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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

“Broken” by Liam Murphy

Submitted to Contest #115

Broken At last, I had found it. My quest had been to find a working telephone, so I could call my best friend Tony and try to tell him about all of the strange shit that had been happening in the last few hours. My cell phone was fully charged, but I couldn't get a signal no matter what I tried. Now I had found a phone kiosk, and it was empty, so I dialed Tony's number and impatiently waited for him to pick it up. After what seemed like an age, he answered, and I heard his sweet tones over the whine of the long-distance call. We had been f...

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“Last Call” by Jim Painter

Submitted to Contest #115

Last Call JD Painter Civilization ended on a routine Tuesday evening. Around 9 o’clock, I was on the phone with my friends Bango and Zoey (they live in Oregon). After the COVID-19 pandemic started, we agreed to call every two weeks to assure each other we were still alive and healthy. While we talked, we used the internet to play racing video games against each other. We never started without a little pre-race trash talk. “Hey, you two Nimrods ready to have your butts kicked?” I challenged with counterfeit bravado. I’d lost 17 out of th...

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“Broken call” by Agris Engelis

Submitted to Contest #115

My name is Carol, and I’ve been friends with Britney ever since kindergarten. We didn’t really live too close to one another, but it never bothered us, since we just made our mothers take us to meet each other. We have been friends for almost 10 years today, she knew me better than anyone else, and I knew her. We spent every evening chatting either by messages or on a call. Because of the long hour talks we had, we’d always get in trouble with out parents, but since we both got internet, we started to chat or call online. Today was a day jus...

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“If you see Kiko” by David Carr

Submitted to Contest #115

“Si ti vu ma mere?”, she said in perfect French.“You know that one?”, I asked“Yes. I find on Youtube. I am playing so much. I love. It’s so beautiful”, she replied.“Do you know what it means? In English”, I asked.“Uhhh,,,” she pondered, “something about a mother?”“If you see my mother”, I translated for her.“Oh, that is nice. A song about mother”.“It’s one of my absolute favourites. Sidney Bechet”, I said.“I will learn to play it”.“When you learn it, will you play it for me?”, I asked her.“Yes. I play it for you”, she promised, with a beamin...

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“'Night-time Cinema.'” by Matayo Ayegun-Watson

Submitted to Contest #115

Gwen Stefani preens from the stereo of Avery's car. There are fields on either side and a stretch of mountain far off; the moon is dark like a century egg. Avery, sat in the driver's seat, bobs her head to the latest pop idols on the radio. Her hands grapple the steering wheel, blonde hair pitching like a disco in the wind, arms tan and bare to the shoulder.A Tiffany and Co sweetheart chain glitters on her neck and a yellow tank constricts her chest. She smiles through cherry lips, shouting over the ruckus."Where did they say ...

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“The Tale of Hamathy” by Elizabeth Camp

Submitted to Contest #115

Once, when I was very young, my mother told me the story of a place called Hamathy. Now, Hamathy was a small town, more of a village, really, nestled deep in a faraway mountain range where the snow shone pure as starlight and sharp white peaks stood stark against the blinding blue of the sky. Hamathy's few streets were lined with fine wood houses, and though their windows sparkled with frost, inside each fireplace flames burned hot and high, and the people of the town were warm and safe and in the company of those that they loved. One day, t...

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“We're All Very Simple” by C. M. Sinnott

Submitted to Contest #115

I stood at the edge of the forest, my town far enough behind me that the noontime bell was a not even mere flutter in the wind. I stared at rigid rocks that jutted outward and upward from the mossy earth and into the hanging clouds above me. From a distance they were dauntingly mysterious, but these mountains seemed no more impressive than the quarry at the north end of town. They were our protectors, as my mother would say, blessed by our elders with the safeguard of something greater than us. They overlooked a thick and vast forest like an...

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“Reconnected” by Kristupas Sirvydis

Submitted to Contest #115

‘The hell am I supposed to do now?’ Mathias said with a huge sigh mixed with a growl, as he laid his head onto the table. ‘Two days without any connection… How am I going to get anything done?’ A long drive last night through the serpentines, then the woods lastly making his way through a thick fog covering the already unclear off-read track with a malfunctioning GPS. The trip tired him enough to forget what he had promised. But now, being somewhat rested, the memory resurfaced. ‘You need to get out’ Hekate said, concern ringing in ...

