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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 Niyati” by Sonia Ferrigno

Submitted to Contest #182

I hardly ever remember my dreams, but that morning was different. It stuck with me, tugging at my brain as I percolated the coffee, showered quickly, and slipped on my sensible slacks and blouse. Lying down on a rough surface, I had been looking up at a sky laden with menacing clouds while millions of feathers floated down, pirouetting above me, settling on my forehead, tickling my nose and mouth, and finally stifling my breathing, until I had awoken, gasping for breath. The vivid and heavenly experience had not been a bli...

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“See it. Say it. Sorted.” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #182

It started, unimaginatively enough, with someone looking up at the stars. That someone was Laurie Entwistle, who instead of writing up a review of up and coming ska punk ensemble The Mucus Plugs, looking for new ways of saying that they “absolutely tore the bloody roof off” of local pub Dog & Gristle (a venue which truthfully remained quite intact), was actually stuck on making tweaks to her dating profile. Female Early 30s Occupation: journalist Likes: travel, reading, her sofa, art, photography, blueberry muffins, endless scrolli...

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“Fall from Grace” by Saptarshi Mukherjee

Submitted to Contest #182

(CW : Occasional use of strong language, suicide)(This story serves as the prequel to my previous short story "Numb". If you enjoy this one, check out "Numb" on my profile. However, both the stories are standalones).The taxi screeched to a stop along the curb of the rain-battered street. Nick and Dan, encapsulated within black trench coats and grey hats entered the taxi, shutting the door behind them.“Follow that car.” Dan instructed the driver, pointing at the white sedan pulling away from the curb and out into the night. Nick was completel...

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“Could be a true story” by K Dutta

Submitted to Contest #182

The preface to this story is that it is based on my current life. I am in the middle of a court case and live in fear and paranoia every day. I am also a full time family caregiver. I have a security camera set by the front door which I cannot figure out how to shut the night alarm off on. Thank god it is not mounted, otherwise the alarm would go off every time I leave the house after dark. My paranoia has always been present, this court case has amplified it by tenfold. This story could very well happen and not only to me. Please be safe. ...

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“Run” by Masumi Gartman

Submitted to Contest #182

The alarm screamed angrily, frightening Maeve out of a dead slumber. She shot upright, tumbled out of tangled sheets, and stumbled half-conscious down the hall to the keypad by the front door of her grandmother's farmhouse style home. It took several tries, but after a final, desperate attempt, the house finally fell silent. Maeve took a deep breath, leaning her back against the wall, the paint cool on the exposed, fevered skin of her shoulders. “Stupid thing,” she muttered, wiping a hand across her sweat studded forehead. She’d been sick fo...

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“Study Buddy” by J.L. (Jesse) DuRona

Submitted to Contest #182

The piercing shrill filled the air, stabbing Meg’s ears like crochet needles. Pressing her palms against her ears, she screamed to the heavens. “Seriously?! Again?!” She bolted from the couch and ran down the hall, bashing her extended elbow against the wall as she went. She didn’t care—all that mattered was the noise. The white box lay flush against the wall by the front door. Meg quickly flipped open the panel, wailed on the number pad, hit the star key. The terrible sound, like a massive bird shrieking in rage, continued its sym...

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“A Teenager and a Tower of Pots” by Kara Reeves

Submitted to Contest #182

I was already alert when I heard the crash in the kitchen. I never could relax while babysitting. I couldn’t settle in on another family’s couch knowing that the parents could come home any moment and find me binging on their Doritos (they always said “eat anything”) or find me asleep and drooling on their pillow. Or, if not the parents, then my real fear: An intruder. I imagined men scoping out the house, waiting for signs of someone leaving, assuming it was empty and then finding me inside. And when they did find me inside, I had a plan. I...

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“There is a Stranger in my house” by Jennifer Jackson

Submitted to Contest #182

It was a cold, rainy night, and Abigail was home alone. The sudden sound of the home alarm startled her in the house. She quickly rose from her bed, heart racing as she reached for her phone to call the authorities. As she made her way towards the main entrance, she heard a noise coming from downstairs and knew that it must have been an intruder. Abigail fumbled around for objects that could use as a weapon should anything go wrong, before slowly making her way up towards the source of the noise. Once at the top of stairs, she peered ar...

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“R&R” by Westley Smith

Submitted to Contest #182

Mark Reinhold was jolted from sleep when the house alarm went off. Shooting to his feet from the sofa, where he had been banished after his fight with his wife, Nancy, he looked around the living room confused. He didn’t recognize anything: not the coffee table, the TV on the wall, not even the sofa where he was spending the night. Where am I, his sleep-fogged mind wondered? “Mark!” Nancy yelled over the incessant beeping alarm. &n...

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“Social Conscious” by Kenneth Kendall

Submitted to Contest #182

Sharon’s gut wrenched when the thought bubble appeared on her screen, “Would you like to reconsider your search request?” She typed, “I have a code.” “Enter code.” “8836473b74” “The Premier has personally selected the following resources for your learning.” Nine articles about euthanasia appeared on the screen. Before the title of each was the crisscrossed infinity logo of The Premier. Sharon reviewed all the titles and clicked on “The Premier chooses Grisentia over self.” Once on the landing page, she saw that it was an article from The Yum...

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“Breakout 2.0” by Jack Kimball

Submitted to Contest #182

Slinging low over the trees, the Bell V-s80 Valor helicopter angles in, a lethal locust descending in a joyless moon. Rotors tilting to hover configuration, she banks into the landing strip. General Huxley Longfellow, in fatigues, steps to the tarmac and salutes the two aids on the ground. Running low, they dash to a Quonset hut a hundred yards away. As they enter the room twenty men stand to attention while four civilians huddle at the end of a long conference table. The general, after a lifetime in the military, recognizes when t...

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“Under The Surface.” by Anna Komora

Submitted to Contest #182

Everyone knows of the cameras in the streetlamps and on the tops of every doorway. On certain benches or decorative pots filled with plants. They are aware they have no red light, or shuttering lens to announce their presence, but are there all the same. Most try to turn away from them, as naturally and innocently as they can. Often it is useless, and all the seemingly meaningless movement does is put them in front of a separate camera, resulting in a tingle that goes up their spine. These small rebellions against security protocols ...

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“وحدة الوقاية (The Prevention Unit)” by Adam El Nabli

Submitted to Contest #182

(Brigadier General Mohamed) العميد محمدI started out in the police force about 10 years ago. Never asked why once. I always figured my superiors knew what was best. ملازم، نقيب، رائد، مقدم، عقيد، عميد، لواء..(Lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel, colonel, brigadier general...)That’s all I knew. That's all I know. The more stars and swords you have on your shoulder, the more authority you have. And the more authority you have, the more you know. I had to follow orders. No matter what, orders were orders. Orders were my law. The...

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“Augmentations & Ice Cream” by Cora Weaver

Submitted to Contest #182

Note: This story contains brief references to mental health (intrusive thoughts), death, and self-harm. On the day of Raven’s fifteenth birthday, the monitor was installed in her right arm. It was standard procedure, and it had been in place for as long as anyone could remember. Even those who were part of the upper class, such as Raven, were unable to avoid the augmentation. Fifteen for less than a day, Raven sat in her chair and watched the monitor move under her skin. It provided a constant pain, one she had been told would never truly...

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“3:33 a.m.” by Cariann Acosta

Submitted to Contest #182

Silvia waited in Dr. Luther’s office. The waiting room was small and bright white, the furniture was white, and the walls were white and plain. Only a few seats in the room and she seemed to be the only patient today. The bright lights in the ceiling bothered her, she was blinking more than usual. Silvia has had no sleep in the past three days. The bright lights from the ceiling didn’t let her see properly. Her legs were shaken by the nervousness in her body, she bit her nails until her cuticles bled. She could hear whispers coming from insi...

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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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