Write a story about someone whose time is running out.

Posted in Angst on Jan 19, 2024

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✍️ 112 stories

“Unneeded” by Christina Nordlander

Submitted to Contest #234

While I was serving my fourth month, I got marched to the infirmary for a check-up and blood samples, too close to the last one. I didn’t think much of it – that’s not true. Like with everything else that broke the pattern during my sentence, I tried to find foreshadowing in it, some hope of reduced time, or some threat. I couldn’t think of a reason, so the thoughts stopped there. The next evening, I sat in the common room with a car magazine, in an attempt to keep my brain sharp. The common room had the same configuration as the waiting-ro...

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“03/27/74” by Leanna Sanders

Submitted to Contest #234

You enter the library, except this is no ordinary library. You may only visit this library once. The circumstance for entrance is all the same, but the cause for entry is individual. Once you enter you may not leave, but your time expires within the library, entry is not a choice, but is required. In your personal library every book is available for your wandering eyes. The titles upon the shelves fit every genre, but they can never be read by any individual except you. It is your choice which book to check out first, so choose the one with ...

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“Advance Notice” by Peter Wyatt

Submitted to Contest #234

There was never enough time. So many things to do and never enough time to get it all done. Martin Johnson had spent most of the last 48 hours preparing for the corporate merger his firm was brokering between two tech giants and this afternoon it was supposed to all come together. Provided, of course, he could seal the deal with the two principals. Martin felt confident he could do it. But first he needed food. It was lunch time and Martin was starving. He was looking forward to devouring some leftover pizza in his fridge. But he never made ...

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“A Matter of Time” by Bonnie Dubbs

Submitted to Contest #234

Something funny about time is how much people exaggerate it. We share pictures on social media of how we're having the best time with our friends at a bar, only to post two hours later about how we never want to see that group again for the rest of time. How much time you spent with a partner, only to throw it away in favor of a new beauty or beau that catches your eye in the moment. You sit and wonder and watch was time passes you by, and you watch your face grow old and your friends and family move on, that you never truly understand what ...

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“ROOT” by D.T. Ries

Submitted to Contest #234

(Trigger Warning: Mental Health, Suicide, Self Harm, Substance Abuse)Normal kids love summer break, but I dread it. This summer, anyway. Too much time alone and—well, I ought not to think about that. I blow out a long breath and flip open my locker, the last flakes of green paint cling to it in defiance. One last day of classes to distract me from my miserable life.My phone buzzes, the ten minute warning bell rings in five, and Reed’s not here yet. He insisted I wait for him by my locker this morning, so I pop open the small cubby above my m...

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“Before the Priest Arrives and After” by Antonio Simone

Submitted to Contest #234

It was 8:00 pm, there had been stew for dinner, and Tino –in his permanent place on the bed in the other room– had to be put in his night clothes. They always ate dinner with him. The nurse, Lina, sat at the bedside, his sister, Mariella, on the chair by the dresser. Mariella used to take care of him by herself, now her hands shook and Lina helped. Mariella dealt with the dinner things in the sink while the nurse prepared her brother for bed. “There was a Frenchman in the muck with him who brought the big silver pocket watch. M...

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“Rafe the Racoon” by Janet Severn

Submitted to Contest #234

Sandy the Squirrel and Sam the Squirrel were sitting under an oak tree. Sandy was leaning her head on Sam as he fed her an acorn. Rafe the Racoon was watching them from behind a mulberry bush. His eyes were bloodshot. His heart was pounding. He rose on his hind legs to count how many acorns they had left, and winced as a searing pain flashed in his hind leg. He knelt back down. He had seen a few acorns - four, maybe five. Sandy's eyes were closed, and Sam kissed her on the forehead. Rafe sprinted at them. The pain flashed again in his h...

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Write a story about someone whose time is running out.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 112 stories

“Unneeded” by Christina Nordlander

“03/27/74” by Leanna Sanders

“Advance Notice” by Peter Wyatt

“A Matter of Time” by Bonnie Dubbs

“ROOT” by D.T. Ries

“Before the Priest Arrives and After” by Antonio Simone

“Rafe the Racoon” by Janet Severn

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about someone who wishes they could turn back time.

Write about someone taking advantage of some unexpected free time.

Start or end your story with someone saying, “We have all the time in the world.”

Set your story in a place that’s frozen in time — literally or metaphorically.

Contest #234

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

340

Contest entries

132

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: