Start your story with a character in despair.

Posted in Dark on Jun 14, 2024

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✍️ 91 stories

“Stay” by Jennifer Luckett

Submitted to Contest #255

The yellow roses and wildflowers swayed in the gentle early morning breeze. The garden had never looked more beautiful, thanks to my amazing, gorgeous husband, and all I wanted was to close my eyes and leave the world behind. I hadn’t had this much time to myself since graduation, the first time it happened. I’m here again, and I just want everything-the fear, anger, regret-to stop.Here you are.” The drag of Miguel’s lips washed a small wave of pleasure over me."How long have you been out here?”“Since about 4:30.” He wrapped me in his ...

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“Pearlescent Peril” by Togo F

Submitted to Contest #255

Trigger Warning: This story contains graphic depictions of self-harm, suicide, and intense emotional distress.The knife ripped the skin above Alise’s wrist, pulling it apart like the stretched strings of a violin, one by one, string by string, paving a road for the cascading crimson rivers to pour down and drown the sanguine room out of its misery.Her contralto voice parched, vocal cords torn and eyes dried.The snow-like tiles stained in red and dampened with salt surrounded her, from the cold floor to the sordid walls, enclosing the petite ...

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“A Love Letter to Humanity” by Austin Wright

Submitted to Contest #255

May this letter find you in a spirit of anger. My name is Dick Neilson — renowned geneticist, chairperson of the International Council of Freedom and Prosperity (ICFP), and soon-to-be mass murderer. I greet you in anguish. This letter will serve as my confession, my suicide note, and my billet-doux to humanity. Come what may. Shakespeare originally popularized that expression, “come what may,” in Macbeth, which is a story about what happens when you let fate meddle with everything. He’s dead and won’t mind my borrowing it.&n...

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“I'll only take a little” by Omar Scott

Submitted to Contest #255

Sarah’s world seemed to be crashing down on her lately. She woke up this morning with an eviction noticed taped to her front door. Not to mention she was two months behind on her car note. And hiding her Honda Accord at her friend’s house so it won’t get repossessed. She didn’t have a dime to her name. Her boyfriend broke up with her last week. He said she was too needy. And to top it off, her supervisor just informed her if she doesn’t bring in any new clients, she’ll be terminated at the end of the quarter. Her life was falling apart. She ...

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“Burn baby, burn.” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #255

"Every day was the same. Since we were forced to retreat to our homes, share our space twenty-four hours a day with the same people, and fear the end of the world, the time seemed to stop, but it didn't. Hours moved slowly, the air got thinner, and the sounds more intense. I kept waking up early to prepare breakfast for the whole family, but I did not dress as I used to or wear any makeup. My high-heeled shoes gathered dust, and I lost the will to clean them. It was supposed to be two weeks, but we couldn't see the light at the end of the tu...

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“The Puzzle Builder” by Nancy De Beer

Submitted to Contest #255

For the most part, I used to love building puzzles, but now that it’s my job, I have lost the joy in doing them. I sit at my large white desk. The room is dark, almost black, with a bright light above me like the rest of the puzzle builders. They keep us separate from each other so that there are no distractions from building the puzzles. Some days I will build 5 a day depending on how many pieces there are and the difficulty.Staring at the box in front of me, I let out a sigh. The picture is of the scene from Pocahontas where she is standin...

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“A Mysterious Parting” by Paul Hellyer

Submitted to Contest #255

A bitter wind howled across the black as pitch field, the stars and the moon hidden by thick clouds. The wind chimed in his ears, like a deep and heavy bell, and the chill of it stabbed through the single layer of clothing he was wearing. Seeing nothing except the darkness, he was condemned to this lonely post at the midnight hour and so he sank to a sitting position, feeling the ruddy grass brush across the rawness of his skin. How had this happened? He thought of the series of events that had transpired earlier in the day. ‘...

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“The Void” by C Russell

Submitted to Contest #255

“Was going to start this out with ‘I am sorry’, but I have said that so many times that I believe I am covered for eternity. Some people just aren’t meant to be here. Their nerves are too raw, MY nerves are too raw. It’s as though a filet knife has been used to cut through my skin, tip to tail, flipped it inside out and then stitched up nice and pretty; and I am expected to live this way, in THIS world. It is no one’s fault, so please do not expect to have “seen the signs...

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“Apostasy” by Felicia Dobson

Submitted to Contest #255

The glimmer of light bounced across the surface of the water. Our beacon of hope so close yet so far away. Lost at sea? No, we knew exactly where we were. Not lost, abandoned. Waves clashed the sides of the ship threatening to spill aboard. Maybe that would be best, cleanse the ship, rid us of all the horror. In the beginning … A symphony of creaks echo the mist filled night with every pair of boots worn by a hundred men climbing the wooden plank, myself included. Once we reach the bridge between land and vessel, we’re met with an old ...

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“Gwen” by G S Martin

Submitted to Contest #255

GWEN WHITE SCREEN Heavy Snow falls. Crystal feathers drifting. A soft light pushes from the apartment window with Burning Joan's urgent cry following close behind. 'Doors are all locked, shades are pulled down. Cold outside. Nobody's home.' Moving through the windless, wet snow, pulled to the light. 'Grass is not green there's no rain in the air. Peer through the window. Nothing's in there.'A sparsely furnished room. A futon with lots of ...

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“Flushed ” by Kelly Girnas

Submitted to Contest #255

When the toilet backed up I knew. Proof was the floating wads of sepia streaked tissue, heavily scented with feces/urine, and whatever else comes out of a body that takes in everything meant to destroy it. Clothed in nonchalance, he enters and side steps a muddy puddle, escaping his own waste, as he usually does. Methodically, he plunges dirty porcelain, wearing no shirt, and an unblinking doll's gaze. Forearms tattooed by art and addiction, a scarlet dragon pulsates, as he tries to unclog an over flowing mess. He truly is a (barley) living ...

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“3 A.M.” by Haley C

Submitted to Contest #255

3 o’clock in the morning. A stranger appears at the doorway. Ice crunches as I shift my weight. I stand separated, only a few inches of wood and glass, from you. I resent the fact that you don’t know me, but I fear that if you did, you would not open the door. We’re only a few inches apart, yet I feel that I’m miles away. 11 o’clock in the evening. I’ve been walking for hours. Wading and waiting through the abandoned streets. I don’t know how I ended up here again. Every house is sleeping, every door shut. Not a single light deign...

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“Born Again” by Colleen DuVall

Submitted to Contest #255

Lois Scratched at the sore spot on her scalp, unable to help herself. She was reading the Leviticus 13 section of her Bible where Christ heals the leper. She thought to herself that her scalp must look like a leper’s underneath her thick, long mane of hair. This pandemic had made her psoriasis act up something awful. She had terrible nightmares every night. Lois couldn’t stand not being able to attend her beloved local parish during quarantine. That church had been her life; her onl...

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“The Deterrent of My Goodbye” by Emma Sillett

Submitted to Contest #255

My Grandma Frances once told me "God will give you signs but you have to pay attention". Her words ring in my ears every single day, not because I have faith, but because I have lost faith. As I sit achingly alone in what once was a house full of colour, my mind pulsating with endless anguish, I ask the universe, with my perished hands clasped together, why didn't you take me too?Its December 24th 1945, Christmas Eve, not that there will be even the tiniest nod to the festivities from me. I am sitting inside the remnants of our home, forgive...

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“The Chief's Revenge” by David Shotwell

Submitted to Contest #255

The Chief’s Revenge D.E. Shotwell I woke up with a start and looked over to see the clock. 13:05. Rolled off the bed in a hurry, muttering, “Oh shit, shit, shit, I did it again." The fifth time in eight weeks. The last time I got thirty hours extra duty; this time, it meant a Captain's Mast for sure. Only a week and a half of ET-A School to go, and now my deployment would be delayed by at least a few weeks while I waited on the Commander’s decision. I quickly dusted off my shoes with a dirty sock to make sure they still shone and adjusted ...

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Start your story with a character in despair.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 91 stories

“Stay” by Jennifer Luckett

“Pearlescent Peril” by Togo F

“A Love Letter to Humanity” by Austin Wright

“I'll only take a little” by Omar Scott

“Burn baby, burn.” by Laura Camacho Frias

“The Puzzle Builder” by Nancy De Beer

“A Mysterious Parting” by Paul Hellyer

“The Void” by C Russell

“Apostasy” by Felicia Dobson

“Gwen” by G S Martin

“Flushed ” by Kelly Girnas

“3 A.M.” by Haley C

“Born Again” by Colleen DuVall

“The Deterrent of My Goodbye” by Emma Sillett

“The Chief's Revenge” by David Shotwell

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a someone who's in denial.

Write a story about anger.

Center your story around a character bargaining for something that's important to them.

Write a story about someone finding acceptance.

Contest #255

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

365

Contest entries

142

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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