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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

“Don't Invite Death” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #149

TW: Death Eyeless immortals gathered around Sir Danielle Longbow in their great library miles beneath the surface of the world. “I know you know something. Tell me. I need to understand.” Danielle begged the uamhith librarians whose heads were twitching in the silent conversation of telepathy. “You are lucky again, Danielle, for many reasons.” Quick Foot, a young uamhith with just over two centurie...

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“The Truth Will Set You Free (But First it Will Kill You) ” by Kristen Nazzaro Keller

Submitted to Contest #149

I told the cops that I didn’t see Danica that night. That was a lie. I told my parents that I had no idea why my roommate had been on the bell tower in the middle of the night. That was a lie. I cried with her parents when I told them she had been depressed for months. That was a lie. ~ The Thursday that Danica died we had spent the evening watching trashy reality TV, just like we had every Thursday for the last two years. Around midnight I turned off the television and handed her a small white card. The front of the card read, 'C...

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“The First ” by Ashlynn Altman

Submitted to Contest #149

The singular rickety lightbulb that hung overhead flickered on as the moths flocked to it. I rubbed my eyes as I emerged from the darkness I'd laid in atop the dirty floor-bound mattress. When my pupils finally adjusted to the unstable light, I could see that a picture was being held up in front of my face. He was 19 years old. His name was Owen.When I saw him, time slowed to a stop. He looked so happy. He was so perfect. I knew my life would never be the same after I met him because I had sadly finally found him. The first boy I would ever ...

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“Golden Invitation” by Deborah Angevin

Submitted to Contest #149

“Babe!” The girl in the red dress waves her hands to Kevin. Kevin turns around to look back at me. “Can I ever meet you again?” I let out a faint smile and shake my head. “I don’t think you can. I am leaving. My wish has been fulfilled, after all.” A wish to tie up the loose ends since I died abruptly. Yes, taking the stress away from my head by giving a clear break in our relationship, removing the sadness from my heart by seeing you still in contact with my parents despite what happened between us. A wish to meet the love o...

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“The Shark and the Remora” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #149

The Shark and the RemoraThere are certain entities in life that would not do well alone. Apples need trees, rivers need riverbanks, Montana needed Rice, and Stockton needed Malone. Joey needed Frank. Or was it that Frank needed Joey? I guess we’ll find out.“We’ve got new neighbors, Frank. It’s a young woman and her ten year old son. She’s very nice. I didn’t meet the boy. He’s in school. Her name is Susan Clark, and her boy’s name is Joey.”“Just the two of them?”“Yes. She’s from here, but she married a guy from South Carolina. They just got ...

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“Drinking with Death or: My Friend Josh, Whose Occupation is the End” by Christopher Kelley

Submitted to Contest #149

Usually, when your average moron plummets from a warehouse catwalk into a dumpster full of sharp objects, he can think of only one thing to say:“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!”But not me.I fall under the category of abnormal moron.A moron for two reasons. One, because only a moron would traverse a rickety indoor bridge with an expensive camera to capture footage of an industrial warehouse against his better judgment. And two, because I was falling towards a dumpster stocked with pointy things.Abnormal because somehow, in a pocket of air, while kicking t...

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“The Trunk” by Jeannette Miller

Submitted to Contest #149

Kate could see the flickering of light through the hole where the broken tail light was. It felt like she had been in the car trunk for days. The last thing she remembered was walking home on that rural stretch of road from the Millers place and then waking up in a dark trunk. She had screamed and plead for help for what felt like hours until her throat burned raw and stripped bare. Kicking the sides of the trunk with her legs and hitting the roof of the trunk until there was no more energy left in her arms and legs. Her face was seare...

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“Try to Keep Up” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #149

Wade turned into his parking place and screeched to a halt. The neighboring car, straddling the line, sat half in his spot. ‘How can people be so lame?’ Fuming, he backed out and parked down the block. Knowing who owned the car, he knocked on her apartment door. No answer. Hours passed, watching for her return. He worked. He ate. He practiced routines on his silent drum pads. He looked out and saw her at the car. Sprinting to the garage, he arrived as she sat behind the wheel. “Hi! Can you move your car? You’re blocking my spot.” She acte...

