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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story from the antagonist’s point of view.

Posted in Character on Aug 9, 2024

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✍️ 84 stories

“The Ex” by Kathleen Fine

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #263

One thing people often miss about life is that preparation is key. It’s all about planning. Getting each detail right. It makes all the difference. If you plan carefully, you succeed. It’s that simple. Whether it’s a big project or just a daily routine, being ready sets you apart. "One venti brown sugar oat milk iced latte," she mutters, her eyes shackled to her phone. Bad-mannered, I think. It's a glimpse into the core of someone's soul- how they treat those serving them. It separates her kind from mine. She flicks her phone over the card r...

66 comments 66
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“The Devil's Rebuttal” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #263

Author’s note: Long, long ago (contest #238), in a land far, far away a lady was debauched by the Devil. Today Mr. Devil asks, nay demands, equal time. Who am I, a mere author, to deny him.To all my female readers, please remember he is taken. To my male readers, I am willing to share his techniques, at a price, of course.Though it pains me to be beholden to a female, even though she conceived of me, I do appreciate to have been given the chance to clear my name. I assume you have read Lady Gwendolyn’s side of our story. She’s not known to b...

44 comments 44
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“The Woman Who Was a Beach” by Bruce Carrington

Submitted to Contest #263

Sounds of chops and clicks of knives at work, the business of pans underneath the makeshift fire pits. The air smells of grilled skewers of lamb and chicken marinated in lime, soy, and garlic. Everything fades when a cloud of steam blows on my face and mutes all my senses. I bravely walk across it and see a young Thai man standing behind a steel cart. He is hard at work despite no clients in sight. I see the smile on his face as he greets me, exposing his teeth, yellowed from the number of cigarettes he passionately consumes, even while cook...

9 comments 9
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“His World is Rocked” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

Submitted to Contest #263

Algernon Forbes' office entrance had locked, double steel doors and high frosted and barred windows. The perfect place for online surveillance and spying. Forbes sat at his desk in this dim basement office, scrutinizing his computer screen. With his cold eyes, square jaw, and hollowed cheeks, he commanded a mixture of fear and respect. Before him, a dozen staff worked diligently, staring at their computer screens - a cacophony of clicking and clacking on keyboards, the only sound until Algernon spoke loudly and imperiously."That Melissa, our...

27 comments 27
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“Big Bad Wolf” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #263

It’s me, the big, bad wolf. Or Wolfie, as my friends call me. Not Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, that swing jazz band from the last millennium. They were cool. But they’re not me. I’m cooler.Me. The big, bad wolf. Real and scary. Legend of story and song. Source of under the bed, childhood nightmares the world over.I’m everyone’s favorite baddy. Heard it all my life. Though it has had certain benefits, it isn’t a fair description of who I truly am.Granted, I haven’t always behaved like a lap dog. But you have to believe me when I tell you I got a bad...

26 comments 26
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“Call It Her Final Payment” by Chris Sage

Submitted to Contest #263

Morganna never wanted to be evil. Not as such. Just to give a few pompous so-and-so’s a bit of a fright. Maybe have a little chuckle at their misfortune while she was at it. The problem with the sort of raw power she had, was that aiming was tricky. She might just want to make a rat appear in someone's hair, get a few screams, take them down a peg. Unfortunately, if she was feeling grumpy, it'd manifest in her spell, and a red-eyed hell-rat would bite off half an ear and there'd be all sorts of unnecessary fuss. Never mind that she could fix...

26 comments 26
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“One Book Wonder” by Jack Kimball

Submitted to Contest #263

New York City: 1955Lonnie White pulled up his collar at a Fifth Avenue bookstore window against the cold. Black patches from lack of sleep lay under his eyes. Snowflakes, each an unkindly tiny angel to his mind, descended in the night. But it wasn’t the crystals scurrying down his back that gave him the shudders. Nor was it the ice melting in the hollow of his back. It was the overwhelming thought the snow crystals gathered together purposely, of one mind, a sentient being. This is not possible, he told himself. But it feels, all the same, l...

