Start your story with a character being followed.

Posted in Dramatic on Sep 16, 2024

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✍️ 100 stories

“Shit Storm” by Kim Meyers

Submitted to Contest #252

“Fuck, I hate the athletic ones!”, Vera groans as they speedwalk up Fifth Avenue. She’s dressed in Doc Martens, denim cut offs, and a cropped white T, iced coffee in hand. Her jet black hair and full-sleeve tattoos provide an edgy aesthetic but her slight build diminishes her capacity for intimidation. “Why can’t she walk at a normal speed?” “Some people have places to go and people to see, dearest”, remarks Roman. Towering more than a foot over her, he easily keeps stride with Vera. Two siblings could not appear to be more starkly con...

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“Terror of the Night” by Rick Siu

Submitted to Contest #252

The hour was late, well past midnight, when she finally stepped out of the bar. The crisp night air bit at her skin, her breath visible in the faint glow of the streetlights. She cursed herself under her breath. "Stupid, I'm so stupid," she muttered, her voice barely louder than a whisper. She had meant to leave hours ago but got caught up in the evening's events. Now, with the buses no longer running, she had no choice but to walk home alone. The city felt so different at night, the familiar vibrant city streets were ...

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“No Escape” by Jae Po

Submitted to Contest #252

She pushed him on the swing set, his little laughter filling the air with each push. In these moments, she looked down at him and smiled. These were often Yvette’s most prized moments of the day: spending time with her 4-year-old nephew at the local park. Every workday morning, she would pick him up from her baby sister’s house, take him to the park for around a half hour, and then drop him off at daycare. She really enjoyed this rare time, uninterrupted. In between her nephew’s high-pitched laughs, she found herself looking up and around. I...

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“Not yet, but Always” by Jennifer Buiswalelo

Submitted to Contest #252

Gray and gloomy, the day had borne the weight of ceaseless rain, leaving the streets washed and shimmering with reflected streetlights. Puddles pooled along the sidewalk, casting long, eerie glows from the occasional passing car. A gentle, cold breeze whispered through the trees, their branches rustling softly like conspiratorial whispers. The chill seeped into every corner, making the already dreary evening even more unsettling. John tightened his grip on the leash, his dog Max trotting ahead with an unusual restlessness. Max was typically ...

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“Follow the Crime” by Emma Phillips

Submitted to Contest #252

Follow The CrimeWe follow our characters Jimmy and Cash as they travel from town to town pretending to be lawn maintenance workers, but in actuality they are criminals. They were mowing grass, in a little town called South Bearlsburg. There was really nothing there, a hotel and Bettys Bar, but a few fancy houses were arranged on the outskirts of town, just far enough away for Jimmy and Cash to go unnoticed as they slipped through the neighborhood in the evenings.What they didn’t know was that the local ...

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“Seen.” by Sara Rushbury

Submitted to Contest #252

Seen. The world narrowed into a tunnel around me, like it was closing in on me. The sudden caw of a crow rattling my fraying nerves. I kept my normal pace, not slowing or speeding up even though every fibre in my body was begging me to run. I didn’t need to turn around and check because I already knew. I could feel it. It wasn’t so close that I could feel breath on the back of my neck but the sudden change of energy in the atmosphere made me instantly aware that it had seen me and was now following me. That morning as I locked the door to ...

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“Dating sucks” by Meg Lagares

Submitted to Contest #252

I knew it. There he was again. I stopped to do some window shopping and I spotted him hiding(?) a few storefronts down.. Is he looking at rings? He was stopped in front of a jewelry shop, wearing very dark glasses “looking” at the display in the window, but I noticed him glancing in my direction every so often. He’s really not very good at this stealthy stuff. Every time I look in his general direction, he tries to be engrossed in the jewels shining brightly in their cases. Today, he tried to cover his unruly blonde hair underneath a baseba...

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“The Shadow Out of Meadowvale” by Ethan Rogers

Submitted to Contest #252

The figure followed him, shadowy cloaked and shadowing his footsteps. P walked the streets of his hometown for the first time in twenty years. He saw cracks in the sidewalk, but he expected more. The image of a rotten hometown as seen on television and movies wasn’t what he was seeing now. No potholes, no thunderclouds. The cracks in the sidewalk were present, but the cracks did not create spiderwebs of shattered concrete. The sidewalk was just old. P remembered the name calling and the laughing. The bullying in movies was similar, a facsimi...

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“The First Follower” by C Ingy

Submitted to Contest #252

Stella was used to being followed, but tonight was different. For the last four years, millions of eyes, glowing from their devices’ blue light, have watched her paint her face on her "makeitup" social media account. During the pandemic, her platform’s following sky-rocketed to unimaginable heights. In fact, she liked to joke that her signature silver winged eyeliner allowed her to “fly” among the stars. Well, TV stars at least. Tonight was her party for reaching fifty million subscribers. The celebration was complete with a roof...

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“Menace Unseen” by KC Tillman

Submitted to Contest #252

The rhythmic thumping of heels on the pavement is descending upon me at an accelerated rate. As the tapping sound escalates, the rapid echo of my pulse reverberates with a thunderous boom in my ears. At the thought of being followed, my hands grow clammy while I struggle to keep a steady breath. Picking up my pace, too terrified to sneak a glimpse over my shoulder, I opt for crossing the street with as much casualty as I can muster given my wobbly knees. The footsteps fade as if retracting in the distance, flooding my bloodstream w...

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“Follow Me to Death” by Kylie Sheldon

Submitted to Contest #252

Trigger Warning: Violence, Sexual and Physical, Kidnapping, I see him following me. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see him. He’s stalking, about 6 feet behind me. I want to run, but I know he’d be able to catch me. He’s been following me for 15 minutes. I won’t call the police because I know he’ll hear me. I’m tempted to call my friends, stay on the phone with them until I’m back in our apartment, but lord knows that wouldn’t stop him. I know Lauren’s tracking my location, watching my little dot ping closer. Keeping my head trained on my...

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“A Hotel in Hannover” by Morton Newberry

Submitted to Contest #252

I think it was Oscar Wilde who wrote that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. That’s BS. Stalking is. My glance caught hers, and I turned my head as I sensed the surprise changing to puzzlement, to acknowledgment—and then again, to surprise. It is quite a specific chain of expressions. I suspected most people recognized it, but few had been on the receiving end. As the train stopped at the Hannover main station, I grabbed my suitcase and walked into the perennial gloom over Northern Germany. That faint hue that precedes the short su...

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“The Wolf and the Bear” by Danielle Martin

Submitted to Contest #252

As the girl walked, memories assaulted her. She shivered and drew her cloak closer, looking over her shoulder. She wasn’t alone this time and that was comforting at least. Last time she’d come through this forest, she had been alone. She remembered she had seen the creature staring at her through the trees. She remembered the feeling of uncertainty as she’d stopped, deciding whether to go on or turn back. She remembered her decision to go on, thinking that she would pass by in peace. After all, she’d never been bothered by on...

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“The Regent’s Canal” by Emma R

Submitted to Contest #252

A dark outline above the water. In the low light. I looked back at the canal to see what I’d caught in the corner of my eye. The slightest ripple disturbed the algae, perhaps it was a cormorant fishing. My eyes strained looking if it would break the surface again before I walked on. Another movement in the water made me feel uneasy and on edge. It was a hot August night and lots of people were using the towpath, I tucked myself back against the wall as a cyclist went past. A few teenagers were walking the other way to me, a corner shop ...

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“The Hellish Hound ” by Naya's A Writer

Submitted to Contest #252

Avery's legs quickly flew right across the wide, wide plains, heavily sprinkled with the rocks that were all sharply moulded. Beads of sweat fell onto the green, grassy ground like raindrops would, and the sound of panting breaths filled the mountainside air. The dark-haired girl and her other friends were having the greatest chase of their life: a supposed dire, detrimental hell hound right behind them, its long tongue stuck out, licking the cold, harsh air outside. Neatly lining the horizon were clouds coloured orange with the setting sun,...

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Start your story with a character being followed.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 100 stories

“Shit Storm” by Kim Meyers

“Terror of the Night” by Rick Siu

“No Escape” by Jae Po

“Not yet, but Always” by Jennifer Buiswalelo

“Follow the Crime” by Emma Phillips

“Seen.” by Sara Rushbury

“Dating sucks” by Meg Lagares

“The Shadow Out of Meadowvale” by Ethan Rogers

“The First Follower” by C Ingy

“Menace Unseen” by KC Tillman

“Follow Me to Death” by Kylie Sheldon

“A Hotel in Hannover” by Morton Newberry

“The Wolf and the Bear” by Danielle Martin

“The Regent’s Canal” by Emma R

“The Hellish Hound ” by Naya's A Writer

🌟 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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