Start or end your story with someone running away from something, literally or metaphorically.

Posted in Dramatic on Oct 11, 2024

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✍️ 85 stories

“The Price Of Promises” by Brandon Hamlin

Submitted to Contest #272

The night air was crisp, tinged with the sweet scent of caramel apples and the faint, flickering glow of jack-o’-lanterns lining the suburban streets. Becky Roberts, dressed in a red and white cheerleader uniform, sprinted down Maple Avenue, her heart racing. The moon hung high, full and menacing, casting long shadows that danced mockingly along the pavement. “Becky!” The voice echoed behind her, a chilling call that sent a shiver down her spine. She glanced back to see her sister, Lily, just a few yards away, her skeleton mask gli...

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“What The Whispers Say” by Rebecca Hitchcock

Submitted to Contest #272

Eloise Cavendish darted through the city park, her breath coming in sharp gasps as her designer heels clicked against the uneven cobblestone path. She barely registered the pain as her ankles twisted with each hurried step. The whispers—soft, incessant, and maddening—grew louder in her ears, slithering around her thoughts like unwelcome guests. She knew she had to run, though she couldn't quite remember why. The park was bathed in the soft, golden light of late afternoon, but Eloise barely noticed the way the sun glinted through the autumn l...

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“no body, no crime” by Samantha Mrazek

Submitted to Contest #272

TRIGGER WARNINGS: sexual abuse, mental health, gore, graphic violence, kidnapping, death, suicide, substance abuse Most people will never witness a heinous tragedy in their lifetime. Cara had witnessed three. As she stared blankly out of the plane window, watching the clouds drift past without a care, she felt more numb than the past two times this had happened. She’d held the false sense of security that getting older would mean she felt it less. Or, at the very least, she would muster up the strength to go to law enforcement instead of co...

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“The Watchtower” by Cari Rodriguez

Submitted to Contest #272

The cabin stood, tall and crooked, like a spike in the throat of a kudzu monster. The local kids called it “The Watchtower” but Laurel wouldn’t regard it as such. There weren’t even windows on the top floor. Laurel’s family, the Matneys, owned over 400 acres spanning the northern peak of Mulberry Mountain down the eastern side to the foothills. Much of the land was used to farm spruce trees, but kudzu ran wild over the northeastern corner of the territory. It was there that two rivers crossed like the markings of a treasure map. No trea...

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“A Thousand Deaths” by Taylor Wing

Submitted to Contest #272

My exhales fog what little I can see in the space before me. The light of the full moon shines through the cracks of the slatted, wooden wardrobe. My breath catches in my throat when I hear the whispers approaching. Even one darkness chasing breath is for naught if it means the Death of me, for what is air to a dead man? My eyes strain and my vision swims as blood and fear pump through me. The whispers echo inside my skull and pulse with my heartbeat. My damned heart, beating so loud I swear the bastards must hear it. I have caught onl...

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“The Pile” by Aimee Lavigne

Submitted to Contest #272

“No,” Tessa said quietly, “Not yet.” She stared at The Pile, glaring at it. She knew it was judging her. The Pile had waited for her all weekend from the spot on the dining table where she had unceremoniously dumped it. But Tessa was covered in blood. She certainly couldn’t deal with The Pile right now. She still had time. It was only 5:00 pm. Sunday wasn’t over yet. She could deal with it later. Tessa noticed more blood on the kitchen cabinets. Damnit, she thought. Was that from the stabbing, or the dismembering? Either wa...

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“I Do” by Amanda Bhaer

Submitted to Contest #272

It started with a kiss, just like the best hate stories do. A kiss between a boy and a girl, lovers who thought that, together, they could conquer anything. It ended with a kiss, poison on a woman’s lips. A kiss between a man who thought he could walk away, and a lover who would never let him. Love wins every time, after all, and theirs was a love that could conquer anything, even life. She had the antidote, she could have saved herself after watching the surprise on his face when his throat started to fill with bile and his hear...

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“Running Towards Freedom” by Sydney Flowers

Submitted to Contest #272

The sound of footsteps echoed against the darkened streets, growing fainter as the figure sprinted through narrow alleyways. Maya's lungs burned with every breath, but she couldn't stop—she wouldn't. Behind her, the weight of everything she had been running from for years still loomed, but tonight was different. Tonight, she was running towards something, not away. It had all started three years ago when Maya first felt the crushing weight of her choices. Raised in a family steeped in tradition, her life had always been laid out like a caref...

