Start your story with a home alarm system going off.

Posted in Dramatic on Jan 20, 2023

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✍️ 49 stories

“Butterfly” by Mia Mondry

Submitted to Contest #182

Prologue The home alarm went off. I heard a loud crash. Someone was trying to kill me! I screamed. There was blood everywhere! My head was throbbing. They had me on the floor. I couldn't see anything except a blur of a shadow. I think it was a man standing over me with his knife. Another man had his arm wrapped around me and was holding me. My head pounded, and it felt hot, as if it were on fire. A voice yelled, Get up. You're going to be alright. We've got you. Get up, get up. I didn't move and I thought I'd die. I heard the voice t...

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“Invasion” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #182

The one night I set the alarm, they show up. I think there are three. Three would be a good number. There are always three burglars in the movies. The smart one, the muscle, and the one who panics and dies at the hand of the protagonist--sometimes by happy accident. I shouldn’t project. I shouldn’t start all this by projecting. I’m bound to let myself down if I do that. They might run now that the alarm has been sounded. They might flee. I would flee if I were them. No point in dealing with the hassle of an alarm. Back when I was at the top...

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“Sirens Blaring, Bullets Flying, Droids Dying” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #182

Contains traces of: Swearing and Violence. Ingest at your own discretion.Sirens blared. Bullets whistled through the air. Detective Arthas Jacques of Mars’ Off World Crime Department whistled Always Look on the Bright Side of Life to soothe himself. PTSD beckoned, but the warm hand of Monty Python’s Brian was pulling him the other way.“Going to join in at any point?” asked Agent Belle Nguyen as she shot at the enemy and ducked back behind cover.“At least let him get to the chorus,” said the scratched black droid by Arthas’ side. An eye glowe...

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“Birth” by Rama Shaar

Submitted to Contest #182

Beep, beep, beep. SHIT! BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, the house alarm seemed to get louder and louder as I fumbled with the digits. I suddenly could not remember the code I’d been using for the past six years at least once a day. It was made worse with my hair wildly flapping around my face and my flimsy dress slapping my legs. “Are you sure you live here?” he mustered a weak smile. “Yes, of course I’m sure!” I said, growing even more nervous. I never function well when I’m being watched. Focus, focus, the whole neighbourhood is waking u...

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“A New Home” by Julia Durran

Submitted to Contest #182

Laying in my warm bed, I gazed towards the window across from my bedroom. The rain patters at the screen, making rain droplets race to the bottom. The street lamps greeted me, glowing a warm orange, filling the room with comfort. I felt safe for once, but it's when you let your guard down; there is something you least expect. I never really felt safe. Being in an abusive home, I felt like something was going to happen. It can't be helped. Sooner or later, the darkness will immediately follow. I take a deep breath feeling no doubt about...

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“Forever Good Night” by Mike Rush

Submitted to Contest #182

“He forgot to turn the damn alarm off again.” She said this aloud through gritted teeth as she threw off the covers, but there was no one there to hear her.As she stomped down the stairs, she tried to remember just how many times this had happened in the last month. Her husband always left for work early. He was the first one out of the bed in the morning, and she was the last one in it at night. It’d been that way since they married.She entered the four-digit code and the alarm stopped. A voice from the base, which she referred to as “Bitch...

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“A Rebirth” by Nathaniel Miller

Submitted to Contest #182

I could hear it ringing. Gradually crescendoing, becoming deafening. While I sat solemnly in the attic in a circle with the people who had become my family. It was the alarm. Alex had finished, then. Had begun to lure them out from their sleep. The owners woke and we could hear them running around downstairs. Like mice. It helped to dehumanize them. I could see the excitement building in my comrades’ eyes. They’d done this before—not this exactly, they liked to keep their ideas fresh. But this—the whole crime thing. It was my first ...

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“Screams from Above” by Steffen Lettau

Submitted to Contest #182

A whistling was heard, like a distant scream. It meant one thing for the stirring Bernard Felwood; the house alarm had been tripped. Carefully, he rolled out of his side of the bed, with his Elaine undisturbed. He grabbed his revolver near the foot of the bed, within reach, and he slowly opened his bedroom door. He dared not grab for any lights attached to house or battery, as such would alert the intruder; he was accustomed to see in the dark, as his years in infantry helped him adapt to the night and to poorly-lit shelters. He hoped that...

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“Alarming” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #182

Megan jerked awake to the blast of the house alarm. It didn’t stop. She turned to her husband, Cameron. She couldn’t believe he lay snoozing when she felt her head about to explode. “Cam! Wake up! Fix this!” She rolled him back and forth until he stirred. “What?” “The alarm! Burglar! I can’t stand it! Why is it shrieking?!” Uncomprehending, he peered through the gloom. “It’s three a.m.…!” “Cam! Don’t you hear it?” “What? Maybe… I don’t know… Be quiet. Let me listen.” “Are you crazy? It’s screaming. Is there a burglar?” “Oh, that… I’ll lo...

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“Sweet Treats” by Elliot Moss

Submitted to Contest #182

The alarm rang through the house, startling Marcy to her feet. She hurried to the door, only to find Ariel standing in the threshold. Marcy let out an exasperated sigh and shut off the alarm. "Ariel, you gave me a heart attack. What are you doing?" The ten year old looked up at her and smiled, holding up a frazzled Barbie doll. "I left her in the garden." "You should've told me," Marcy said, pushing the door closed and resetting the alarm. "It's after dark." Ariel pouted. "I'm sorry Marcy, please don't be mad at me!" Marcy pursed h...

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“No One Dare To Cherish” by Alexey Williams

Submitted to Contest #182

Shooting a horse is something a man should never do. But sometimes you're shooting at a person and the horse is in the way. The alarm in the house goes off after I've already broken in, and when I see the man outside running towards me, I shoot in his direction. I miss him and hit his horse instead. When I leave the county jail, the officer tells me I should consider making it up to the man whose horse I've maimed. I don't know how he expects me to make it up to him. I'm charged with breaking and entering, possession of an unregistered firea...

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“The Heavy Sleeper” by Elizabeth Johnson

Submitted to Contest #182

“The baby is crying… again.” I roll onto my stomach so I can reach my husband, jostling his shoulder groggily. He doesn’t move. I’m not sure what specific biological adaptation all men seem to have developed for being heavy sleepers, but from talking with my fellow mothers it appears to be an epidemic. I press my toes, which I’m hoping are freezing cold, into his legs, still, nothing gives. “Dan!” I hiss. The crying continues. Sighing dramatically for no one but myself to hear, I pull myself up and out of bed and towards my son’s room....

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“Something is burning ” by Corina P

Submitted to Contest #182

Something is burning By C. Pitt ACT I Scene 1 Setting: We are in the bathroom of the Green Mansion next to the kitchen (first floor). A fire alarm is going off. In the background, the music is mixing with the siren sound. The two friends are paranoid that they started the fire and are considering their next steps. At rise: The two friends are sitting on the bathroom floor. They are sharing a joint. Next to them are leftover fries, plastic cups, cigarettes and some toilet paper. Friend 1: (stoned, slow-paced) “Dude, we can’t hide in ...

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“The Unpleasant Surprise ” by Hannah Reed

Submitted to Contest #182

Tearing off the white duvet, I frantically moved to the window to see what intruder had sounded off the alarm of our home well past the witching hour. I quickly checked the bedside clock, realizing that it was officially now November seventeenth, the day of my thirty-fifth birthday. “Honey, it’s him,” I whispered frantically to my sleeping husband.Rubbing his eyes and reaching for his wire rim glasses, he lets out a yawn, “It’s who?”I see it, the white sprinter van that nearly took me down earlier in the day. The driver of the van...

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“Might As Well Have Been Wind In the Bells” by Sage E. Seever

Submitted to Contest #182

My vulpine ears twitch as I blink awake, eyes flitting around my small room, furnished only with my sleeping mat a mirror and a small dresser.The bells, the bells were ringing.I leap off my mat and land nimbly on my feet, someone’s in the house.Glancing at the simple mirror on the wall I meet my own starlight-blue eyes and handsome face, or at least that’s how I’ve heard people describe it. All of my race is stunning by others’ standards. Muttering something under my breath, I watch as my reflection fades away, starting with the gold tips of...

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Start your story with a home alarm system going off.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 49 stories

“Butterfly” by Mia Mondry

“Invasion” by Story Time

“Sirens Blaring, Bullets Flying, Droids Dying” by Graham Kinross

“Birth” by Rama Shaar

“A New Home” by Julia Durran

“Forever Good Night” by Mike Rush

“A Rebirth” by Nathaniel Miller

“Screams from Above” by Steffen Lettau

“Alarming” by John K Adams

“Sweet Treats” by Elliot Moss

“No One Dare To Cherish” by Alexey Williams

“The Heavy Sleeper” by Elizabeth Johnson

“Something is burning ” by Corina P

“The Unpleasant Surprise ” by Hannah Reed

“Might As Well Have Been Wind In the Bells” by Sage E. Seever

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story in a society where everyone is constantly aware of unwanted surveillance.

Write a story where someone’s paranoia is justified.

Write about a character who wishes they could just disappear — and then they do.

Start your story with someone entering a taxi and saying ‘follow that car.’

Contest #182

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

237

Contest entries

154

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: