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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#110: Hit the Road, Jack

On September 5th, 1957, Jack Kerouac published On the Road — a hugely influential novel, swelling with jazz, heat, and Americana, that follows free-spirited mavericks Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty on their travels across the States. To celebrate its 64th anniversary, this week’s prompts all take place on the long and winding road (or right next to it). Safe travels!

This week's prompts

Set your story in a roadside diner.

Dystopian – 59 stories

Write about a couple who fall out on the road.

Valentine's Day – 16 stories

Start your story with a vehicle pulling over for a hitchhiker.

Horror – 47 stories

Write about a character on the road — and on the run.

Adventure – 40 stories

Start your story with the line “We have plenty of time,” and/or end it with the line “We were never going to make it.”

Angst – 47 stories

Stories

“Two Thumbs Up” by Marcia H.

Submitted to Contest #110

Hitchhiker’s row is what they called it. It was the part of Old Cotters Road where on any given day or night you would see only one thing besides Mr. Murphy’s cows in the pasture. A row of hitchhikers would be standing in a line thumbs up looking for a ride out of town. That’s exactly what Justin Paris saw when he drove down that country road on a hot July’s day. Justin was from Arrow Wood, a few towns away from Old Cotters Town and today he was on his way to Junction City. Junction City was the place where his new job was. He ...

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“I Say Goodbye to My XK150” by Leon Moss

Submitted to Contest #110

I’ve been stopping at Suzie’s Diner for years, all the years that I’ve been working for ‘The Office’, better known as MI24. It’s now 37 years, making me the veteran agent in The Office and giving me certain privileges: a slightly bigger paycheck and barely noticeable shorter hours. It also gives me the most difficult and the most dangerous jobs. Sometimes I think they’re trying to get rid of me in order to save on paying out my pension. Suzie’s Diner’s coffee is the best. It keeps me awake and alert; it’s not burnt and has great tast...

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“Mercy Driver” by Day Parker

Submitted to Contest #110

MERCY DRIVER By Day Parker If Steve could get one more ride, he could get to Smithville, and be home in another hour. It was August in Texas and hot. The sunshine beat on him with no mercy. He could feel its rays cutting through his jacket like a knife. It was his favorite denim jacket. He had to wear it, carry it or lose it. Losing it was not an option. In the last town he had soaked it so he could wear it in this heat. But now it was dry and did nothing to alleviate the UV rays constantly attacking him. Steve stu...

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“Hitcher” by Terrye Turpin

Submitted to Contest #110

CW: child sexual abuseThey picked up the hitchhiker outside Salado, Texas. Twelve-year-old Kenny, his head hanging out the window like a dog’s, was the first to spot the blind man. He stood on the gravel embankment at the edge of the highway, nothing around him—no gas stations, no fast-food places, no buildings—just the flat expanse of fields dotted with scraggly trees. The last rest area had been three miles back, on the other side of the interstate.“A hitchhiker!” Kenny whooped, delighted by the unexpected vision, as if he’d spotted a flyi...

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“The Sacrificial Fawn” by Rick Van Cleave

Submitted to Contest #110

“Are you ok miss?” I said as I roll down the passenger window just before getting on the 101. A woman with deep eyes and a white sheet draped around her revealed her face. “Can you ride me to San Luis Obispo?” “If you mean give you a ride, yeah sure,” I said then murmured. “I’ve given rides to much worse.” “Thank you,” she said. “Hold on, let me move some stuff. I do paper delivery and sometimes make a mess. I’ll just toss it in the back and we are goo...

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“Memories that sell” by Dionisia Lampadariou

Submitted to Contest #110

“15 euros, eh? You’ve got enough material for a 40-minute ride?” “Totally! I just got back from a trip to Murcia, you’re going to LOVE the drawings I made of the beach. Plus, I have a peach mocktail recipe I can share with you, and the lyrics from a local hit. Not to mention the airlines reviews, drama from the hotel I stayed at, restaurant-” “Okay, okay, hahah! You earned this one, come on in!” Eva made herself comfortable in the Toyota Aygo, carefully placing her cardboard sign between the car seat and the door. “Insta Museum”, it re...

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“THE HITCHHIKER” by Julia Corliss

Submitted to Contest #110

One morning while driving west on a flat stretch of road outside Abilene, Texas, I saw the stranger with his thumb out long before I stopped and offered him a lift. He thanked me politely while carefully depositing his guitar case in the back seat. He had no other bags except for a backpack that he slipped off and deposited at his feet as he got into the passenger seat. “Where are you headed?” I asked. “West,” he answered. “Me too. “ Looking directly at the guitar case, I continued, “Do you play?” “Some,” he answered and without another wo...

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“The Man” by Herta X

Submitted to Contest #110

"You know what I was thinking? The dez is like a simile for the world... I mean like, many people just see nothing, but in reality there's a lot of beauty if you just look... in one of the two most beautiful countries in the world (or at least outside of Germany and Austria)""Yah, that's very true, babe :) the dez is just great!""Yah it is (: you know what else is great, or even greater?""What?""You""I love you, you know that?" he said, smiling at her lovingly and taking her hand in his."I love you too" she replied, lovingly squeezing his ha...

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“Silence is Freeing” by A.N. Wright

Submitted to Contest #110

Ten days I'd been in this area. Ten days of no running... Taking time to breathe. It was quiet, modest sized, and secluded. The ideal spot hidden away. Somewhere to blend. To disappear. So I rented a room on the edge of the town, and haven't been out since. An incredibly lonely existence, but it was safe. Safe from him. I'd been running for a few years. From place to place and everywhere in between. Never over staying my welcome. Never sticking around long enough to leave an impression...never leaving roots. I'm merely a shadow of the...

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“Adder's Kiss” by Tyler Hanson

Submitted to Contest #110

(Content Warning: Gore and Violence) Dawn approaches with the first rays of light glimmering on Adder’s body, flashes of red and blue trailing behind him. Adder didn’t understand why they were chasing him, or trying to shoot him down. So he continued to run. He would run the road crimson with his blood if he had to, if that meant getting his wife to a hospital faster. Mara had collapsed in front of him, and he had no idea why. So, he did what any caring husband would do, pick her up, and run for assistance. Yet, everywhere he went, they wo...

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“I Believed...” by Mariah Messimer

Submitted to Contest #110

We have plenty of time. We have the rest of our lives. That’s what you told me anyway and like the love struck fool I was I believed it each and every time. I knew that I had met you at a difficult time. The beautiful blue skies and radiant sunshine brought about a lot of work for you. I knew it was the busiest time of year for you when I chose to commit to loving you. I told myself that if I could just make it through the warm months I would get you all to myself as soon as the chilling winds rolled in and that first blanket of snow caresse...

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“Time Flies, But Sometimes It Crashes.” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #110

There was no conceivable way that either of Angie or I could say with any truth, “We have plenty of time” because we certainly did not on this occasion. But neither of us likes to rush through getting ready. It makes our minds forget some of the things that we should either do or bring with us. We did surely want to get to the airport on time so that we could meet up with and say ‘goodbye’ to our daughter Vivian before she left for her vacation in Paris. She had been busy on the weekend with her preparations for the trip, so...

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“Windward” by Nora Sheppard

Submitted to Contest #110

"We have plenty of time." It had become our mantra. My husband, Bill, and I, Sally, met when we were both 40; we married at 41. Neither of us had children and were unsure if we could achieve pregnancy at our age. I knew the stats; on average, a woman my age had only 3 percent of viable eggs remaining. In any case, we wanted children and hoped it would just happen. In vitro could be difficult and expensive. My doctor said we needed to relax and discard the ovulation kits. Babies happen when you don’t try so hard. I was a sociology professo...

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“It's always the quiet ones. ” by Shivali Anand

Submitted to Contest #110

"We have plenty of time, love. Don't worry." Mr. Macintosh yelled from his room to his now impatient wife. Peter Macintosh had stared at himself in the mirror, looking at the white suit jacket and black vest on him. Looking every bit the CEO of the most notorious insurance company that Texas had to offer. "You're not going to say that when your brother scolds us for turning up late to his party.” the woman yelled back, igniting a chuckle from him. His wife Lilah always kept him on his toes, always sensing whenever a sense of danger ...

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“Deadly Grits: The Dystopian Diner by Francesca Quarto” by Francesca Mohan

Submitted to Contest #110

Deadly Grits: The Dystopian Diner by Francesca Quarto The diner was set like a jewel in the surrounding ring of blackness. As it crunched under my boots, the sound of the gritty soil was magnified in the great void of endless night. I was lost and knew I’d never find my way out of the deep valley. I laughed cynically to myself, when the delusion of hope flared at seeing something other than rocks and death. Hope that I’d be rescued before I turned into just another desiccated creature lying on the scorched ground. I’...

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$250

Prize money

209

Contest entries

144

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 10, 2021 EST

Won by JanetthePlanet 66 🏆

Title: My Mother's Dreams.

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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