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“How to End an Unsettling Day” by S B

Submitted to Contest #115

The pervasive atmosphere outside was dark and unmistakably menacing even though it was just mid-afternoon. The black, cloud-filled sky and impending torrential rain had me on edge with a feeling of doom that was palpable and had my skin crawling. I must not have been the only one affected because normally this part of Main street, lined with high-end stores like the gallery, would be hopping with activity, mostly from out of state tourists shopping for that "perfect" souvenir to take home. Out of nowhere, lightning flashed and struck a t...

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“Faces” by Megan O'Shea

Submitted to Contest #115

“Heading out?” The voice coming from her left snapped Charlotte’s attention away from the prep table. “Yes, why?” Lucas shrugged his thin shoulders. “No reason. But this is, what, the third time this cycle? You might wanna watch yourself.” Charlotte finished laying the weapons she would need aside. “I know what I'm doing, Luc. No need to worry about me.” “Hope so.” Luc’s smile faded. "Something happens to you, and…” “I know.” Her old friend didn’t need to finish the sentence. Charlotte reached for the button at the edge of the glass tab...

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“An Inquiry” by Rigel Oliveri

Submitted to Contest #115

Dear Dr. and Mrs. Weinberg, You don’t know me, but I knew your daughter, Leah. I didn’t know her directly, but I had a connection with her. I was hoping you might answer some questions for me about what happened to her and the boy. I understand how strange this message might seem, coming out of nowhere. Let me introduce myself so you can see I’m not some crazy internet stalker. My name is Ellen Price Winters. I am the Vice President of Commercial Lending at the First Bank of Indiana (Indianapolis). I am married with two daughters, 8 and ...

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“The Museum of Discarded Children's Souls” by Julie Squires

Submitted to Contest #115

CW: Drugs mention, blood. No one knows where we are. We’re miserably lost.Amidst the darkness, my mom spots a pinprick of light up ahead.Driving along the country road, falling snow envelops us like a cocoon, it floats like sprinkled stardust in the milky luminosity of our headlights.“Up there,” cries my mom, “it looks like a little cottage. Don’t you agree, Isabella?”“Yeah,” I mumble, noticing that she doesn’t ask my dad his opinion. In fact, she’s barely spoken to him during our trip. Or attempted trip, I never thought we’d get lost on the...

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“The Monster in the Cupboard” by Liam Spinage

Submitted to Contest #115

When he was young, on those all too frequent occasions when they decided that he had misbehaved, they locked him in the cupboard under the stairs. It was not the punishment they thought. Dark, certainly. Silent. blessedly. Comforting, certainly. The sounds of quarrels diminished in that space, voices muted in the embracing darkness. There were no monsters hiding in that cupboard yet. As far as he was concerned, they were all outside, in plain view. He sits down and waits patiently for release. This began to happen regularly. ...

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“Wrong Number ” by Marie Maher

Submitted to Contest #115

WRONG NUMBER Mary picked up the phone. She’d try just once more to get the right number. However, just as she was about to do so, it rang. Rather unnerved, Mary said “H…hello?” “Hello?” Well, it’s a woman’s voice, Mary mused. At least that was alright. And someone of the correct age group, by the sound of it. “Hello?” said the voice again (it really sounded very nice, thought Mary) “Is Julia there please?” “Oh, sorry” said Mary, regretfully “You’ve got the wrong number, I’m afraid.” The lady on the other end was insta...

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“And Death nudged.” by Anna Hibschman Ferguson

Submitted to Contest #115

Callie looked across the slanted living room floor with one eye squinted shut. The 90’s-style office carpet that spanned the floors of her cramped apartment bit into her chin as she eyed the marble beneath the radiator. It looked black. It wasn’t. She closed her right eye and opened her left. The marble moved two inches to the side. Back-and-forth, she used her counterfeit telepathy to transport the marble. Back-and-forth. Why is she laying on the floor? Simple: She can’t get up. Why can’t she get up? Because she died two...

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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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