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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#247: The Great Unknown

Few pursuits ignite the imagination and spirit quite like exploration. From sailors discovering new countries and their inhabitants, to astronauts uncovering ancient civilisations on far away planets, we are as hungry to hear stories about exploration as we are to explore ourselves. We often feel the need to venture beyond the familiar confines of our lives, whether that’s simply exploring a new corner of your hometown, or embarking on a mission through forgotten tombs.

This week's prompts delve into the essence of exploration, inviting you to embark on a journey of discovery and adventure. So, ready your maps, steel your resolve, grab your pen, and prepare to explore the unknown...

This week's prompts

Write a story in the form of diary entries, written by an explorer as they make their way through what they thought was an untouched location.

Adventure – 66 stories

Set your story on a spaceship exploring the far reaches of space when something goes wrong.

Science Fiction – 32 stories

Center your story around a character’s personal exploration, whether it's trying a new hobby, visiting an unfamiliar place, or learning something completely new.

Character – 88 stories

Imagine a world where exploration is forbidden, and write a story about a character who defies this rule to satisfy their innate curiosity.

Dystopian – 59 stories

Write a narrative about a group of scientists exploring the deepest parts of the ocean.

Adventure – 13 stories

Stories

“MAJOR TOM” by Brian Bywater

Submitted to Contest #247

MAJOR TOM “Ground Control to Major Tom” “If you want to live through this journey Philip you will stop singing that song. You haven’t let up since we blasted off. It may have been funny then and had some sort of relativity, however after five days it does reek of overkill.” “Oh chill out Major, lighten up. Everyone at Ground Control sees the funny side of a real life Major Tom actually being on a journey through space. You must realise at some stage they will make that call.” “That song, A Space ...

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“Contact” by Martin Hull

Submitted to Contest #247

The spaceship came screaming down with the thunderclap roar of displaced atmosphere yet landed whisper soft on the grass at the end of town.The craft glittered sleekly in the mid-morning sunlight as it lay on it’s side - a broad shaft topped by a bulbous nose from which a door opened.The blond haired man that stepped out was tall, bronzed and athletic. He wore the shining, golden uniform of Earth’s Bureau of Exploration, his proudly displayed badges of rank declared him to be a Senior Contact Manager (ConMan) Alien Division.He flicked aside ...

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“HAL-2315” by Mel Kennedy

Submitted to Contest #247

Prepare to enter hyperspeed.Thump. Thump. Thump.My heart races faster and faster as the computer completes its final calculations.Countdown.Five. Four. Three. Two. One.Hyperspeed activated.Between one breath and the next, I am travelling faster than the speed of light. I can’t help the yell of pure exhilaration as I shoot by stars and planets.This is the furthest anyone has been into this sector - I’m off the known map of the galaxy, so many years from home. Hyperspeed deactivated - you have reached your destination.“We’re here, we actu...

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“Two Deaths and a Glowing Plant ” by Eyza H

Submitted to Contest #247

“How much longer till we land?” Joan complained lazily as she swung her seat around, swaying her arms in their heavy armor. “Not our fault you were the first to gear up sweetheart– you should’ve waited a bit before putting your suit on” a man commented with a sly smile from behind her. “Don’t call me that!” she chided as she looked him, although with a small, knowing smirk. “Alright, you guys better strap in now. You know how it gets, and we don’t know the atmosphere of this planet yet” a stern voice sounded from the head of the s...

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“Star Oddity” by ♡ Tana ♡

Submitted to Contest #247

Somewhere during our second year in space, we started talking about astrology. One might think that flying past countless stars each waking minute would make us wonder at our own heavenly correlations, but we were too busy being proper astronauts to think about anything except propulsion and coordinates. National Geographic had run a special on us before we left, on New Year's Day, 2086. Star Light, Star Bright, Guide our Travelers Tonight, the headline read. It was not an overall hopeful piece, since most people assumed we would die. This f...

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“The Great Red Spot” by K.R. Danielsson

Submitted to Contest #247

June 22nd, 2100. Time: 0300.They say Jupiter is a star that failed—a sun that could’ve ignited if it were eighty times larger. We’re not sure why it never completed its cycle of transforming into a sun. But could you imagine if it had? Two gravitational forces on both sides of the Earth could have torn us apart. Maybe. Science is more of a practice than a mastery.As we departed from Earth on April 2100, Jupiter was in a state of ambiguity. The perpetual storm once believed to be shrinking, had instead swelled to engulf half the planet. It gr...

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“The Last Match's Flame” by OLIVIA WITTS

Submitted to Contest #247

[NONGRAPHIC MENTIONS OF A SCHOOL SHOOTING] Plick. Plick.Plick. “Is it too late to go back for my phone?” “Shh!” Hiss. The underground tunnel dimly lit with the small match flame, just barely illuminating the moss-covered walls and toxic-smelling sewage trickling along the cracked cement floor. Plick. “Gross, that one landed on my head!” a young girl whined. “Shh!” She went quiet, but rubbed the top of her head in discomfort. Another girl, just slightly older, wrapped an arm around her and pulled...

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“unfamiliar exploration within a familiar environment” by Fletcher Fox

Submitted to Contest #247

Can the concept of graduate school be considered a place? It certainly is unfamiliar, both like and unlike the actual locations the education takes place - or, rather, would be taking place, if I was actually doing real tasks beyond ‘exploring my options’. It shouldn't, really, be unfamiliar - I'm by no means a first-generation student. I grew up on stories of my mom's master’s degree from Columbia University. Only she was studying a completely different field from what I want to study. She was a speech language pathologist, and I aim ...

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“The Lucky Stars Club” by Maura Morgan

Submitted to Contest #247

The Lucky Stars Club A Short Story By Maura Morgan I held hands with my wife Rachel in the offstage darkness while the host, Kelly Davis, shared her monologue with millions of people watching Tell Me a Secret. I planned to speak publicly about Georgie and Duncan for the first time since my acquittal. In the most high-profile court case in ten years since a former president was brought to trial, testimony from Rachel and me had been sealed because it was inflammatory and downright unbelievable. The judge removed reporters from the courtr...

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“The One Who Hurts You Most” by Katariina Ruuska

Submitted to Contest #247

It’s not them, it’s youYou can pass the blame and cry boo-hooNothing good will it doFor the one who hurts you most is always you Blair thought about her 14-year-old niece’s poem now that the flashing of the cameras stung her retinas, reminding her of the topic of the poem — hurt. She’d read it and felt proud. Sure, it was a little rough around the edges, certainly no Emily Dickinson, but there was a refreshing sense of accountability to it, maturity, wisdom. She’d promised her niece she’d frame it, but it was still sitting on her dining tabl...

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“Finding ‘yourself’!” by Andrew Venn

Submitted to Contest #247

’One minute I was okay’, but five minutes later I would be trying to stay alive!A very sudden and unexpected brain haemorrhage very nearly ended my ‘relatively young’ life! After surviving, and completing 10 1/2 months in hospital, I required many therapies to try to restore ‘some normality’! This was a challenge and I, instead of ‘looking at it’ negatively, decided to attempt a reasonable recovery with humour, instead of ‘doom and gloom’! I was 24 years of age when I suffered this brain haemorrhage, caused by high blood pressure that rupt...

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“Beyond the walls” by Kolton Jennings

Submitted to Contest #247

In a society where exploration beyond the confines of the known world was deemed too perilous, Lily found herself yearning for more despite the risks. Trapped within the confines of her tightly regulated community, leaving was out of the question – a notion reinforced by the stern warnings and surveillance of the authorities. But Lily couldn't suppress her innate curiosity, a spark that flickered defiantly in the depths of her soul. She longed to see beyond the sterile walls and monotonous routines, to discover what lay hidden in the world b...

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“The Great Escape” by Leslie Cieplechowicz

Submitted to Contest #247

He waited, seeing if she would catch her mistake, his ebony body looped in coils in the corner. The UVB light irradiated his smooth scales and the stiff, plastic plants in his enclosure cast sharp shadows across the sand, reminding him of his prior home. His tongue winked in and out, tasting the air, his slitted golden eyes watching. The young zookeeper hunched next to the back of the king cobra’s exhibit, her fingers tapping wildly on her cell phone, a tear from her nose hitting the screen. Her blond hair clung to her...

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“The Play” by Tereza Bartošová

Submitted to Contest #247

The woman gripped his shoulders, nails digging into his flesh through the thin fabric. He avoided the woman's piercing gaze, the unnatural joy holding the corners of her lips upwards. He chose to ignore her twitching eye, the tears humbling her face. This woman was his mother, or so he believed.The woman shook him, voice laced with fear, "Never question, obey."The boy lived in a rather strange place - a nameless world. A world in which life seemed scripted, much like a play in theatre. Now, the curtains were closed, the next scene yet t...

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“Just A Little Longer?” by Taylor Weeks

Submitted to Contest #247

I wouldn’t say I’m a rule breaker per say. A rule bender, definitely, but I’d never purposefully disobey my parents. And I’m bad at it anyway. Dad would be able to hear my racing heartbeat in a second and then I’d be caught and grounded even faster. Which is why I waited until they were both out of the hut for the day. We’ve needed more wood for a new table ever since Mom accidentally broke it climbing to get something from the top shelf, so I knew they’d be gone all day. The plan was simple: Wait until Mom and Dad are past the clearing...

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$250

Prize money

258

Contest entries

101

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 26, 2024 EST

Won by Madeline McCourt 🏆

Title: DANGER: UNSTABLE GROUND

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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