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“A Chase to the Oak” by Jess Knaus

Submitted to Contest #272

Fin's feet thumped heavily on the damp soil beneath his feet. Billows of condensation poured from his nose as the temperature around him plummeted. He had run so far away from the shadowy man, gaining a good lead on him, but turning over his right shoulder he saw the man had not let up. Fin chuckled and stomped his feet in excitement forging ahead into the dark, icy evening. The cave opened like a spire above his head, starting with the hard grey marble at his feet, rising higher and higher until all above-ground life folded away. He hoped t...

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“The Rotting Sandwiches” by Haya H

Submitted to Contest #272

The sandwiches her mother packed for her would rot in her lunch box, uneaten. She refused to eat them. The sandwich would sit in her lunch box, growing soggy as the hours passed, suffocated by the plastic bag it came in. The school introduced a ban stating that kids were forbidden to throw away their lunches. It was supposed to teach them the value of food, to stop waste. But it only made things harder for her. Day after day, she edged closer and closer to the bin, making sure no one saw her. Wrapping the sandwich in tissue paper, she disgui...

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“Starqueen” by Carmen Friesen

Submitted to Contest #272

Miriam stepped on the gas and screamed as another wave of pain ripped across her abdomen. She was running out of time. “Faster,” she urged her vehicle. "Faster."Anxiously she scanned the horizon ahead: an unbroken line of red sand that faded into the sky in a rusty haze. She glanced at the compass, then at the rearview mirror. Behind the cloud of dust her own desert rig was kicking up, the much larger dust cloud that followed her had gotten bigger. They were gaining on her.She grabbed the radio, almost dropping it before securing it in her s...

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“EXIT” by Kara Niccum

Submitted to Contest #272

“That was our exit.” Abby watched the sign zoom by, and stopped wiping sweat from her neck to turn to her sister. “No,” Jade said, foot still heavy on the accelerator, “it’s the next one.” She was leaning forward to try to dry the sweat on her back. “No,” Abby said turning her phone to show the proof, “it was THAT one. Honestly, why do you have me navigate if you’re not going to listen?” “As your older sister, I’m trying to help you make the correct decisions.” “Listening to GPS isn’t? This is literally a map telling me specifically where to...

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“Leviathan Lurks” by Scott Burkhalter

Submitted to Contest #272

It took my breath away everytime I drove this stretch of road even though I had driven it a million times. Behind a curtain of trees the sun danced in the wind with bursts of light across the asphalt. Occasionally a blinding light would break through and force me to gaze on the seas’ unwavering expanse. Yet in solitude, fear enveloped me. I kept the windows down to dampen the sweat and soothe my heart. I kept soft instrumental music on the radio, free from the threat of lyrics inadvertently stirring my emotions. My daughter’s home, once my h...

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“Invisible Trap” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #272

CW: This story contains themes of emotional neglect, childhood trauma, mental health struggles, and unhealthy relationships. Reader discretion is advised.The You Are Here sign and accompanying arrow was nowhere to be seen, but then neither was the map upon which it would have been situated. She wasn’t even looking for the map, but had she been, she’d have looked in all the wrong places. The confusion of that unborn search was not helped by the fact that it would never be clear whether the map was one of life’s paths or of her mind itself. We...

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“When No One's Watching” by Amanda Wisdom

Submitted to Contest #272

It was just a game Krissy had made.Looking back, I wish I never went into her basement, wish I never saw that painting on the wall.Looking back, I wish I never played her game at all.But Mom and Dad had a work party to go to, so last Friday night they walked me next door to Krissy’s house.I remember it being cold outside, so cold, I ran back into my house to grab a warmer coat. It was dark too, and only the streetlamps dotting the sidewalk offered any kind of light. The space between my house and Krissy’s was long enough to make me think twi...

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Start or end your story with someone running away from something, literally or metaphorically.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 85 stories

“The Price Of Promises” by Brandon Hamlin

“What The Whispers Say” by Rebecca Hitchcock

“no body, no crime” by Samantha Mrazek

“The Watchtower” by Cari Rodriguez

“A Thousand Deaths” by Taylor Wing

“The Pile” by Aimee Lavigne

“I Do” by Amanda Bhaer

“Running Towards Freedom” by Sydney Flowers

“A Chase to the Oak” by Jess Knaus

“The Rotting Sandwiches” by Haya H

“Starqueen” by Carmen Friesen

“EXIT” by Kara Niccum

“Leviathan Lurks” by Scott Burkhalter

“Invisible Trap” by Jed Cope

“When No One's Watching” by Amanda Wisdom

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story with the aim of scaring your reader.

Write a story from the point of view of a ghost, vampire, or werewolf.

Center your story around someone trying to resist their darker impulses — and they’ll either succeed or fail.

Write a story in which the narrator or a character says "Did you hear that?"

Contest #272

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

488

Contest entries

175

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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