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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#60: Face Your Fears

This week is a special edition of the Reedsy Prompts contest because our friends at IndieReader are taking it over with their own theme, prompts, and bonus prize! We'll let them take it from here...

Hi! Amy from IndieReader here. If you’re not familiar with IR, we’re one of the original (paid) review services for self, hybrid and independently published authors, providing professional book reviews since 2009, in addition to unique marketing and distribution solutions.

We know that 2020 has been a memorable (aka stressful) year for many. According to experts, one of the recommended ways to manage stress and anxiety is by thinking about what scares you most and then writing about it. So fittingly, this week’s theme is post-apocalyptic stories.

Don’t worry if that doesn’t sound like your genre, as we’ve written 5 prompts below that work whether you’re into that kind of thing or not. So pour a glass of wine, take a few deep breaths, and start typing. And we wouldn’t be surprised if, after you’re done, the world around you doesn’t look so bleak. At least there aren’t any zombies!

(As a bonus prize, the winner of this week's contest will receive a discount code for 20% off an IR Pro Review.)

🥇 Winner

“Unpaving Paradise” by Ruth Midgley

🏆 Winner of Contest #60

Imagine how hard it is to break up asphalt with a pickaxe. Now imagine it's not even a very good pickaxe. And you've been doing it for days. The sun, hotter now, makes the sweat bead on your face, itchy like a bug landing on you. Sometimes enough water escapes your pores to form a little stream that carves a path down the black dust on your face. And it tortures you that your body is letting such a precious resource just drip onto the ground. Unretrievable. This has been my existence for almost a full moon. Me, my pickaxe, and the pav...

173 comments 173

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Fall From Grace” by Elle Clark

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #60

As Rishi plummeted to her death, a wordless shriek filled her mind. A tiny rational voice pushed the panic to the side a little, and whispered that perhaps she should have double checked her equipment. The soot covered walls of the high rise blurred to grey streaks while the speed of her descent stole the scream from her throat. Fingers, once nimble and quick, splayed in rigid claws as they tried to snatch at handholds that couldn’t save her. Her safety rope, which she would have considered ironic had she any space for any such tho...

180 comments 180

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“The World Was Over and They Were Not” by Adriana K. Maxwell

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #60

The world was over and they were not. It did not matter how. The reporters, videos, and politicians had all argued and pointed blame, but they hadn’t listened. They were young and powerless so they decided not to worry. And after everything fell, it didn’t matter what happened first. They were tired, hungry, and wanted a hot shower, but they were not over. They were lucky, they knew, but that is logic. And logic is not much good for slim stomachs or heavy eyelids. They had been hungry almost until t...

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“Scavenger” by Geoffrey Widdison

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #60

If I'm being totally honest, my first instinct was to just leave her there. I was fully aware, even in that moment, that the person I was, just a year earlier, would have been horrified at that idea, and disgusted by what I'd become. That wasn't what changed my mind though. I didn't feel a whole lot of kinship with my former self. That well-fed, complacent, self-satisfied prick was free to sit around imagining how noble he'd be in my place, when his idea of a rough time was when the cable went out. &n...

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This week's prompts

Write a funny post-apocalyptic story.

Funny – 110 stories

Write a post-apocalyptic story that features zombies.

Science Fiction – 178 stories

Write a post-apocalyptic story triggered by climate change.

Adults – 134 stories

Write a post-apocalyptic thriller.

Thriller and Suspense – 144 stories

Write a post-apocalyptic romance.

Dystopian – 196 stories

Stories

“Unpaving Paradise” by Ruth Midgley

🏆 Winner of Contest #60

Imagine how hard it is to break up asphalt with a pickaxe. Now imagine it's not even a very good pickaxe. And you've been doing it for days. The sun, hotter now, makes the sweat bead on your face, itchy like a bug landing on you. Sometimes enough water escapes your pores to form a little stream that carves a path down the black dust on your face. And it tortures you that your body is letting such a precious resource just drip onto the ground. Unretrievable. This has been my existence for almost a full moon. Me, my pickaxe, and the pav...

