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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

“Horns” by Abby Morris

Submitted to Contest #60

I used to not be scared of the dark. Back when Mamma was alive, and the birds sang in the trees. Now everything is just translucent shades of black, white, and gray around here. As I write, I am looking out on the dreary burgundy barn that used to glower a brilliant red. When Mamma was here, that is. My name is Angel Brooks, and I live in a city named Warren. Back in the '70s and '80s, this old town was a prime location to raise a family. There were plenty of jobs, admirable suburbs, and restaurants were bustling with hungry patrons.&n...

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“Eco Warriors” by Sara Blanch

Submitted to Contest #60

Jeremy watched the young woman's facial expressions change rapidly as she engaged in a clearly heated telepathic conversation with her guardian. Her pearly luminescent hair glowed softly in the ghostly moonlight, the starry sky above them reflecting off the nearby lake creating a peaceful image that juxtaposed the events of the evening. How could his life change so dramatically in just a few hours? Earlier that day his biggest concerns had been getting a job after university or friendship difficulties...now his main concern was where t...

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“Why Do I Keep Breathing? / Videotape” by J. Shire

Submitted to Contest #60

Inhale.And so, the air we breathe no longer offers vitality; it kills as much as it takes life. It reeks of burning metal, the dampness of abandoned concrete buildings, and the unholy aroma of rotten flesh. The air is death. Every inhale is a step closer to seeing your God. Jesus Christ, Buddha, Vishnu, Allah, it doesn’t even matter, everyone is painfully desperate to see what’s on the other side. These days, the thought dying is more of a relief than a worrisome burden. “There is nothing left to live for,” a friend of mine would say ev...

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“Ink” by Ioana Burlacu

Submitted to Contest #60

Luanna woke up. A warm sunray was tickling her nose and she wanted to sneeze, but Jace was still sleeping beside her. The room was covered in a dim light and she could only hear Jace breathing. She smiled at him and dove back into the white sheets, next to the man she loved. He made a sleepy grunt and reached for Luannas’ waist and pulled her closer to him. There. Surrounded by the warmth of his body, Luanna fell asleep again. These memories kept her going, kept her sane. Luanna was no longer in her cozy bed back in New York, she was walk...

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“The Plunge” by Sadie Black

Submitted to Contest #60

Author's note: This is one part of the Melted collection. These stories can be read individually or in any order."Got everything?" asked Tucker yet again."And then some!" Christina had been prepared for years. Like any sane person (and there would be very few of them left now) she was upset that the Doomsday Clock had struck midnight. Despite herself, Christina was almost excited. For years, she had carefully stocked the bunker with canned goods, food, water, entertainment, and first aid kits. A triple-layered zero particulate air filter sys...

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“...Somewhere Among The Stars” by Rebecca Pebble

Submitted to Contest #60

“If I would’ve known what was coming down the pike, I suppose I wouldn’t have wasted all those days worrying about what was out of my control. Then again, if I had known what was coming, I might have wasted those days more worried than ever. It’s this dichotomy that keeps life rich and interesting. At least for me, anyway. For the rest of humanity, I don’t know what motivates them to keep breathing, keep existing…” ***“That’s enough for today,” I thought to myself as I placed my overly worn journal down on the wooden floor. ...

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“Hope's Halo” by Suhi Rohin

Submitted to Contest #60

This world had always been a prison of solitude splattered with blues, purples, reds and grays. Bruises and pain. You were the last brilliant streak of gold. So warm. Like how I imagined the sun would have felt like once upon a time as my brothers have told me. I reached towards the reflection sitting atop the Silver River. The poison tapped water rippled out of a point at my chest where my heart would be if I had one. Well, I didn’t know that mine was absent…but there had also never been anyone to tell me that it was not. “Tell me Ayla,” I ...

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“Against the Sun” by Renee Nadine

Submitted to Contest #60

Trigger warning: attempted rape, assault Aylen picks through her bag with dirty fingernails on weather-worn and calloused fingers. Scavenged smaller essentials dodge them: tweezers, a rusty pen light, small tight wads of tissue balled up. Her hand moves mindlessly, feeling for the shape, and closes over a small tube with letters faded almost white on the peeling label. She removes the cap and carefully, sparingly, blots lip balm on her dry lips. She drops the tube back into the bag. Overhead the sun blazes l...

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“Chan Eastwood” by Abha Kashyap

Submitted to Contest #60

CHAN EASTWOOD The city had come up on hillock slope and down near the base was the restaurant of Chan Soft, a lovely lady with Mongolian features. Eastwood a white who rarely visited her restaurant was sipping gin and looking outside to have a glimpse of the City. Furious from above the dark clouds in vanity, enough of the fighter’s spirit, had crumbled the buildings with their raindrops. The downpour had reduced the visible to only few meters. It was seventh day of raining and everyone was convinced th...

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“Viral Love” by Chris Slade

Submitted to Contest #60

If I told you the world was going to end tomorrow, what would you do? I think most people would freak out, and rightly so. There’s that whole ‘twenty-four hours to live’ thing, and the ‘how do you spend your last day’ thing. The ‘What would you do in your final seven days’ thing. People ask questions like that and then their friends bullshit some answers. Let me tell you how it really goes. &nb...

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“Ladle-Girl” by Isabella DJ

Submitted to Contest #60

Mara’s mother won a free cruise online. But, being a single mom managing three side jobs, her mother gave the ticket to Mara to go away for the weekend. “Thanks, mom, but I don’t wanna go without you!” said the seventeen-year-old girl. “Of course you don’t, Mara, but this’ll be good for you!” Mara’s mother smiled stubbornly. Mara sighed. “Mom, how will this be good for me?” she asked. “Trust me, darling, it will!” Her mom beamed. Mara inhaled deeply. “That’s not exactly an answer.” Mara’s mother turned to face her daughter. “You’re a be...

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“The Terrible Age” by JERLIN FLOWER

Submitted to Contest #60

" Ash - ta - ta lum, Ash - ta - ta dum, Ash - ta - ta lum dum bona " recited the witch and began his most important ritual. His name was Eliphas. He was one of the greatest Witch the world has ever known. He decides to fulfill his most ambitious wish to rule the weakling humans. He had evil helpers to do his job. To achieve his ambitious goal, the evil spirits instructed him to create 'vampires' and with its help he would restrain the people to be his slaves. "Eliphas!! you have to bath me in your daughter's blood, in order to create a...

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“A Slab of Rock” by David Dicaire

Submitted to Contest #60

A Slab of Rock Okay, so the Polar caps melted and the world flooded out like they had predicted. Some people had boats and they were okay in that respect, but the only food available was fish and birds. Of course, there were alliances formed, more like gangs if you want. In that crazy, insane period, the human race was trying to figure out how it was going to keep alive. The thing was there really was no warning. Sure, the scientists or authorities or whoever you want to say had warned us about it, but the rush of wat...

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“Remember” by Benny Regalbuto

Submitted to Contest #60

“Blech!” Hilda stuck her tongue out in disgust as she ripped her makeshift axe from the dead giga rat – ten times the size of its smaller rodent cousins. Daisuke was always better at this kind of thing… she thought. Flicking the slimy blood off with two quick shakes, she continued her way down the dress aisle. She already had shoes picked out: a pair of ink black combat boots that were as stylish as they were practical, still perfectly preserved in the original shoe box. That box rested in a shopping cart she found in the parking lot earli...

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“Validation ” by Matt Render

Submitted to Contest #60

Megan felt powerful. She’d never known this feeling before, as she stared down at the phone in her hand. She’d never held power in her hands before like she did then. The feeling was addictive. Megan smiled as she saw the numbers rising on her screen— the measure of her success mounting. She smiled and thought back to how she had once been that ugly duckling from the classic, cliche fairy tale. All those years of isolation simply made the taste of her victory that much sweeter. Finally, all her efforts had been validate...

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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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