Write a story in which a character is running away from something, literally or metaphorically.

Posted in Angst on Jan 26, 2024

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✍️ 122 stories

“The Crying Cow” by Ken Cartisano

Submitted to Contest #235

It looks like my crime spree is coming to an end. Blinding blue lights are flashing all around, I hear dogs barking in the distance, drawing nearer, a helicopters' rotors chop the air in the sky above me with inexorable efficiency as I cower behind a downed and rotting oak tree and a couple of stiff-leafed cabbage palms.A crackling voice through a megaphone informs me that I am surrounded. If I surrender peacefully, no one will get hurt. Not one, but two red dots flicker and dance through the foliage a few meters away. Sharpshooters! With la...

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“The Squiggles” by Sjan Evardsson

Submitted to Contest #235

The Squiggles sprawled out from the edges of the city; an array of bright colors that covered the hand-built cinderblock, concrete, and wood buildings without making it seem any less dire than it was. Ed felt blind without his collar plugged in, feeding from the net towers that blanketed the city in bandwidth and provided his “inner voice” that had long ago replaced whatever instinct he might have had. Most people that ended up in the Squiggles never planned it. Those who moved there on purpose, like Ed, only did so because they were avoidin...

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“His Bedroom” by MJ J

Submitted to Contest #235

The warmth of his bed is pleasant like a kiss of sunlight on my skin, it’s like dancing in a yellow sundress on the last day of summer, drunk on wine and barefoot in the grass. I probably should remember getting here, but there must’ve been too much alcohol last night, because I don’t. The sheets wrapped around my body smell like him, and all of his things are exactly the way I remember them being. The ‘I love NYC’ coffee cup is next to his notebook, the glasses he always forgets to wear are on his shut laptop, and this sense of familiarity ...

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“General” by Hannah Lannswift

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #235

My eyes fly open like I’m waking from the dead. I start up, tossing aside the blanket that had been tangled around my legs. Something woke me up. I kick dirty laundry out of the way and shift my body to sitting up. Head swimming. The sunlight is too bright in the room and I find myself squinting around. When I lean forward, my phone tumbles off my lap, hits the edge of the coffee table, and clatters to the floor. I wince. “Shh!” I hiss at it. Why is that so loud? It echoes through the whole house. I look down at the dark phone way far away...

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“A Fate Worse Than Death” by Sive Rivers

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #235

It was the third time Arizona had stopped for gas in the last two days. She always went inside to pay, since she always had to grab some type of caffeine now. She was surprised how quickly her life had changed, and exactly what parts of it were different, than they had been on Saturday. Her sister was peacefully asleep in the passenger’s seat while Arizona pumped gas. That was almost all Micah did now. Arizona wouldn’t complain about it. Asleep, but alive, was just fine by her. While she sipped on the overpriced energy drink, she stared off ...

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“The Grand Canyon or The Mount Everest ” by Yam Andrenalina White

Submitted to Contest #235

When someone’s heart breaks, so does a piece of the world. A crack in the pavement, a valley, or even an earthquake. Likewise, when someone’s heart is repaired, so is the earth.Will this be a story of the creation of the Grand Canyon, or will it be the creation of Mount Everest?Will his heart be found or lost?…..I loved plentifully, but it was only seven souls in the whole world that I loved deeply.Mama squeezed my legs as I groaned in pain and relief.“Caius, my boy, you may love your dreams more than yourself, but I don’t love anything more...

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“The Hellhound ” by Darren Reith

Submitted to Contest #235

I stumble through the dreamlike terrain, legs heavy, exhausted, and ready to surrender. I can either sit and down and let the beast take me or I can stand and fight. My heart pounds in my chest. I can sense it; the menacing presence that lurks in the shadows- the Hellhound.I've always been plagued by the most vivid of nightmares. In the waking world I'm just a regular guy, going about my everyday mind-numbing life but in the realm of dreams, I'm hunted by a relentless creature from the depths of hell. Night after night, the Hellhound hunts m...

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“The Wall” by Aubrey Hunsaker

Submitted to Contest #235

Gray clouds crawled through the evening sky, the promise of a storm trembling in the bellies of the fullest pockets. Warm puffs hung in the air from Athilea’s quick breathing as she crept through the cold, damp streets, avoiding the streams of sewage running down the thin canals. Rats feasted on rotten food, and drunks lay passed out in the alleyways. She tucked behind the stone column of a corner store while a group of peasants hurried along, pulling her hood over her long dark hair and stepping farther into the shadows. Her beauty far sur...

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“From and Towards” by Prissy Sturz

Submitted to Contest #235

There’s no way people actually eat this shit. I ladled the brown goo onto the plate and handed it to the person waiting in line. They accepted it gratefully, giving a small smile before they turned and left to go sit with the others. That’s what I thought before I had to eat it myself. In truth, it wasn’t actually bad. It looked somewhat concerning, yes, but once you got it into your mouth, you’d come to find out that it was actually pretty good. For being the leftovers of whatever had been scavenged from the trash bins of the Corpuses,...

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“Run!” by Paul Littler

Submitted to Contest #235

2026It was a nice neighbourhood until the election; then, like the rest of the country, it went to hell. Elizabeth, from her loft space, watched the crosses burning in her neighbours front yards. RUSP police stood guard as hooded Klan members, probably the same white guys from the Regional Committee of Governance, set cars alight on driveways, kicked down doors and dragged whoever had been dumb enough, too proud or too poor to stay.She watched Mrs Washington struggling, screaming at her attackers, dragged her by her hair across her lawn wher...

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“Anabel Ray” by Tammy Haskins

Submitted to Contest #235

Kara kept running! It was like she was being chased by a wild beast, but it was just a jogging trail. I was trying my best to keep up and yelled, “Kara, what are you running from? Why go so fast and so hard?” She kept running. My chest was hurting, and I was panting as I struggled for air, “Kara STOP! STOP!” She stopped cold in her tracks with her back to me and was silent except for her breath. I could hear her with each labored intake and outtake of air and imagine the rise and fall of her chest. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel so...

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“I’ll Buy the Chalupas” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #235

Something bad always happens to Elroy Lowe whenever he goes on a field trip. Today his stink meter is off the charts. Noticing Elroy’s worried expression, eight-year-old Kendall Caribou, a rambunctious redhead born to needle boys asks, “What’s up, buttercup?” “Nothing.” “Right. You look like you need a change of underwear.” The forty second graders continue to sing the lyrics to “Lil Boo Thing” without knowing what they mean, clapping in time. Sitting behind the bus driver, thirty-two-year-old Ellie English smiles, happy she chose to ...

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“Rapture” by Kathryn Kahn

Submitted to Contest #235

Part 1 Uncle Teddy didn’t talk much and he didn’t drink at all anymore, so he tended to fade into the background at family holiday celebrations. This was in contrast to Aunt Loraine, who was a talker, and an enthusiastic consumer of specialty cocktails. These are both family traits. We all love to talk and poke fun at each other, and family gatherings can sometimes get very loud as everyone is trying to be heard. We also make alcohol front and center on these occasions, and we have numerous family recipes for punches, blender drinks, and i...

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“Stellar Ruse” by Crystal Farmer

Submitted to Contest #235

Seraphina Celestis. Dark skin, dark eyes, dark hair with a hint of red–she was beautiful. Orion Blackthorn watched her gesticulating excitedly to her expo booth visitors, words pouring over each other as she described her research into the Luminary Artifact. He felt awkward in a blue jumpsuit covered in luminescent stars, but he fit right in on the colorful planet Astraloria. It was the kind of place that could be called lush, with as many tall tropical trees as buildings. He was in the capital city, Celestis, and he was staring at a...

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“Escape From the Garden” by Tracy Phillips

Submitted to Contest #235

Staying with Grandma was the highlight of my summers back then. I didn’t really notice the lack of an indoor toilet or that you had to pump water into the kitchen sink instead of turning a knob. I didn’t care that the coal stove spewed enough heat up close to melt your fingernails while failing to warm drafty corners. I never felt deprived when Grandma and I did our laundry using an old ringer washer that billowed steam like monster-movie fog. I suppose I was a bit obtuse; blind to the agony of having only one black and white TV, unaware of ...

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Write a story in which a character is running away from something, literally or metaphorically.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 122 stories

“The Crying Cow” by Ken Cartisano

“The Squiggles” by Sjan Evardsson

“His Bedroom” by MJ J

“General” by Hannah Lannswift

“A Fate Worse Than Death” by Sive Rivers

“The Grand Canyon or The Mount Everest ” by Yam Andrenalina White

“The Hellhound ” by Darren Reith

“The Wall” by Aubrey Hunsaker

“From and Towards” by Prissy Sturz

“Run!” by Paul Littler

“Anabel Ray” by Tammy Haskins

“I’ll Buy the Chalupas” by Michael Jefferson

“Rapture” by Kathryn Kahn

“Stellar Ruse” by Crystal Farmer

“Escape From the Garden” by Tracy Phillips

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with one or two characters going for a run.

Make a race an important element of your story.

Write about a character who suddenly cannot run anymore.

Write a story that includes someone saying, “You can’t run forever.”

Contest #235

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

310

Contest entries

121

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: