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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#58: Lights Out

Whether it’s a summer storm or a blizzard, we’ve all had the “pleasure” of going about our day when suddenly the lights flicker out. No matter what you were doing before, it’s fair to say your plans are now disrupted — and may be for quite some time.

In the modern era, electricity is the backbone of pretty much everything we do. From keeping our food fresh to helping us stay connected, it powers our daily lives. These days, it’s even how many of us get to work.

This week’s prompts invite you to consider what happens to your characters when those routines are broken. Do they flounder, or do they thrive? And what lengths will they go to in order to return to normal?

This week's prompts

Write about someone who purposefully causes a power outage.

Thriller and Suspense – 146 stories

Write a story where the power goes out on a spaceship or submarine.

Adventure – 86 stories

Write about a character who’s stuck in an elevator when the power goes out.

Thriller and Suspense – 252 stories

Write a story about someone feeling powerless.

Narrative – 284 stories

Write about a family who decides to camp out in the back yard during a power outage.

Funny – 111 stories

Stories

“Going Up?” by Courtney Stringer

Submitted to Contest #58

I am running so late. I race down the sidewalk on 5th street, hurrying towards the large skyscraper in the distance. I finally got an interview with Holman Publishing, and I can't believe that I'm running late. My heels click rapidly as I trot towards the building. When I finally make it, I stop at the door attempting to catch my breath. I pull out my inhaler. Shake. Pump. Breathe. I walk into the double doors that are being held open by a man in a nice suit. This is his job I think. He just stands there holding a door open. I ...

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“A Little Bit of Blue in the Black” by Bar Danino

Submitted to Contest #58

Some people think the depths are quiet, peaceful. Serene even. Those people are wrong. There is no quiet here. Even without the hum of generators and the constant blares of alarms. Under the crushing pressure of fifteen hundred meters of water, the hull itself creaks and moans. Two-inch-thick steel contorts and twists in agony. A soda can straining to stand against a malicious boot. No quiet, only darkness. And despair. We’ve been stuck for the past twelve hours. Something hit us, some sort of electromagnetic surge. We still don’t know what ...

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“Unplugged” by KarLynn Erickson

Submitted to Contest #58

Ally pulled the van up to the house and let out a disgusted breath. “Every light in that house must be on.” The craftsman style house was what she and her husband Jake had always dreamed about and worked for. They met in college. He was a business major and she was in design school. Neither of them came from money, so they spent time finding joy in things you don’t have to pay for. She loved the house and neighbor hood they chose to raise their family in. These days though, they had little time to enjoy anything.&nb...

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“Happier 😁” by Ari Berri

Submitted to Contest #58

Trigger warning: abuse My name is Jack. I'm technically a superhero, but my powers suck. I can talk to animals. It's a cool power, but they won't do anything for me. At least it's somebody to talk to. The only person I can talk to, is Agni, the cities greatest superhero. Sadly, he kind of hates me, even though I'm his "sidekick". I don't leave because I'd get in huge trouble if he found me. He was forced to take me in, and just makes me run errands for him. If I get something wrong, he'll use his ice and fire powers to punish me. I've...

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“ Attollo Amet!” by S. Closson

Submitted to Contest #58

*Author's Note: This submission contains a healthy helping of profanity, by which I mean a lot...just making you aware. Also, my sincerest apologies to the State of Alabama. Mary Midas bounced back and forth on the heels of her leather loafers inside of the elevator, her annoyance showing plain as day across her fair features. She felt like she'd been standing there for an hour before the silvery steel elevator doors finally decided to close together and allow her to begin her ascent up to the 45th floor of the Mitsui Fudosan&...

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“Returning” by Tessa Takzikab

Submitted to Contest #58

As I wave to the surging crowd, I grin hugely. They love me. Or at least they think they do. I shove away the thoughts that threaten to overwhelm me, straighten, and grin wider. My security team blocks the crowd from coming closer. I quickly head to the long black limousine that awaits me at the end of the side-walk. As I turn to wave to the crowd one last time, someone manages to push to the front. He looks to be around my age, but I can’t tell if he’s college-age or still in high school. He’s wearing a suit and down on one knee, his head b...

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“The One” by Molly Leasure

Submitted to Contest #58

There’s one too many. And of course I’m the one.I step back out of the elevator. The passengers stare out at me, haughty annoyance riddling their expressions. As far as I’m concerned, I would have fit, but they thought otherwise.The doors clamp shut. Now I’m alone in the hallway, probably the last employee left on the floor. And since it’s the 25th floor, I’m sure I’ll be here a while waiting for the elevator to return. There’s usually more than one elevator, but somehow they’d all taken their last breath on the same hour: noon.Taking just o...

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“Scientist's Submarine Odyssey” by Joshie Seahorse

Submitted to Contest #58

Once there was a submarine. With a family that lived in it. Mr. Artemis. And Ms. Artemis. And 2 kids. Jane and ben! One time ben said “I hope we can go deep today" “Maybe" said Jane smiling. There were reaching the twilight zone. “Is that a piece of moving coral?” Said Ben. “Actually that’s called a frogfish ben, there try to attract prey by using a little thing fish like. Kind of like a fishing pole, and then they gobble the prey up in six milliseconds”. Said Jane. The frog fish was cool. “We are reaching the midnight zone” said Ms. Artemis...

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“Unnatural Distasters” by The-Burrowing-Owl- Author

Submitted to Contest #58

The night was alive. Not even a flicker of stars could be seen in the swirling abyss of the storm. Window panes trembled, and the entire house shook, echoing the power of the sky. It was a dark and stormy night, made even darker the moment the yellow ceiling lights flickered to black. It felt so quiet in the few moments after the light died. It didn’t sound quiet, but it felt that way, a yawning gap of something missing, soon to be filled with something different; a new presence of normalcy. I sat in the dark for a few moments or so, but o...

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“The Lonely Lighthouse!” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #58

(Write about a character who’s stuck in an elevator when the power goes out.) Almost running from the parking garage to the lobby of her office building, Laura is mentally scolding herself for staying out so late with friends on a Sunday night. She knows from past experiences that she has little self control when fun is involved. She will choose fun every time. Hurrying across the lobby, her backpack slung over her shoulder, she feels the weight of her laptop and other junk she thinks she can’t live without. Too b...

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“The Sour Taste on the Silver Spoon” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #58

When she was little, Eustacia had an impressive collection of dolls. She was never quite sure whether people gave them to her because they thought she liked them, or because it was an easy choice of present. If asked, she would have said, “Well, I didn’t dislike them.” And that wasn’t being tactful, though she was, somewhat reluctantly, learning the habits of tact. She hadn’t been one of those technical minded tomboys who clamoured for trucks and trainsets instead of dolls, and, more than onc...

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“The Silent Hum” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #58

There was always a hum. Always had been, and always should be. So when Tobias woke up, and the world was quiet about him, he knew at once that something was wrong. It took him a few moments to work out what the problem was however. The background hum was so much a part of his world now, as it had been for the past two months, that normally he didn’t notice it. It was like actually noticing the sun was up, rather than just seeing that it was light. He wrestled out of the blankets, which were all tucked up under his legs to keep the chil...

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“The Master Switch” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #58

(Write about someone who purposefully causes a power outage.) You might wonder who I am! I would have to tell you at this point it doesn’t matter who I am. Let’s just say, I’m the guy telling the story. Not really a narrator but for now I can take that role! And now for the story! ~~~~~ Elise was a natural beauty. She learned as early as toddlerhood that cute gets attention, pouting works, bad manners were always forgiven for the little princess. In other words she was spoiled rotten. And, don...

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“Silence” by 🄼🄹 🅂

Submitted to Contest #58

Goody-two shoes, geek, dork, I’ve heard them all. They never bothered me. I float through life on pure ambition for the future. I know exactly where I’m headed and how I want to get there, so it’s easy to turn down the volume of the world. Now though, now, I don’t hear those names anymore. No one even talks to me. They throw me looks of pity and sympathy, like they really know what I’ve been through. They could never understand, and I don’t want them to. And as that one group of brats makes a circle around me in this dream, closing in f...

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“Take Me Tonight” by P. Jean

Submitted to Contest #58

(Write a story about someone feeling powerless.) Elizabeth caught a glimpse of herself in the drugstore window. I guess there was no denying the years, she had changed so much over time. The image was slightly cloudy and the display inside distracting but it was clear enough for her to feel the edges of hopelessness. She felt old and powerless, she felt very tired, one shade short of helpless! Returning home she was happy to find no bills in the mailbox but no letters or cards either. She expected cards, her birth...

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$50

Prize money

879

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 11, 2020 EST

Won by Julie Bissell 🏆

Title: In the Dark

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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