Write a story about someone getting lost, but discovering something they didn’t expect along the way.

Posted in Dramatic on Jul 28, 2023

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✍️ 34 stories

“Goldilocks Returns” by Story Time

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #209

I need a second.I really had no intention of, you know, returning to this house. So many bad memories here. So much trauma. Is it okay if I just sit for a second? If I remember correctly, they only had the two chairs. Well, technically, they had three chairs. And I, an innocent little girl of fifteen, sat in one of the three chairs, and immediately felt as though I was being set upon by the fabric. Certain people recounting my story have said that it was too soft, that first chair, but it wasn’t just that it was soft, it was that I have...

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“The Back Road to Bagdad” by Arthur McNamee

Submitted to Contest #209

Peter Tucker was beside himself with anger for not paying attention to the scenery around him. He had only traveled this same route out of Mesa, Arizona several dozen times in the past twenty years, but somehow, on this particular day, he found himself lost and heading in the wrong direction. It was only after he made a half dozen wrong turns that he realized that he was not at all where he thought he should be. As it was a mid-August evening and well past 7:45 pm, he knew that he would be driving in darkness and through a vast open prairie ...

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“Behold, A Black Horse” by Geir Westrul

Submitted to Contest #209

“We’re screwed.”The night is black, the road desolate, a seemingly endless stretch of unlit asphalt that disappears into the murk of impenetrable fog.“We just need to keep heading south,” Brendan says.“We’re screwed,” Chari says again. “No map, no GPS, we shouldn’t have taken this back road.”A deer runs out of the fog, into the beam of the headlights.Brendan turns the wheel to avoid the animal. Chari screams. The car skids off the road, into the ditch. A hard stop. Seatbelts bite into their flesh.* * *Standing outside the car, Chari says: “N...

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“Little Green Men” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #209

No one ever believed us about alien night, but they always wanted to hear the story. I’ve told the story so many times now over so many years, that sometimes I wonder myself. But I always call Luke and he confirms it. We were both there. It happened. Just as I remember. It all happened just in the order that I had always told it: the ghostly fog on a clear night. Then the bright pulsing neon lights—green, then blue, then yellow, then red, and finally green again, a deep, penetrating neon green—filling the sky,...

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“Hubris and Red Portals” by Cecilia Englishby

Submitted to Contest #209

Two days hiking into the Cro Mountains, Harriette found herself standing before her very own little cave of seclusion. She’d crossed streams, traversed steep terrain and waded through forests and undergrowth, scraping her hands and face bloody in the attempt.As always, it had all been worth it; especially as she was sure she was the only one who knew about the place; not even the animals had disturbed her protective-wards as she took them down one at a time.Once inside, Harriette didn’t waste time. She knelt, setting down her supplies; withi...

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“Along Came a Wolf” by John-Paul Cote

Submitted to Contest #209

Jacques’s feet were sore. He had been walking for some hours now. Worry crossed his mind. He should have arrived at Valroux. Time to sit and bring out the bread and cheese he had for the journey and eat. When he finished, he set his mind on finding someone to help him. After another half hour, there was a farmhouse. He approached and knocked on the door. A large man opened the door. Jacques could see ...

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“A dream of One's own” by J R

Submitted to Contest #209

In March 2006, Ethan and Zera found themselves, at 38, divorced, with no family of their own, no home, and alone in a tiny town in the middle of the Pacific Northwest. They hadn't eaten a hot meal in almost seven days and had no human contact for weeks because their internet and service were down to a lack of cell towers in the area. It was a brand-new car. However, All four tires were worn down and replaced with adhesive and makeshift repairs. They were driving through rough terrain and bumpy roads. Ethan Brooks had aching muscles in h...

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“The G.O.A.T” by Kelita Sim

Submitted to Contest #209

That boy gives me no rest. But he will not wear me down. I will seek him, I will find him and I will kill him.Dare I say he is worse than those uncircumcised men! Those uncircumcised men, who are like a plague that won’t die, like a nightmare that won’t end. They just keep coming back. Honestly, no sooner we send them galivanting back across the desert to Gath, no sooner they come right back for more. Either they’re gluttons for punishment, deluded or they need to fire their advisors.They underestimate me, they make a mockery of my kingship....

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“Lost” by Aster Parks

Submitted to Contest #209

I sighed in frustration as I stared at the endless stretch of road before me. My GPS had stopped working a few miles back and I was completely lost. My journey started in California two days ago. I was driving across the country to Quantico Virginia. I started my dream job as an FBI profiler next week. After I had passed all my exams, I had to go through a rigorous hiring process before finally being selected. The only problem was I had to move across the country for the position I wanted. It was too expensive to have my car shipped so I dec...

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“Deadly life” by Sheetal Patel

Submitted to Contest #209

Nelson Long was a decent 19 year old boy with his ordinary life and parents. He had a good life in school and was popular because of his handsome looks. Also because of his knowledge, all his friends asked him for advice on how to do some questions. He wasn’t a bully and neither were his friends. They all may seem like bad boys but they have a sweet heart, especially Nelson. His parent were Lauren Long and James Long. Nelson was an only child with no siblings. His parent were very wealthy people and they always taught Nelson to treat others...

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“Gone Fishing” by John Van Winkle

Submitted to Contest #209

Road Trippin’… Write a story about someone getting lost, but discovering something they didn’t expect along the way. Gone Fishing They said their farewells and hopped into the burgundy ’75 Camaro on a beautiful sunny day in the summer of 1976, young lovers and best friends who had married a couple of years earlier and were visiting family in Peoria. They had just finished Sunday brunch and expected to be back at their apartment in Chicago within a few hours. But they were in no hurry. Both were salaried workers who spent long hours at ...

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“Wit's End” by J. V. SUMMER

Submitted to Contest #209

Wit’s End “Must be dump on Daphne day,” she muttered, pausing to catch her breath. Her feet ached, a burning jolt came from her left knee when she put weight on it, sweat coursed down her face and back, and now she was lost because she forgot which level of the multi-story underground parking maze she’d left her Buick on. She had limped down the ramp of the garage instead of taking the elevator because she thought she’d spot her car more easily. Surely, she would find her car soon. She’d parked near a slope in a corner, she thought. At an...

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“The World behind the Yellow Train” by LaSasha Robinson

Submitted to Contest #209

“Excuse me.” The bus driver drove down the busy highway as the Louisville skyline passed by on the right. “Yeah.” She responded without taking her eyes off the road. “Do you know where I need to get off to get to Buechel bank Rd.?” “The only route I know is the one I drive.” She responded shortly. I leaned back into my seat and looked at the screen on my phone. The date read May 20, 2020, my screen was dark and in battery saver mode. I only had 5% battery power left. I knew I should have never let my daughter play on my phone. I had to b...

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“Marooned” by Mark Gagnon

Submitted to Contest #209

The digital sign read, ACCIDENT AHEAD. ROAD CLOSED. FOLLOW DETOUR, and that’s what I did, or thought I was doing. I-25 between Las Cruces and Albuquerque is the personification of desolate nothingness. Becoming lost should have been impossible. The word impossible only applies to a task until someone accomplishes that task and, unfortunately, that someone was me. There were sparsely placed detour signs right up to where the road forked. Then it was the driver’s choice. Waze was useless because there was no cell service. I chose the right for...

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“SECRETS” by Lily Finch

Submitted to Contest #209

Larson McNabb and Joy Malloy were on a first date. Larson had invited Joy to a cruise on Lake Erie aboard his Yacht, the “Kahlua.” The weather was picture-perfect. The hot sun shone down on the water, dancing atop the waves. Larson thought that they would set a course for the middle of the lake and drift for a while. He and Joy shared some wine as they jetted through the water, the wind blowing through their hair. Larson desired more than a mere journey with Joy on the Lake. True to Lake Erie’s legends, the weather suddenly turne...

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Write a story about someone getting lost, but discovering something they didn’t expect along the way.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 34 stories

“Goldilocks Returns” by Story Time

“The Back Road to Bagdad” by Arthur McNamee

“Behold, A Black Horse” by Geir Westrul

“Little Green Men” by Jonathan Page

“Hubris and Red Portals” by Cecilia Englishby

“Along Came a Wolf” by John-Paul Cote

“A dream of One's own” by J R

“The G.O.A.T” by Kelita Sim

“Lost” by Aster Parks

“Deadly life” by Sheetal Patel

“Gone Fishing” by John Van Winkle

“Wit's End” by J. V. SUMMER

“The World behind the Yellow Train” by LaSasha Robinson

“Marooned” by Mark Gagnon

“SECRETS” by Lily Finch

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your entire story in a car.

Write about two strangers who are both heading to the same destination and agree to do a long distance drive together.

Write a story about someone going on a life-changing journey.

Start your story with someone walking into a gas station.

Contest #209

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

271

Contest entries

154

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: