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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

“City of Light, Angel of Darkness” by Ali Anthony Bell

Submitted to Contest #247

The day after their wedding, Paul and Léonie Barry set out on their Honeymoon voyage to Paris, not to return to the USA. For Paul, it was the adventure he’d been anticipating for half his life and for Léonie the return she’d been longing for since her family had immigrated and settled in Manhattan three years earlier.Paul had insisted that they only take two suitcases each, because they could buy everything they needed for their new life when they arrived. Léonie didn’t have any difficulty putting everything she owned in two valises, with th...

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“The Musical Odyssey of An Amateur Pianist” by Itisha S

Submitted to Contest #247

As the final school bell rang, Celeste sprouted up from her seat. Excitement ran its course through her veins, and she couldn’t contain the eager expression on her face as she headed out of her biology class. God, I hate that class, she always thought when she was in the clear to think such a thing. Ms. Smith was evil, according to Celeste and the rest of her grade, and her lack of mind reading powers had yet to be proven. She couldn’t help but stress over the test they just wrote, the test she likely failed. She had studied what she thought...

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“War with Mighty Waters” by Kaoli Chona

Submitted to Contest #247

The phone jolted me from my lazy Sunday afternoon slumber, beep beep and I groggily answered, expecting the usual mundane inquiries about church events or maybe even a wrong number. It was Reverend Jane on the line, her voice vibrated with energy and excitement. "Kaoli, my dear, we're going with you on an adventure to the Victoria Falls with Julius!" she exclaimed as if I had already agreed to go.The legendary Victoria Falls I heard was a marvel of nature so grand, it seemed like Mother Nature herself decided to show off her waters. I google...

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“In a White Room” by Marisa Billions

Submitted to Contest #247

I’m in a room. It’s a small room. If I was taller, and I stood in the center and spread my arms wide, I would almost be able to touch the walls. Oh, the stark white walls. Stark white, and plain. Nothing adorning them. Nothing to look at. The windows too high to reach or see out. The only furniture is a bed. And the bed is bolted to the floor stuck in place. Even the blankets are white  and so are the sheets and of course a white pillow. It’s like being stuck in a blizzard of boring.  I’m so bored.  The door is locked and I ca...

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“Dangerous Ink” by Torvi Skarsgaard

Submitted to Contest #247

Thirty years ago, a stranger saved me by purchasing my life. I cost one pound of coffee and two pounds of sugar. It was the opinion of everyone in the village the stranger had overpaid.The gates of my village closed behind us the next day, and I began to cry. The stranger stared at me and climbed onto his two-wheeled machine, beckoning me to do the same. I had been bought, so I did as he desired, holding on to his waist and letting go of my family. The roar of the machine drowned out my sobs, but nothing could still the fear in my heart or q...

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“All The Same. ” by Josefine R. Dalsager

Submitted to Contest #247

Every day is the same, the clock rings to wake us up in our side by side beds. In rows we get up, synchronized after years of routine. In tact with each other we make our beds, beat by beat, the same every day. We walk in one neat line out to brush our teeth, our hair, standing up right, sleep long since away from our minds. The mirror we look into are all the same, uniform circles, and the faces we see look so much alike now, that we can look at each other and see ourselves. We put on our white dresses, our clean white shoes. Wide white smi...

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“The Loudest Silence” by Katelynn Snyder

Submitted to Contest #247

Sometimes I feel like I’ll wake up in Hell, completely unawares until Satan asks me what I’m making for breakfast.This morning I thought I was in Hell. At least, that’s how I imagine it’s like: dark, suffocating, swarming with unknown creatures that watch you float by in your metal bubble. Only it was just my bottom bunk in the galley of a submarine. Until, of course, I heard the captain calling for all hands on deck. Then this place really did become like Hell. It’s now pure chaos. Bodies clash in the darkness, flashlights die, tearing down...

