turned to see a woman dressed as though she were going to the ball in her long blonde hair, powdered red cheeks, and ruby red lipstick in...

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“A father, a daughter and the curious case of the secret library” by Rachel Williams

Submitted to Contest #251

When I was a little, I came across a secret library in our home. Before we get to that, maybe I should tell you a little bit about my family. I am an only child who grew up in the rural countryside along with my mother. I say mother because my father never came home when I was around five. He often went away for long periods of time, but he always came back…until one day he didn’t. On the occasions he returned, he would tell me that it was because he was an explorer and he had to go off on a magical quest. Mum was never happy about it, but ...

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Dream up a secret library. Write a story about an adventurer who discovers it. What’s in the library? Why was it kept secret?

Submissions are closed

✍️ 97 stories

“The Last Spark” by Ettore Cerchi

“Gods of Alabaster” by Harvest Wemhoff

“Badlands Homecoming” by Joe Smallwood

“Overdue Knowledge” by Bethany Walters

“The Underground Library of The South New Order” by Kay Valentine

“Salvage” by Aeryn Goodspeed

“Indy and the Library of Babel” by Suman Amarnath

“What We Bury” by Matty Chard

“Serving Your Husband” by Leslie Cieplechowicz

“Secrets of the Past” by Christine Hamilton

“The Invitee ” by Sean Mallery

“The Central Library” by JP G

“The Crypt of Browerwood” by Brandon Cox

“Wade's Regret” by Lily Finch

“A father, a daughter and the curious case of the secret library” by Rachel Williams

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about discovering a lost manuscript. It can be from a famous (or infamous) author, or an unknown one.

Your protagonist is a writer who discovers a new favorite author. How does their writing, or even their own personality, change as the protagonist falls under the writer’s influence?

Write a story about a future academic (or another influential person) “rediscovering” a book that, in its time, was dismissed. The book can be fictitious or real.

Your protagonist is a voracious reader. Lately, they’ve been noticing odd synchronicities in the books he or she is reading. What does the protagonist discover is happening?

Contest #251

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

235

Contest entries

76

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: