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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#182: Feeling Watched

Being self-conscious is one thing; being paranoid is quite another. Feeling eyes on you changes your behavior, simultaneously casting you in a reality TV show and a dystopian horror film. Do you thrive in attention, feel jumpy, or overthink your every move?

Let’s don our trench coats, take a furtive glance around a street corner, and search the unmoving darkness for answers. Don’t forget your torch.

This week's prompts

Start your story with a home alarm system going off.

Dramatic – 49 stories

Set your story in a society where everyone is constantly aware of unwanted surveillance.

Dystopian – 27 stories

Write a story where someone’s paranoia is justified.

Mystery – 78 stories

Write about a character who wishes they could just disappear — and then they do.

Mystery – 50 stories

Start your story with someone entering a taxi and saying ‘follow that car.’

Dramatic – 33 stories

Stories

“The Disappeared” by Edward Latham

Submitted to Contest #182

The plane between Ellie’s world and wherever she was now had a fuzzy quality. She could see past it, but immaterial grains buzzed across the surface, reminiscent of television static. A moment ago, she’d slid her hand through it, only to snap it back in shock when it didn’t reappear on the other side. She wriggled her fingers to make sure they still worked.The people directly on the other side of the plane were oblivious to it, so in that sense it reminded her of a two-way mirror. Those people also happened to be her parents. She could see h...

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“Cicero and Catiline” by Daniel Allen

Submitted to Contest #182

My face burned with humiliation as the other Senators laughed and jeered at me. The entire Senate hall, or curia, as we called it, had turned against me. And the instigator of my shame? Catiline. Who else would it be? That he, an ignorant disgrace to Rome, wished to insult my reputation was no surprise. But that my fellow senators, men of honour and distinction, valued his birth and breeding over my cold logic and flawless rhetoric was a savage blow indeed.I had just completed a lengthy and thoroughly researched speech detailing why Catiline...

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“The Agent, the Detective, and the Split Personality Droid” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #182

TW: Guns, swearing and misogyny.“The next demonstration is in twenty four hours,” said Agent Belle Nguyen.“Where?” Detective Arthas Jacques asked, looking away from the waves below the train.“It’s from an internal memo. They have my communicator, but they don’t know what the message says. They’re guessing the timing based on previous messages. If I was there I would know what the message says. That’s not in the memo though.” She ground her pearly teeth in frustration, thrusting a rogue hair behind her ear as if shoving a stranger out of the ...

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“Fragment of Fragrance” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #182

CW: Domestic violence, Child abuse I set the date. And get to work. I pack two lunches. Put one in my bag and leave the other on the wobbly table next to the stove. I don’t bother to wake him up on a Monday morning. If he is too hungover to make it to work on time, it’s on him. I lock the door and hop over the puddle bordered by soapsuds. My neighbour is crushing her laundry on a slab of stone a few feet away. I lower my head and scoot down the alley before she looks at me. She hurls, “What a racket last night. Is he dead yet!!” at my back. ...

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“Invasion” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #182

The one night I set the alarm, they show up. I think there are three. Three would be a good number. There are always three burglars in the movies. The smart one, the muscle, and the one who panics and dies at the hand of the protagonist--sometimes by happy accident. I shouldn’t project. I shouldn’t start all this by projecting. I’m bound to let myself down if I do that. They might run now that the alarm has been sounded. They might flee. I would flee if I were them. No point in dealing with the hassle of an alarm. Back when I was at the top...

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“My Music Box” by Echo Sundar

Submitted to Contest #182

There was a girl once. There were many girls in fact. A guy or two but mostly girls. The girl on my mind was the one who played me songs on her piano and held me when I was sad. She made me smile, she made me laugh and she made me happy. There was a boy once. With red hair and amber eyes who lived across the street, he wrote me stories and held my hand. I loved him. And he loved me. He loved the girl who played piano and she loved him back. I loved the girl who played the piano and she loved me. We loved each other. We had e...

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“You're Unforgivable, Daddy” by Shuvayon Mukherjee

Submitted to Contest #182

There’s a stain on my soul. It’s sticky, viscous, the colour of melting tar. And I can feel it spreading.On the surface, all is as it should be. The truck hums discordantly in my ears; my boots compress the pedals. The world flies past me in a dispassionate blur. Ahead, the skies and freeway are empty grey. The cargo remains silent.There’s no sensation like a stained soul. The closest I can think of is uncleanliness. Once, a woman left me and broke my heart, but even that is not comparable. That pain is dull now, smothered by the years spent...

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“I'M NOT ALICE AND THIS IS NO WONDERLAND” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #182

I wish I could disappear, be like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. The difference is, if I had a choice, I’d prefer to leave nothing behind, just appear or reappear on my own terms.My name is Alice, but I’m not Alice. I refuse to be. I will see to it, or I’ll drink something that will, indeed, make me disappear. I’m sure I could find a bottomless hole to jump into, if it came to that. We’ll just have to see.* * *My connection to Alice in Wonderland, beyond childhood familiarity with both the...

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“Return to Plum Creek” by J. V. SUMMER

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #182

Mrs. Frasier insisted on complete silence when it was reading time. She clapped her hands sharply two times and gave the third graders a stern look. Recess was over, coats and scarves hung on hooks. The chatter and jostling was dwindling but not yet done. Two more claps. Chairs scraped across the linoleum floor as the children settled, and all eyes turned to Danny Green who was frozen in a robot pose near Mrs. Frasier’s desk, his dark eyes wide with mock fear, his mouth in an O. &nbs...

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“Sirens Blaring, Bullets Flying, Droids Dying” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #182

Contains traces of: Swearing and Violence. Ingest at your own discretion.Sirens blared. Bullets whistled through the air. Detective Arthas Jacques of Mars’ Off World Crime Department whistled Always Look on the Bright Side of Life to soothe himself. PTSD beckoned, but the warm hand of Monty Python’s Brian was pulling him the other way.“Going to join in at any point?” asked Agent Belle Nguyen as she shot at the enemy and ducked back behind cover.“At least let him get to the chorus,” said the scratched black droid by Arthas’ side. An eye glowe...

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“Train Ride” by Robin Owens

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #182

I know she can feel me looking at her. I try to suppress the shock that is contorting my face. She’s eight or ten people behind me in the line. I avert my eyes, barely, attempting to camouflage my snooping. Her greasy hair and splotchy pink skin burn in my peripheral. The oblivious baby on her hip. The royal blue spaghetti strap dress. Half-dress. I shiver. She’s looking at me, it’s obvious. Disgust plastered on her face. Everyone is looking at me. Well, this is what he wanted. What he always wants. I’m used to the attention. A cool gust o...

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“Defeating Shadows” by Corey Melin

Submitted to Contest #182

“Follow that car!” James called out as he jumps into the backseat of the taxi. “You are not a stalker, are you?” the driver asks, who looks like a grungy Santa Claus. “Heck no. Just please drive.” “Ok, whatever,” the driver says ...

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“The Confessor” by Alasdair Perry

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #182

MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT DATABASE Manuscripts > Digitised Manuscripts > French > XIV Century > 322-511 —----------------------------------------- ~ Access granted through your institution ~ —---------------------------------------- La Roche-Aiguille Manuscript BNF Ms-412 to 416 Date: 7-10[?] December 1316 Author: Robert of Lyon Fol. N/A Parchment, 5x pieces 250 x 340 mm. Description: Five pages, bound roughly together in the top left. Presented in order. ___________________________________________ [1] I fear th...

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“Break Those Chains” by Daniel Fernandes

Submitted to Contest #182

Cut those chains as hurtful as it may be. Killing yourself as the day passes not wanting to talk to anybody. Sorry for what you been through, sorry for the struggle. I get that you don't wanna acknowledge it. Isolating yourself in a bubble. Sorry for not helping you although there is nothing that I can do. Just making the situation worse with any word that comes out although I don't attend to. "Just save it man don't mention it. I've gone through enough yet you're piling shit." I'm just trying to help. "Help? You helping me? Sinc...

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“A fair justice?” by Manu S

Submitted to Contest #182

Present # “Follow that car,” Shekhar yelled as soon as he entered a taxi. It’s a late evening in Delhi. Rain has poured tons of water in the city, and there is not sign of it to stop soon. Loud thunderstorm is deafening, and heavy lightening turning city milky white. The driver who was sleeping in the taxi woke up in a panic. “Hey you, get out of my taxi,” the taxi driver told Shekhar, rubbing his eyes. “It’s very important for me to follow that car. Please help,” Shekhar begged. “Didn’t you hear what I said? Get out of my taxi. Right ...

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$250

Prize money

237

Contest entries

154

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 27, 2023 EST

Won by Liv Chocolate 🏆

Title: Careful—You’ll Slip, Fall, and Die on Those Slippery Slopes

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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