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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#174: Evolution

On November 25th, 1859, Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking book, On the Origin of Species. The idea of evolution was controversial; to claim that the world wasn’t unchanging and had not always been the same chafed against human ideals of perfection. But as we well know, nothing in life is truly static.

In the spirit of this anniversary, this week we want to explore evolution and new discoveries; because sometimes change can be terrifying, but it can also be freeing.

This week's prompts

Write a story where someone says, “Everything is changing.”

Dramatic – 59 stories

Write about two old friends meeting for the first time in years.

Adults – 60 stories

Write a story about someone coming to terms with how different they are from their younger self.

Angst – 49 stories

Write about someone whose desire to constantly improve something borders on obsessive.

Dramatic – 25 stories

Write a story about a brilliant scientist making a startling discovery.

Science Fiction – 45 stories

Stories

“Things in the night...” by Dylan Mass

Submitted to Contest #174

CW: Harsh language *Static* “Good evening passengers. This is your captain speaking. Today’s flight will be a beautiful and easy flight to Cartaria. Fasten your seat belts, and wait until the plane has fully left the tarmac before getting up from your seat. Have a safe flight.” *Static* “God I hate flying,” A gruff voice says in the seat across the aisle. “Then why’d you buy a damn ticket?” the woman next to him asks. “Just get me a drink, Greta.” he responds, slamming the window shade shut with a sharp, and might I say, unnecessary thunk. “...

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“Cyber Simulacrum” by Os Cole

Submitted to Contest #174

Sensitive Content: Story contains references to violence, suicide, and sex work. I knew as soon as I woke up that I would have to kill myself. I couldn’t stand at first and my eyes would hardly focus even in the dim blue light. It was all I could do to cast a cross-eyed glance across the lab. He was already gone. He must have woken up from the procedure first and fled. I tried to blink the fuzziness from my eyes. What possessed me to do this? Initially, even I didn’t think it could be done. After years of research, I convinced mys...

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“The question that ruined my life” by Zach Miller

Submitted to Contest #174

I never was good at discerning the reasoning behind any of my thoughts, I just thought something, and I did it. Looking back now I can see how some may have viewed me as confident, but it was just a pure ignorant idiocy that got me through things. Once I set my mind to it, I wouldn’t ever be content until I finished for better or worse. I guess that’s made Miranda fall for me in the beginning. I almost had the "teenage dream" this is girl, but I digress, let me start at the beginning. Miranda was definitely a cute girl, and we had our first ...

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“Keeping The Peace” by CJ Rudman

Submitted to Contest #174

The alley lay dead still. This part of the city was mostly deserted at this time of night, once businesses had closed for the day but the bars and seedy joints hadn’t opened yet. The sound of occasional screams in the distance and echoing gunshots are a constant drone as the rain dripped down in a steady drizzle making small puddles between the trash. The clouded sky was lit from below with a mixture of multicolored neon and the flickering glow of fire. The sound of an explosion boomed in the distance. Gunshots and distorted voices followe...

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“The Death of a Goddess” by Casee Robidou

Submitted to Contest #174

Note: There is some war violence and death in this short story. Morrigan had been on the battlefield for several days while her husband, The Dagda, had been mourning the loss of his lover; Boand, the goddess of the river Boyne. When the christians started preaching their new god, she was one of the first to fade away. They sought to rid Ireland of their pagan gods and they wouldn’t stop with the minor gods and goddesses. They wanted to rid the country of all of them. So Morrigan stood on the battlefield, using the last of her power...

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“Stubborn Apple” by Allyson Renteria

Submitted to Contest #174

The day she decided to leave town left a guttural feeling of dismay within myself. We had been best friends since the third grade. We knew each other’s deepest darkest secrets and never judged one another for any mistakes or things said. That summer she left she’d decided she needed to better herself and college was the thing she felt she needed to complete in order to further herself in life. I didn’t judge her for that but perhaps I felt bitter as she was my only connection to anyone. I’ve been that way for as long as I can remember. I don...

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“Journey and Conversation” by Jesslyn Blake

Submitted to Contest #174

"Why do they chase us? They are us." One wolf speaks with his mind as he leaps over a fallen tree. The moss on its dead bark seems to glow with ancient knowing. "Focus. Run. Survive." The Matriarch echoes in the backs of their heads. "Everything is changing." One wolf speaks with her mind as she dodges an outcrop of crystalline rocks that sparkle and shine from within. "Everything changed long ago." The Patriarch calls from the distant ether. "The Ancestors created them when they broke from the Spirit!" One wolf speaks with his min...

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“A Vicious Cycle” by Jasmine Brooks

Submitted to Contest #174

Family snuggles are the best. I think of those snuggles whenever the tremors start. Those fond memories are the only thing that bring me comfort these days. For so long our family relied on each other, heavily dependent. We knew everything about each other, right down to the generations of DNA and genetic coding in our histories. We stayed close. Huddled. Practically embedded. We ate together, slept together, leaned on each other, communicated frequently. Our family was our everything and we all had that in common. Secluded from the rest of ...

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“Remembering the Crab Creek Bridge” by Ron Smith

Submitted to Contest #174

The elderly gentleman fiddled with the buttons on his sweater as his daughter drove him across town. “Quit fussing with it, Dad. You look fine.” “These lousy buttons are all crossed up. Why didn’t you let me wear the one with the zipper?” “Because you spilled your breakfast on it, remember?” Daisy knew that her octoge...

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“Lady Beetles” by E. B. Bullet

Submitted to Contest #174

Goodbye was a thick syrup that gurgled near the back of the throat, coating fleshy walls with a dense, guttural flavor that would not let go. The taste of it has tipped my tongue for the past twelve years since I left the palace. I pursued something grander than a royal enclosure could offer, though most figured the daughter of a lord could want for nothing else, and what was there to seek out in the world anyway? For me, it was the insects. I heard it time and again, the chastising tongues that flicked and wagged, unrelenting o...

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“Brain Waves” by Olivia Lake

Submitted to Contest #174

Returning to her childhood bedroom made Sophie feel like she was examining the prototype of a familiar technology. The bookshelves were lined with paperbacks organized alphabetically by author. Plastic dance trophies topped with gold ballerinas were perched on top of her dresser. A gigantic corkboard was mounted over her bed with achievements and memories pinned to every surface. Ribbons from the math team and medals from the science team hung next to photos of Sophie and her friends posing during competitions or dressed up for homecoming. ...

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“Quick Byte Cafe” by A H Nazzareno

Submitted to Contest #174

He tapped the PAUSE button and smiled. “I can wait.” “Why?” asked the barista, waving a menu at Phil. Phil clarified. “He should be here any minute.” “Who should?” “My friend—Joe.”“Oh,” the moody scarecrow snickered, “a friend.” “Yeah.”After adjusting a puffy gray scarf, the inquisitor and sole employee at QBC scowled. “Well, take your time.” “Thanks, I will.” “My name is Charles, by the way,” the barista announced. Two bloodshot eyes rolled dramatically and a bony finger pointed to a nametag that read: Wai...

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“RATFACE OF THE ELDERLY” by BRUCE MARTIN

Submitted to Contest #174

Mickey Murinian hated the reality of getting older. It wasn’t the aches and pains that caused him such angst. It wasn’t the difficulty playing tennis or inability to run with his grandkids that he disliked so much. It wasn’t even the fear of his own inevitable mortality that gripped his psyche. Mickey Murinian was extremely vain. And whenever he looked in the mirror, he was witness to the ravages of age. Once a fairly handsome young man, now his face was changing rapidly. He first noticed some sagging of the neck. But the neck was not ...

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“Little Blue Jay” by Em M

Submitted to Contest #174

The cries seemed so surreal that I almost thought they were automated. There was no way a real human could be making that sound. Tears dripped down my face as my forehead scrunched so much that my years of retinol and moisturizer were thrown out the window. I’m a wrinkly-foreheaded mom now. But I’m okay with it. The feeling in my heart isn’t palpitations, but instead a feeling of soul-crushing ecstasy. The kind that you want to hold on to forever, because you know that no other moment in your life will top it- but you also can’t wait for it ...

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“COOKING FOR ONE” by Eileen Turner

Submitted to Contest #174

(Relies heavily on having seen ‘Aliens’.) COOKING FOR ONE Scrambled eggs and toast. She actually cooked for a change, but only because she was out of cold cereal. Gloria took the dish to the couch where she was now in the habit of eating. She put her feet up, pushed play on the remote control, and settled in to watch ‘Aliens’ for the third time. Or was it the fourth? If anyone asked me why I like this movie, she caught herself thinking, I really couldn’t give them ...

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$250

Prize money

238

Contest entries

96

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 02, 2022 EST

Won by Sam Porter 🏆

Title: Playing God

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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