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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about someone successfully — or unsuccessfully — escaping their fate.

Posted in Angst on May 5, 2023

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 107 stories

“The Sacrifice” by Arieyana Boston

Submitted to Contest #197

The day of ritual was quickly approaching, and the town was going all out with a week-long celebration in preparation of the big day. The tv screen was a blaze of red, gold and silver as the picture lit up with scenes of a usually dull village now beautifully decorated. The streets were lined with people as they gathered around to see the floats designed to depict the Gods. Everyone looked so happy and loving as they smiled for the camera or hugged their loved ones a little closer, too bad their happiness was at the expense of my demise. ...

1 comment 1
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“Sight” by Patricia Jablonski

Submitted to Contest #197

My mother said it was foolishness on my part and I was lucky nothing bad happened. My sister Danni said he wasn’t good enough for me and would have broken my heart. What both of them really meant was: A guy like that? What would he be doing with a girl like you? Because he was way out of my league, for sure. As if they thought I couldn’t see that. I was fat, not stupid. I saw him before we actually met; at least I thought I did. I work in the mall and was having lunch in the food court. He was standing nearby texting on his phone. My siste...

3 comments 3
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“Little Bill and The Dead Man’s Hand” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #197

Ryan August waits patiently as the green, blue, and white gases coalesce into the form of a head. With turquoise skin, arched eyebrows, intense pitch-black eyes, and a pointed black beard, the Great Maker’s presence is both wise and fearsome. “You summoned me, Great Maker?” Ryan asks humbly. The Great Maker’s voice is resonant and determined. “Yes. I have a new task for you. Since you performed so well in saving the Earp Brothers from the cowboys in Tombstone, I am sending you to Deadwood, South Dakota, in 1876. Your assignment is to save...

6 comments 6
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“Everything I Introduce at the Beginning Comes Back at the End” by Maddy Ford

Submitted to Contest #197

“The great god Pan is dead!” That was the cry that first fed the lie to Cleo. The fearful lie that brought with it the fallacy in the nature of impossibility that was suddenly shattered. If the great god Pan could die then surely she herself could die. The granted gift of immortality felt like it had been ripped from her fingers. Death was a lottery that she had never entered, it had never occurred to her that her name could be in the bowl too. Could a god really die? Cleo, bathed in flower petals in a bath drawn for her, debated that ques...

1 comment 1
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“Time” by C. Charles

Submitted to Contest #197

The kitchen was lit by a single bulb underneath the range hood. The clock on the stove below displayed the time in a lonely, green liquid crystal font. It was 2:37 a.m. The open kitchen window let in a cool breeze and the summery song of crickets chirping while the tick of the clock above the doorway gently kept time.Pamela sat at her kitchen table with an untouched cup of peppermint tea sitting in front of her. She wished she had taken her mother’s offer to stay at her house for the night. “Thank you but I just want to be at home.” Pamela h...

4 comments 4
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“Two Philosophers Walk into a Bar” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #197

It’s the final days of March in Boston which can feel like the end of the world. You can either have a bright and sunny day, melting away the last of winter’s snow from the alleyways of Boston’s brownstone apartments, or a vicious Nor’Easter making life miserable. This particular day, however, the sky is cloudy as Professor Aldrich rushes to catch the bus that will take him to his appointment. He is a professor of philosophy at the University of Boston and has been detained by a student, which has caused him to run a little late.&...

2 comments 2
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“Death's Delay of Twisted Fate” by Angela Sun

Submitted to Contest #197

+Unknown Number:<Dear Kaisen Markos,It is with deep regret that we at the Human Population Reduction Act Association (HPR2A) must inform you that you have been selected as one of the ten citizens who will be subjected to death tonight in the United States, as part of our ongoing efforts to reduce overpopulation on Earth.Your gun will be mailed to your residence at precisely 8:00pm tonight. We kindly request that you end your life quietly and without any resistance, in accordance with the procedures outlined in the provided manual. Should ...

1 comment 1
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“Midnight ” by Helena Short

Submitted to Contest #197

Raven approached the front steps with a decision. She could stay at home, or face the crowd that currently gathered in the high school auditorium. The school year was coming to an end, and summer break loomed overhead. A whole two months where she spent her time stuck at home with her dreary father was enough to get her to search for a dress at a thrift store.  It was a black solid tube dress with a frilly skirt as if she were preparing to attend a funeral. Truth be told, she would much rather attend a funeral than attend her own high ...

