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Set your story during — or just before — a storm.

Posted in Dramatic on Jan 31, 2025

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✍️ 144 stories

The Sounds of Then

Submitted to Contest #288

A crack of lightning flashes, paused in time as it illuminates the endless horizon until it's finally swallowed by the ocean below. Kylie sits silently on the patio, tears stream from her eyes as she breathes in the humidity in huffed, muffled breaths. She stares out to sea, her face emotionless except for the streaks of mascara tracing her cheeks. She watches the lightning crack in the distance, unaffected by the booming thunder that follows.She sits alone in silence. The voices of people she never knew rumble in her mind. Yet the...

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Passage

Submitted to Contest #288

The blizzard was blinding.  Snow gusted in all directions, powdery in the air and icy underfoot. The kind of snow that caked deep in the treads of your shoes, and the kind of cold that left frost clinging to the tips of your eyelashes. At least, I think there would have been - between the snow and the starless night they were beyond my range vision.  The carefully worn path to the woodpile was usually easy to find, even in the dead of night. Tonight, that path was covered. Even my own footprints seemed to have been covered in the t...

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Eerie Apartment: The Video Game (based on the Award-Winning Movie)

Submitted to Contest #288

TW- Contains mentions of miscarriage, disownment, and dark themes.You’re reclining on the couch, a blanket sitting on you, rubbing softly against your bare legs. The blue light of the TV is the only light in the room; it was the only bill you had thought of to pay. It’s hot, but you left a window open, so at least a little wind blows as rain paints your floor. A bag of chips lay at your side, crunching every time you move. Your hair is a mess, and your pajamas are a little too big, but it was the cheapest ones you could find.It’s been a week...

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Lonely In Montgomery County

Submitted to Contest #288

A flash of light brightened the window, and a rumble of thunder shook the panes of glass in the windows. The storm was getting closer. Lena peered out from the closet, lightning illuminating the room. The area outside the closet had a bed in it, and underneath the covers someone tossed and turned. Lena just watched, for the moment. Another crack outside, and a rumble rattled the glass again in the window. A street light cast long shadows in the bedroom, the legs of the bed connecting with the hope chest, a continuous length of inky dark. She...

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In The Wake Of Love

Submitted to Contest #288

In the silent depths of that fog-shrouded night, when the moon's pale light barely pierced the veil, I asked my beloved Lily the question that would change our lives forever. A month at sea, in a small boat tossed about by the merciless waves, would test the very limits of our endurance and love."Lily," I said, breaking the heavy silence, "are you sure you want to go on this journey with me?" The stars twinkled as if sharing in her anticipation.She turned to me, her eyes steady and unwavering as the stars above. "Jack," she replied, her voic...

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The Rain of Hope

Submitted to Contest #288

 Leah stood in the doorway, arms folded protectively over her shattered heart. The relentless sun was in no way a reflection of her constant mood. She knew as soon as she opened the door, the radiating heat would take her breath away. Today marked sixty days since he’d left her. It marked the end of the time period she’d given herself to feel the feelings, shed the tears, get her act together. Sixty days of being alone in the house, cooking for one, carefully avoiding his side of the bed. She’d read all the books, heard all the advice, ...

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So Long, Chet

Submitted to Contest #288

I STAND NOW, LOOKING over the ridgeline and scanning the horizon, brushing a large tangle of hair from my eyes. The taking of a life is a nasty affair, even if done for survival, and I must steady myself to allow for the kick from my adrenaline to subside. I stand for a long time, listening, waiting, wondering if there are any more of them. My pulse is quieting and the rush of blood through my ears is gone. It’s over, and I’m alone. The threat has passed. I look back over the ridge. The setting sun is well hidden behind thick, blue-gray clou...

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Storm Emmet

Submitted to Contest #288

TW: Death of humans and animalsStorm Emmet From her elevated position in her fishmonger shop Kelyn could oversee the town, the harbour and the storm beyond. She pressed Pa’s binoculars against the shop’s rear window and studied the waves in the English Channel, churning as though they were being stirred within a giant cauldron. Darkened clouds blotted out the sun giving the impression that it was night rather than the middle of the afternoon. A lone fishing trawler ploughed into a grey wave, in a desperate attempt to reach the shelter of the...

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The Cost

Submitted to Contest #288

A light snow was falling as I pointed the dirty snub nose of my company stake-bed Ford pickup west, into the black Dakota night. I looked at my watch. It was 7:30. Sundown was hours ago, and the door Deere logos were almost certainly iced over on my exterior. Anonymity by weather. The cab was cool and humid inside, heat full on, but condensation still formed on the inside of the glass. I was breathing too hard, I guess. I could see it with every exhale. Unwrapping my muffler from around my neck, I wiped down the inside windshield. Even ...

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Event of the Century

Submitted to Contest #288

Matilda Baker sat in her living room reading. She loved to read. But her eye started hurting a bit. She closed her book, marking it with the $20 she used to reward the completion of a book with dinner. Standing, she almost fell. She was a little off balance for some reason. She sat back on the comfy chair and closed her eyes momentarily. She had to be somewhere in a few hours, a charity event for the library. Thirty minutes later, she opened her eyes. She felt like she just jumped forward in time. Did she fall asleep? No, she does remember t...

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A Horse Bolted in Boylston Street

Submitted to Contest #288

Though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I fear no evil. On the day in 1937 when Grandpa Aaron was incinerated, shabbas had arrived sunny and mild. A pity of doves gathered, pecking and muttering, sighing and cooing about the pond in Public Garden. Then G-d winked, the sun flashed, an involuntary chill coursed through creation, and a horse bolted in Boylston Street. Its cart, loaded with Diamond matchbooks and Standard Oil kerosene canisters, hit the curb. Volatile freight striked and clattered. Matchbooks ignited. Canis...

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,,,on a Snowy Evening

Submitted to Contest #288

…on a Snowy Evening Another snowflake lands in my eye. I put my head back down and step up my gait to a trot. I’ve made this trip so many times, I’m confident of my surefootedness, even as my hooves disappear in the fresh snowfall.But Bob has other plans. “Woah there, Coleridge,” he says with a pull on the reins. To my annoyance, he brings me to a complete stop. No explanation and no movement from his seat on the wagon behind me. More snowflakes, big as pillow down, land in my eyes. I knicker in frustratio...

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Sentinel

Submitted to Contest #288

The thing about breaking in was that it wasn't really about the physical act at all. Polly knew this as she stood in the rain at 3 AM, water streaming down her face, staring up at Professor Yip's building. Breaking in was about understanding systems. It was about seeing the gaps between what should be secure and what actually was secure. Most people thought buildings were fortresses. Polly knew better. Buildings were more like wooden fences - full of knots that could be pushed out to make holes.She pulled her hood tighter and walked toward t...

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The Secret History of Water

Submitted to Contest #288

The absence of daylight in the surrounding area betrayed the fact that it was actually noon. Darkness enshrouded the sun, blocking its rays from shining through.A slowly advancing horde paused and hovered, awaiting their orders. But none came. The wind blew steadily from behind, pushing them onward, so they continued.Although the Zerem were as numerous as the sands on the seashore, without their commander leading them, they felt as if they were wandering aimlessly, unsure of where to go next.Suddenly, a thunderous rumble filled the sky, echo...

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Answering the Call

Submitted to Contest #288

Answering the Call “Nope!” Samuel slammed the door shut and narrowed his eyes at it. It had only been open for seconds, yet a dusting of snow glistened on the stone floor of the small entryway. He turned toward the fire, blazing in the hearth, as the flakes morphed into small puddles. Samuel considered the overstuffed chair before the fireplace. He could curl up with his book. The fairies would be there after the storm. There was no need to rush.               It only...

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