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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#37: The Game is Afoot

The draw of a puzzle — be it a jigsaw, word cross, or Sudoku — is the opportunity to call on our skills of deduction; to start with what seems like disparate pieces of information, and end up with the complete picture.

Mystery novels are the same! They intrigue us by leaving a trail of clues, prompting us to try and work out what's really going on as the story unravels.

Our love of mystery books is what inspired our recent post on the 30 best mystery novels of all time, as well as this week's prompts. Come, writers! The game is afoot.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a valuable object that goes missing.

Mystery – 91 stories

Write a story about someone who keeps coming across the same stranger.

Mystery – 182 stories

Write a story that takes place in the woods.

Mystery – 180 stories

Write a story that starts with the reveal of a long-kept secret.

Mystery – 129 stories

Write a story about a rumor making its way through the grapevine.

Mystery – 47 stories

Stories

“Buggers” by Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #37

Emil jumped out of bed with cockroaches on the mind. Actually, they were more on the unconscious mind. He had been dreaming about them since he was a little boy. Cockroaches. All sorts of them. Jungle ones and water bugs and even ones that he had fabricated all on his own. There was one, he recalled as he sat at the edge of the bed and pulled on his socks, that looked like the president of the United States, complete with little swatch of orange hair and impossibly bordered lips. Well. Emil knew that it was all a hoax. Those cockroaches had ...

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“A Bond Astray” by 𝔸. Triangle

Submitted to Contest #37

I was running. Running far far away. Running and hoping they would never find me. My footfalls sounding like a pounding drum amid this October night. I'm sorry this is a terrible introduction to my story. Let me start from the beginning. Just one panic-stricken day prior... My mother at the time had lived in a small town in Mexico. I lived a bit farther up the road in Louisianna but it never stopped me from visiting her before. Our love for each other was greater than any country boundary. Anyway, that day I was riding the rental bike to the...

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“Blue” by Chris Dulatre

Submitted to Contest #37

January 1, 2019 (Tuesday, 10:15 p.m.)I want to confess, to you a stranger. I want to reveal my secret.And maybe because you don’t know me...you still might get the chance to know me better than anyone else.Blue - I hope the title didn’t confuse you, or if it does I hope that it gets your attention.If you are going to ask me what I'm feeling right now, maybe it is too absurd to say that I'm happy, because I'm definitely not. It's a kind of mixed emotions; scared but there's a hint of excitement knowing that I will no longer hide this. It is t...

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“Medicine” by Andie Pabon

Submitted to Contest #37

“Why don’t you go suck on a eucalyptus leaf? Maybe that will make you feel better?” She said it with so much brazen self-confidence, like she had said the cleverest insult of all time. Coming from her, though, it might as well have been. Anna Bouchard carried herself with the grace of a woman who had nothing to lose or gain by public opinion. She also wore her mean streak like a suit of armor. People in town were either afraid of her or in love with her. Sometimes both. At 38-years-old, Anna dressed almost like a farm hand in old faded cover...

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“An asset of the visually impaired” by Goblin King

Submitted to Contest #37

“Got it,” N said as an eccentric smile contorted his face into a smug grin. “Now, are you ready to go yet?” The church parking lot made an ideal meeting point. It was nearly always empty on weekdays, and its location allowed for both the boys to walk there from their homes. H sighed, disappointed at his own results. “I didn’t catch it, man, let’s go.” Putting his phone in his pocket, H turned away to walk home. Although the game of Pokemon Go had begun waning in popularity, the two boys were determined to catch every sin...

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“At the Bottom of the Lake” by Maggie Deese

Submitted to Contest #37

Bzz bzz bzz“Crap.” Easton yanks the buzzing contraption from his pocket and swipes away a new text. A blush creeps up his neck and into his ears as he feels his classmates drilling holes in his head.“Easton put the phone away.” Mrs. State taps her foot vigorously and gives a sharp clearing of the throat. He shares an embarrassed smile and goes to stash it away where it belongs when the text appears again. It’s not a number he recognizes but what it reads catches his eye.Did you hear Dexter Forgo is dead? He drowned in Harvey Lake last night ...

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“The Saturn Key” by Laurentz Baker

Submitted to Contest #37

Malik placed the hunting knife in the dresser draw. Locked it. If someone recognized the symbol of Saturn engraving in the middle of the knife they would kill me, whether I tried to trade it to keep my life or not. There was nothing to see now that I placed it in the sturdy, lockable plain black case bought at the Armed Forces surplus store. Even those not familiar with the scythe and cross ♄ symbol of Saturn would want to possess it. Be wary. “It has that effect on people. Don’t let it possess you,” a friend reiterated. It has. I’m sad...