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“You can never go home again” by Lindsay Southworth

Submitted to Contest #247

April 23, 3022Day 108My 35th birthday and almost certainly my last. My heart thuds in my chest as I reach the final crest of the hill and look out at the jungle below me and the ocean beyond that. I never imagined I would be celebrating my final birthday so young and so alone. I take a deep breath and feel the salty, humid air fill my broken body. And then I let out a thundering cry, full of grief and despair that no one will ever hear. January 25, 3022Day 20As far as I know, I am the only human living on this entire massive blue-and-gr...

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“Dr. Sandy Shells ” by Emerald Lace

Submitted to Contest #247

10/23        The ship travel is rough with the seas angry fits and the siren's calls that keep me up at night. I've been sick much. But we shall make landfall within the next few days and then they'll leave me to do my work. Most excited. Miss my wife and children a little but honestly it is nice to be away and on an adventure. 10/27        First night on the beach. Built tent, fire, and cooked a fine meal as I watched the ship take to the sea again. Dark now an...

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“INTO THE UNKNOWN: AN EXPLORERS DIARY” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #247

My DragonflyEarth, our little blue planet. My home that I miss a lot. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss seeing the sun rise. I miss seeing the sun set. I miss seeing the stars in the night sky. I miss it all. This opportunity I was given to explore to go into space. I couldn't pass it up. What we are doing is going to change humanity in ways I can't imagine. Me and 500 other explorers are the first humans to journey into space. We are heading into the unknown. No human has ever gone this far. I'm excited and scared. I'm on board th...

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“The Rainforest” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #247

January 5, 1990. My name is Jonathan Preston. I’m a college professor and fellow researcher at Oxford University, England. My research involves plants that contain properties of anticancerous substances.  Recently, I heard of a plant that grows in a very remote area of the Amazon rainforest, and am arranging to go there. My informant tells me that this plant is closely related to Tawari (Tabebioa incama) and is about ten times more potent in its ability to treat tumors and cancerous cells as well as fight infections...

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“Clear Skies and Knocking, October 22nd of 1948” by Jeffery Young

Submitted to Contest #247

The Birbour Cannery’s built-ins were suitable enough living quarters . . . that is if you’re preferable to cold, brisk drafts and mildewed wood. The windows were at least glass, Doctor Malone Trenton thought gratefully. They could be the opened holes of the Tiawit tribal mounds back in the Congo. Only instead of mosquitos the size of humming-birds, Alaska’s primary danger lie in the freezing cold. Autumn had already passed, but the winter was unusually mild thus far according to Mirabell, the cannery’s forthright owner. All the same, it was ...

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“Pipe Dream” by Grim Maiden

Submitted to Contest #247

The newspapers arrived this morning when I had just made my morning coffee. I almost made two. One for me and the other for Martin but he was still sat in his chair, eyes closed and leaned back in his study chamber. The museum attorneys will be here soon to redeem his assets and his body for the family funeral service. The body is still wet, hair pasted to the forehead, and very much bloated from how long he was submerged in the tanks of his own menagerie. As his faithful housekeeper and lover, I’ve done my best to preserve my late master’...

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“The Shadow Taker” by Lee Kendrick

Submitted to Contest #247

      The Shadow Taker After the Antarctic Treaty of December 1959 12 countries including Norway and Britain united to work together scientifically in Antarctica. In 1956 the British established Halley Research Station to study the Earth's atmosphere.The team of six British explorers, commanded by Captain Sterling were assigned to Antarctica to investigate the disappearance of Captain Flynn and his four men who had worked since 1956 at the Halley Station of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), on the Brunt I...

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“THE GREAT UNKNOWN” by Glenna Agnew

Submitted to Contest #247

March 17, 2056 We made it to the dwarf planet 136199 Eris this morning.  I can hardly believe we made it this far. This is the longest mission I have ever been on and I miss Chrystal and Jack so much. Jack would love to see this, ever since I have been assigned to this mission he has been researching the planet and finding as much data as he can about the planet.  He says he wants to be an astronaut and a scientist just like me when he grows up. He wants to explore the farthest reaches of the galaxy.  We sent out dozens of pro...

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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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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