Begin your story with someone either being followed or following someone else.

Posted in Dramatic on Oct 18, 2024

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✍️ 54 stories

“Dissonance” by Darcey St. Amand

Submitted to Contest #273

This story contains mental health, minor violence, substances and swearing. At this hour, there was an uncanny silence in the street. Although it wasn't the cold that caused my chest to tighten, I repositioned my coat and pulled the collar up to protect myself from the chill. Once more, I was following her. Despite the uncertainty in her stride, she walked with purpose. This had become a habit—something that provided purpose to my meaningless existence. I told myself it was curiosity when I followed her for the first time. After fol...

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“Greece Jazz” by H.e. Ross

Submitted to Contest #273

It was very hot. The only breeze was an occasional zephyr that teased the dust of the road. The dust would dance with twirling skirts of sad form then drop to the ground in exhaustion. On both sides slight twitches of bramble and round sage brush boringly applauded the occasional dust fandangos. The collar of my shirt rubbed my neck, breaking out sweat, then rubbing it dry. It pissed me off. I tried to wrap my handkerchief between the two but it would eventually slide one sided and that would piss me off also. I trudged alo...

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“No Honour Amongst The Living” by EV Throne

Submitted to Contest #273

Someone was following Isha Sava. She could feel the presence trailing behind her, steady and deliberate. The streets of Enreth were quiet at this hour, the market long closed, and only the occasional clink of distant bells broke the stillness. It wasn't just anyone following her—this was someone who knew her habits and knew where she liked to disappear. Isha had spent too long surviving to ignore such signs. She slipped through the narrow alleys with ease, her dark cloak blending with the shadows. The city had not changed since she left the ...

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“Among the Cornstalks” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #273

#ReedsySecretsAmong the Cornstalks Ed Josephson wrapped his scarf tightly around his neck as he fought back the 35-mile-per-hour winds and driving snow while trying to navigate his way along Seahawk Lane. As he wound his way past the cornfield across from Berlin, Maryland’s Stephen Decatur High ...

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“In the Shadow of Secrets” by Edward J. McCoul

Submitted to Contest #273

“In the Shadow of Secrets” by Edward J. McCoulSamantha Burke had the eerie sensation that someone was following her again.It started three days ago, a prickling awareness at the back of her neck whenever she stepped outside. At first, she chalked it up to paranoia—just an overactive imagination, she told herself. But tonight, as the fog rolled in thick and heavy over the London streets, the feeling had intensified.She could hear it now. Footsteps. Always a few paces behind.Pulling her scarf tighter around her neck, Samantha kept walking, f...

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“Seeing Red ” by Arianna Noelle

Submitted to Contest #273

“Last one to Dairy Queen’s a rotten egg!” my friend, Justin, shouted through a mouthful of chewing gum as he barreled past me on the sidewalk, red coat flying out behind him like a superhero cape. I chuckled to myself as I watched the coat be brought to life by the unseasonably cold September breeze and pictured Justin on the front cover of a comic book with a Dairy Queen Blizzard in hand, sporting a pink-toothed, Hubba Bubba grin. “Hurry up! Your mom’s coming to pick us up at five and I wan…”. I didn’t hear the rest of his words because all...

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“Run Rabbit Run” by Maria Wickens

Submitted to Contest #273

Run Rabbit Run Trees were my only memory. I wandered through the woods for so long that all I remembered was fighting my way through branches. I had to reach a destination, although the location and my purpose were long since erased.I had hurt my head so badly that I forgot myself.Time was irrelevant. Not tired, nor hungry or thirsty. Day and night were indistinguishable. One foot after the other. Stay ahead of... what? Was someone chasing me? I just knew I had to keep going, hold back another branch and move onward.Onward?No. Stuck. Fl...

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“The demon spy” by James Little

Submitted to Contest #273

Midnight's bells tolled as fog clung to the streets, muffling footsteps. The moon hid behind clouds, turning away from the depravity below. Shadows moved like whispers in the gloom, unseen deals struck by men who profited from human misery.Orilana crouched on the rooftop, feeling like a ghost in a city without a place for her. Her pulse was steady, and her muscles tensed like coiled springs. The thrill of the hunt burned within her, but she kept it tempered and focused. Her target emerged from the haze—a figure shrouded in black robes, his m...

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“Lady Butterfly” by Cathy Saali

Submitted to Contest #273

Dressed in black on a cold, dreary day, the handsome athletic sleuth creeps down the street. He follows at a safe distance so as not to give himself up to the golden beauty weaving through the crowded street. He’s gaining on her. Soon he’ll spin her around and reveal the truth she hides. She starts to turn; he ducks in a doorway. BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP! My hand fumbles for the off button as the alarm succeeds in rudely waking me. Today is the day I’m going to follow her. I psych myself up and jump out of b...

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“Running for Freedom” by LifeCycles Creative Media

Submitted to Contest #273

Trigger Warning: This story contains themes of emotional manipulation, psychological trauma, non-physical abuse, and control. Readers may find these elements distressing. Please proceed with caution. Nadine could feel it. The faint prickling at the base of her neck, the unsettling hum in the air. Someone was there, lingering close. She kept her head down, quickened her pace, and gripped her son Yulian’s hand a little tighter as they climbed the steps to their new home. After months of planning, it was meant to be their refuge, a place wher...

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“Dark Streets, Broken Souls” by Daron Thompson

Submitted to Contest #273

Trigger Warning:This story addresses multiple sensitive themes, including poverty, mental health struggles, child exploitation, physical abuse, and crime. It explores the harsh realities of life in a high-crime neighborhood and the emotional impact of neglect and coercion. Reader discretion is advised. Chapter 1 - The Shadow David’s sneakers slapped against the wet pavement, echoing through the narrow alleyway. The air was thick, and the night felt heavy, almost suffocating. Rain dripped from the cracked rooftops above, tapping a rhythm t...

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“Beloved” by Bethany Adams

Submitted to Contest #273

Priscilla had just started sipping her morning tea when she caught someone staring at her through the screened porch windows. She jumped. “The hell?” She squinted. She quickly pulled away in disgust. What was Sammy Sandores doing outside her house first thing in the morning? And why was she looking into Priscilla’s windows while she was in her bathrobe? Mrs. Sandores fumbled in her coat pocket a little, her aged hands not listening to her much these days. Finally she got it, a pair of pliers that fit clumsily in her hands. She bent down towa...

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“Ketos, or fish in a barrel” by Katarina Schäfer

Submitted to Contest #273

“Here there be monsters” – Anonymous MapmakersJimmy ducked behind the barrel to avoid detection, his mark being as ferrety as he was, and paused for a second to let the blighter’s blood settle some. It was an art form – a science – stalking a target. Not to be taken lightly, and not to be bungled, in Jim’s experience. In his world, predator could easily become prey; the streets contained no truly vulnerable victim. Not a-one. Even the little orphan-girlie with her big, woebegone eyes begging on the corner had a blade down her sock, the beate...

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“Errant Knight” by Nicholas Cronin

Submitted to Contest #273

I start stumbling out into the cold, and walk in a general direction. Lack of taste, check. Drowsy perception and coordination, check. I keep checking my watch at the time. Almost midnight.Around midnight, I start to realize most of the noise in the city I’m in has disappeared. I’m in the wrong part of town, where the witching hour has turned the general area into a literal ghost town. This isn’t what bothered me, and why I quickened my pace and slowed it down, gathering a confusion in my mind. My footsteps echoed around another. I was being...

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“Chasing the night” by Zhauntae Dotson

Submitted to Contest #273

It was a cold midnight in late December. A new blanket of snow covered everything, and a crisp breeze added to the below-freezing temperature. A man crouched behind a wall, fully covered by the black of the night. Another man carried a duffle bag slung across his shoulder. Most people couldn’t see it, but he was panicking, hurrying to his destination; sweat wet his brow and dripped down his face despite the cold winter air. The man behind the wall grabbed a bag and silently followed his target. The only sounds were the crickets chirpi...

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Begin your story with someone either being followed or following someone else.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 54 stories

“Dissonance” by Darcey St. Amand

“Greece Jazz” by H.e. Ross

“No Honour Amongst The Living” by EV Throne

“Among the Cornstalks” by Bob Faszczewski

“In the Shadow of Secrets” by Edward J. McCoul

“Seeing Red ” by Arianna Noelle

“Run Rabbit Run” by Maria Wickens

“The demon spy” by James Little

“Lady Butterfly” by Cathy Saali

“Running for Freedom” by LifeCycles Creative Media

“Dark Streets, Broken Souls” by Daron Thompson

“Beloved” by Bethany Adams

“Ketos, or fish in a barrel” by Katarina Schäfer

“Errant Knight” by Nicholas Cronin

“Chasing the night” by Zhauntae Dotson

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in the form of diary/journal entries about a secret or confession.

Write a story with the line “Don’t tell anyone.”

Your character is invited to a secret meeting. Who invited them, and what do they encounter?

Write a story that hides something from the reader until the end.

Contest #273

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

361

Contest entries

165

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: