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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

“We Were Happenstance” by Mackenzie Hebner

Submitted to Contest #110

We Were Happenstance By: Mackenzie M. Hebner Based on true events “Wanna grab lunch?” Goosebumps decorated my arms as I saw his name seep into the pixelated color combinations of my phone screen and proceeded to open his text. We’d been anonymous friends for ages, and everyone I knew thought we were what the kids call “endgame” material. By anonymous, I don’t mean the people who met online and don’t know a thing about each other but deal out personal information just for the heck of it, just that we became friends long...

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“My Life Teacher” by Victoria The Pirate

Submitted to Contest #110

"We have plenty of time!” She said, after I failed.It’s funny, how she would always say “us”, she had always felt close to me. “You can go to ‘Hites’ anytime you want. You’ve got plenty of years of school ahead of you. You don’t even have to try to get in next time, and this isn’t a failure. You will continue to learn in my theater school! That’s better anyways. You’ll have more fun!”After I failed, I didn’t try to get in to ‘Hites’ - the school of high theater education - ever again until it was too late. I was twenty already. Two...

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“Emani's Mission ” by Chyna Wells

Submitted to Contest #110

“We have plenty of time; it will be quick!” I screamed as I picked up every rock I could find. Our experiment was failing, and it was only a matter of time before NASA sent us back home. We needed those rocks, and the fate of humanity was in my hands. “We have to go now if we plan on making it back to the ship!” My coworker and wife slapped her hand on my back as I picked up the last space rock and headed through the desert. We were on a planet that looked just like earth. There were forests and plains, and of course, we had landed in the wo...

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“Never-ending Trip” by Alex Rose

Submitted to Contest #110

We have plenty of time. The rain falls with the determination of lightning hitting the ground and I wonder why I’m here. Sometimes I feel like that’s all I ever do; wonder. His breathing is heavy, almost like he smokes a pack a day, and the only other noise is the tires against the roadway. The window opens, with it smoke surrounds me but with every cloud that touches my face, it’s rushed out the window. Just as desperate to escape as I am. I secretly love the smell of cigarettes; it reminds me of home. Soon, they’ll remind me of him,...

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“La Mort des Apparences (The Death of Appearances)” by Cindy Calder

Submitted to Contest #110

“We have plenty of time,” Zelda said, reaching across the space betwixt she and her husband of eighteen years. She lovingly caressed his forearm in an attempt to assure him that his despondent thoughts were due to nothing more than the gloomy weather that had filled the day.“We have plenty of time to go all the places and see all the things your heart desires, Jacques. Life is still young and full of possibilities. Why in heaven’s name are you speaking as though your world has suddenly screeched to an unexpected stop and will never resume?”J...

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“The Speed of Music” by Ashley Larsen

Submitted to Contest #110

“We have plenty of time,” Mom waved a hand at the dashboard clock. “You’ll get there with minutes to spare.” 7:45 am. It took twenty minutes to get to school and classes start at 8:04. I rolled my eyes and fiddled with the radio dial—a soft voice crooned about a new love. Mom started to hum along but it was too slow so I moved to the next station. “You know, first period is the only class that I’m ever late for. If I get two more tardies, I’m going to get detention. What if that goes on my record and hurts my chances of getti...

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“Where is home (if not with me?)” by Marve Micheal

Submitted to Contest #110

We have plenty of time. I turned away from him as he carried a basket load of laundry up the stairs. His heavy feet stomping each stair as though he was climbing the dark side of a mountain into battle. I sighed and fought the thoughts that hoped he missed a step. Those words made my blood boil! In his world time waits for him, and in reality, time screws us over again and again and like idiots, we repeat the same patterns. Him, rolling his eyes and insisting that time is his mistress, and me in the corner agreeing through gritted te...

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“Just enough time” by José Ramos

Submitted to Contest #110

"We have plenty of time," Jason said nonchalantly. Ellie’s gaze immediately turned to her other friend Lisa, fearful of what her response was going to be. Lisa’s dark grey eyes turned to him. “Are you kidding?” She almost yelled at him. “We have to be out in five minutes or we won’t make it!” She quickly resumed packing her belongings into her duffel bag. Ellie knew she could trust Lisa. She had been protecting them for so long, Ellie couldn’t even remember a time without Lisa in her life. ...

