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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

“An Error of Judgement” by Dave Quinn

Submitted to Contest #110

He was jarred awake by an intense rush of wind carrying a gritty sand across his face, as a vehicle pulled alongside. It was a large white limousine with no livery and whose make he could not identify, in this dawn light, standing silently next to him.Amazingly, he summoned the inner strength to reach up, place his hand on the door handle and pull himself up, only to discover that it had no driver. He assumed he must be having hallucinations. He must have fallen unconscious but couldn’t recall when.As he began to muse over the smooth and sle...

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“Hitchhiking can be scary” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #110

All she could hear was the hoot of an owl eerily sounding in the distance. Her breath was like small puffs of smoke as she breathed heavily in the cold night air. Even in the car it was freezing. The moon was a sliver tonight and almost completely hidden by dark clouds - not allowing her to see anything as she peered out of the window – just black silhouettes, different shapes and sizes. The car was stopped and parked on the side of the road, her phone was almost dead but there wasn’t a signal anyway. And she felt scared. Marie had been sitt...

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“Over and Out” by Paul McDermott

Submitted to Contest #110

Over and Out John slowed as he approached the corner of his street, took out his mobile phone and checked the message again. It was short, unambiguous, impossible to misinterpret. “ 2 x 200 missed. Tues pm. We know where you live” The final phrase was one that nobody in Liverpool wants to hear or read. John had spent all his Student Loan before Easter, and to keep body and soul together during his final year he’d been obliged to turn to Loan Sharks with punitive ‘interest charges’. Inevitably he’d missed payment dates – two, now – and the th...

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“Hollywood Audition Call” by George Lies

Submitted to Contest #110

Home for the holiday season Alison Houston held onto the hope of making her family proud by starring in a Hollywood film, given her recent experience as a bank robber on the run. On Thanksgiving Day after turkey dinner and all the trimmings, she mused how she had gotten to a nearby town, stole an unlocked sedan at a shopping mall, and made off with a large amount of a bank’s cash—all without a fuss. Not bad for a 30-year-old female actress, she thought. Beats waitress work while waiting for an audition call.Imagining...

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“Wasteland Flower” by Mo Colby

Submitted to Contest #110

TW: references to violence and elder neglectI see Luck twice before I let him inside my car. Before I stick my head out of the window and say “Where are you heading?” and he slides into the passenger seat as if it was made for him. He is all sunburn and dangling silver necklaces and he says “Anywhere.”The sun was sticky, trickling down my skull like someone had cracked an egg over my head. A physical weight that constantly made me brush over my hair to check if something was caught in it.There were forest fires in Florida and California and ...

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“Flight” by Michael Vowles

Submitted to Contest #110

Angela remembered how, in that moment, the night felt infinite. The further she drove the smaller she felt. The downtown lights in their blended multitudes became sparse bars of strip malls and gas stations, until the only light left came from the starlike beads that lined the highway north. The treeless plains passed by in darkness without depth. She kept going. Dawn broke to spiderlike lightning that printed softly pink on an off-white sky, as though reaching down across the Midwest to pluck her from her northward escape. Looking at it rem...

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“Garth” by Chris Huestis

Submitted to Contest #110

“We have plenty of time.” That’s what they would say each and every time. Plenty of time, and people believed it. Even now as everything shatters people deny it. “It is under control, we have time.” People took their word for it, anything to not lose what they had. Stability, the status quo. Even if everything were falling apart they would be calmed by a half convincing assurance. “We have -” Those were the last words the broadcast sent before being cut off. Pandemonium couldn’t describe what came next. People searched for any word, message,...

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“Lulu the Apprentice” by Matthew Morse

Submitted to Contest #110

“We have plenty of time, Lulu darling. Why are you walking so fast?”Lulu closed her eyes, sighing and turned her head to the ground. When she looked up again, her glare could have cut him in half.“Do not call me ‘darling’. I am not your ‘darling’ and I will NEVER BE your darling.”“That’s not what I was sensing two evenings ago in the banquet hall. In fact, from what I recall, you were shooting me some interesting glances, ones that I couldn’t have misconstrued.”Lulu let out a controlled breath. “Yes, I may have found you appealing that eveni...

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“Help!” by Angela Hausch

Submitted to Contest #110

“Help!” The diner, made popular only because of its proximity to the interstate, had a retro theme. An old juke box stood in one corner, and old vinyl records were stapled to the walls. The orange seats were faded by the sun streaming in every afternoon, and the floors were so worn or dirty that you could barely identify the pattern that they once boasted. There were only six booths and some worn swivel bar stools at the counter. He pushed me into the furthest booth from the door and sat next to me blocking me in. I ...

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“First Day” by Kaleen Kar

Submitted to Contest #110

First Day Hazel stood outside Danny’s Diner, running her hands down the pretty pale pink uniform and white apron to smooth out the creases. Of course, there were no creases. It was her nerves she was trying to smooth out. She had lived in this small town all her life and she loved it. She always felt safe. Everyone looked out for her, not just her three brothers. But that was also the problem. Everything she did was under scrutiny from everyone, and today was her first day at work. She took a deep breath when a voice came from behind. ‘Eve...

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“Grey's Place - A Diner Story ” by Ashton Newland

Submitted to Contest #110

Bright lipstick-red leather seats split open in places not yet patched, pristine but vintage decor of neon lights and signed photos of the old but famous, and the smell of coffee so thick you’re drinking it as you walk in the door. Grey’s Place, the local diner, is anything but grey. The gravel parking lot has a few cars peppered in it since the dinner rush has not yet started. The owner, looking younger than his age, is out on the wrap-around porch watering the hanging flower beds of sunset oranges, wispy blues, pinks, and muted purples. He...

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“Two pieces of burnt” by P.J. Lowry

Submitted to Contest #110

When we walked into the diner, it looked no different than any other diner you'd expect one to look like. The cute little tables, the long bar where single customers drank their coffee while waiting for breakfast. It all looked right out of a movie, but the roadside diner was very real and looked spectacular. My gal and I took one of the tables and smiled like your typical happy couple as the waitress strolled over and handed us a few menus. "Would you like anything to drink while you check out ...

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“Honeymoon in Limbo” by Heather Dale

Submitted to Contest #110

Honeymoon in Limbo by Heather Dale The seashells hanging from the rearview mirror clacked together with each bump in the road. They passed a wood sign that read, “Welcome to Oar’s Rest, an All-America Town.” “Remember our first road trip in this beast? We ended up stopping at that god-awful loud truck stop. We were parked next to the screaming guy whose diesel engine ran all damn night.” Margret sighed. She stared out the window, fondling the seashell chime recalling the m...

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“The long hike” by Cohen Firth

Submitted to Contest #110

A truck pulls up alongside the line I look up from the dark brown mud I am marching on and see an injured hitch hiker being huddled into the open rear of the mud-stained truck. My boots slap the soft mud in rhythm with the others ahead and behind me the rain pours out of the sky like a shower, a cold, harsh shower. The rumble of guns fills the air dimming slowly every hundred metres or so. This what retreat feels like. Hundreds of rag-tag conscripts and a few hard veterans from the first few years of this godforsaken war. My father’s war was...

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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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