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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

“The Last Ark” by Ken Cartisano

Submitted to Contest #247

Killing the Pilot and crew seemed recklessly premature. Not because they were the only living creatures within a billion lightyears. Not at all. I had an entire cargo hold full of organic lifeforms, eager to be revived from their cryogenic stasis. They were all frozen. All expendable. All potential tools for my unlimited use.The primary reason for staying my virtual hand, is that it would be an inconvenience. I would have to suffocate them first, desiccate the bodies, incinerate the remains, thaw out some new subjects, indoctrinate them, tra...

22 comments 22
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“You Have Arrived At Your Destination” by Liane Fazio

Submitted to Contest #247

YOU HAVE ARRIVED AT YOUR DESTINATION          “In 100 feet, turn right,” the robotic female voice announced through the car’s speakers. Heather checked her side mirror, rearview mirror, turned on her right turn signal and eased into the right lane although there were no other cars on the road. The driving app still said she was only twelve minutes away. It felt like she was driving forever. She was getting drowsy and needed to stretch soon. She turned right.     &nbsp...

10 comments 10
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“The Eviction” by Mishka Stennett

Submitted to Contest #247

“I know it was your dog!” His voice rose on every word.  Mr. Gallagher was accosting Rory in the second-floor stairwell of their apartment building. The elevator stopped working long before Rory moved into an apartment there and she never had any choice but to take the stairs to access her apartment. She mentally steeled herself for his verbal assault.  “I keep telling you, Mr. Gallagher, it wasn’t him. He’s housebroken, always has been- “The slight quiver in her voice betrayed her.  “But you’re the only one that lives he...

4 comments 4
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“PR” by Kim Meyers

Submitted to Contest #247

It’s Tuesday, April 23rd and Paula wakes at the same time she does everyday, between 5:45 and 5:55am. Rising, she turns off the alarm that never sounds and quickly pivots to make the bed. She reaches for her shorts and sports bra that she had laid out carefully the night before.  For a twenty-three year old, she’s seemingly got her shit together. A recent transplant to New York City, she lives in a one bedroom apartment in an up-and-coming neighborhood of Queens.  Although moving across the country required a considerable adjustmen...

6 comments 6
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“Outside” by Thomas Wetzel

Submitted to Contest #247

The man with the black tattoo lettering on each side of his neck reading 24731-JAM, known to his small circle of friends simply as “Jam”, awoke at the same time that he did every day. The clock on the wall read 06:00 but that was a purely arbitrary number that simply signified when the strobing fluorescent overhead lighting and the piercing audible alarm would simultaneously activate, ending his all-too-brief daily respite from the sweat and the toil and the tedium of his waking hours.He sat up, cleared his throat slightly, took a sip of bot...

8 comments 8
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“Caves Of Hillslem” by Alice Brooks

Submitted to Contest #247

Sensitive content warning: Implied cannibalism.Day One. 1:30pm.This is the journal of Dr. Vaughn. It is currently 1:30 in the afternoon, and the sky is still bright. I am documenting this in the thirty-seventh calendar week. My mission is simple: Cross what remains of the city, and enter the legendary caves of Hillslem. I shall be the first to do so. No man has ever dared to even come near the caves. In them is said to be treasure, destined to be found by the one who is willing to risk it all. I am. Ever since the city fell, there is nothing...

4 comments 4
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“THE MOIRAE” by Linda Kenah

Submitted to Contest #247

Moirae:You have my attention. You have had it for years. But I defy you. I have freed myself from your bondage. Yet why do you keep singing to me? I refuse to hear the music you chant. You have no more power over me, vixens.  I no longer fear the path you have devised for me.Clotho, you were the first to greet me with your malevolent plot. When I took my first breath, you took the last from my mother. My father told me it was fate. I knew it was you. My mother meant you no harm, but you had blackn...

4 comments 4
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“What's a Picture Worth?” by McKade Kerr

Submitted to Contest #247

Out beyond the distant galaxies, where unknown stars twinkled and unnamed wonders dwelt, a small spaceship with two brave space photographers soared by at hyper speed. Finnian, the courageous captain was at the helm, and his intelligent yet goofy co-captain Quixly was sitting nearby, looking through old books and scrolls. The two friends were on their way to take their greatest picture yet. “These are some pretty crazy legends, Captain.” Quixly said as he was reading the scrolls. “Are ya sure this planet actually exists?” “I’m pretty sure.” ...