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“The 7 year road” by Liza Blake

Submitted to Contest #110

We have plenty of time, I repeat to myself for the hundredth time and continue folding my towels into perfect rectangles. Bending to get the last one from the dryer I pause as another contraction waves through my abdomen. A quick check of my watch tells me it’s been 10 minutes since the last one. I load the next load of laundry into the dryer and carry the towels to the linen closet. It’s just after 5pm, so Drew should be arriving home any moment. I have plenty of time, I whisper to mysel...

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“The Rosary” by Alexxandria Payne

Submitted to Contest #110

Magdalene Rios cared not a fig for the suffocating heat of the desert. She longed for cold, cool, even just tepid, temperatures. But Momo Luci needed her pearl and milk glass rosary. And, of course, passing on at home in quiet Louisiana amidst the swamps had not been an option for her grandmother. Her grandmother would be extra even into the next life, it seemed. No, she had to go and rent a condominium on the beach in LA, with a room with a giant picture window facing the sea. Even though she was drugged out of her mind on morphine and prob...

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“GOING HOME” by Little Buzzie

Submitted to Contest #110

GOING HOME “Powder River Home” came on the jukebox, just as the waitress set the bacon, eggs, and grits before the man at the counter. Staley’s, the only café in its one-horse town, was deserted, except for the customer, Annie, the waitress, and Reuben the cook. Within the hour, the local breakfast customers would start drifting in, but things were always slow at six o’clock. “Going home sounds pretty good, don’t it,” the customer said, addressing his plate more than Annie or Reuben. “Wonder what I’d do...

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“Scars Don't Lie” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #110

Until a few days ago, Travis Carter didn’t have any scars. A greasy spoon changed all that. As he entered Sarah’s Diner, the smell of bacon, eggs, and Tabasco sauce hit him hard in the face. A tiny copper bell pealed, but something seemed off about it. Travis turned and looked up at the door frame.“It’s a recording,” Sarah said from the hosting podium.“Huh?” Travis said.“The bell. It’s fake.” Sarah pointed up at the entry way, her arm fat jiggling.“Oh.”“Just you, Hun?”“No, a table for two please.”“You’ll have to wait for your entire par...

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“A Love Between” by Itxy Lopez

Submitted to Contest #110

Nina’s eyes followed the clock’s hands. 3:03. Seven months ago they decided they would meet every Sunday at 3:00, but Ryan was always late. Nina twisted on the barstool and tapped her nails against the counter, pretending that Ryan was just that: late. Pretending she wasn’t afraid that this time, Ryan wouldn’t show up at all. Nina glanced at Beth, the restaurant owner, in the kitchen from the bar. She was cooking two burgers for her and Ryan, and Nina’s stomach flipped with guilt. Beth probably had more faith in her and Ryan than s...

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“Break down on the I-10” by Katie Faller

Submitted to Contest #110

Ed had to take a leak so he stuck his arm out the window to try to wave to cars behind him that he needed to pass. His blinker was busted and he was hoping to get it fixed once he and Sherri made it to California. “Can you help me?” he asked Sherri who was flipping through a magazine. “What?” “I need you to wave the cars in the right lane so I can move over.” Sherri sighed and cranked her window down. Ed waved his arm like he was swirling a t-shirt above his head, while Sherri’s gesture resembled more like a composer encourag...

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“A Road Trip with a Special Passenger” by Elizabeth Fenley

Submitted to Contest #110

A Road Trip with a Special Passenger Elizabeth Fenley I see the red mist of the hongaek around the car as the endlessly flat Texas landscape blurs together through the passenger seat window. He’s driving too fast, with his usual attitude that rules are for everyone else, weaving through traffic without signaling. I stopped commenting on that years ago. But, with the hongaek hovering, I wonder…. “You gonna pout the whole fuckin’ way? Cry like a little bitch?” I take a slow, quiet breath. “I’m not pouting. I’m not cryin...

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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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