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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#125: Better Late Than Never

Everybody has that one person in their life who’s perpetually late. For those unfortunate souls, time is never quite on their side, no matter how hard they try.

Whether your characters are rushing to make it, or deliberately taking it slow, this week’s prompts are an ode to the latecomers among us, and to those who don’t give up, even when time is running out.

This week's prompts

Start your story with a character who is always running late arriving somewhere just as it closes.

Thriller and Suspense – 19 stories

Write a story about a late bloomer.

Spring – 12 stories

All clocks suddenly stop. Write about what happens next.

Science Fiction – 45 stories

Write a story including the phrase “Better late than never”.

Angst – 67 stories

Set your story in an airport, as someone rushes for a flight.

Thriller and Suspense – 21 stories

Stories

“When Time Became Immobilized ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #125

Jake Simmons was an amateur magician as well as a petty con man, but these would just be a minor footnote to what he would pull off in his notorious side career. Due to his fascination with time, Jake would find a way to forever bend the boundaries of the fourth dimension. Using his talent for manipulation, Jake would find the eternal secret on how to stop time and in the process use his new found power for his own edification as Dr. Faustus did in his deal with the devil. There have been others who have tinkered with such ...

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“Silence” by Minerva Noiropp

Submitted to Contest #125

The silence was deafening.People glanced at their phones and gazed at their fitbits. Eyes became glued to the stalled hands on clocks in the windows of jewellers. Feet stopped. Nobody moved.Hundreds of shop goers breaths lay heavy in the still air.Gloria stared at the people. Moving with silence, she arched her head over shoulders, and around arms. Despite the movement of time, every timepiece registered 10:17.Gloria was careful not to disturb the unwound toys, for it seemed as if peoples mechanisms had wound down. Strange to think that it w...

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“The Quietest Walk Home” by Pako Dunwhile

Submitted to Contest #125

Lakysha bumped into the suit holding a briefcase who decided to abruptly stop his forward progress without any warning. Goddam rude people in the train station, she thought. She looked up and down at the back of the man’s pinstriped office attire. The train station lost its chaotic background noise in a split second.“Excuse you,” she offered with attitude. She walked around him and caught a sneak glimpse at the electronic readout. 11:42. Four minutes until the train departs. At least I’ll get some good, home-cooked food soon. Her stomac...

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“If only it were Groundhog Day” by Ian Barrett

Submitted to Contest #125

I woke up to the sun on my face and realized I had overslept. When I looked over to my alarm clock it was frozen on the numbers 9:27am. It wasn’t blinking like the power had gone out so I assumed it was just broken. As I pulled the covers off I noticed that they felt heavier. I thought this was a little odd until I tried to pull my legs out. It felt like I had done a 1000 squats. What the hell is going on? I don’t need this shit right now I’m already late for work. I found a shirt and a pair of pants and quickly made...

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“Stuck On the Roof” by Caitlyn Noelle

Submitted to Contest #125

It was the 4th of July and most of the family had already sat down to enjoy their hotdogs, cheeseburgers, and party potatoes. But in the backyard was a little girl, Millie, watching her big brother Gus, as he used their little jungle gym to climb up onto the roof of the house. Gus was always climbing things just to see if he could, the school flagpole, trees, fences, and this time it was the roof. He climbed onto the top of the jungle gym and reached for the edge of the roof, then he pulled himself up unt...

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“Last Call” by D. L. Shanks

Submitted to Contest #125

INT. CHAPEL FOYER — NOONDAY BRANDY peaks her head into the chapel. People are checking their watches. Looking around. Whispering. GRANNY turns around from the front pew and makes eye contact. BRANDY Alright then. Brandy walks down the aisle. Her black dress just as typical as the other black attire around her. It’s her BOOBS, purple ombré MERMAID WIG, and RED STILETTOS that are the main attractions. She gets to the podium and looks out at the crowd. INT. CHAPEL — SAME DAY BRANDY Hello, everybody. Well, {giggle}, this is awkward...

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“The Void at the Academy” by Diana Alexia

Submitted to Contest #125

They were running now, taking the turns of the meandering hallway as it led them to the other side of the mansion. “What do you mean that the spell does not work?” Melanie glared at Julian as he scrambled with the lock on the door leading to the staff offices and pulled her behind him. “The spell does not work. I saw it backfire… that’s how we are here now. I’m sorry.” He said between breaths, “The school is going to succumb to the Void. There is nothing we can do now but try to get out. If we do not make it out in time, we will both die....

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“Birthday party” by Sérgio Gonçalves

Submitted to Contest #125

“Well, better late than never”, he said to himself as he looked at himself in the mirror while he was doing his blue tie. He knew he wasn’t going to make it on time. The party was set to start in fifteen minute’s time, at 20h00 but it would be impossible to get there before then. It would take him at least half an hour to get there. Steve was always late to any occasion and on this one, he had been invited by his friends to a party where, he was promised, would be many women. The party was in his honor to celebrate his birthday. Steve was 47...

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“Loom of Doom” by Courtney Cheyenne

Submitted to Contest #125

And there was plenty to talk about, but Anna had nothing to say. Her head rang, trying to gather simple words together. She was the shy type and did not do well socially. “What was she doing in this rich person’s house?”, she wondered. Maybe this was a sign of her future. “Better late than never!” She was already in her prime early 30s and felt she hadn’t moved a single inch on society’s ladder. She stopped swimming in her head and remembered the girl. The weird girl that drug her here for some family ...

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“The Red Bracelet resting by the door. ” by Bella Cole

Submitted to Contest #125

For the fourth time this week, I watched the sheriff place another notice on the board of City Hall. Sighing, he lifted his cap to wipe the sweat from his brow. As he lumped away, his heavy feet clumping against the hardwood, I stretched to read the notice from my creaky desk chair. The note was the same as the previous three, detailing a break-in that took place on Brakey Rd. The police were asking for any suspects, and to report all suspicious behavior. You would think after the fourth robbery of the week the people of Trayville wou...

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“One's Needs” by Lashun Williams

Submitted to Contest #125

“I’m sorry. I can’t. I have to go.” Valarie watched her husband stand in the rain as they eyed each other wearily. She stood under her porch while he stood just inches from the house. The rain offered no solace to muddle out the silence of this impending moment. Despite the heavy rain, the heaviness and silence still hung in the air, as if her ears refused to listen to anything other than his voice. “Rocky…” “No, please, stop calling me that.” Valarie nearly laughed. “What? I can’t call you by your nickname anymore?” “Valarie–” “...

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“Better Late Than Never ” by Pako Dunwhile

Submitted to Contest #125

[TW: references to violence] Ketia pulled the pin from the grenade in her shaking, blood-stained hand. She closed her eyes in the moonlight. The beast with twelve legs lunged for her. Better late than never, she thought. The explosive went off between them. Its sound carried for miles on the crisp air. Visceral matter blew away in all directions. Caspian lowered his monocular. Fuck, another one lost. That makes six. She was so close to the gates and offered so much potential. He climbed down from the observation tower and buzzed his ...

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“The Crown She Wears” by Erica Miles

Submitted to Contest #125

Jenny dives into the chapel with her head down, eyes up just enough to give her feet direction, but not enough to meet the critical eyes of the older generation lining the back pews. She wears her purse strap like a sash across her chest, pressing the bag to her hip. The pressure keeps the purse in place, but more than that, it’s holding her up in an almost regal posture. The opening hymn has been sung and the invocation given. A man in a dark suit and tie, standing at the podium, has just finished introducing today’s speakers. ...

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“A Dream Turned Reality” by Goddess V

Submitted to Contest #125

Drips of perspiration slid from her palms to the floor. Her skin was flush. It could rival the sun’s warmth. Misty eyes hid images in front of her. She blinked to bring them in focus. She wavered in her stance, losing her balance. “Are you alright?” The young man who was no less than ten years her junior stood beside her, holding her up. She could hear the tiny voices murmuring in his right ear. His youthful face watched her with concern. Once she regained stability, he let her go. “Would you like some water, ma’am?” Ma’am. H...

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“Manitoba Mother” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #125

Manitoba Mother He was really late and it rankled him, aside from the time he entered the world a month later than his mom’s due date, he was literally early for everything. Today was not an ideal time to break that pattern. Emerging from the parking lot he adjusted his over-stuffed backpack, donned his mask, folded the parking permit into the back pocket of his jeans and sprinted over to the international gate entrance of the airport. The din enveloped him as soon as he strode through the door, the blend of languages and P.A. announcemen...

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$250

Prize money

164

Contest entries

113

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 24, 2021 EST

Won by Shuvayon Mukherjee 🏆

Title: The Heart Specialist

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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