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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

“Forsaken” by Virginia Soto

Submitted to Contest #60

Part I: Stories We’re walking down the road, or, at least, what remains of it. There are cracks in the street everywhere. Chunks of what used to be the bridge above are scattered practically every place you look. You never would have guessed that this was America’s most used highway: Route 72. It started in Canada and went all the way down to Florida, where it was warm. The sky was gray like usual. One big, gray cloud of ash covering the Earth. The sun never peeked out of it. The trees had ash covered leaves. The grass is dead. Houses and ...

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“Renewal” by George Kroker

Submitted to Contest #60

His black eyes surveyed the desolation and destruction. It was complete. Bloated animal carcasses were scattered amid the human remains, and both gave off a grotesque odor that spoke of death. Oil fires sent up plumes of smoke. black tendrils like snakes rose from burning vehicles. Dusty winds blew across the dry and burning landscape, coating everything with a combination of soot and grime. Michael searched the horizon expectantly. Then he saw it: in the distance stood a small group of dust-covered survi...

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“Spent Shells” by Kevin Leonard

Submitted to Contest #60

I close my eyes and try to slow my heart rate, like I read the snipers used to do in war. Still do, maybe, if there’s anyone out there fighting… Focus, damnit. My hands keep shaking, so I steady my forearms on an unbroken stretch of fence. Bullets are nearly as scarce as food, and I think I’m on my last shot. I can’t remember how to open the damn gun to check. I focus my eyes on my target in front of me. The peacock takes a few cautious steps forward, pecking at little little specks of dirt and grass peeking up through the gravel path. His l...

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“Dawkins' Dance” by David Dicaire

Submitted to Contest #60

Dawkins’ Dance Cheryl Dawkins ran as fast as she could because right behind her was a T-Rex. And, it was very, very hungry. “I can’t believe this is happening.” She turned right down the jungle path and stopped on a dime. She tipped back and forth almost falling into the quicksand. She steadied herself. The ground shook. The T-Rex wasn’t that far away. It had the tracking sense of a thousand fox hounds. “Okay, stay calm and do not panic. You can deal with this.” The T-Rex stopped and moaned. ...

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“THE DARK DAYS: PATRIOTIC ROUGES” by Olúwabùkúnmi Oládoyin

Submitted to Contest #60

THE DARK DAYS: PATRIOTIC ROUGES "for I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil cos you're with me. Amen." it has been over 70 years, but here I am, still reciting the psalm. The dark days were indeed dark; it did things to many of us, which still haunts us till date. Children listen to the stories with bated breaths, while it has only become a subject of discussion in the universities, but do they know what happened? It started with fire gutting the tropical regions of the world, the wildlife, the forests. It mov...

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“THE BLOODY FOOTPRINT” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #60

For reedsy 2. THE BLOODY FOOTPRINT____by Mara Masolini A woman, all disheveled, her face scratched, a woman without arms, sunk, rather than sitting, into one hole of that kind of lava haze which is all that remains of what the earth was, she, spitting saliva, was barking that the sun had fallen on the earth, that is why the catastrophe, the hecatomb which destroyed animals, plants , buildings, and which exterminated much of the human race. Indeed it exterminated most of the humans, but, it seems, not all...

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“Corrupted Dreams” by BiChronicler XYZ

Submitted to Contest #60

December 31st, 20-something. I remember the day in all its glory. Children excited about their presents. Parents living their childhood through their little ones. Last-minute plans being made over the phone about a bar and getting drunk until midnight rolled around. The news just could not stop obsessing over the lighting arrangements for the Eiffel Tower and the Opera House. That was the last night any of us spent in familiar comfort.It happened around midnight in Japan. A full moon graced the earth with its fellow starry companions. There ...

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“Artificial Alice” by Jacob97 Hoskin31

Submitted to Contest #60

Marcus grabbed the pistol from the floor and stood up. He had blood leaking from his chest he followed behind her. He kept walking . She yelled as he came closer. The Wind blew harder through the broken glass window they had clambered through to this department store. The lights were out. It was Completely deserted being 1 am. "No please". she shouted. her breathing was heavy she crawled past a couple racks of clothing. She felt some tears come to her eyes as she sobbed. She crawled back, crept back more like, her foot was sprained...

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“The Reptican Onslaught” by Matthias V.

Submitted to Contest #60

“Hey Lisa, we got another one over here, ”“Is it still alive?” asked Lisa as she held her nose with a handkerchief, trying to block out the smell, today was especially hot and the putrid stink of decomposing bodies that surrounded the pair didn't help.“It's alive, but just barely, ”Brian watched as the reptican trembled on the ground its breathing was slow and it was looking up at him listlessly awaiting its death. Right now you don't look so vicious, thought Brian. When a humanoid reptican was coming at you full speed there wasn'...

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“Through Fire ” by Angel Ninnie

Submitted to Contest #60

Everything is different now. The world is not the same. Where streets were once filled with people, living breathing, hard working people..are now empty. Desolate. It’s hard to say what came first, the violence or the catastrophic ending. Well, ending for most. Not me. I’m here alone, fumbling through the now dark streets. The ones that are not burning are the scariest ones. At least by the light of the flames I can see. I’m finally warm. The sound of a soda can as it rumbles across the sidewalk startles me. Though it shouldn’t. I’m perhaps ...

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“Love at the End of the World” by Sumit Kumar

Submitted to Contest #60

Romance is often an important factor in young adult fiction, and when characters are facing a repressive regime or trying to survive disasters that are poised to usher in the end of the world, it only raises the stakes of the love story. Helping readers navigate the dystopian and post-apocalyptic genre means knowing the degree and intensity of the romance involved in the story and how much it factors into the plot in addition to the other appeal factors. Readers who enjoy romance but who are also fascinated by the what-if scenarios presented...

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“Her Stalker” by Sheila Hubart

Submitted to Contest #60

The night was silent as Sarah sat on her porch. Around her sat empty cars and houses. Tall grass was growing not only in the neighboring yards but between the cracks in the sidewalk. It had been weeks since she’d seen anyone. Everyone stayed inside their houses now to keep safe from the disease that ate you from the inside out. Work consisted of going to the local stores and scavenging for food that hadn’t gone bad yet. She knew that soon she would have to go into the surrounding houses to see if there was any salvageable food.&n...

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“The taste of her” by Jules Vega

Submitted to Contest #60

Empty. It was all so empty. Empty to the degree that darkness became home, silence became a friend and if not for the occasional bubble interrupting that euphoria, he wouldn’t be sure any of it was real. Throughout his life, there were only two things he really had faith in. Those bubbles and the tinge of sweet hunger shooting through him like fireworks. And when they exploded, well, it would all start anew. Still, there wasn’t something quite right about it all. He could remember a time when his senses were exploding with passion, wh...

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“Love and Death In One ” by The Cafe Gurl

Submitted to Contest #60

Many people say the zombie apocalypse isn't the most romantic place to fall in love. I say otherwise.I meet the love of my life, Stephen Jones, he is known for his powerful inspiring speeches. he's great grand father was a war general. I am guessing being a very inspiring and loud speaker runs in his family. Meeting him I would say is a shocker. January 23, 2006 I started with the smell of coffee and biscuits in the air. I stepped over my sleeping french bulldog with a small blanket under his paws. As I made my way into the kitchen I heard a...

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“Love After the Storm” by Alondra Abigail

Submitted to Contest #60

Love After the Storm Roselyn Harris was the most unpopular, loneliest yet strongest and kindhearted person you could ever know. She was an only child that lived with her step mom, Claudia. Roselyn was dedicated to studying and she loved to help the children at the orphanage since she knew what it was like to be abandoned. Her father left her and Claudia when she was only 6. One day he just decided to leave and never came back. Fortunately, Roselyn’s life wasn’t like a Cinderella story. Her step mom didn’t make her life a liv...

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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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