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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

“A Walk in the Desert” by Holland Wells

Submitted to Contest #110

Lance could not believe his eyes when he saw an older white ford pick-up truck pull over. The heat was sweltering and the sun had been blazing down on him for hours. Still he was not for sure if it was real. The last two times a vehicle stopped the drivers waited until he got close to the door and then took off. Lance realized that this was because he was dirty and hadn't shaved in over a week and most likely looked like a serial killer that hitched hiked through the Mohave desert only to find his prey.Lance approached the vehicle and reache...

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“It was Doomed From the Start” by Sophie Smith

Submitted to Contest #110

If you knew how you were going to die, would you try and stop it from happening or just accept the inevitable? I wouldn’t have run away. I wouldn’t have gotten in the car and drove. I would have picked up Ezekiel. After all, he's still here. I started on the doomed journey two days ago. I had had enough. I just needed to get away. The pain had become too much. So I did what I always did. I ran. I quickly packed my backpack full of clothes, and also grabbed my phone and car keys. Within a matter of minutes, I am out of my hometown a...

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“'There is a Tide In Affair of Dogs...'” by Django House

Submitted to Contest #110

'THERE IS A TIDE IN AFFAIRS OF DOGS, WHICH TAKEN AT THE FLOOD LEADS ON TO FORTUNE. OMITTED, ALL THE VOYAGE OF THEIR LIVES IS BOUND IN SHALLOWS AND MISERIES.' The spring settled in for good by the time Barry the Beagle finally realised he was not being appreciated by his people. He endured years of being mistreated, disrespected, poorly fed, talked down to and radiculed, had his feelings hurt too many times to count and decided it was high time to make some changes. Four years is a long time in dog’s calendar. -There must be a b...

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“Will Work for Food” by Clif Flynt

Submitted to Contest #110

The discreet wooden sign by the side of the road read, "Peaceful Cove Hotel." Under it, a less discreet sign announced, "This week only, Pierre Maitriser." I eased my bike off the road and studied the sign. I didn't care who was singing in the lounge. I wanted a meal. My last five bucks had gone into the bike's gas tank. I'd rather ride with an empty stomach than push with a full one. I didn't know what back road I was on. It didn't matter. I'd be moving along soon. It's easy to run away from mistakes. Mine had been tossed into the trashcan ...

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“Marvin's daughter had a cat” by Ruth Zschoche

Submitted to Contest #110

TW: suicide, violenceThere wasn't much to do. It was going to be hard no matter what, but she put herself into it as she always did. Someday, maybe, she would have someone to help her and stay with her - and leave with her. But she now knew it wouldn't be this town, this time. She had a few boxes left in the living room, books on bookshelves, several dishes and pans that she had left in the kitchen. And the litter box. The bed was stripped. The bathroom bleached. Everything she had touched for personal use had been donated or thrown away at ...

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“The road to the end of the aisle” by Kerry Williams

Submitted to Contest #110

9 months to go “We have plenty of time” you tell me, eyes fixed on the TV whilst mine gaze down at sleek pages adorned with delicate white lace, pastel floral arrangements, and multi-layer cakes. “I’m just excited” I reply “and we have plenty to do - dress, rings, cake, music, venue. Will we do it here in Melbourne, or go elsewhere? Maybe somewhere tropical – I’d love a beach wedding!” “We’re not made of money” comes your response, and I try to hold back my annoyance at the fact that you don’t share my view that we shouldn’t be stingy...

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“Carson Kelly's final tour” by Isobel Tynan

Submitted to Contest #110

Then We have plenty of time, Carson said, with that crocodile smile, as he pulled me through the door of his hotel suite and into his tight sandalwood and brylcreem embrace. His lecture notes, the printed slide deck and my first chapter which he’d promised to read, spilled from the manila folder I was carrying and scattered over the deep-pile carpet. Leave it, he urged, hurrying me onto the bed with its pristine gleam of sharply cornered sheets and festoon of puffed-up pillows and velvet throws. After, I pulled the tangled sheet ar...