13 comments 13
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“Bush Smart” by James Scott

Submitted to Contest #263

Trigger warning: Sexual violence, horrendous language, physical violence and some gore. Honestly a little ashamed at how depraved this is - but the content was a situation my partner was warned against as a teenage girl growing up in Australia. Unfortunately, a very scary reality.Ryan blinked over his contracting pupils against the bright lights that signaled closing time. The heavy drinks he’d had earlier in the night, although keeping him happily inhibition free, were not enough to guard against the sinking feeling in his chest brought on ...

10 comments 10
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“The End” by Brian Haddad

Submitted to Contest #263

A lead slug slams into the rocky ground by Hobart's feet and he recoils into the air. Stone shards spray up into his exposed shins, leaving them stinging and raw. Hobart takes frantic, clumsy steps back, his eyes fixed firmly on the gun in Haley's hands."Give me one good reason not to kill you," Haley yells.The gun's concussive report still echoes in Hobart's ears, so the yelling is more than justified. "Because that's not what you do," he calls out, stumbling back and glancing over his shoulder to check his surroundings. A lone tree stands ...

12 comments 12
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“Sacrifice ” by Vid Weeks

Submitted to Contest #263

This is an adult story, with language and content which may offend those easily offended. I can remember the sparkles. Sunshine on water. At the river, that warm day in late spring. I remember the droplets on her skin and I remember her eyes. Her huge childlike eyes, deep brown and clear and innocent. Still unaware of her beauty, a child. Her perfect sun kissed legs. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. I thought, how long do I have, how long will it take her to finish her drink, lips pouting round the rim? I didn’t want it to end. A face like o...

16 comments 16
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“The Thorns of '69” by Carol Stewart

Submitted to Contest #263

When Barbara left for Universe City, Dad said she went with a rocket up her ass. 'Not a by-your-leave' according to Mum who still couldn’t quite believe she'd 'just flounced right on out of the door'. I think she really meant 'bounced' for I could see how my sister would have done that if she’d been sat on a rocket. Don’t know where she did blast-off. Maybe the carpark.Mum was so mad at her going like that as she’d wanted to see her off, and she’d made all those sandwiches too, went out and bought that special coffee. Wouldn’t get anything n...

23 comments 23
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“Heart of the Dragon” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #263

When I took the assignment to interview Rico Mendoza, I didn’t have a clue that the interview would take place on the last day of his life.  I have been a reporter for the Charlotte Observer for over ten years.  Recently, I was promoted to the main source of legal matters including capital punishment cases. While this may sound exciting and engaging, the reality of sitting in a courtroom day after day isn’t really a picnic, if you ask me.   Rico was sitting on Death Row in the Central Federal Prison in Raleigh for multipl...

5 comments 5
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“With or Without Reason, Death is Death” by Jesse Michael Berryman

Submitted to Contest #263

Unblinking, Redshift stared out from behind her mask, her breathing much too gentle for how much rage was inside her heart. The voice inside her head of her partner and longest friend, Lightless Smear, replaced most thoughts she might’ve had, keeping her calmer than she had any right being. They were a lethal pair, the two of them, deadlier than some armies, and certainly capable of accomplishing the mission they had set out on today.    There was death to be had here in Gruttum, the capital of the Kingdom Shadowwish, and...

9 comments 9
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“The Devil is in the Details” by Megan DeRouin

Submitted to Contest #263

“You have one of those faces you know.” “What?” The young man gasped out, his eyebrows raising behind a mop of dirty blonde hair. His was a handsome kind of face. Easy smile that crinkled those honest blue eyes. He looked young, but they always sent them young. The older ones were too smart, too wary or worldly to come anymore. “The kind of face that…” I paused and ran a finger over his full lips, drawn into a scowl as he tried to shift out of reach only to find the silk at his wrists didn’t go that far. “People trust.” It was a poor descrip...

2 comments 2
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“The Beacon ” by Jessika Sims

Submitted to Contest #263

There were people like us, and then there were people like her.She was their so-called 'hero'. She came in to save the day. Looked good in the media too.Everyone loved a pretty endorsement. They gave her a stupid name too; Beacon, I think it was? Their 'shining light'. Well, the light only shines so bright when it's illuminated by big spotlights and cameras. I saw plenty of times when it flickered in the shadows, almost faltering. Beacon.I snorted at how patriotic it all was. And here she was, drinking in the stars b...

10 comments 10
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