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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

“One Bite” by Kiera Shepherd

Submitted to Contest #60

The Boy That Sits In Her I stare into the depths of her soft blue eyes, they are the same shade as Rory's were. Her freckles cover the bridge of her nose, as pimples had his. Her hair is cut short, it is the same length his was kept. He had braces, and a thin lower lip. She has crooked yellow teeth, and a dimple on her left side of her face. They both wear a look of sorrow. His body was limp when I held him last. His lips and fingers were blueish grey. He smelled as sour as the morning dew tastes and his voice had a slight sway t...

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“An Exception For Saviors” by Joshua Scott Hotchkin Wordpress.dungherder.com

Submitted to Contest #60

“The problem with people who are always trying to be nice is that they create a blind spot for the potential harm they are doing to others. The perpetually congenial have a knack for reducing their metric for goodness into an absurdly narrow area of consideration. In the history of mankind there has been more harm done with smiles and good intentions than a planet full of evildoers could ever possibly aspire to.” “Damnit, Huck, do you have to give this monologue every time we meet someone new?” Brenna groans articulately. “I do believe l...

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“The Rise of the New Era” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

Submitted to Contest #60

Thud. Thud. Thud. You hear as the Botulinum toxic drops like fresh dew drops by leaves. Only difference is that the drops are deadly to humans, if they even existed, and the plants are long gone. There is no trace of life here. Now, there is no atmosphere you can spot in Earth, it is called GBGP 3000. That is the short form of the real name garbage planet and life ended here in the year 3000. The last scientist named the planet like that, before dying, those were his last words. Fortunately, he was al...

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“Oppy's Song ” by <inactive> .

Submitted to Contest #60

The automatic door swings open. It creaks.Add to list- check on door-bots to fix Ren’s bedroom door.“Good morning, REN.”Ren yawns. I should check with the internet if it is okay for him to be this tired.No. No. No. Your orders were to be as human as possible. Humans have proved to combust at these layers of stress. Ren is a twelve-year-old boy, it is also okay for him to be tired at 7 AM.“G-good morning…”I check his stress levels. They are low.See, Oppy? Those are normal stress levels. I lower my stress levels and feel more relaxed.Error. Er...

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“An Oasis in the Wastelands” by Andrew Krey

Submitted to Contest #60

As we walked over to the trap, I saw we had caught something by how low the branch framework sat in the water. “Looks like I won’t have to eat you today ready meal.” Cyril looked up at me like he understood, but I may have been imagining that. When I lifted the trap out of the water there were fish on all four lines. The river was full of fish and was why we’d stayed here so long. We should have moved on from our oasis by now, but it felt good to have something between my skin and bone for the first time in months. We needed to...

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“Not yet” by Hayden Quinn

Submitted to Contest #60

Content warning: suicide attempt, allusions to rape. The world had become a wasteland. Until it happened, Tabitha hadn’t understood what that truly meant. When she had read it in novels, seen it pictured on screen in movies, she hadn’t fully appreciated what it meant. Now that she was living in it, she would do anything to not know anymore. All around her, the empty ground had been ruined. What had begun as a few potholes in the street had become gaping holes in the tarmac. Houses were no longer homes, only abandoned buildings with broken...

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“L.A.D Incorporated” by Skyler Woods

Submitted to Contest #60

“Good afternoon, Ms. Gomez. Your air supply system has expired. We have sent a termination officer to your home. The estimated time of arrival is 4:30 pm. We've automatically locked all the windows and doors in your house. Please remain calm and follow the procedure. Do not attempt to break out of your home. This action would be an I.U code violation and your termination procedure will be a slow death. Your current termination procedure will be painless and the time duration is 2 minutes. Have a wonderful day and thank you for using L.A.D In...

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“Lullaby on Fire” by Scout Tahoe

Submitted to Contest #60

“I don’t understand,” is what he whispers into your ear, his fingers locked into yours. There’s no key for the chest of secrets you’ve created—you know that much already. He is the man from your nightmares with eyes that are mood rings. They shine like the stars and their court; today they are black and deep. Reminding you of midnight swims in that pool you used to own. You know he understands. He has to. Your throat aches and you head into the kitchen. As you pour water and dump an uncountable amount of grounds into the...

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“Rat King” by Itay Frenkel

Submitted to Contest #60

Stanford Log entered the room like a little child lost in the woods. He looked around at the panoramic window. The psychologist motioned to a grey couch. Stanford twitched his nose like a rat and tried running out of the room. He was caught in the hallway and dragged back by two men in white uniforms. He sat on the couch, defeated. “Fine, I’ll tell you my story, because a good story deserves to be told,” Stanford said. He lay on the couch, head propped up against one of the armrests, hands folded across his chest like a corpse. The psyc...

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“Demons Down Under the Sea” by Maya W.

Submitted to Contest #60

And neither the angels in Heaven above, nor the demons down under the sea, could ever dissever my soul from the soul of the beautiful Annabel Lee. The Sun dipped down into the water as the bright purple hues started to fade away. It was dark and dreary, yet also warm and calming in a sort of way. It made Dante feel a little bit at ease to know that he wasn’t the only one who rose and fell with the sky and the stars, who changed in phases like the Moon. In so many aspects, he was the only one. He was the only one alive on Earth, the...

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“Broken-Stringed Kite” by Yolanda Wu

Submitted to Contest #60

“You have got to be kidding me!” Raz slung the rifle over her shoulder and gave the rubbish bin a kick, with a well-executed grunt for good measure.“No, he’s not kidding,” Ky said, kneeling beside Will who was collapsed against the wall.“I’m not kidding,” Will gasped. He clutched at his bloody shoulder.“The bullet’s gone right through.” Raz continued giving the rubbish bin a beating. The poor thing didn’t deserve it, but Raz’s temper was sky-high.Nothing had gone right these past few days. First they got kicked out of the shelter… well, Raz ...

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“Spies + Zombie Training = Really Big Bonuses (Part 2)” by Lily Kingston

Submitted to Contest #60

Author's note: This is a part 2 to my story "Spies + Zombie Training = Really Big Bonuses (Part1)". So if you haven't read that story yet, maybe check it out because there will be spoilers. If you don't want to, have no fear, a recap, and a fantastic day! Thanks for reading :)Recap: Agent Lincoln and Agent Connors are secret agents that work for rival organizations. They were both dumped into a zombie farm along with other agents to prepare for a possible zombie apocalypse with a warning to be out before night. They had a contest, killing ma...

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“Karmageddon” by Emily Nghiem

Submitted to Contest #60

In a final dramatic bid to eradicate Humanity, and the root cause of suffering, spam emails, flame wars over climate change, and endless Hollywood remakes plaguing the Universe, the Enemy command redirected its computer-generated intelligence to orchestrate an unprecedented three-pronged attack to wipe out Planet Earth. Combining top military strategies from Mars and Jupiter, with the best Area-51 conspiracy theories from 8chan to QAnon, these Alien forces unleashed the ultimate trilogy of destruction, as never before attempted on any theatr...

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“Before All This” by K. M. Carpenter

Submitted to Contest #60

Edan screamed, his back arching against the dusty wall of the old subway tunnel. His vision blurred as the cloth was pressed to his abdomen, as the medicine mingled with his overflowing blood. Heat raced along his spine, only for a wave of ice to follow. Another shriek pressed at the base of his throat, one he couldn't hold in. It echoed down the damp tunnel, so loud some subconscious part of his brain instantly regretted it. Wished he hadn't screamed, wished he'd held it in, for fear someone would hear and their position would be comp...

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“Can You Fight?” by Meggy House

Submitted to Contest #60

I tapped a green pen against my teeth as I squinted at the clipboard. “Try-Outs for the New Protagonist” was typed in all-capitals at the top. Next to me the resident Antagonist Sarre, pronounced Sarah but spelled that way because some author somewhere thought creative spellings for normal names made them original, banged her bleached-blond head against the casting-desk. “What’s wrong, Sarre?” I prodded between m...

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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.

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