Start or end your story with the line ‘This is my worst nightmare.’

Posted in Dialogue on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 74 stories

“contest 113” by Lin Darroe

Submitted to Contest #113

Jagger Bruce Springsteen and Jackson Browne are interchangeable . This is the last thought that flowed through my mind as everything went black. Let me explain. Not about Jackson and Bruce but about me. There is nothing special about me. I know that we are not supposed to say that out loud or admit this , but it's true . I am twenty two, work full time at a local Pet Store chain, and live with my parents with our 90 pound white Lab , Big Boy and our newest addition, Jagger , an orange tabby ...

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“A Loss” by Nichole Anderson

Submitted to Contest #113

“This is my worst nightmare” I say, barely breathing the words out. I examine the folds of skin on my now deceased great grandfather while holding his cold, limp hand. I wonder what it looked like when he was younger and smoother. I picture him as a boy around ten playing baseball, and his mother afterwards wiping the dirt from his rosy cheeks. How easy it would be to pull out a handkerchief and wipe the dirt in one stroke and send him to bed where he’d sleep deeply. Do wrinkles make it more difficult to clean? Do they get in the way? I nev...

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“Jeff's Wagon Journey” by Pako Dunwhile

Submitted to Contest #113

Jeff stood behind the wooden podium decorated with a large Alcoholics Anonymous sign. His heart raced. Sweat gathered on his forehead. He looked over the compact, civic center backroom. People sat scattershot among the canary chairs. A protracted table offering dwindling coffee and store-bought cookies flanked the seating arrangement.“My name’s Jeff and…” he thought about the next obligatory words. A public label acknowledging his faulty character. He lowered his head in defeat. “…and I’m an alcoholic.”“Hi, Jeff.” Twenty-four attendees voice...

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“Fire Fight” by Ruth Nowotny

Submitted to Contest #113

This is my worst nightmare. Everything was dissolving into gray wisps of nothing. The violence had faded. The roaring scream of a dying life had deadened into a soulless whimper. The other noises became a chorus. A great collection of nature that held the note. A call to peace. A silent plea to feel the cool breeze instead of the starving heat. My house, my home. That’s it, and it’s all gone. I don’t deserve this. Pieces of shattered glass surrounded the narrow stone path carved out of the scorched grass. Everything was gone. My soul ...

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“The 500 Year Bash” by Michelle Leask

Submitted to Contest #113

CW warning some violence"This is my worst nightmare." I said to myself as I stared at the utter chaos surrounding me.The tables where over turned, the chairs where beyond repair. The dark wood floor that was scared with age was littered with broken dishes and spilled beer was over every surface possible.Riley yelled over her shoulder "Phaedar! A bright blonde head popped up from around the corner of the kitchen.Wide cerulean blue eyes surveyed the damage. A loud slow whistle left his mouth. As he took in all the damage.Riley tapped her hands...

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“Emptyness” by Jada Dickerson

Submitted to Contest #113

This is my worst nightmare, left alone with no one here in my life. The one person that I let in completely just vanished. It is like they never meant what they said or cared about it. We always talked about having a friendship to fight for. Clearly I was the only one that felt that way. My best friend, the one I trusted and loved more than anyone or anything else. Me and Dave met in October of last year through a mutual friend Juan. It was pretty awkward at first but when our friend left we got to talking and got to know each other until th...

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“The End of Alexei” by Cannon Shealy

Submitted to Contest #113

This is my worst nightmare. I’m headed down County Road 13 in the back of a 1960 Cadillac Eldorado with a revolver—a fucking revolver!—held to my right temple. Viktor Fedorov, who I had called a friend for fifteen or so years, is the one holding it, telling me to keep calm and that if I don’t make a fuss my kids don’t have anything to worry about. The man driving, Ivan Popov, has a cigarette in his mouth that tincts every time he inhales, which pisses me off, considering he was in on the whole plan, too. But, maybe I should give credit wher...

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“Nothing Special” by Sierra Writes

Submitted to Contest #113

CW: Implied Child Loss, colorful language (just one) Lee Hudlocke was nothing special. He worked as a writer in an old newspaper company from nine to five. He lived around the block in a broken down brick apartment and took the bus to and from work. He walked to the grocery store when he needed frozen lasagna and he walked to town square when he needed a new tie. Besides those little moments to and fro, he stayed in his cozy abode and kept a somewhat quiet entity. Lee Hudlocke was nothing special, and this he knew. It was...

