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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

“Still Life” by Paula Chapman

Submitted to Contest #110

“Where should we go next?” I scratched my index and middle fingers, raw and red. Eczema again, because I didn’t have enough health issues. Montie stared at me. “Why can’t you plan ahead, Mason?” She sipped slowly, her pink lipstick staining the striped straw. She did everything slowly. She looked away. “Sorry. Wrong choice of words.” “Planning would be no fun.” Was my smirk enchanting or eerie? “Not to mention you’re running away again...

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“The Reckoning” by Tim Benson

Submitted to Contest #110

“The Reckoning” The Trailside Diner looked like so many small, nondescript cafes that dot the highways all over the country; white clapboard siding, an asphalt shingle roof and a tired old neon sign that was barely bright enough to read. Mark was only a few steps inside the entrance when a sturdily built red haired woman with a black apron wrapped around ample hips walked up to him. “Mornin’, hon, you can sit anywhere you’d like.” “I’m meeting someone here”, he replied, just as a man in a suede jacket, waving at him, caught his attention. “O...

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“Memories at the Diner” by Rachel Sotelo

Submitted to Contest #110

This was the place. It looked the same as I remembered, slightly deteriorated with time but I knew what it was, even in the dark. The Diner. I parked my new GMC Terrain in a faded parking spot facing the road and climbed out of the car. My eyes gazed across the lot of few vehicles, all the way to the forest lurking behind the building. The trees frightened me, but tonight they were going to protect me. My feet carried me to the front doors of the diner. The inside had not changed either, just withered pieces of what it used to be. An o...

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“Abram's Diner” by Ginger Crook

Submitted to Contest #110

Alex jolted awake when a loud truck engine screeched down the highway. His eyes opened and his fists clenched. He stared at the dirty ceiling of his backseat before sitting up slowly, his back cracking. Since he’d been asleep, the hint of sun disappearing into the west horizon had vanished completely. The only way anyone could see the road was the watery streetlights. The front seat in front of Alex was illuminated with orange light. He looked over and out of the windshield. He could see the bottom half of a neon sign. It said “Abram’s D...

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“The Night Shift” by Adam Jones

Submitted to Contest #110

Quick Warning: There is some coarse language, not a lot of it but if that's something you dislike, here's your warning. This story clocks in at 2464 words, I hope you enjoy.The Night Shift.Emily bent down and blew a stray piece of her long chestnut brown hair out of her mouth. Rolling up her plaid shirt sleeves she pulled out a small black bucket sealed tightly with a plastic lid, she peeled the lid off slowly to take a peek, but before she could catch a sight of the bucket's contents, the sour stench of spoiled mince violated her nostrils. ...

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“Sunset Drive” by Josh Lease

Submitted to Contest #110

The steep crags rolled by as they made their way north on the 445 beyond Sparks. The late afternoon sun began to give the blacks, tans, and oranges across the landscape that beautiful, increasingly vivid glow he loved about this stretch of road. The distinct lack of green gave the impression that this area was devoid of life, though he knew that not to be true. If you knew where to look you would find an abundance of life all competing to survive in this harsh dry environment. Feathers by Novo Stella played softly as they came around...

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“I-10 to Tucson ” by Emily Hemmings

Submitted to Contest #110

Up along the side of the road there was a figure, standing, waiting patiently as if in a lineup for a movie ticket. Carol Massey had already made up her mind to pull over in order to pick up this person who was waiting oh-so patiently for two reasons: one, had some tired long-haul driver not picked her up on the side of the road so many years ago, where would she be? Not in Phoenix, that’s for sure. Not happy. She’d still be in Tucson, haunted by her gruff father and the ghost of the child she had failed. The second reason is that she kept a...

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“Everything is Fine.” by DS VACILLATION

Submitted to Contest #110

Her mother used to warn her to look out for deer around these parts; they could jump into the road and cause a nasty accident, which, aside from the possibility of killing an animal or causing personal injury, could inflict some very expensive damage on the car. For a couple of hours, it was nothing but pine trees, power lines, and overly zealous Christian billboards on this stretch of I-10, so she always kind of hoped she would see a deer just to mix up the scenery a bit. The billboards provided some entertainment at least, for being so com...