173 comments 173

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“That Is Earth” by Ai Jiang

Submitted to Contest #60

The Mountains look shorter today. Perhaps this means hope, but maybe not."Grass."I look to my left and see my friend tumbling down a Hill nearby."Grass," he calls again as he climbs the small Hill which I am sitting on top of."What's the matter, Tree?" I ask the tall figure that now looms over me."Look what I found," Tree says and holds up a circular object covered in vibrant greens and blues, and flecks of white."What is that?" I take the object from his hand and hold it up to take a better look."I asked Owl and she said that it's Earth. It...

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“Red Chrysalis” by Greydon Blight

Submitted to Contest #60

As a child I’d always feared graveyards to be endless night, a thick fog blanketing the ground with the only sound being that of the wind, twisting the dying branches of an old yew tree. But somehow, walking through these graves today, in bright sun and clear blue, I’m more terrified than I was as a child, passing the same church each morning in the car. My father telling me when the coast is clear and I can uncover my eyes, surviving once again. No comfort of his voice now, nor do I have the urge to cover my eyes. Wide and alert, scanning f...

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“Zombies Sound Safer Than My Family” by Zea Bowman

Submitted to Contest #60

Most people are scared after and during an apocalypse. Am I?Nah.I basically run around with LOSER tattooed on my forehead; I'm sure a few zombies aren't scarier than half the bullies at Gire High School.I'm that Harry Potter nerd. The computer nerd. The Percy Jackson nerd. Guess what?I'm a nerd.You know, in case you haven't noticed.Want to know what's ironic? My best friend is captain of the football team. Boy, does that have its advantages. My bestie can beat up Andrew Vanderwalk, Jake "The Pit (DON'T ask, you'll regret it)" Jackson, and ab...

174 comments 174

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“Fall From Grace” by Elle Clark

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #60

As Rishi plummeted to her death, a wordless shriek filled her mind. A tiny rational voice pushed the panic to the side a little, and whispered that perhaps she should have double checked her equipment. The soot covered walls of the high rise blurred to grey streaks while the speed of her descent stole the scream from her throat. Fingers, once nimble and quick, splayed in rigid claws as they tried to snatch at handholds that couldn’t save her. Her safety rope, which she would have considered ironic had she any space for any such tho...

180 comments 180

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“The Harmonies of Fatality” by 🆇🅰🆅🅸🅴🆁 🅶.🆂. 🅵🅴🆁🅶🆄🆂🅾🅽

Submitted to Contest #60

A Lutist heard screaming in the streets over the violent and raucous noises of the tavern. Yet another fight had broken out. But this came as no surprise to the Lutist who gently plucked out a mellow tune. It was a song for only her ears; no-one else cared to listen. There were, of course, genuinely good people who visited the sad little casino. The Friar would come for fellowship, while the peasants would come for a desperately needed laugh. But by nightfall, they would vanish, but the tavern would not go quiet. The slums would come...

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“The Nightlark” by Mira Caplan

Submitted to Contest #60

"Adrazelle, get back here!" Adrian called, reaching out to her. Adra skirted to the right, laughing, as his outstretched hand grazed her shoulder. She collapsed on the grass a few moments later, panting slightly after all of the running, looking out at the houses dotting the land below the hillside. She glanced at him as he sat down next to her, a slight smile creeping on to her face. "You see that?" Adrian said, pointing at something off in the distance. She led her eyes to what he was gazing at so intently. "I'm going to be there s...

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“Batool” by Laiba M

Submitted to Contest #60

This story is dedicated to Batool Hussain on Reedsy Prompts.She laughed wildly, crazily, manically.There was no surprise there; she had been laughing like that her whole life. Ever since birth.Because she, Batool, was a Laugher.She felt more like a broken record, a puppet, a hyena. Her throat was sore day and night, and she wasn't sure how long it'd be until she couldn't speak. But she couldn't control it at all. She had to laugh. Batool didn't know what would happen if she didn't. Her body was simply designed to laugh, although her throat w...