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“Polaris: Route 43” by JM Rodgers

Submitted to Contest #110

It was getting darker down the highway, heavy cloud cover obscured a young moon and the chevrons lining the road started to glow a pale blue. Sirius’ eyes strained, despite the drop in light it was still horribly hot inside the car, the low hum of the engine had been his only company for the past eight hours and fatigue was starting to set in. No other travellers had passed by all day leaving the road completely deserted. He drove by a billboard for a Cosmo’s Diner three miles away, he could use a break so moved into the...

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“El Amor” by Cindy Calder

Submitted to Contest #110

Mariposa sat at the small table in the dimly lit diner better known as the Café Bohemia on the dusty road outskirts of Havana, Cuba, patiently awaiting her date's arrival. Havana, though somewhat laid back in nature, was a growing and busy city, and it was possible that Santiago had been detained by unforeseen events at La Tienda de Escritores, or The Shop of Writers, where he worked in the city. The old bus that traveled this way could have also been running late and delayed him. Either way, Mariposa reassured herself he would arrive shortl...

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“Bacon & Eggs” by Vincent Cruz

Submitted to Contest #110

I don’t recall how I got here. I blew in with the wind I think. Stumbled across the threshold and tumbled onto the linoleum of a diner on the side of the road. The street out there is laden with ash and debris like a hurricane tore through the neighborhood and lit the place on fire with matches and gasoline. I'm still trying to get my bearings. I’ve found a seat at the counter and a woman with half a face is asking if I’d like some eggs and a side of hash browns. Behind me two young men do what they can to barricade the door. It seems...

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“Great Southern Land” by Catherine Gunst

Submitted to Contest #110

It was a great idea. It was a wild idea. It was the kind of idea burned out office workers dreamed about as they rubbed their bleary bloodshot eyes while staring at computer screens. Wouldn’t that be fun? They might say, while standing in line at the photocopier. Driving all the way around Australia, really seeing the country, you know? The real country. The outback. Not just the cities and the tourist spots. And staying wherever you want each night. Just you, the van, and the road. And then they would laugh, collect their copies, an...

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“Monochromatic” by Nicholas Castine

Submitted to Contest #110

I asked him why we couldn't shoot doe and he told me it's because they were mothers. Without them the fawns would starve or be easily plucked off their teetering legs by coyotes or bears or wander into roads to be smashed by cars. They don’t got antlers but they know how to hide, he said. My brother elbowed me a stiff one as if to tell me to not bother the old man with my stupid questions. As if I should have learned this from morning cartoons or from our uncle with the spongy nose. Out there there’s no one to look after you if it a...

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“Terminus” by Meg Seatter

Submitted to Contest #110

The highway stretched out ahead of them as far as the eye could see, a dark concrete line that stood out sharply against the tan sand of the surrounding terrain. In didn’t matter which direction you looked out here; flat desert was all there was to see. This highway had nearly no curves. From Alice Springs to Katherine, the road ran almost perfectly straight, parallel with the state lines on either side it. They had already been driving for a full day and a half, plus the two days it had taken them to get to Uluru, the most famous ...

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“Detour” by Floria Yang

Submitted to Contest #110

Trigger warning: Child abuse, hazardous driving, character death, suicide <I> “I wish this trip never happened.” I leaned my forehead on the driver’s side-window watching my husband carrying the baby into another diner. This was the fifth time we had to stop to change her diaper since this trip started two hours ago. My stomach had been filled with banana cream pancakes, over-roasted coffee and milkshake that got us those bathroom privileges. I hoped this diner would hav...

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“UNBELIEVABLE, ISN’T IT?” by Subhomoy Gupta

Submitted to Contest #110

After having a smashing time at my friend Rohan’s house, which is nearly 23 kilometers from where I live, a slightly heavy and rather drowsy myself staggered towards my car to prepare for the journey ahead. He convinced me to stay for the night, but I was quite adamant on returning to the coziness of my own home. “And anyway, if I agree to stay, promise me you are going to take all the phone calls from my parents” I said, chuckling, raising an eyebrow. “You know them” I said in a dark and sinister manner. That certainly spooked the wits out...

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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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