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

“She Could Be Dangerous” by Tucker Sloan

Submitted to Contest #272

SHE COULD BE DANGEROUSWritten byTucker Bradley SloanFADE IN:EXT. BRIDGE OVER DRAINAGE DITCH-DAYA young dead girl floats down a drainage ditch and under a bridge. A young EMILY sees the body from the bridge. She climbs down to the body, and with a strange look in her eye, steals a small emerald necklace from the body then heads back up the ditch towards the bridge as she puts on the necklace.TITLE OVER:Over a decade later INT. PARSONS & PARSONS FINE JEWELRY-DAYQuirky Emily, early 20’s, still wears the stolen necklace. She is a s...

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“Don’t Abandon Me” by Daniel Taa

Submitted to Contest #272

“Don’t Abandon Me”Daniel Taa Running away from the feeling of abandonment, he sat patiently for his first love to come back. He sat at the park bench, hoping that she would realize that it was him who she truly loved. Joe Bronzeman knew that the very spot where he last saw his then girlfriend should be the very spot where they would meet up again at last. He was sure that this was nothing further from the truth, that she simply would go to college until she realized ...

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“Church Street After Dusk” by Bailey Skater

Submitted to Contest #272

I’m running—hard, fast, lungs burning. My heartbeat pounds in my ears, drowning out the chaos of Halloween night in the Village. Behind me, the crowd is still oblivious, their laughter and music spilling into the streets like everything’s normal. But I know better. I know what’s coming for them. For me.I vault over a fallen trash bin, my feet slipping on the wet pavement. It’s started to drizzle, and the ground glistens under the glow of neon signs. My devil costume clings to my skin, drenched in sweat and rain, but I don’t stop. I can’t. No...

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“In the Moonlight” by Christopher Rankin

Submitted to Contest #272

Sitting on the bus Jill scrolled through her playlist with her head against the window of the bus. It was a cloudy night, but she could still occasionally see the moon appear from behind the clouds. The autumn night displayed wilted leaves on the branches of trees passing by in the moonlight. She was on her way from Rochester to New Orleans, a place she thought that she could get lost and start a new life. Half-way there she thought as she saw the sign stating “Welcome to Tennessee” this was the furthest south she had ever been. A man approa...

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“It Came At Night!” by Randy Ramos

Submitted to Contest #272

It was a normal Saturday when boyhood friends Noah Bill And Skylar were hanging out At their typical spot by the creek on the other side of town they always heard of the urban Legend of the creek monster from the other bigger kids across the town and bullies at their Local middle school they say that if you stay at the creek long enough at night they say A monster comes out of the pitch dark and eats you, Noah believes it, bill and Skylar Don't with noah saying you guys dont think the urban legend is true guys?&...

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“High Wire” by Leslie Parado

Submitted to Contest #272

TRIGGER WARNING: This story contains references to sexual and physical violence.The first things to fall are my shoes. There’s a quiet smack-smack as they hit the ground, the pair creating their own echo in the almost-empty tent. The only other sound is a plodding clump…clump…clump, giant shoes finding their place on the ladder behind me. Quickly I am mid-wire, ahead of him, but not far enough. I need to create more space.From behind, he threatens: “You can’t…” (clump) “run away…” (clump) “from me…” Clump-clump. He is on the platform. I say ...

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“Flirting With Death” by Belinda Baxter

Submitted to Contest #272

“Cora, RUN!” I wasn’t sure who shouted her name, but the sound seemed to galvanize the woman into action. Between the roar of the flames consuming the building, the incessant shrieking of the fire alarm, and the general calamity of people trying to escape, I was surprised she’d heard it at all. I watched the shroud of slumber fall away from big hazel eyes in a spit second as she took in the scene, standing in her doorway in nothing but an oversized night shirt. Tendrils of brown hair escaped her messy sleep bun as she shoved her feet i...

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“The Burning Woman” by G S Martin

Submitted to Contest #272

August 1760 Pouring out of the south with righteous attitude, Comanche raiders swept over the Ranches of Taos. They took fifty-six women and children, a considerable percentage of the Ranchos' population, leaving behind the dead and broken, their homes razed, and their livestock slaughtered. Their sisters and daughters...poof! Some of these ranches survived. &nbs...

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“Black Cloche Hat” by Trey Blevins

Submitted to Contest #272

My dog is not a chihuahua or a pomeranian or any other normally petite breed, but he's the smallest dog you've ever seen. And when I say 'seen,' I mean in real life. We've all seen videos of artificially bred goblin pups with eyes the size of their brains and lifespans shorter than their compression snouts, but I mean the dogs you see at the park or a pet shop or, in our case, the train. I take my dog on the train every day. He's a shiba inu and you might immediately think that yeah, shiba inus can be pretty small, and I'd say you're right, ...

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“The Good News” by Ben Lages

Submitted to Contest #272

Content warning- The beginning of this story is set in a warzone and contains a few glib descriptions of the dead; this could potentially be sensitive. Shep Mercier’s father had warned him against enlisting, and Shep always assumed that time had softened the old man too much. How could he tell him not to enlist when he’d fought in the last war and come home with so many stories? Shep still felt a twinge of disappointment in the look of horror that had been on his father’s face the first time he’d come home in uniform. I’ll be just fine, he...

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“When One Door Closes” by Macy Farmer

Submitted to Contest #272

In his dreams he was always running, running from unseen entities that nipped at his heels, or running towards a home he could never reach. Always exhausted, utterly drained, but unable to stop. His pounding feet were a constant soundtrack to his slumber. He could feel it thump in his skull as he slowly came to consciousness, heavy beats replaced by the rhythmic ka-clack of train tracks. It rattled his bones, and pulsed in time with a throbbing headache at his temples. As he stood on numb legs he found himself alone in a train car, poised at...

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“THE ESCAPE” by Glenna Agnew

Submitted to Contest #272

Danelle Forester ran along the forest floor, dodging low-hanging branches and roots that threatened to trip her with every step. It was dusk, twilight, that in-between shadowy time; halfway between daylight and darkness where shadows deepen and one's heart starts to palpitate just a little faster, for no apparent reason. As the Shadows grow longer, objects seem to merge, forming an endless sea of darkness. In Danelle's case, the dusk only compounded the issue. In the distance, she could hear the baying of the hounds, drawing ever close...

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“Escape From Darkness ” by Ayanna Edwards

Submitted to Contest #272

Emily, trapped in an abusive relationship with Ryan, discovers his darkest secret: a gruesome chamber beneath their home. Desperate, she flees, navigating treacherous terrain and evading Ryan's traps. But Ryan, driven by obsession, hunts her down. As Emily runs, cryptic messages from an unknown number hint at Ryan's true nature. She uncovers his link to an ancient cult, and fragmented memories of her past suggest a connection to Ryan's darkness. A mysterious figure aids or hinders her escape, their intentions unclear. Ryan's journal entries ...

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“The Imp” by Kieran Wilkins

Submitted to Contest #272

(CW: implied suicide and abuse. Substance abuse, fire, religious trauma and physical violence) The boy prayed alone in the woods. The popping of his fire had kept him from sleep, so the boy knelt alone and prayed at the bases of the spruce trees. It was nights like these when he missed his old bed. He missed many things. Walls to shield him from the cold, a roof to shield him from rain and those caretakers who made him warm food. Food. The boy eyed the half eaten mushroom he’d dug up for dinner cast astray. His stomach gurgled an...

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“Creature Unknown” by Ashley Shafer

Submitted to Contest #272

Creature UnknownI’m running as fast as I can. I’m running so hard that I think my chest will explode, my lungs ripping to shreds. I trip over my feet, stumbling but not hitting the ground. I’m running through a very dense forest. You can only find game trails in the region where I decided to hike. This area of forest is raw, wild, and untouched. Normal people would not go this deep into the forest, hiking these massive hills with little valleys that hug the steep inclines. Why, oh why, did I decide that this was a good idea?! Curiosity?...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 85 stories

“She Could Be Dangerous” by Tucker Sloan

“Don’t Abandon Me” by Daniel Taa

“Church Street After Dusk” by Bailey Skater

“In the Moonlight” by Christopher Rankin

“It Came At Night!” by Randy Ramos

“High Wire” by Leslie Parado

“Flirting With Death” by Belinda Baxter

“The Burning Woman” by G S Martin

“Black Cloche Hat” by Trey Blevins

“The Good News” by Ben Lages

“When One Door Closes” by Macy Farmer

“THE ESCAPE” by Glenna Agnew

“Escape From Darkness ” by Ayanna Edwards

“The Imp” by Kieran Wilkins

“Creature Unknown” by Ashley Shafer

🌟 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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