Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Start your story with someone walking into a gas station.

Posted in Dialogue on Jul 28, 2023

Submissions are closed

Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or use an email address:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 52 stories

Some Kind of Goldilocks

Shortlisted for Contest #209 ⭐️

“Twenty on pump two and a pack of Newports.”Simpson Leary pulled a tangled wad of bills and receipts from his wallet, accidentally dropping an Olive Garden gift card on the counter. He glanced at the cashier, a bleary-eyed 30-something-year-old in a faded band t-shirt. “You got a girlfriend?” Simpson asked. The man squinted, “What?”“A girlfriend?” Simpson repeated, sliding the gift card over to him. “If not, go get you one, and take her out sometime.” He tapped the corner of the card where the number ‘$50’ was printed. “It’s still ...

51 likes 49 comments 49
Read story

Stars, Shooting Across The Bow

Submitted to Contest #209

The cashier of the Tex-Am gas station slammed the side of the crackling television set. The signal, which seldom reached this far into the deserts of New Mexico, began to fade again, before buzzing momentarily back into life. “40 days on, and theories on where June’s comet landed are still abound. We’re here in Artesia New Mexico to ask local people their thoughts on the phenomenon.” The news reporter announced, approaching an elderly woman in the street. “You - miss - any theories on June’s comet? A sign of good things to come, perhaps...

43 likes 23 comments 23
Read story

Magnifico

Submitted to Contest #209

Commute 5280 was going badly. Apart from the usual Monday morning traffic, bad weather, poor visibility and an announcement on the radio of an incident ahead causing delays, I’d had a run-in with an obnoxious driver, one that rattled me so much I’d been forced to pull over to catch my breath, at a badly maintained service station that nevertheless offered an oasis of calm. It was still pre 8-am when I pushed my way into the shop, leaving the rain for the brightly lit, muzak-droning interior, one I was far too familiar with after years a...

36 likes 35 comments 35
Read story

A Stop on the Road to Nowhere

Shortlisted for Contest #209 ⭐️

Never buy a junk car. I guess that was my mistake buying a damn Pinto. Thing’s a piece of crap and can’t keep itself together for one damn road trip. I wanna go to California. It’s a whole business, my old man’s been a real piece of work and I’ll leave it at that. Real piece of work. So here I am in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, heading into some ma and pa gas station. Place says 24/7 but I ain’t seeing no lights on. Place says full service but I’m in this damn Pinto for ages, runnin’ outta smokes and no attendant in sig...

23 likes 9 comments 9
Read story

Local Tongue

Submitted to Contest #209

Travel Advice: Colourful language ahead.   The hot setting sun momentarily perched on the horizon of the Australian Nullarbor Plain, as a sunset admirer raised a silhouetted arm to wave at the darkening sky. Uttering a blessing in his native tongue, he bid a fond farewell to another day and welcomed in the approaching night, while the haunting and captivating sound of a Didgeridoo signalled the not-too-distant presence of a local mob of residents gathering for a spiritual ceremony. The colour of the soil here in the Nullarbor, lends its...

21 likes 23 comments 23
Read story

SUPPER FOR TWO

Shortlisted for Contest #209 ⭐️

SUPPER FOR TWOThe young man, hot and sweaty, walked back into the gas station; his denim shirt, jeans and cowboy boots speckled with the desert dust.“Hell, how long’s this fella gonna be?”Gerry, the elderly gas station attendant, sat on a stool behind the shop counter, thumbing through an auto trader magazine and looked up witheringly at the young upstart who’d asked him the same question several times already in the less than one hour since he’d pulled in to the forecourt.“Jed’ll be here when he gets here”, the old timer replied, with all t...

20 likes 6 comments 6
Read story

Overpass

Submitted to Contest #209

Overpass       Baby leaned out far and let loose a wad of bluish spit that landed squarely on the roof of a minivan rushing below us.       “Cow-a-fucking-bunga,” she whispered, making a weak fist pump in the air. I nodded sagely, and passed her the bottle of blue wine.      “My mother,” she paused and belched. “My mother always said she wanted me to be more like you.. you remember that?”        I nodded.  “I d...