19 comments 19
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“Jacob and the Psychonauts” by Paul Littler

Submitted to Contest #247

​Jacob Bayley lay back and placed the mask over his face, in what used to be his father’s favourite chair, and began to inhale. Dad had been dead for a few months now, and Jacob knew he wouldn’t have thought Jacob had the guts to do what he was about to do, but he wasn’t around to bitch about it. ​The water bath had reached the right temperature, Jacob having put it on a plate warmer lit by a tea light’s small flame. He got the initial ether hit almost immediatel...

7 comments 7
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“The Black Mountain” by Daniel Legare

Submitted to Contest #247

October 4ᵗʰ, 1921, Turkestan A.S.S.R We've arrived in the village of Derweze and have been offered a small hut for the evening. Ahmed brought some dates. He tells us it will take four days to procure the camels and provisions for the trek. Petrov is nervous. He says that the Soviets could come through any day and ask for our permits, or whatever other document they’ll choose to make up on the spot. We’re lucky to have Ahmed as a guide to take us through the old desert routes used by his ancestors. I've asked some of the locals in the villa...

2 comments 2
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“Big Ugly Dish” by Daryl Kulak

Submitted to Contest #247

This wasn’t my idea. My mom pulled hard on my hand to keep me from looking at the tufts of grass that poked through the sidewalk cracks like hair on a straggly dog. She was always rushing me. This time we were visiting our “new neighbors” who lived in this old tired house on the top of the hill. We moved from a suburb in Columbus out here because they thought it would be a better place to raise me. I didn’t have a say in all this, as you’ve probably guessed. Eleven-year-old girls don’t get to decide where the family moves. My dad works as a ...

4 comments 4
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“I'm With the Banned” by Jeremy Stevens

Submitted to Contest #247

This story contains leftist political hot-buttons. Do not proceed if you are easily offended.“Do you promise you won’t leave me?”“Baby, how many times I gotta say it?”“More times than you have.”“I promise. I’m not going to leave you.”“It’s just…everyone I’ve ever loved has left.”“I am not everyone.”“And if we do this…”“Ssshhh…you talk too much.”“Just, go slow, ‘kay?”“You got nothing to fear.”-----“And you met him, where?”“At the dugout…”“I mean, where, the first time?”“Online.”“Where online?”“CuddlesClub. He said he was fifteen though…”“And ...

10 comments 10
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“Silent Kay” by Niamh O'Dea

Submitted to Contest #247

I walked into Yvonne’s dusky kitchen and found her stooped in meditation over her puzzle magazine. I was bloated and hungover from too much sleep and clumsily walked to her side, throwing a fright into her. “I’m going home today”, I said, my voice breaking its fast. “Ah no, a few more days. You’re not sick of us yet,” my sister croaked, her first sounds of the day. She pulled herself up, steadied, and headed for the kettle. “I’ve been sick of you for 46 years,” sitting down, allowing her to wait on me one more time. It had been two weeks sin...

2 comments 2
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“Is It Truly Undiscovered? ” by Kaelyn Klaus

Submitted to Contest #247

2030 July 4 They say today was once known as Independence Day, I don’t feel independent. I feel trapped. The world is being remade right now, and I am currently alone in a small rocket ship, watching through the windows as my earth, my home is destroyed. I need to save it. I imagine all the people's lives being disrupted, all of the homes broken. I am a 23-year-old non-binary person. I chose to be that before I was told that once the earth settled down I w...

7 comments 7
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“South Fork of the American River” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #247

I had been a group counselor at a juvenile boys’ rehabilitation for substance abuse in the Rincon Valley in Santa Rosa California known as R-House for about ten months when I volunteered for a summer excursion that included a white water rafting tour down the American River.   I must admit I was quite apprehensive about making my first white water rafting trip with a group of teenage adolescents who had been court ordered to R-House due to their criminal offenses that included substance abuse.  The program at the facility was ...

6 comments 6
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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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Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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