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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#67: The Great Escape

There are times when the world feels so chaotic and out of our control that a break from reality is called for. And what better way to leave everything behind than jumping headfirst into the escapism of stories?

Whether it’s a larger-than-life situation, a comforting old trope, or a genre that’s literally out of this world, stories have been providing people with a way to retreat from their troubles ever since humanity first started telling them around a fire.

To truly keep in the spirit of escapism, make sure you fully immerse both yourself and the reader in the world you’re creating. Use sensory details to really pull us in — make us see, smell, and taste every detail of your story, so that we fully believe we’re standing alongside the characters. After all, the real world will still be here when the story’s over.

This week's prompts

Write about a pirate captain obsessed with finding a mythical treasure.

Adventure – 144 stories

Write a thriller about someone who witnesses a murder… except there’s no evidence that a murder took place.

Thriller and Suspense – 218 stories

Write a romance where the characters pretend to be dating each other in order to win a reality show.

Romance – 70 stories

Write a story where one character needs to betray the other, but isn’t sure if they can.

Dark – 170 stories

Write a space adventure story that features a visit to an alien marketplace.

Science Fiction – 123 stories

Stories

“A Death in Still Creek” by Claire Lindsey

Submitted to Contest #67

It was a lovely day in the woods just outside of Still Creek. The towering trees and dense foliage muted the sound of traffic coming in and out of the little town. Apart from that distant roar of tires on asphalt, the forest was silent. The birds and insects and animals sat hushed, waiting. It was there, in quiet beneath the trees, that 9-year-old Sean found the body while taking a shortcut home from a friend’s house.The lazy, small-town Saturday soon filled with commotion. Police sirens, the lights of an ambulance, and the grumble of the to...

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“Chasing Dreams” by Mushroom (flammulina Velutipes)

Submitted to Contest #67

Outside my window, a whale swims past, feeding off dust and starlight. There was a time when seeing something like that, so massive and so old, would have instilled me with wonder and awe, but whales are common enough these days (thanks to the efforts of environmentalists) that they no longer take my breath away, although not much does now.I glance down at my map, tracing my finger over the path I've drawn for myself through the constellations.We're so close.Behind me, the rest of the crew does their tasks - Jai with the sails, Coriel steeri...

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“Knot Beet-trayed” by Regina Perry

Submitted to Contest #67

My hands are covered in a dark red liquid that refuses to come off. It’s stuck there from today’s work, no matter how many times I wash my hands. I feel a bit like Macbeth. Other people might think the stains on my hands are a badge of shame, but to me, they’re a badge of honour. They’re there because I spent my day helping people. One week earlier:I’m walking into school with my friends Dee and Masha when we see the graffiti on the front of the school building. In big letters, someone has written “YOUR AWESOME” over a giant yellow smil...

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“To market to market to buy a fat Gnorph” by Tim Law

Submitted to Contest #67

Marc held on tight to his father’s hand. This was to be his first trip to Octavia in Sector Three and he had heard from his older brothers just how big the Octavian markets were, how easy it would be for a little Forian like Marc to become lost forever. ‘You can let go for now, son,’ Marc’s father Yon sent, butterfly like antenna wiggling and waggling as the mental message was sent. Marc’s shorter detectors vibrated as the message was received and the youngster released his deathlike grasp. Marc fidgeted then, jostled about by the flight pat...

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“The Night the Killer Was Also the Killed” by Antonio Jimenez

Submitted to Contest #67

“Oh, London is man’s town, there’s power in the airAnd Paris is a woman’s town, with flowers in her hair.”The man silently repeating the words to Henry Van Dyke’s ode to the comforts of home watched the Moscow skyline blur past from the backseat of the Volvo he was riding in. He didn’t even know the rest of the poem. Instead, he liked to conclude it with a stanza he had written himself: “And Moscow is killer’s town, where everything is fair.”The man twisting the Van Dyke poem had not been born a poet. He hadn’t been born a killer. Born in Ch...

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“For The Love Of Money” by Trinity Womack

Submitted to Contest #67

From the producers of the show Love’s Second Chance, comes the new show Lovely Reality. A reality show where we see which couple’s love will get them to the $50,000 cash prize. So, do you think your love is strong enough to win?. To apply, visit www.lovelyreality/my love is strong.com Less than a minute after seeing the commercial, Sara’s best friend Carter called her. “Did you see it?” She rolled her eyes even though he couldn’t see h...

