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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.)

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

“Here We Were” by Robby Cowles

Submitted to Contest #60

I do not fear the dark. I do not fear the dark because the dark is only the absence of light. Night is only the absence of the sun. It is nothing. It is empty. I do not fear nothing. I do not fear emptiness. I repeat this statement—this mantra—to myself as the warm blue sky of northern Wisconsin fades into a cold night. I repeat this to myself as the birds—loons, ducks, woodpeckers, cardinals, owls, and hawks—and insects cease their calls and retreat into the night. They didn’t use to do that. Before The Night, summer nights a...

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“Lost Souls” by Savy Lockharte

Submitted to Contest #60

David glared through the trees at the two boys on the other side of the road. That's my land, my tree, my food, he thought. They happily continued eating the fruit off the tree, as if it belonged to them. Didn't think I would need signs during an apocalypse, David scoffed to himself. He raised his gun and walked into the street, toward the boys. “I'm sorry, I don't remember inviting you to my side of town,” he said sarcastically. The taller boy handed the fruit to the other and grabbed a knife from his belt. “And I don't remember s...

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“ Pandemic Yearning” by Madhavi Vudayagiri

Submitted to Contest #60

“It’s funny”. He spoke through a rictus grin. “I don’t remember you being this angry”. “Angry”? She said sarcastically. ”Why would I be angry”? “I don’t know. Especially as, if I remember correctly, you were the one who made all the decisions”. “Decisions?” Zack leaned a little closer to her.”Not to meet me? Not to even discuss what we had promised to discuss?” Hey! Sandra, what happened? Sexy feet…! Sandra murmured. Huh what, Sandra? ‘I said 60 feet social distance, Sandra asserted. Zack laughed aloud, ’oh no!It’s ju...

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“Nila's "If Only"” by A.B. Mosteller

Submitted to Contest #60

You know, I never thought my life would lead to where I am right now. I never listened to what they thought would happen. All because I believed they were just talking out of the holes in their faces. Yet here I am, locked in a basement with the senior bully of Uteka High School, Zane Woodbridge. He thinks he's a celebrity and the best of the best, but really, he's the average stick in the mud. At the end of the day, what do things like bullies in high school have to do with when we graduate? "After high school, bullies and friendship...

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“A post apocalyptic story that features zombies from other part of the world.” by Prince Brempong

Submitted to Contest #60

My story is entitled a post apocalyptic story that features zombies from other part of the world.The word zombie was first recorded in 1819 by a Poet called Robert Southey. Zombies were depicted as some sort of mindless and thinking henchmen under the spell of an evil magician. Also zombies are noted to have a complex literary heritage with antecedents. Zombies often than not use the vodoo-inspired rationale that was initially uncommon in cinema but their appearance also continued sporadically. The Return of the living dead introduced the co...

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“Murderous Instinct” by 38 - Pavan Kiran Chidirala

Submitted to Contest #60

Murderous InstinctDay 1“Dr. Kill” shouted his associate in quivering tone and gasping breath. “What is it Dr. Bill? What made you to loose your cool and run to me like a maniac! ”“It’s happening….” gulped Dr. Bill .“What on earth! I never thought it would be possible while we are alive.”“Are you sure of it”or“Are you day dreaming in stress.” replied Dr. Kill in doubtful tone.“I am sure of it and I’ll bet my head on it” shouted Dr. Bill with terror looming eyes.[An evil smirk reinvigorated the doctor’s face] “The time has come Mr. B...

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“The last human to walk the face of the earth.” by Destiny Lee

Submitted to Contest #60

It was the type of day where you just wanted to smile and remember it for ever. The sun bouncing against my windows, creating the slightest reflections of orange and yellows on my light hardwood flooring. The mid-afternoon sky that only happens on that one perfect summer day, the most beautiful of pinks and purple blending into each other. i grip my coffee with one hand and grin towards my window "God really has the most amazing plan for us" I say to myself. As i sit down on my couch to enjoy the rest of my coffee, it happens, my...