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“He Said, She Said” by Najwa Zandlo

Submitted to Contest #37

Iris Hardwell (Mother of Alex Hardwell) “You know, you’re not the first person to ask that question. Everyone wants to know. Everyone wants to know if I knew my son was a killer. Well, I’ll tell you just like I told all of them - fuck you. Fuck you for ever thinking that. My son was an angel. Ask anyone. They’ll tell you the same. Did I see this coming? What mother looks at her son and imagines he could ever be capable of something like this?” Denise Radley (Alex’s Homeroom Teacher)“I knew something was… off about Alex. He didn’t p...

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“Kande and the evening soothers” by Derrick Kakooza

Submitted to Contest #37

Kande unflappably waited for the Chief to give him audience. He had devoted his life to this case and now all he needed was the Chief’s signature on the papers. He could clearly see through the faint brown blinds that the Chief was still on phone- having one of those long conversations letting out small chuckles that petered into deep sighs. Leaning back, he placed his feet on the desk showing off his glittering black shoes. They looked glossy and matched with his black suit in which he was clad. A beer-bellied, broad shouldered man with hal...

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“Wolf Town ” by Naomi Coffman

Submitted to Contest #37

Don’t go into the woods, my mother used to say. The wolves will find you and gobble you up. There were still a handful of packs in those days—pitiful collections of scrawny runts with bleary eyes and loose teeth. Sometimes, a chicken or small dog would go missing, but I doubt all the wolves in the county could have finished off a plump boy with a good throwing arm and fast legs. The old packs—the man-killers—had all died out years ago. Don’t go into the woods, my mother used to say. A werewolf will find you and gobble you up. Then she would ...

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“The Color of Death” by Jeanne Marceau

Submitted to Contest #37

“I might be a little late,” Beckett says as he buttons up his white shirt, his eyes are swollen from staying up late last night doing research on the company where he has an interview today. Though even with his eyes red and his beard not groomed he is looking incredibly handsome this morning.“Maybe you could make up for it?” I slowly climb out of bed and make my way across the room to where Beck is trying to knot his tie, we look at each other longing for one another’s embrace.“When we get back from Dr. Whitmann,” he kisses me quickly and I...

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“Chapter 1 of "Leaning Secrets"” by Allie Mae Sakry

Submitted to Contest #37

“Oh my universe,” she said, gasping.“That bad,” I asked. She kept pointing at my face with a surprised expression.“No,” she whispered. “You just look so different. Why would you change yourself when you look like this?”I stared into my mirror at the natural face I’ve had for 20 years. She is beautiful, gorgeous, even. But she doesn’t fit the name I now hold. I know that I am beautiful. But I’ve forced myself to cover it for the 6 years I’ve been in public school.“Why would you use makeup to make yourself u...

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“Writing Against the Devil” by Keri Dyck

Submitted to Contest #37

I close my laptop, shove it onto the bed beside me, and massage my forehead.“What’s the matter?”I look up to see my little sister coming into my room. She looks concerned and I try not to take my annoyance out on her. “My laptop isn’t working.”“Oh. I can go ask Mom if you can use hers.”“Thanks, but I need my stories from my laptop.”“Aren’t they on your phone too?”“They are supposed to be, but it’s not working either. It’s so weird. Just the Notes app, and I’ve never had a problem with it before. I don’t know what’s going on.”She doesn’t unde...

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“If Only I Knew” by Lynn Penny

Submitted to Contest #37

(Trigger Warning)If only I knew. I would have seen past the charming looks, the sweet compliments, those kind eyes. If only I knew. I would have seen the dangers, the lies, the pain he was causing me.If only I knew. I would still have my friends, my family, my life. I would still be free.If only I knew. I would have had a fighting chance, I would still have my freedom.If only.My mother always told me to be wary of strangers. They lured children away with promises of candy in white vans. Strangers can’t be trusted, but everyone is a stra...

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“Tomorrow” by Zea Bowman

Submitted to Contest #37

All I remember is him. His eyes. His gorgeous blue eyes and how they twinkle in the light, taunting me from afar. His perfect skin argues with his jet-black wispy hair, which he sweeps aside too often. "Tomorrow." The only word he had ever spoken to me, and yet I yearned to feel his soft hands in between mine. The night I met him was like any other. The crystal sky was lit with stars, shimmering against the darkness that cascaded around them. I wore my favorite dress: periwinkle, with flowers that danced across it like petals that got swept...

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$50

Prize money

629

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 17, 2020 EST

Won by Hayley Igarashi 🏆

Title: Your Move

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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