15 likes 5 comments 5
Read story

Cooper's Door

Submitted to Contest #209

      Cooper walked into the gas station, whose air conditioning was a pleasant reprieve from the scalding Arizona sun. As he stood on the placemat on the inside of the glass door, he took this moment to simply lean his head back and take in the cool air as he closed his eyes. A smile crossed his lips, and he inhaled deeply before letting out a contented sigh.            He leveled his head and looked around the small convenience store; he needed road trip ...

13 likes 9 comments 9
Read story

Gas and Lucky Strikes

Submitted to Contest #209

There was an eighth left in the tank and thirty miles until the next station. I was praying I’d make it. The limit was sixty, but I turned on cruise control at fifty to lower the consumption just a little more. The roads are near empty after two in the morning. Every set of headlights is desperate to get to its destination. Wherever that might be. Home, holiday, a loved one. I was in no hurry. When the gas station finally came in sight on the right, the fuel symbol on my dash was rapidly blinking in red. They look so different in the nightti...

13 likes 5 comments 5
Read story

Lady and the Six Slingers

Submitted to Contest #209

I don’t usually do stupid things.  I just needed a break.  Getting a rental car and to drive from Denver to Las Vegas solo may not be categorized as intelligent.  Especially now when the battery percentage on my phone is in the single digits and the gas gauge percentage is too.  Grabbing the wrong charging cord was also a misstep and I have no idea where a gas station could possibly be hiding.  The golden sun is low in the Arizona sky, amplifying the great expanse of flat nothing in all direc...

13 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

All Pumped Up

Submitted to Contest #209

All Pumped Up Ted and Ethel, a recently married couple in their fifties were driving down a long, infrequently travelled country road. He was telling her stories about his memories of driving this route in his first car when he still lived in the small town that was a few more miles down the highway. “There is the old gas station not far from here where I used to work as a gas jockey. I haven’t seen anyone working at that job in years. I hate being forced to obey the dictatorial commands of the computerized gas pumps. W...

12 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Directions to the Motel

Shortlisted for Contest #209 ⭐️

There are two kinds of story: “person goes on journey” and “a stranger comes to town.” Not, thought Marley as he did inventory on the shelves, that the gas station where he worked counted as a town. Redirection point, more like. Nine out of ten strangers who came in during his night shift were looking for directions to the motel advertised on the freeway. “I’m just so terrible with directions,” they’d say, laughing, or sometimes, “These Midwest towns have such shitty roads.” And Marley would invariably smile and respond, “It’s three miles ba...

12 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

A Meaningless Redemption

Submitted to Contest #209

*This story contains some use of drugs, physical violence, and gore.* Otto pushed the door open to the gas station, bell chiming to his entrance. His heavy boots stamped on the concrete floor as the door closed behind him, the air conditioning providing a nice reprieve from the August heat of Nevada. He took a breath, today was already a fuck show. He looked back at his rusted Ford extended cab truck, gritted his teeth as he walked to the desk, ringing the service bell. Ring. Ring. ring ring ring. "Alright!" A young man shouted from th...

12 likes 10 comments 10
Read story

The Story of Num

Submitted to Contest #209

“Who is that man?” a high-pitched childish voice sounded unusually loud behind me. “He looks so weird!”    Curiosity took over and I turned around to check out the “weird man” but there was no one behind me. Instead, I met a pair of bright brown eyes that were looking at me with a mix of fear and inquisitiveness out of the window of a large station wagon. The car looked kind of retro but that wasn't what caught my attention. After all, perhaps these citizens were going to one of those antique car shows that were also a costume...

11 likes 11 comments 11
Read story

Route 666

Submitted to Contest #209

WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT/PROFANITY READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED Foreshadow: Once inside the gas station I immediately ran to the man lying face up making sure my DNA didn't spread anywhere near the crime scene. "Sir, sir!! "Please give me a reaction! Oh no this is not good! What evil bastard could do something like this?" Since my phone had died, I began scurrying around to find the store business phone to call 911 for emergency. Moving too quickly, I ended up slipping in the dark red blood that was oozing out all over the floor. In the mi...

11 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your entire story in a car.

Dramatic – 94 stories

Write about two strangers who are both heading to the same destination and agree to do a long distance drive together.

Character – 32 stories

Write a story about someone going on a life-changing journey.

Adventure – 56 stories

Write a story about someone getting lost, but discovering something they didn’t expect along the way.

Dramatic – 34 stories

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

How to Write a Novel