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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

“Ends of the Earth” by Paul Hellyer

Submitted to Contest #247

Jeanie never truly got comfortable with the cold, deep-sea station, and it wasn’t as though the developers hadn’t tried. Though the lights in the facility mimicked the day night cycle above the water, turning golden in the early mornings and afternoons, brighter around midday, and completely dark at night, it could not distract her from the barren, oppressive, murk that embraced the facility, always visible through the facilities glass windows. It was unmistakably unsettling to her, being kilometers below the ocean’s surface, completely cut ...

12 comments 12
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“Aquanauts in Action” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #247

Paulo was a marine biologist with a thirst for adventure. He’d accrued a team of ten specialist scientists, all willing to remotely accompany him into the abyss. He’d done marine adventuring for thirty years, and he was ready to go to the place that sunlight had never touched. It looked like a huge act of bravery; to be bolder than the sun. But scientific curiosity is hard to squash, whatever risk it entails. Paulo’s best friend was Henry, a subaquatic archaeologist. He wanted to plumb the deepest depths of the sea too, to see what there wa...

18 comments 18
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“Uncharted” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #247

Cody thrived in his well-controlled world. He worked hard and played video games into the night. The vitality of the game’s characters inspired him. If they wanted something, they took it with style. He envied characters untethered by imposed social niceties. He loved exploring the secrets hidden within each new level. He wanted that life.Onscreen, his life was simple and direct. Those who dared interfere with his desires for a woman, a car or other treasures found life was brutish and short.Cody’d been up all night. And he’d left no one sta...

9 comments 9
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“Restricting Words” by Khadija S. Mohammad

Submitted to Contest #247

Sakura whirled round at the sound of familiar footsteps, to see her closest friend, Yuto, running towards her – chased by the Restriction, which were only a few metres behind him. She opened her mouth to say something before realising that what she wanted to ask, What's happening? – or more accurately, Why are they trying to get you? – wasn't one of her speech options. She made do with a surprised open of her eyes accompanied by a questioning raise of her eyebrows.Thankfully, Yuto understood what she was trying to say. He pointed to his mout...

13 comments 13
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“Up, Up and Away” by Stevie Burges

Submitted to Contest #247

Before World War II, life was relatively simple for Lorraine. As a woman, she was expected to find a man who could keep her to a standard deemed appropriate by her parents. The ‘happy couple’ would marry and, due to limited available contraception, almost immediately start a family. It was rare for women to still work after marriage. Instead, now that she was married, her full-time job was as a housekeeper, a wife, and, in a reasonably short time, a mother.Feeling that she understood her new role in life, she was surprised that everything co...

14 comments 14
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“Splendid Isolation” by PJ Town

Submitted to Contest #247

There it is. At least I think that’s it, though it might be a cloud bank. Or land, shrouded in mist. Anyway, it's beautiful, and it’s my future.It’s only eighteen miles away, but at this very moment it might as well be eighteen thousand. I’ve heard that people used to swim there in the old days – cover themselves in goose fat against the cold, then breast-stroke the whole distance. They’d have a boat beside them for support, which seems a little senseless; why didn’t they simply get in the boat?I’m going by boat myself, not sure when. I’ve g...

15 comments 15
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“30 minutes” by Renate Buchner

Submitted to Contest #247

I rubbed my chilly thighs with my palms after spending so much time kneeling on wet, dewy grass; even the smallest movement of my legs hurt."Where are you, Lena?" I brushed the branches away to have a clear view of Hangar 2. I felt a thrill of warmth rush through my body as I saw the silhouette of the small, two-seat Robinson R22 Helicopter through the path lights.A short distance away, there was a rustling sound that made my pulse skip a beat. I crouched even lower, nearly lying on the ground. The sound approached gently. I paused my b...

11 comments 11
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“The Drums” by Nicholas Thomas

Submitted to Contest #247

Diary Entry #1: Date: January 15th          Today marks the beginning of my expedition into the mysterious and supposedly untouched location, deep in South America, which I have longed to explore for years. As I trek through the dense jungle, I can't help but notice a staggering sense of both excitement and apprehension coursing through my body, like some sensation of skittering insects of mixed excitement. The thick vegetation obscures my view, making it difficult to see more than a few feet a...

3 comments 3
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“Golden Years” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #247

Nobody can hear you screw up, or so they say… Major Culpham had that thought in his head as he prepared for the day. He looked through the viewfinder and studied the material captured. All the scanning of the previous day was uneventful and he felt that he should just get this out of the way early to complete his other duties. And yet…he felt an urge to go back once more and review what he saw…and heard. Noises from afar… At any other moment, he might have laughed about it and moved on with his work. Any child knew the basics of space travel...

11 comments 11
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“The Entity” by Rado Randriamamonjy

Submitted to Contest #247

The smell of rotten eggs woke Harper from a dead sleep. Or maybe it was the waves of intense nausea. Her innards felt like they were being stomped clean, like dirty laundry in a remote, rural stream. Through eyes weary and half-shut, Harper watched a red light pulse. It filled the space around her with spasmodic, blood-hued flashes.Uggghh… Moving wasn’t high on her list of priorities. Her head was heavy. It felt like a pumpkin propped on a toothpick, and inside sloshed thoughts and images that threatened to fuse toge...

2 comments 2
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“The box” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #247

When I hung up the phone, an immense rage took over my body. I am not one to throw stuff around the room or crash the dishes on the floor because I'm the one who had to pay for them, but right then, that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to break it all, smash it all, make it disappear from the face of the Earth. But I am moderate, so I kicked the door instead and hurt my toes. That's what I did: I hurt myself trying to get satisfaction. Now that I think about it, I realize it was stupid: the door had no blame, no matter how frustrated I was. ...

8 comments 8
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“The Brambles” by Bethany Walters

Submitted to Contest #247

Rhea slipped quietly past the guards at the front gate. It was well past midnight and if she was caught another demerit would be added to her file. She was a wispy sort of girl that most people ignored when they walked by, so getting past the guards at the gate was relatively simple, as long as she stayed in the shadows. As inconspicuous as she was, it didn’t mean that she wouldn’t run into a patrol while out in the forest. The risk was necessary because she needed to know about life outside the walls.Rhea lived in a community called the Bra...

2 comments 2
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“Inside Out” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #247

Travel, I was told, would expand my mind. So I followed that sage advice. And I thought it had. It felt like it had. I felt bigger, and as a result I could only conclude that I was better for that. After all, we are supposed to grow. Firstly, we grow up. Then we expand. Our horizons broaden and broaden until we are spoilt for choice. But then, life is a series of choices. Often, the choice we make is to make no choice at all. We bury ourselves in the sands of ignorance and pretend we are staying put, when there is never any possibi...

8 comments 8
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“West of the River of Doubt” by Geir Westrul

Submitted to Contest #247

From the diary of Kermit Roosevelt, the second son of Theodore Roosevelt, found in the estate of his younger sister, Esther Roosevelt.Sunday, February 27, 1927, Rondônia, BrazilThirteen years the nightmare has haunted me. I have blamed myself, pushed everyone away — everyone except Esther and Archie and mother. I ended it with Belle, nearly ended myself many, many times. And here I am, back on this ink-black river. Back to search for him, what remains of him, if anything remains after thirteen years, but how can there not be something r...

11 comments 11
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“Protocol” by John Werner

Submitted to Contest #247

The instruments are supposed to help me understand what I’m seeing, but they fail tremendously in this regard. I learned very quickly, yet quite a bit too late, that their data collection was not in service to me but to those back home. The instruments produce calculations and extrapolate theoretical what-ifs to translate to scientists millions of miles away. They then transmit it away, as if I’m not even here. The reality of the situation is that I’ve been training my whole life for this. Ever since I was small. I would look up into the sky...

5 comments 5
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$250

Prize money

258

Contest entries

102

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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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