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“BAREFOOT ON THE ASPHALT” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #110

BAREFOOT ON THE ASPHALT What struck me, but I can say the first thing I saw of him were his bare feet on the asphalt which, at that time____it was summer, it was about 1PM, had to be hot. Two large, very big bare feet very white too, as I was going to enter the highway, with my heavy load of goods to be transported not exactly near. The boy was disheveled, dressed unkempt, his trousers and his shirt looked dirty, he had long and matted hair, dirty they too. But what was even more incredible was that he was hold...

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“That was Then, This is Now” by Brett Kellerman

Submitted to Contest #110

Don’t pick-up hitchhikers. Period. It’s not something you do nowadays. Sort of ended in the 1970’s. Or 1980’s even. Usually dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Or a sweatshirt. For points of clarity, it should be noted that a sweatshirt is now what they now call a hoodie. No change in garment design, just a change in generation. Me and my attire? I look the fifty-something hobo that I am. Redneck’s more like it. My collegiate jean jacket’s collar is totally frayed; but it blends nicely with the curls in my long blonde hair. A hippie wannabe driv...

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“Hit 'N Run” by Trina High

Submitted to Contest #110

(Content Warning: profanity, violence, murder)MADDIEMy story? Well, I had me a husband by the name of Goosey...weird name, right? But, in hindsight, he did kind’a resemble a goose, what with his long neck and nose and beady eyes. And he weren’t no swan, I can tell ya’ that; I ain’t mistaken’, here. I only married ‘im cuz he seemed like the best option at the time. He did a decent job providin’ for us and our dog, Lucy. We lived on a farm and he was out milkin’ cows and whatnot for most of the day, then he’d sell the milk and sometimes a cow ...

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“The Road Take Me” by A Naomee

Submitted to Contest #110

“Thanks for driving me home.” Jenn leaned on Abby, eyes half mooned, breath ripe and sour. Abby gripped the wheel tighter and squinted out into the foggy night. It was nearly 2 AM on a Sunday, but even so she’d never reject an S.O.S. call from her best friend. “That was some intense shi—”“Jenn, lean that way.” Abby grumbled and shoved her off a bit. She tried not to let her frustration surface. “I can’t believe you drank so much, again.” She lectured, but Jenn was so out of it, she only erupted with laughter and somehow… it transitioned...

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“Onwards” by Sam Hoyle

Submitted to Contest #110

Country roads wind and weave their way through the countryside, littered with the disregarded trash of some and the smashed cars of others. Like a labyrinth, salvation is within reach: each turn or junction can lead one closer to freedom, but can all the same suck one deeper into the maze, until they happen upon a beast or lose their mind, reaching the end of the road, one way or the other. Pursued by fantastical beasts and lost in the labyrinth of the English country was Sean Butes. Sean inspected the rearview mirror; a mud-splattered four-...

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“Untethered” by Ashley Long

Submitted to Contest #110

On a Tuesday night, after feeding and bathing the children, after packing their backpacks and lunches for school, after ironing my husband’s shirts, I walked out the back door. I only meant to get some fresh air. I thought I’d sit on the porch for a bit, maybe look for constallations. But I walked to the end of the porch and then I walked to the end of the drive and then I just kept walking. By the time I crossed into Georgia I wondered if it was a federal offense to kidnap yourself. I dumped my cell phone before I crossed state lines. The...

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“On The Run” by Sentwali Amen-Ra

Submitted to Contest #110

The ominous rumble of thunder above vibrates through my bones as I quicken my pace down the lonely road. With no time for an umbrella, not even a coat, my body tenses as it anticipates my enemy, the rain. It always comes with pain. As the first drop splashes on my face and runs down my cheek, the memories come flooding back. The many times I hid in my room with endless tears soaking my pillow, while Mama screamed in pain. His fists were his weapons, and he used them well. Black and blue eyes and busted lips were their specialties. On extr...

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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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