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“Heart Song ” by Cindy Strube

Submitted to Contest #149

CW: mention of deathHeartSong Marci’s pulse hammers in her throat — WHOOMPwhoomp! WHOOMPwhoomp! WHOOMPwhoomp! — so fervently that it’s painful. After one sharp intake, her breath catches in her throat so she can’t speak. Can’t swallow.Her knuckles are white, one hand gripping Aaron’s and the other clenched on her lap. Had they heard correctly?Distantly, through layers of cotton batting in her head, Aaron’s question filters.“She - she has… what?” His voice is hoarse, ragged.Dr. Greenberg repeats, gently, what they hoped they ha...

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“Monster of Business Administration” by Jared Lenover

Submitted to Contest #149

I became aware of the silence, and a thick blanket of dread came over me. I lay in my bed, in the space between being asleep and awake, eyes closed against the darkness. Click. Click. It started softly, like the sound a mouse makes running across a floor. I wanted to go back to sleep and pretend I didn’t hear it. Click. Click. Click-click. Then a scuffling sound, as if an unwieldy bag of rocks was being pushed out of the closet. More clicks, more scuffling. I could feel sweat on my forehead. Click. Click. Click. Louder and undeni...

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“The Deep Dark Woods” by Rhiannon Carroll

Submitted to Contest #149

Content warning: some bad language -------------------------------------------------------------- Camping out in Ollpheist Forest was a tradition most freshmen at Patrick Town University followed at least once, and Cassie Garratt was no exception. Though she had lived in town her whole life, she’d never been this far into the woods, not this late at night at any rate, and never to camp out. But she had promised herself she’d do it, even if she had lied to her mother about it. Margaret Garratt was a stern, God-fearing woman, and she’d bee...

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“The Camera of Tomorrow” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #149

Ryan Perkins is a gentle and quiet thirty-one-year-old office worker who likes collecting antiques. He lives in New York City and is well acquainted with the antique shops there. However, this afternoon while walking to the convenience store, he looks down an alley. He notices an old-fashioned symbol of three gold balls hanging over a door signifying a pawnshop. He hadn’t seen that particular sign in years and, with caution and curiosity, enters the alley to have a look. &nb...

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“DUET” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #149

It was a bustling Saturday market in the town centre as shoppers shuffled from one makeshift stall to another, hurriedly scooping up summer delights, food specials, and recently fresh produce that conflictingly looked like it was on its last days of edibility. Time was limited. Not because of the early closing hours but due to the approaching war knocking at the gates of their small and peaceful village. The threat of a stray bullet or missile striking the marketplace was high on the agenda of the defiant cautious crowds of hungry citizens ...

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“Derek” by Richard Seven

Submitted to Contest #149

Derek was snoring when I crept in into his bedroom a bit before 8 am. His sandy hair had tousled itself into one big cowlick. His eyelids clamped shut, fighting to keep the day at a distance. “I’m going to look at your sketchbook, ready or not,” I announced loud enough for him to stir. He had sat past midnight on the floor in his room, scribbling on 15 by 15 sheets of paper. The oversized tablet and one black pencil laid on the floor next to his bed. He always refused to sit at a table. He drew, watched movies, and ate on the floor...

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“We Would Be Rivals” by 𝔊𝔲𝔞𝔡𝔞𝔩𝔲𝔭𝔢 𝔗𝔢𝔩𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔯

Submitted to Contest #149

Humid heat makes the lush grass of summer waver in the sunlight, and the close air makes me pant. However hard I try, I do not sleep as much as the lions. Instead, I lie awake, listening. No breeze stirs the sparse leaves on the umbrella thorn tree above us. No matter how hot it is, lions always have to be touching each other while they sleep. This touching can range anywhere from one tail touching another to an entire body draped over another. Fine for lions-their bodies can take a lot–but dangerous for a spotted hyena like me. I am mu...

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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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