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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#149: Of Stranger Things

After its much-awaited release last week, the fourth season of Stranger Things has taken the world by storm. First aired in 2016, this television show stars a group of D&D-loving kids and unlikely heroes in a topsy-turvy world. Its creators took inspiration from many classic thrillers, and the show has in turn been influencing writers to write Stranger Things books.

Whether you’ve been swept up by this sensational show or not, I hope my Stranger Things-inspired prompts can propel you into a story of your own this week:

This week's prompts

Write about a character who is trying to convince others to play a game.

Kids – 20 stories

Start your story with the flickering of a light.

Kids – 98 stories

Write about two people who form a bond with each other through music.

Middle School – 46 stories

Set your story in a town that’s teetering on the edge of something dark, literally or metaphorically.

Dystopian – 50 stories

Write a story about an unlikely group (or pair) of friends.

Middle School – 43 stories

Stories

“THAT GIRL FROM ZAMBIA ” by Sudheshna Oruganti

Submitted to Contest #149

THAT GIRL FROM ZAMBIAI had a friend. Only one, growing up. She was my everything… This was at a time when I didn't exactly have a reputation. I wasn't exceptionally good looking. I was dark, overweight by 15kgs, and tall. I was a whole feet taller than all those dumb bimbos that came to school in the name of eduction everyday. Their hair left out, skirts hiked up. Yet they had the nerve to call me out for being ugly. What didn't help was my inability to laugh at the names they called me- Shitnam, Gagnam, Shags… I co...

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“How To Win Friends and Navigate Dungeons” by Victoria F

Submitted to Contest #149

In the game of Dungeons & Dragons everything is dictated by dice. Your character gets ambushed by a three-headed dragon? Roll for initiative. A member of the party suspects a mysterious NPC to be harboring a secret demon patron? Roll for insight. Sheer cliffs blocking your journey? Roll for athletics, you might get lucky. Overseeing all of the chaos is the Dungeon Master - the creator and master of this world. When you’re sitting around the table they are, in effect, God, and a Dungeon Master, like any god, can be both benevolent and ...

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“A dangerous game” by Richard Williamson

Submitted to Contest #149

The sound always arrived first, a gentle shimmershimshim like a breathy wind in the treetops. But it changed. Louder and louder as it approached: a wind pushed in front of a spring storm, then a throaty roar, edged with an angry howl—two voices merged in inexplicable fury. Then the beast itself appeared, teeth bared and flashing. Leafy branches, struck by a sudden gust as it rushed by, gave an involuntary shudder. The roar grew deeper, a fading growl.And the beast was gone. Today, when she heard the sounds of its approach on the wi...

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“The Golden Statue” by Arya Paruchuri

Submitted to Contest #149

Deep down in a cave with a flickering light that resembled the evil within it a dangerous plot was about to unfold. The cries of the mayor were heard throughout the town of Granbury, Texas. When Connor Baskins approached mayor Hudson and asked, “What’s happening, more Indians.” The mayor cried, “No, I lost the town cat Snuggles, the town mascot for the coming spring festival. Without him we can’t do the spring festival!” Connor told him, “Why don’t you organize some search groups to get him! Instead of c...

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“Silence and Music” by Colby Johnson

Submitted to Contest #149

It happened when Stella was just a teenager. The disappearing she’d called it at the time, though now she simply called it the silence. Her silence. On one of many lonely nights, Stella sat on the edge of her bed, softly strumming her guitar, though no song danced free from her fingers. The chords were as lonely and discordant as she, going softly from the strings with no connection to the one before it or that which followed. Stella simply played for the comfort of the wood on her palm and the feel of metal on her calloused fingers. ...

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“Stairs of Wrath” by Hello There5

Submitted to Contest #149

A small light flickered in the distance. For a moment, I couldn't tell which way was up or down. If I was lying down or standing. I had no thoughts or feelings as I floated, whilst being completely numbed of all existence. All I could see was a light in the darkness. When breathed in I collapsed to the ground. What was once floating in the blank nothing unexpectedly became cold hard stairs. It was like my body had become as heavy as stone. As I looked around, I saw pitch darkness surrounding me. The only visible thing was the dim edges of th...

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“Music Therapy” by Ashley Cullen

Submitted to Contest #149

He screams at her from the backseat, kicking his feet against the car seat bottom and flailing his arms in the air. He pushes his chest up against the restraints, eyes wide with worry. She cannot get the CD in the slot fast enough. I got I got I got I got, you got you got you got you got, we got we got we got loco legs, the band sings, harmonizing.His small, tense body immediately relaxes into the seat, his feet stop swinging, and his thumb goes right into his mouth. A stranger might mistake his slight grimace for a smile. She talks to him g...

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“Sober Music Buddies” by Andrea Zara

Submitted to Contest #149

Elia sat quietly at the end of the bar; ginger ale filling the glass in front of her. The same thing that had been in her glass the last two hours she sat there. Though that gorgeous bartender was more than happy to serve her something a little stronger. Maybe a drink and a quick lay was what she really needed to cope with life right now. Okay, her therapist probably wouldn’t agree with her, but would one time really be that bad? She wondered if he would change his tune if he knew. Who in the hell sits at a bar to try and hold ...

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“Digging Up the Past on Deal Island” by Michelle Sholund

Submitted to Contest #149

Chris Webster, a retired naval officer in his late fifties, fell into a deep depression when he lost his wife to cancer two years ago, yet with the help of his son and daughter he found a new purpose when they encouraged him to take up genealogy. A history buff at heart, Chris did find solitude looking over old family photos and documents he inherited after his parents passed. When his kids set him up on a a genealogy website and gave him a DNA kit for his birthday, Chris didn’t hesitate to send in his saliva sample the next day.&n...

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“The girl who travels through paintings” by Victoria Telford

Submitted to Contest #149

Serephine Levy had always been a unique girl. She knew there was something different about her, but she never could quite figure out what it was. It was the summer of 96' in small town Okin, New York, that she first caught a glimpse of her powers. Her and friend had made the decision to buy LSD from a boy at school, and were an hour into the trip when things got crazy. They were floating in her friends heated pool while her parents were away on a business trip, when Serephine decided she wanted to go underwater to meditate. While she was u...

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“Soufre Metamorphica” by G. W. Cunning

Submitted to Contest #149

It was after noon when the malaise set in. Perhaps it was just the first bites of lunch finally offsetting the morning's caffeine that triggered it or maybe it was just gonna be another one of those days. She could smell the faint odor of sulfur, and knew it was imminent, the associated wretch, and the coughing fit. A quick search revealed that she had forgotten to bring her inhaler this morning in an abnormal rush to get out the door. She ceased the rummaging through her purse with a sigh and mentally prepared herself.Af...

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“The Dark Comes Closer” by Emily Craner

Submitted to Contest #149

Riley stares at her mother as the morning officially begins. Some people would signal these things with an alarm clock while others maybe await its arrival with the passage of the sun. Riley waits for her mother to plug in the coffee maker and it doesn’t officially count until her mother receives the daily shock from the dilapidated outlet. Dennis says that exposure to that much electricity is going to kill her one of these days but Riley’s seen people in this town go through worse and still walk away alive. Why, they say old man Tuner’s bee...

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“The Little White Speck of Akasaka” by Sandra R

Submitted to Contest #149

Kentaro Suzuki hadn’t missed a single day of work in the past 30 years. Naturally enthusiastic and hard-working, he’d spent his whole career in a large and powerful bank, situated right in the center of Tokyo’s bustling Marunouchi district. Tall, with a good posture and broad shoulders, Kentaro came to feel right at home amongst the towering glass skyscrapers that characterized central Tokyo’s skyline. &nbs...

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“Now or Never” by Thomas Oliver

Submitted to Contest #149

Proving Beth right that he should never have flown that plane, Frederick fell asleep so quickly in the backseat you might be tempted to say he passed out.She drove, Frederick slept in the backseat and their little brother Teddy rode shotgun. But Beth didn’t make it far — barely to Roanoke, which wasn’t more than an hour from Lexington— before she pleaded being too tired to drive further in the dark. Frederick was still passed out, so she handed Theodore the keys.And that’s how 16 year-old Theodore Sullivan, the youngest of four sired by the ...

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“The Aces” by Thomas Jackson

Submitted to Contest #149

The red light flickered three times in the green room. The Red Aces, tonight's headliner, formed in a circle, arm in arm. They swayed left and right a few times, and Jonny, the lead singer, let out a low, bass-filled hum, then started singing. Two beats in, the rest of the band joined into their granddaddy's favorite Roger Miller tune. The one he sang to them after a cup too many of the shine. "Trailer's for sale or rent Rooms to let, 50 cents No phone, no pool, no pets I ain't got no cigarettes," "Alright, boys, it's s...

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$250

Prize money

256

Contest entries

123

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 10, 2022 EST

Won by Katy B 🏆

Title: How to Win a Game of Chess Without Really Trying

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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