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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#209: Road Trippin'

The open road is a beacon of possibility. Who knows what you’ll discover as you navigate across boundaries, familiar and unfamiliar: maybe it’s the world’s biggest ball of twine, a hidden gem of a diner, or a new truth about yourself. Whatever it may be, a road trip provides the opportunity to indulge your curiosity, going wherever the wind may blow you. There’s no limits or obstacles, only what you’re willing to do.

After all, road trips are hardly ever about the destination. The journey is what matters most, and what you discover along the way, whether you're taking a vacation or setting out into the unknown. This week, we want to explore those unique feelings that only a good, long road trip can conjure.

This week's prompts

Set your entire story in a car.

Dramatic – 96 stories

Write about two strangers who are both heading to the same destination and agree to do a long distance drive together.

Character – 32 stories

Write a story about someone going on a life-changing journey.

Adventure – 57 stories

Write a story about someone getting lost, but discovering something they didn’t expect along the way.

Dramatic – 35 stories

Start your story with someone walking into a gas station.

Dialogue – 53 stories

Stories

“Rispetta il Cibo” by Courtney Caruso

Submitted to Contest #209

The airport must have been designed by Versace. Rome’s airport is bellissima. I’ve been studying Italian since my sweet baby graduated high school. All he ever talked about was cooking and many nights cooked for his father and I and his little brother. The day he left broke my heart. Our plan was to surprise him with plane tickets for Rome but for the following year. He took it upon himself to enroll for that year, and we just couldn’t afford such an immediate depar...

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“Deadly life” by Sheetal Patel

Submitted to Contest #209

Nelson Long was a decent 19 year old boy with his ordinary life and parents. He had a good life in school and was popular because of his handsome looks. Also because of his knowledge, all his friends asked him for advice on how to do some questions. He wasn’t a bully and neither were his friends. They all may seem like bad boys but they have a sweet heart, especially Nelson. His parent were Lauren Long and James Long. Nelson was an only child with no siblings. His parent were very wealthy people and they always taught Nelson to treat others...

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“Gone Fishing” by John Van Winkle

Submitted to Contest #209

Road Trippin’… Write a story about someone getting lost, but discovering something they didn’t expect along the way. Gone Fishing They said their farewells and hopped into the burgundy ’75 Camaro on a beautiful sunny day in the summer of 1976, young lovers and best friends who had married a couple of years earlier and were visiting family in Peoria. They had just finished Sunday brunch and expected to be back at their apartment in Chicago within a few hours. But they were in no hurry. Both were salaried workers who spent long hours at ...

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“Wit's End” by J. V. SUMMER

Submitted to Contest #209

Wit’s End “Must be dump on Daphne day,” she muttered, pausing to catch her breath. Her feet ached, a burning jolt came from her left knee when she put weight on it, sweat coursed down her face and back, and now she was lost because she forgot which level of the multi-story underground parking maze she’d left her Buick on. She had limped down the ramp of the garage instead of taking the elevator because she thought she’d spot her car more easily. Surely, she would find her car soon. She’d parked near a slope in a corner, she thought. At an...

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“The World behind the Yellow Train” by LaSasha Robinson

Submitted to Contest #209

“Excuse me.” The bus driver drove down the busy highway as the Louisville skyline passed by on the right. “Yeah.” She responded without taking her eyes off the road. “Do you know where I need to get off to get to Buechel bank Rd.?” “The only route I know is the one I drive.” She responded shortly. I leaned back into my seat and looked at the screen on my phone. The date read May 20, 2020, my screen was dark and in battery saver mode. I only had 5% battery power left. I knew I should have never let my daughter play on my phone. I had to b...

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“The Devil Drives a Thunderbird” by Coltrane Rogers

Submitted to Contest #209

A pad of paper on the dashboard. Three tally-lines through the middle. Stopwatch counting down from twenty-seven minutes. The man gets out of his car and shuts the door behind him. He mutters a quick goodbye to the passenger and walks head down towards the white light of the gas station. The bell chimes. Lemon freshener and the smell of sweet breads. Clerk in the back aisle lost in his music. A remix of Counting Stars. Something to get the limbs moving and brain-wires firing. ...

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“Taylore Brightstar and the Galaxy Way ” by Theo Benson

Submitted to Contest #209

I crouch behind a barrel, trying not to get shot by my own stupidity. “Howard!” The Grishi man screams. I’m not Howard. He probably thinks that’s my name because I told him it was. The way station door hisses open as more Grishi enter. Kreech, the screaming man, waves his blaster and fires in my general direction. “Where are they?” An elbow jabs my side. Kit scowls at me, also behind the barrel. With blonde hair framing her face in a wild array and a deep blue jumpsuit framing her figure, even scowling she looks gorge...

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“Thin Strand” by Tycho Dwelis

Submitted to Contest #209

A blast of stale, artificial air hit me as I pushed open the grimy, glass door of the all-night gas station. That, and the smell of those little taquitos filled with buffalo chicken that I knew had been sitting on the heater for way too long. It didn’t stop me from wondering if I should buy one. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t just another stop for a late-night snack and a fill-up, but the beginning of a long and painful detour. “Cola, peanut butter cups, gas,” I muttered to myself so I wouldn’t forget. “Cola, peanut butter cu...

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“The Power of a Gas Station” by Jack Gorzo

Submitted to Contest #209

Transient spaces always fascinated me as a child which is probably why I bought a gas station in my old age. Is there any space more transient? No one wants to stay in a gas station, and no one should. Those chains that try to make theirs appear like small grocery stores misunderstand the power of these places. It is in these between places that true change can occur. If the customers can sit down with a breakfast sandwich for an hour, they lose out on the experience. There is magic to gas stations—a uniquely American magic. I’ve seen that p...

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“Money” by Corrie McCue

Submitted to Contest #209

“Okay. Next one. You ready?” The stout man with the black toupee pauses. Marti looks over from her spot at the lottery machine. “Yeah. Go ahead,” she offers, her voice flat. “Gimme four, two, one, three-–fifty cents boxed. And fifty cents straight on a separate ticket.” The door buzzes. “Hello,” Marti acknowledges automatically, without looking over. “Is that all?” she wonders. “Sure—send ‘em through!” The man slaps the counter enthusiastically. “And grab me a couple of those ten dollar scratchers—your choice as long as they’re winners...

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“The Exit Door” by Brian Adams

Submitted to Contest #209

Ding ding rang the little bell fastened to the front door of the old country service station. The attendant behind the counter barely heard it over the radio newscast and the pouring rain. He turned his attention from the shortwave radio long enough to notice the sharp-dressed middle-aged man in the dark fedora. The man was soaked and his trench coat, muddied.“Looks like someone left the house without checkin’ the weather report. Where’s your raincoat, mister?” the attendant said as he padded his wet, thinning hair with his pocket rag, then ...

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“Hey Siri” by Anne Sellers

Submitted to Contest #209

“Hey Siri, where’s the nearest QT?”, I pleaded, hoping that he would complete my request speedily. (By the way, my Siri is a man and he’s from Australia) Siri answered, “The nearest QT is 2.1 miles to your east and gets 4 stars. Would you like that one? “Yes! Yes, I would like that one very much.” I had been holding my bladder for at least an hour as I packed up my final belongings. Or should I say, all that would fit in my Jeep. I ended up leaving a little of this and a little of that in almost every room of my flat. It was ...

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“Midas Touch” by James Bowling

Submitted to Contest #209

"Don't suppose you're from around here. You come for the bluegrass jamboree?" The gas station attendant gave his scruffy chin a thoughtful scratch and looked over the man on the other side of the counter with the curiosity of someone not used to seeing new people. Being average height and build, the man's appearance was not distinctive in any particular way but it was plain by his clothing and manner that he was not a local. Shaking his head in answer to the question, Matt smiled slightly. "I'm not much for...

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“Tijuana at Five” by H.e. Ross

Submitted to Contest #209

Words woke me and I looked up through the smell of car mustiness and petrol to a smiling moustache on a strange face. I was still curled in the darkness of the backseat and didn’t know if it had been on a long drive or if we had arrived in Mexico. I didn’t know if I was awake but I did know that we were sitting still now with the engine still vibrating. The moustache man wore dark glasses under a slouchy light brown military kind of hat with a shiny bill. I saw brown skin and a smile but he was just a blur with a background of glaring lights...

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“Unexpected Trip Delays” by Sylvia Melvin

Submitted to Contest #209

Unexpected Trip Delays By Sylvia Melvin The rising sun on Friday, July 21, 2023, illuminated a blue sky with a few puffy summer clouds and a temperature climbing into the low eighties—a perfect day to start the fifteen-hundred-mile trek from Maine back to our home in Florida. Our destination for the first leg of the trip was Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, an eight-hour drive in ideal conditions. But we didn't make it that far. Now, my husband hates to drive in Connecticut since he’s convinced the term kamikaze originated with that state's drive...

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$250

Prize money

273

Contest entries

154

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 04, 2023 EST

Won by Kyle Sager 🏆

Title: The Driving Snow

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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