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“Recurrence” by Fem Flores

Submitted to Contest #113

"This is my worst nightmare" Rhian, thought to herself. She found out about the plane crash as she arrived at her workplace after lunch, and both her manager and assistant stood by her office door waiting for her to break the news. With grim faces, they bid her to come inside the glass doors, and Lee, her manager of five years haltingly told her that the plane, her husband Cam was in, crashed on the Pacific due to an engine malfunction. She heard the story as most did, with the paralyzed inability to process it's significance. She shook he...

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“A Flame Worth its Candle” by Zoe Tribley

Submitted to Contest #113

I’m in a desert. All above and around, bright stars crowd the night sky for space. The Milky Way spreads wide and from my micro, micro lens of me in this sea of sand and buried streams, the cloudy galaxy appears like a festive bow, wrapping the world in white, blue, purple, and dark red. Before me, it’s flat. Behind me, it’s flat. To either side, there’s nothing but dark mileage and offsets of obsidian, a mountain range perhaps? There are no plants in this flat valley. No awkwardly armed cacti, no poodle dog bush, no cluster of thorns...

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“Dream Day” by Josef Schabell

Submitted to Contest #113

Dream Day Rain pools on the windshield as the wipers lag. Seconds accumulate; the red light blurs then is wiped clear. There’s that new car smell- plastic mixed with almost leather. A clear film covers the back door handle. As we idle at the light I pick at it. Scratching at the corner, I left it with my nail and then peal it. It curls into itself as soon it’s off and I roll it between thumb and index into a twisted litt...

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“Fever Dreams” by Lori Green

Submitted to Contest #113

This is my worst nightmare. It is the worst one I have had since last summer, when I left town after the fire. Every time I closed my eyes back then, I would dream the same endless nightmare. I tried desperately to stay awake as long as I could, but before long, my body would betray me and doze. I would dream of them. Those long amber flames licking towards the night sky, and I could feel the blaze behind my eyelids, the heat singeing my lashes. The smell of burnt hair and smoke hung heavy in the air, causing me to gag...

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“The Monster ” by SeAnna Lovett

Submitted to Contest #113

This is my worst nightmare. The thought flashed through her head, leaving a ragged trail of torn nerves behind it, and making her hands twitch and fidget. She would fail in her mission, and it would catch her, swallow her up so quickly that she would not even have time to scream. The thump, thump, thump of her heartbeat dulled all other sounds around her until there was nothing else but the beating and the roaring of the blood in ears. A hand to her head, she took a deep shaky breath and tried to organize her thoughts. Her mission, she coul...

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“"I think I should tell you something…"” by Vincent Cruz

Submitted to Contest #113

“This is my worst nightmare,” Ethan says. Next to him, curled in white bed sheets is Melanie, drinking from a green cup. “I wish you wouldn’t say that,” she says. “I don’t want this,” Ethan continues. “I never did, you have to understand.” The room is gently rattling to the rumbling train in the distance. Its whistle sounds like a siren; confetti falls from the ceiling in the bedroom. Someone comes into the room. It’s Ethan’s uncle, the one who helped arrange for his parents' funeral. “Uncle, what are you doing he...

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Start or end your story with the line ‘This is my worst nightmare.’

Submissions are closed

✍️ 74 stories

“contest 113” by Lin Darroe

“A Loss” by Nichole Anderson

“Jeff's Wagon Journey” by Pako Dunwhile

“Fire Fight” by Ruth Nowotny

“The 500 Year Bash” by Michelle Leask

“Emptyness” by Jada Dickerson

“The End of Alexei” by Cannon Shealy

“Nothing Special” by Sierra Writes

“Recurrence” by Fem Flores

“A Flame Worth its Candle” by Zoe Tribley

“Dream Day” by Josef Schabell

“Fever Dreams” by Lori Green

“The Monster ” by SeAnna Lovett

“"I think I should tell you something…"” by Vincent Cruz

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a character who believes their dreams predict the future.

Write about two people whose dreams are somehow connected.

Write a story about a character who interprets people’s dreams.

Write about a character whose dreams are portals to other worlds.

Contest #113

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

228

Contest entries

139

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: