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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 – 177 stories

Write a post-apocalyptic story triggered by climate change.

Adults – 134 stories

Write a post-apocalyptic thriller.

Thriller and Suspense – 143 stories

Write a post-apocalyptic romance.

Dystopian – 196 stories

Stories

“Pilgrim” by Finn Charlton

Submitted to Contest #60

Dawn broke across the horizon, and the light of the sun woke me from my fitful rest. I sat up in the sand, taking in the pitiful sight of my tiny campsite. Set up on what used to be a beach, sand stretched for miles where there used to be a shoreline. I was surrounded by desert where I should have been underwater, dead coral reefs rearing up in ruinous structures around me. My camp was made up of a flimsy canvas tent, a now cold campfire, and my amateur filtration set up. Water was a precious commodity, and I had long since gotten used to dr...

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“Settlement 24” by Grace Jarvis

Submitted to Contest #60

Settlement 24 once had a different name and a different location. To the east of its current position the top few floors of a tower block could be seen at low tide; a reminder that a town had been there before the rise in sea level had swamped it. The view reminded Professor Jolami Henderson that many of her students had no idea what the world, or even their small part of it, used to be like. This was not their fault; they are too young to have known. She was there to teach a lucky few of them; the mistakes of the past must not be re...

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“Day Zero” by Megan Walsh

Submitted to Contest #60

Ramona unwraps a piece of gum and places it on her tongue. Her fingers leave brown ovals on the inner liner of the wrapper which she notices for a second before discarding it back in her pocket. Ray lays on the rock across from her, panting like a tired old dog. In five minutes they’ll have to get back in the golf cart and pick up feces from the bison, then the bears. But for now, they enjoy the vanilla scent of ponderosa, the quiet of a sparse forest interrupted only by the caw of a wren. “Too hot,” Ray says. “Too dry,” Ramona answers. Th...

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“Fly the Coop” by Eli Tobin

Submitted to Contest #60

It wasn’t always like this. ‘Course, I don’t need to tell ya that. Ya already know that, don’t ya? Yeah, ‘course ya do. Most folks do, if only for the stories of my sisters and such. What those beasts did to us ain’t right. It ain’t natural what they did to us. It just ain’t. Most creatures, see, most creatures, they’ll hunt, right, they’ll chase down their prey and catch it and eat it and that’s that and that’s nature. That’s natural. What they did? It ain’t that. I know I don’t need to tell ya, but I’m gonna tell ya anyway. Got not...

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“Monster Husband” by Akilah Babb

Submitted to Contest #60

I was staying at a male and female shelter in NYC and this man approached. He tried to hit on me, but of course I did not give him my attention. Don't ask me why, but later on, I decided to call him to me and planned a kiss on him that he'll never forget. Next thing you know we clicked quickly and it was love at first sight. Well, my case manager reminded me of their no fratenizing rule but we and other couples in that shelter did not give a crap. That's what happens when your alone in the midst of those kinds of situations. I must admit, I...

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“The Election” by DIANA UZZELL

Submitted to Contest #60

I really thought they cared about us. I thought above all else life was thee most essential factor. From my point of view, it was and still is. I guess that’s where I went wrong. Right before the whole world turned upside down, I responded to a letter from a friend. She was trying to understand how the other side got it so wrong. She said, “I am tired of trying to figure out these idiots. I’m joining the movement. John’s dead. There is no reason to stay here.” It was weird reading this because out of all my friends, she was the most levelhea...

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“Sick of it. ” by William Bloodlust

Submitted to Contest #60

Dark green curtains blew softly in the wind. Behind them stood burnt orange walls, paint peeling. The room range with dull static—an outline of a square bottle on an old wooden bedside table. A rustling noise came from dirty green and orange sheets, a sandy blond-haired boy poked to read the clock. The red numbers burned 3:00 AM into his retinas. Squeezing his eyes, he felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen, "No." he moaned, pulling himself further into the covers' arms. The acute pain developed into a sensation of agony as if the two sides ...

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“Ghosts and Shadows Walk the Streets” by Jack Dixon

Submitted to Contest #60

Ghosts and shadows walk the streets. Some run late for work. Late for school. Some plod home from the night shift. Echoes of tyres and treads mark the roads and sidewalks where the bustle once bustled. Where the chatter once blended with the natural cries of traffic. Zach sees the city thrive. Or the memory if it at least. He cannot tell any more. There is only him now. As he wanders down the main street, spec...

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“Mafia” by Bronze Nova

Submitted to Contest #60

“In the wasteland, it’s kill or be killed,” so many posters had once read many slogans just like that to promote their new post-apocalyptic movie, book, or game. Just another reminder of humanity’s hubris. Or is it the world’s sense of irony this time? I’m unsure, all I know is that such slogans now become the codes which people live by, including myself. It’s been many years since the apocalypse started. Barely anybody can remember just what started it. A rogue president with the codes to a nuclear arsenal? A benevolent god ending the fool...

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“New normal” by Jose Gonzalez

Submitted to Contest #60

Steve McKay turned on his television and wanted to know what was going on in his beloved city. Mass unrest with lockdown and protest over police brutality was taking a toll on his city. The system had let him down. Had let everyone down. Mass unemployment and these politicians not caring. He prepared breakfast with one eye on the television. He made sure to tune into the governor's public briefing. Keep informed of the goings on in the city. Every day the city was descending towards chaos. Cops getting shot. People getting shot walking the s...

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“The Storm ” by Gabriel Torres

Submitted to Contest #60

The storm brought a winter-like-chill to the middle of summer and we smiled. The heat was destroying the scrap we called our homes and we were close to joining those that filled the sewers, but the rain changed that. It was the first we felt on our skins in months. We thought it would be the last for several more. Animals were hard to find but water was harder. We followed the animals and we found our pocket. It gave us just a little bit longer to live. This simplicity brought us back to our cores. Problems seemed to fall away. People were l...

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“Pestilence” by George Thomas

Submitted to Contest #60

It was the first time Billy saw someone die. His grandpa was sitting in his grey leather recliner, craning his neck to talk to Aunt Carole behind him. He suddenly looked bewildered, and his body stiffened. Aunt Carole, confused at first, walked closer to grandpa. Then she screamed, her hands clawing at her mouth. Billy wasn’t sure what had just happened, but he knew it must have been bad because his mother scooped him up and ran into the nearest bedroom. Tears were soaking her face. “Stay here Billy, ok?” She said. “What’s wrong mommy?” A...

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“Dead Days” by Kailani Mercury

Submitted to Contest #60

A few weeks ago, my life was blissfully normal. The Nevada city I lived in was teeming with life. I didn't have any concerns or worries. But that seems like an eternity ago. Hard to believe it's only been three weeks. God knows what state the rest of the world is in. They blocked off Spring Valley a few days after all hell broke loose. They shut off the city's power, water, and communication. As if shutting us down and pretending Spring Valley never existed could stop this problem from going global. Dang government. I remember when...

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“The Harvest” by Amy G

Submitted to Contest #60

Irene yawned and stretched in her chair. Crunching numbers and balancing the books was mentally exhausting. Her fingers were sore from typing. “Ugh, my back is stiff.” Snap. Crack. Pop. The tension in her shoulders gave her a headache, so she decided to walk outside. Irene loved her house in the country. Isolated and living alone, she tended to the farm and livestock. Bright sun filtered through colored le...

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“The Soleil Gem” by Carolanne Flowers

Submitted to Contest #60

When the explosion occurred, they fell to the floor. The walls began to shake, and the noise was louder and deeper than they had ever heard before. He shielded her body with his own, covering her mouth with his and keeping her pinned down on the floor. There was fear in her eyes, and she trembled underneath him. She could hear glass windows smashing, doors being ripped off their hinges and terrifying screams that got caught up in the wind and taken to the next world. Her dog laid down beside her, nuzzled his nose into her hand, and feebly at...

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$50

Prize money

760

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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