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“In the Market for Some Lovin'” by Tyler Runde

Submitted to Contest #67

Arndt stepped off the Huroukian hover bus back into the dry, shiftless air of the desert planet and paused to stare at the marketplace before him. He’d been on-planet for two days already, either barricaded in his hotel room, blinds drawn with the AC blasting him full in the face, or lying like a thawing chicken cutlet beneath a beach umbrella, staring out at a placid ocean the same pink color as a digestive aid, and now he’d grown bored enough to venture out to see what else this seaside town might offer. He was unimpressed. The market was ...

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“The Venusian Marketplace” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #67

It was only Phil’s second trip to Venus. His first such voyage had been during the early days of interplanetary exploration. The ship he had skippered had been the first to land and make contact with the inhabitants of the planet. He figured they found him and his crew just as strange to look at, as he and his crew viewed them. The Venusians were similar to humans in that they had one head, four limbs, and a body. They were different in that they had what could be called soft scales over much of their body, a large h...

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“Ale Storm” by Harken Void

Submitted to Contest #67

You see, to a pirate, a true pirate, only two things are important in life. First, he needs a sea-faring ship with a capable crew. A pirate without a ship cannot sail the eleven seas and is thus stuck on land. Those poor souls are known as bandits, a retired or aspiring form of a pirate. And second, which is even more important than the first - and can be used as a substitute for the first - is ale. And when I say ale, I actually mean every alcohol ever made; be it beer, rum, mead, gin, wine, bourbon, vodka, schnapps, various liquors and spi...

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“The Plunder of the Viragos” by Leviathan Four

Submitted to Contest #67

They said in the Aegean Sea lay Virago, an isle fair. Near the Dodecanese Islands, they said the Viragos descended from the Amazons, wounded warrior women settling farther southwest, away from the beasts of Crimea. Yet most importantly to Captain Wolcott “Plank Walker” Spaulding, they said the Viragos were the Keepers of Treasure Lost. A bounty was said to be on Virago, including armor, shields, helmets and gauntlets from ages past, hammered from the purest Ionian gold. Tales were told of silver axes, heavy broadswords, and jeweled daggers f...

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“Broken Bonds” by Bella Shah

Submitted to Contest #67

Maureen Suldid had always loved beautiful Madrid Park with its calm, wooden cottages. One of those cottages was her home. It was her place where she felt safe. She was kind, always helped animals, and enjoyed reading. Other people saw her as a sad, lonely girl, but Maureen disagreed with them. Once, she had kindly made a bed for an injured bird. Her mother passed away and the life around Maureen had forgotten her mother. She walked over to the window and reflected on her comfortable surroundings. A sliver of the moon...

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“The Hunt For Devil's Island” by S. Closson

Submitted to Contest #67

The wall of water crashed down upon the bow of my faithful Man-O-War as if it were a punch thrown by Poseidon himself. The unforgiving winds bellowed with such force that even the veteran crewmates aboard the Annabelle Lee were left quivering in their rain-soaked boots as we navigated the Strait of Hades. We were an unwelcome presence in those unholy waters. The sudden appearance of that powerful storm had made that fact perfectly clear. As the determined Mr. Fredricks, my trusted sailing master, fought against sea’s pul...

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“Golden Boy” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #67

Clarissa knew that a murder had been committed. She knew who had done it, and she knew how he had done it. But she also knew that nobody would ever listen to her. Nobody would pay any attention to her. Who was going to believe that Benjamin Rawlston had committed a brutal murder? Who was going to believe that he had done anything wrong at all? That he would so much as park where he shouldn’t or re-use a postage stamp that had escaped the franking machine? Not that he would need to do the latter. ...

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“The Secret Ingredient” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #67

Author’s Note Some may recognise the reluctant astronaut Tabitha Delaney from my earlier stories “Mission Improbable” and “A Second Sleep”. But I hope this story also works as a stand-alone! Tabitha had learnt to be adaptable. She’d had little choice in the matter. When the mission to the moon that she’d never wanted to go in had turned into a mission to Saturn, she had found wells of stoicism that took her by surprise, and when it turned out that the so-called mission to Saturn was a trick to use her as a breedin...

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“Son Of The President ” by Mara C

Submitted to Contest #67

''Ben Parks. My, my, my.'' officer Gregory says, grinning, while shaking his head. ''What would your father think? What would he, the President, think if he found out about your 'escapades' with the rebels? Hm?'' he peers, leaning forward, hands gripping the back of the metal chair he made me sit in. I pull back when his warm, tobacco-scented breath blows in my face, filling my lungs with the foul, intoxicating smell. He glares into my eyes, studying my face and then throws his head back, laughing wildly. ''What a world we live in, boy!'' he...

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$50

Prize money

725

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 13, 2020 EST

Won by Deidra Whitt Lovegren 🏆

Title: Your Poor Rick

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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