219 comments 219

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“Home Sweet Hideout” by Lynn Penny

Submitted to Contest #60

NightCrawlers: Victims of a Parasite that turned into Nocturnal Cannibalistic Hunters whose only instincts are to kill and eat.This was the dream. No more standards, no more rules, no more needing to put on acts to impress every idiot who judged her because of her black skin (it’s because they are all dead now.) In Onyx’s opinion, the best part is that no one cared about which bathroom she used because they didn’t work anymore! All of that stuff was gone, and all that was left behind was pure chaos.Sure it came with new dangers and the risk ...

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“Apocalypse and Chill ” by Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #60

I look to my left, I look to my right. I sit down on the ground.There is dark, there is night.There are ashes all around.I look to the sunBut it is deadI look to the moon But she holds her headHeavy with words no one wants to say. The world ended this morning In ways you cannot fathom There is no where to go No hope in this chasmAnd yet a rose blooms.A rose of hope A flower of loveA shining beacon A simple white doveAnd I dive. Death smells like breakfast When you have no guts I dive tow...

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“Aliens, Zombies and Climate Change, oh my!” by 𝕭𝖑𝖆𝖎𝖗 𝕷𝖊𝖒𝖔𝖓

Submitted to Contest #60

Dear Diary, 6/19/2019Hey, it’s Alana!For my 13th birthday, my parents presented me with this diary. Apparently, it isn’t any normal diary though, it’s a different kind of diary. I’m supposed to write here every single year, on my birthday, June 19th.My parents said it is supposed to help me “document my life” and see how things change throughout my lifetime. Got to go now, Mom and Dad are taking us out to a special birthday dinner and I don’t want to be late! Talk to you next year!Dear Diary, 6/19/2020The worst words in t...

481 comments 481

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“Earthlings” by Melissa Hassan

Submitted to Contest #60

It's been exactly fifteen years and six months since the ‘great catastrophe.' That's what his parents and the others referred to the event which had destroyed every living organism on the surface of the earth.Zack and his twin sister Zoe were born here in the compound like so many other kids their age. They were the few lucky ones. The others were not so lucky. At least that's what they have been told, especially by their parents.They had just celebrated their fourteenth birthday, a week ago. Today they are given a rare opportunity. A t...

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“Cosmic Latte” by Jubilee Forbess

Submitted to Contest #60

The color of the universe and the walls of my house match almost perfectly. I don’t know how to feel about this. Should it make me feel more secure because in some meta way I am out in the universe even when I am at home alone, safe on my couch while I sip from oversized coffee mugs, watching the clouds roll by like massive white poodles out my window? Or should I be concerned that the universe is so dreadfully blah, instead of some raging orange or deep thoughts purple? I don’t know, but I think about it a lot anyway. I think about it as I ...

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“Endless Love” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #60

I don't pick up the mail. I don't pick up the phone. I don't answer the door. I‘d just as soon be alone. I don't keep this place up. I just keep the lights down. I don't live in these rooms. I just rattle around.Ghost In This House,Shenandoah When the apocalypse hit no one else could see it, not really. They came to the funeral, sent cards, and dropped off casseroles never knowing they were witnessing a post-apocalypse that consisted of one zombie. The day Monique died was the end of John’s world even if the rest of the world didn’t kno...

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“Everlasting” by BeInspiredAbstracts/Etsy SarahGreenwood

Submitted to Contest #60

James clawed his way out of the hole, grabbing at bits of crumbling earth. Barren trees creaked overhead, their boughs bending and twisting like his rigid joints. The sky was empty, no clouds, not even a bird. Silence covered the cemetery like a blanket. He emerged, brushing himself off. Dust billowed from his tattered clothing. He reached into his front pocket and brought the letter to the place where his nose used to be, remembering s...

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$50

Prize money

762

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 25, 2020 EST

Won by Ruth Midgley 🏆

Title: Unpaving Paradise

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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