1 comment 1
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“Mister & Misses Understanding” by Adrian Pedraza

Submitted to Contest #197

I took off my shoes and rested them against the yellowed wall. The howling wind tried to keep the door handle away from me–and almost won–but I stretched out and caught it, swinging it closed in a sharp motion. It had just started to pour outside and I merely escaped while the rain was still a soft sprinkle. Oh, the stormy summer days. Kathy was waiting by the sink humming something and admiring the weather and the smells and such. “Let’s go eat,” she said as a strike of lighting–or maybe just the booming sound of thunder–rattled the rickety...

2 comments 2
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“Why Me?” by David B Fraser

Submitted to Contest #197

   Keith Kampbell woke to the rumblings of beer barrels rolling into the basement of the Forgotten Boar Pub. The light was coming from the double doors above to receive the morning delivery. Keith pushed himself up from the stone floor, making a poor job of brushing off his Air Force uniform.    “Oi, how’d you get down here?” The owner asked in a thick English accent.    Keith attempted to throw a leg onto the ramp to the outside and make a clean escape. After a couple of failed tries, where the ...

2 comments 2
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“A STORY OF LOVE AND DESTINY” by Antara Srikanth

Submitted to Contest #197

“I have always believed in the power of destiny, Radhika! I sincerely hoped that one day I would call you my own. But I now realized that we are not destined to be together. Nobody can understand my feelings. I am tired of living in this constant fear of losing you. It’s better we part our ways here!” he said, looking into my eyes.  His words stirred a kind of emotion I cannot explain. My vision became blurred as tears welled up in my eyes.  “How could you do this to me in the name of destiny? Who decides our fate but ourselves...

8 comments 8
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“The Broken Fate” by Rhea Bloom

Submitted to Contest #197

Just six months ago, I was the highest ranking warrior in our lands, and I was forced to give that up for the sake of a prophecy. I understand why King Jurien eliminated my former title, but what am I if not a warrior? Only one week remains until I am to wed the King, and I should be honored the Gods saw me worthy of being Queen of Beloar, but some part of me was mournful of the life I always expected to live.  “There was an attack in the Northern Forest, my King.” A guard announced as he rushed to the King’s side. The King immediatel...

1 comment 1
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“Quiet In Their Minds” by Timothy Rennels

Submitted to Contest #197

QUIET IN THEIR MINDS The flickering shadowed light from the kerosene lantern danced across the page that lay on the lone table in the room. The quill pen paused above the parchment, then spotting its prey below, swooped down to the page. The frenzied scratches of the sharpened nib poured out words, demanding release. The script was wild and barely decipherable, mirroring the mind of the author. I lived an orphan’s life bereft of hope Resentful relations taking me in My thoughts spiraling downwards on a slope But then the voices came from d...

9 comments 9
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“Living The Lie” by Scott Taylor

Submitted to Contest #197

Screams from the living room sent Sarah away from the dishes to break up the disturbance from her children.“Elizabeth, don’t hit your little brother.”Billy wanted the Doll Elizabeth laid down while playing on a smartphone.“But Mommy!”Elizabeth protested as Sarah removed the Doll from her daughter’s hand and returned it to Billy.“Why can’t he play with your doll?”“He’s a boy!”Billy was one. Who knows why he was interested in the Doll? Perhaps it was the blond hair or how the arms and legs moved. Maybe it reminded him of his mother.Squealing f...

7 comments 7
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“In The Hills” by Miqui V

Submitted to Contest #197

"Why do people do drugs when smells like this exist?" I say aloud, stretching my arms open to the dappled sunlight and green canopy. The cool air, heavy with the smell of this morning’s rain, kisses my exposed collarbones and peeking ankles. "I do not know." is my sisters frustrated answer. She gives a final heave and out tumbles all her luggage onto the damp gravel. From the little red car we've been in for hours, almost seems to come a relieved groan. I didn't bring anything. Perhaps it is not only the smell of rain, the forest is as lush ...

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Contest #197

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Title: The Fate of Customer 12

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