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“The Hunger ” by Louise Muller

Submitted to Contest #60

“There’s someone in here with us,” Zoe whispered. Her voice was filled with panic and fear. I nodded my head, although it was so dark in the room that I couldn’t be sure if she saw it. We stayed as quiet as we could, like prey knowingly being watched by a predator waiting to attack. I could hear our breaths, ragged and desperate. My heart was beating so loudly in my ears that I was sure our predator could hear every single beat. The world had ended three months before, roughly, I wasn’t sure; none of us were. Since the event we haven’t had...

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“The End Plague” by Keston Paul

Submitted to Contest #60

“We can’t continue to fund you while people are losing their homes and starving. You have 7 days to cease your research.” The man on the screen looked set in his decision. “Sir, forgive me, but what good is it finding people shelter and food if all these diseases are wiping them out anyway?” Hamilton’s voice was calm but I knew he was seething inside. “Hamilton, it won’t matter if there’s no people left to treat,”...

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“Our Worlds Collide” by Lesli Williams

Submitted to Contest #60

Meredith was trapped. And not only was she trapped, but she had no weapons. Several days before her elder brother, Josh, had died from a bite to the shoulder, he told her that if she didn't start planning ahead, that it would eventually be the death of her. Those words were proving themselves to be true. She was stuck in an apartment building with only a small window on the back wall, a bathroom with supplies that had proved to be useless and a daunting door in front of her that was just about to give way and let the undead flow in to do wha...

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“I Love You” by Chet McHenry

Submitted to Contest #60

Omar stretched out his arms and yawned. Through the opening of the cave came the burnt orange light of the dying sun. He stood and looked down at Carmia who was still asleep. Should he wake her? Should he lie back down beside her and hold her tight? He knew she lay naked under the six or seven blankets they had stolen from the abandoned Bed, Bath and Beyond store. It was all that was left over in the looted remains of the place. The lucky ones, the ones ...

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“Waiting Them Out” by Miriam P

Submitted to Contest #60

Java Leia stood in the doorway and peered into the distance. It was just starting to get dark, and there was a brilliant sunset. She stood watching it a moment longer, just soaking in the beauty. But it was her turn to check the boundaries and protections, so she finally adjusted her mask, took a shallow breath and headed out. The air quality had been improving of late, at least. That was a good thing. California had been burning for almost 70 years now, and the smoke had traveled all over the continent. The fires were finally dying down, pr...

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“End Of The World, Beginning Of Love” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #60

It was the war to end all wars. Total global annihilation had taken the lives of 85% of the world’s population. Among the survivors in Jamestown was a young man named Brock J. Littlefoot. He was the product of the love between his mother, an Irish-Canadian woman with fiery red hair and a temper to match, and a resident of an Iroquois tribe in Northern Ontario, Canada. &n...

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“When The Sun Swells” by Anastasia Ifinedo

Submitted to Contest #60

In 2008, scientists predicted the earth had a few billion years before the sun swelled and swallowed it. Not to worry, they said, humanity would be gone by then. But Harry hardly cared about the solar system. After all, of what use was such information to a blind beggar on the street? In 2016, the sun grew hotter and bigger. While this was noted in the daily newspaper, no one seemed to talk about it for longer than a day. Trust the scientists, Harry heard the masses say. The beggar was nothing short of amazed, how blindly his fellow men tr...

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“Covidia and Storm” by R L Brewer

Submitted to Contest #60

Splash! Covidia watched the ripples until they ebbed away, and this time skimmed a stone across the lake. Maybe this time it would reach the other side? The smooth grey pebble skipped once, twice, three times, making the fourth jump before it sank beneath the murky waters. Maybe the lake had been pretty once. Maybe the sunlight had glittered off the water on a past Spring day. Maybe there had been swans and cygnets, ducks and ducklings. Laughing children playing on the play equipment by the shore opposite her. F...

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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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