Start your story with a character being followed.

Posted in Dramatic on Sep 16, 2024

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✍️ 100 stories

“A Resurfacing” by Sophie Goldstein

Submitted to Contest #252

Now:Miriam loved Sundays. It was the one day a week that was just for her. She’d get up around 9am, go for a run, have coffee at her favorite cafe, and then go to the nearby park and read for several hours. Today she was reading Alex Michaelides The Silent Patient. Sprawled on the blanket she brought, she lost herself in the creepy thriller, stopping occasionally to look up at the others in the park. Couples having a picnic, children on the swings, teenagers playing basketball. She smiled and was about to go back to reading when she noticed ...

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“The Cold Eyed Kidnapper” by Katelynn Seavey

Submitted to Contest #252

His dark green eyes seem to stare into Addison's back relentlessly. She could feel him watching her since she walked into the grocery store. She went aisle by aisle, picking up random produce and snacks as she walks around. Her heart is pounding loudly and she thinks for a moment that it might come out of her chest. Her hands tremble slightly as she picks up the chicken noodle soup, her eyes not even registering what she put in the cart. She is too focused on the man at the end of the aisle, who seems to appear at every turn. At first,...

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“Footsteps in the Dark” by Dory Nicolas

Submitted to Contest #252

Ann had come to dread arriving home after dark, but her twice a week dance classes made it unavoidable. She had lived in the Haight a year and had never had a bad experience, but her friends kept voicing concern. "The low rent is not worth the risk," they would say. "The bad guys will notice you eventually," they would also say. Her answer was always, "I'm careful." Nevertheless, their concern was getting to her.It wasn't just the low rent. She loved her apartment. It was on the top floor of a Victorian building on Page Street. It was just f...

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“The Demon” by Matteo Picchietti

Submitted to Contest #252

His feet are in step with mine. Same rhythm, same force applied to the crunchy leaves on the ground. He has been following me for the past ten minutes. Every curve in the trail, every fork in the road, he has followed. The trees sway in the misty wind, far above, while the frogs chirp and the birds croak down below. I hear his steps, not quite, but slamming into the ground, causing a shockwave. &...

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“The Idiot's Guide to Invisibility” by Amelie Peterson

Submitted to Contest #252

The Idiot’s Guide to Invisibility By Amelie Lynn Peterson I threw the hood of my jacket up over my sopping wet hair. As I speed walked down Donna Drive, I passed under the yellow glow of a street lamp. I exhaled with gusto and watched the steam dissipate - illuminated in the artificially generated light. As I rounded the street corner off Donna, I stopped for a second to get my bearings. Was that the almost inaudible rhythm of another pair of shoes, somewhere far behind me? I felt my lungs hastily expand for a gasp of oxygen; simultaneou...

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“The Circus Of Spies” by Lee Kendrick

Submitted to Contest #252

The Circus Of SpiesBy Lee Kendrick After hopping on the 38 bus I walk up the stairs to the upper deck and find an empty seat, two seats behind my target. I've been tailing this woman for about three weeks now. My name is Nathan Peterson. As a British MI5 agent for about five years, I've had various surveillance jobs in my time, and by far this particular assignment is the most interesting one I've had.The woman in front of me in her blue raincoat and a red scarf around her neck is Margaret Jones. Twenty-two years old, born on 5th April ...

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“Night Walk” by Cade Holter

Submitted to Contest #252

Eyes on me. That's the sensation I was feeling at that moment. Eyes from somewhere else following my every step through the neighborhood. It was the one up near the primary school, the one by the suburbs off the side of where the highway feeds into my town. They're big houses there, all of them packed together just far enough away to have an actual property line. Not one of them had a single car garage. It would look fine during the day, as I knew from experience, and, depending on whether you went through there during a school day or not, i...

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“Revenge” by Hannah Wall

Submitted to Contest #252

Paranoia, that's what people would say I have. I disagree. It takes me an hour to get home. I am looking to move, but right now it's two buses home. I've seen the bloke before. It's hard to forget him. The stranger has orange hair, today he's trying to hide it under a cap at the back of the bus. He's got one blue eye, one green. He's tall and fit. His body might as well be a triangle.I've seen this guy on both my buses, just at different times for the past two weeks. Now, he's been on my first bus and is on the second. I rubbed my hand over ...

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“The Guest” by Nancy Beretz

Submitted to Contest #252

It wasn't easy to convince myself that what I was about to do was normal. Yet, I figured out how to rationalize it. There was no way that this was the same person I had met a decade ago, but there was no denying my curiosity. He has been in and out of my dreams to this very day. I tried to stay far enough behind that he wouldn't see me, but close enough that I could watch his body language. He turned and went into a coffee shop. I stood in line as close as I could to see his face. When he turned his head I knew it was him. Holy shit. I ...

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“I Think I'm Being Followed” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #252

It all started a few days ago. I do not want to tell anyone, as they will think that I am being paranoid, or just plain crazy. I do not think that I am the first, possibly the second for other reasons. I just want this issue to be resolved. On Monday, I had my first ‘vision’ as I now call it while I was walking back home from work as I always do every afternoon. It’s only about three miles between workplace and home and I can do with the exercise. But it is mainly because I like walking, as it is the best stimul...

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“When The Trail Ends” by Dustin Lanteigne

Submitted to Contest #252

How long have I been running, anyway? I feel like I’ve been wondering for years. All I know is I can’t look back. What am I running for? The weight of my feet has been getting gradually heavier, the air in my lungs burns, and finally, I reached the limits of my stamina. Lying face-first on a beaten trail, I’m reminded of the gritty texture accompanying the taste of dirt. I roll onto my back, dirtying my white T-shirt I notice the world around me. It’s spring! The birds are chirping, the trees are budding, and the earth is damp from previous ...

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“Ouroboros” by Charles Scandura

Submitted to Contest #252

“You want this?”Devon Parker pulled a container from the inner pocket of his black leather jacket “I know you're following me. Consider yourself detected.”The city street was sparsely lit by poorly maintained streetlights and obscured moonbeams. Down the street, a neon OUROBOROS sign flickered near the harbor.“You’re still playing a game.” The young man in a white coat standing in the shadows shouted back. “I know it’s a game. It’s a game you just lost.” Devon looked up scanning the buildings, light poles, and veneer surfaces for hidden came...

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“A Fine Companion” by Jim Kokoris

Submitted to Contest #252

By Jim KokorisCategory: Humor He crossed the street in the middle of the block, then doubled back south in the direction he had just come. He next jumped on the 7:30 campus bus, making sure to grab a window seat so he could keep watch. Nothing. A clear coast. When the bus came to a stop he got off and took the 7:45 campus bus, this one taking him downtown. He got off and, after surveying the area and deeming it safe, waited for yet another bus, which drop...

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“They’ll Find Us Swinging ” by Zoe Ridgell

Submitted to Contest #252

When St. Beetle rolled in, bobbing back and forth like floating heads and seductive hips, our leaves went still from the dead air, our branches recoiled from the cold sun. We watched him come in, the young skin that shone warm against the summerless sky, amidst the wailing ghosts. We followed him intently and kept note of those who hid behind their white picket fences. A few blinds closed, curtains rustled, smoke stopped from the chimneys: a silence that hid them in the cold. He may have sensed it too for he placed his hand to buds on his ne...

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“The Girl and the Black Hoody Figure ” by Angela Cerecedes

Submitted to Contest #252

Somewhere in a city. Nighttime. Rain coming down. A Young Woman in her 20s is walking down the street. She is wearing a purple hoody listening to music minding her own business. She walks over to a drug store, takes a beat, then continues walking. Suddenly, a Figure who appears to be a person wearing a black hoody walking slowly behind her. The figure is giving her the creeps. She is a bit nervous but continues to walk. However, the figure continues to follow her which makes her even more nervous. She walks faster and the figure walks faster...

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Start your story with a character being followed.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 100 stories

“A Resurfacing” by Sophie Goldstein

“The Cold Eyed Kidnapper” by Katelynn Seavey

“Footsteps in the Dark” by Dory Nicolas

“The Demon” by Matteo Picchietti

“The Idiot's Guide to Invisibility” by Amelie Peterson

“The Circus Of Spies” by Lee Kendrick

“Night Walk” by Cade Holter

“Revenge” by Hannah Wall

“The Guest” by Nancy Beretz

“I Think I'm Being Followed” by John Steckley

“When The Trail Ends” by Dustin Lanteigne

“Ouroboros” by Charles Scandura

“A Fine Companion” by Jim Kokoris

“They’ll Find Us Swinging ” by Zoe Ridgell

“The Girl and the Black Hoody Figure ” by Angela Cerecedes

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character who struggles to do the right thing.

Write a story in which one of the characters is a narcissist.

Make a character’s obsession or addiction an important element of your story.

Write a story that includes someone saying, “Be careful what you wish for.”

Contest #252

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

360

Contest entries

143

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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