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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#115: Connection Lost

It’s hard to imagine our lives without the constant presence of social media: it's a place to mingle, a source of news (however unreliable), and a form of entertainment. The jury’s still out on whether this omnipresence is good or bad, but what’s undeniable is that when a social media giant like Facebook goes down, as it did earlier this week, many of us feel as if we’re cut off from something. Taking inspiration from the recent blackout, the prompts for this week’s contest are all about connections, and what happens when they’re broken.

This week's prompts

One moment your character is talking on the phone with a friend, and the next, the connection is lost. Write a story about what follows.

Thriller and Suspense – 42 stories

Set your story in a town disconnected from the rest of the world.

Dystopian – 36 stories

Write about a character who feels like they're cut off from something.

Angst – 54 stories

Start or end your story with a character scrolling (or doomscrolling) through social media.

Adults – 14 stories

Write a story where a device goes haywire.

Science Fiction – 29 stories

Stories

“Farim's Journal” by B. Mather

Submitted to Contest #115

Cracking the pages as he reread them, Farim skimmed over his journal for about the third - no forth or maybe fifth time that day. It was a well worn device of his own creation. Once a smooth and flexible burgundy leather-backed book, it was now creased and sun-bleached to that same terrible tone of a decaying camel's fur. It had developed the texture of the sand that sat at their feet. The white pages had yellowed and even when it was perfectly sealed away and bound it had a musty smell that was so strong it repelled the mosquito and undead ...

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“Reconnected” by Glenda Goodrich

Submitted to Contest #115

The scalloped edges of rich green oak trees lined the rolling hills of Basket Slough Wildlife Refuge. Behind the oaks, billowing white clouds mimicked the curved arboreal flow of the trees. Stretched out in front of the oaks was a gold and brown field of dried Queen Anne’s Lace. I stopped on the path, took a deep breath, and let my eyes receive the landscape: honey gold, nutmeg brown, olive green, and dove white, all opening under a mantle of blue. It was a joy I’d taken for granted – clear views and breathing clean, fresh air. Wildfires h...

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“Through the Wireframe Mind” by David Fyne

Submitted to Contest #115

“Ella, meet Raymond. He was born in 1875. He lives in the telephone wires.” The man, George, was speaking. “Very few know about Raymond -- he realized it’s better that way long ago. You are joining a group I can count with just my fingers.” George turned, picked up a telephone headset. It was that archaic kind, with the rotary dial and rubber-encased wire that coiled round and round in tight little ringlets. “Hello, Raymond. This is Ella. She’s here to meet you,” he said into the...

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“Pay Attention” by Mallory Senn-Flinn

Submitted to Contest #115

Content warning: references to suicide and death ----------- She scrolled past image after square image of happy mothers, fathers, children with their toothy smiles, all appearing candidly full of joy and wonder. This specific photography account she began following a few days ago was becoming one of her favorites. The photographer had a distinct talent at capturing families at their most perfect, their most beautiful. Of course, she knew that photos like these weren’t always real life, but as she looked at a young mother cradling her ne...

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“Beating the Bugs” by Debra Williams

Submitted to Contest #115

BEATING THE BUGS. “Ha! Got you!” Stan Wozniack decreed with unmitigated glee. He had just eradicated the last Tyrannosaurus on the screen, in the final round of his favourite online game Defeat the Dinosaurs. “Wozniack one, dinosaurs nil. Sixty-thousand points to me.” His social media gaming companion Todd conceded defeat. “Congratulations, buddy. You’re the champion,” he typed. “Aww, thanks,” Stan replied. “Might be your turn next time.” He chuckled loudly, sounding like an old cartoon dog he had watched years ago...

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“Bluetooth Hijacked” by Perillai Perillai

Submitted to Contest #115

“You know that my biggest fear is terrorists hijacking the plane that I’m traveling on,” said Richard as he walked on the road leading to the airport. Richard was not a frequent flyer, but this year, he had been on flights for at least five times before. And every time, he had reported to the airport security that someone is planning to hijack the plane that he is going to travel on. “Terrorists are not born to terrorize only you Richard,” his wife replied back on the phone. Richard adjusted his Bluetooth earpiece and replied, “What if...

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“Translation” by Steve Collison

Submitted to Contest #115

Technology. I couldn't live without it! It's the thing that cures my boredom and helps people understand me. Hi, I’m Katsuro, I am 16 years old. Me and my family moved to America from Tokyo. Now, I don't know the first thing about the English language, so I use my phone a lot for translations. My older brother, Junjie, went out of his way to learn English. Yeah , that’s not me. I didn't want to move here anyway, so why learn the culture if in two years I will go back to Tokyo on my own. Other than Junjie, I have 1 other sibling. Her name is ...

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“Under the sea” by Ruth Zschoche

Submitted to Contest #115

Under the sea. Under the sea. Life is better down where it’s wetter, take it from me.The doll sang in a high weedy tone. Thinner and less body than a real voice. The voice sounded like it was under water, which seemed appropriate, given the doll.She was a foot and a half tall, long red hair in two braids, each about six inches long. She had a purple top and a bright green mermaid tail that helped her stand upright. She had bulbous green eyes that sparkled. As she sang, the tail went translucent and flashed and strobed in time with the tune.I...

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“Nexus Collapse” by Brooklyn Utterback

Submitted to Contest #115

I remember when the world went dark. It began as a virus. An insignificant little bug. A spam email, a text, a DM on Instagram. We all contracted it in our own way. Mine was a Facebook message from what appeared to be a stranger, but what was, in actuality, a hacker I suppose you could say.It showed up in my message requests, a separate inbox for messages from people you’re not friends with. “Wow!” it began, “Is this you?!” from a girl I had never seen before. Of course that caught my attention.I furrowed my brow, “Is what me?” So I cli...

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“Home Call” by Maria Avisal

Submitted to Contest #115

When the first page came blaring through in the early morning hours of Monday morning, Gabriella’s exhausted brain integrated the noise into the dream she was having about being lost in the underbelly of a cargo ship. The blaring in the dream represented an alarm, which sounded with increasing urgency while dream Gabriella wove between the hulking metal shipping containers before finally waking with a start in her bed at home, drenched in sweat. Her arm darted to her nightstand to silence the pager, while her brain tried to catch ...

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“The Connected Lost Connection ” by Laura Pitt

Submitted to Contest #115

*Ring Ring* went my phone as I walked around my studio apartment wrapped in a towel. “Who would be calling?” I asked myself as I went to answer it, my week away from work has barely begun, they better not be calling me. “0463 826 948, Hmm that’s weird, they normally call on a private number. Fuck it.” “Hello?” I spoke as I answered the unknown number. “Hey, your mum gave me your number and suggested this would be a good time to give you a ring” said the masculine voice on the other side of the phone. “Oh no, what did she say? I am not lookin...

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“Just Listen” by Erin MacKenzie

Submitted to Contest #115

“This storm is really picking up, I can barely hear you anymore.” “Ha, maybe it’ll be so bad my boss will cancel work tomorrow morning.” “Ugh, my manager would never, he’d expect us to be there even if the whole store was under water” Steph expected to hear some sort of response, even if it was just polite laughter, but the line was silent. She sat up straighter from where she was sunk into the couch cushions. “Emily?” She asked into the receiver. No response still, so she brought her cell away from face to check. The call had been dis...

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“Power” by K W

Submitted to Contest #115

I was talking to my sister on Facetime when the call dropped. I tried calling her back. Furiously tapping her name on the screen, hanging up, and repeating the process yielded no positive results. From the couch I looked towards the kitchen at the microwave. It was blinking 00:00. I put my hand to my forehead and rubbed my temples. It was a Friday night, and I had been making plans to go to dinner with my sister. Even though we lived in the same city, we haven’t seen each other through the pandemic. Now that we were both vaccinated, I was lo...

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“Lost Connection: Finding Ben” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #115

Aaliyah- I miss you. When are you coming home? Ben- Soon, I promise. Aaliyah- When you get home, there is something I need to tell you. Ben- What is it? Aaliyah- I have to tell you face to face. Ben- Okay. Aaliyah- Ben................... Aaliyah hears a loud boom Connection lost between Aaliyah and Ben Ben are you there? Ben answer me! Oh my god! something happened to Ben, that noise sounded like a bomb. No this can't be happening Ben promised me he will be okay. I have to call back. I...........I.........I don't know w...

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“Keeping Promises” by Avocado Universe

Submitted to Contest #115

I checked the call time, two hours and 13 minutes. I sighed, this was a great deal for the company if I could get the buyers interested. It was hard though because it was 6 in the afternoon and the longer I kept working the more of my daughter’s school performance I would be missing. I gritted my teeth and clenched my hands around the phone. I had promised that I would be there. I took a deep breath as my buyer turned on his camera and mic. I don’t know what happened but I think I heard young voices out of sight of the camera earlier and the...

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$250

Prize money

175

Contest entries

118

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 15, 2021 EST

Won by Alex Sultan 🏆

Title: 28 Letters

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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