Write a story about someone seeking revenge for a past wrong.

Posted in Dramatic on Jun 23, 2023

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✍️ 73 stories

“Let No One Cut Him Down” by Matthew Keoki Miller

Submitted to Contest #204

It was a quarter past high noon in the desert mining town of Absolon. The townsfolk shuffled between stores or loitered on decks, desperate for any remedy to fight the punishing heat. Sweat and misery fogged their thoughts. Even the best vices made no difference. The hanging corpse in the middle of the town square didn’t help. The heat rendered a new odor from the body akin to boiled asparagus. Despite the absence of wind, the stench managed to personally introduce itself to everyone within a mile. The dead man’s skin sagged, his fin...

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“The Cold Hand Of Death” by Douglas Goff

Submitted to Contest #204

The sheriff wiped his sweaty brow with the back of his hand and spit a soggy half-smoked cigar into the dusty street. Tex Tungsten had been in law enforcement for over twenty years, having survived the wild west by sheer guts and intuition. Now that intuition was telling him something was amiss. The middle-aged lawman had stared death down so many times he had lost count, and bore the scars to prove it. He had been shot twice and stabbed three times, not to mention the many fist fights. Still, the cold hand of death had failed to drag...

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“I Am the Thing You Made Me” by Alicia Bablick

Submitted to Contest #204

Lucky crashed through the underbrush. Low tree branches slapped at his face, stinging his cheeks and welting his hands as he tried to protect his eyes. Magic would have been a faster escape, but it was too late now. He had waited too long thinking he would be able to evade them on foot. The trees in this part of the forest were tall and dense and without a clear path through the air he risked slamming face first into a tree trunk. So Lucky ran. But his short legs barely kept him ahead of his pursuers and he was doing more tripping and stumbl...

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“Annoyance” by Roxanne-Lou AMINIAN

Submitted to Contest #204

The train sped through the darkness. Through the window, the plains of the West, frozen in the great white embrace of winter, shimmered under a round moon. The biting cold from outside did not spare the compartment, and I shivered, frustrated that the railways, after so many years, had not resolved this issue. At one point, breaking my solitude, the door creaked, announcing the presence of a short, stout man wearing a ridiculous bowler hat.- What a bitter cold, it's unimaginable! Can you believe that the temperature inside the entire car doe...

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“Black Walnut” by Randel Hodge

Submitted to Contest #204

How can I justify our – no – my actions? Good God, it was hot and dusty despite it being “monsoon season.” This dirty, sun-bleached southern extremity of Arizona surely contributed to the vortex of madness that pulled us in. I sit in a booth in the corner of a small café with a window view of Morley Avenue. I don’t know how I found this place. The turquoise-colored outside walls decorated with painted desert flowers attracted me subconsciously, I suppose. The reasoning for what we’ve – no – I’ve done, dammit, seems to reorder every time I...

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“Afterclap” by Amanda Bennett

Submitted to Contest #204

Those who knew my character would swear I lacked the stomach for murder. They had never once heard me utter a complaint, let alone swear a reckoning. Of course, back when my wife had been spitting up blood in a bedpan, the nearest neighbour was over an hour away… Hardly surprising that none of ’em ever heard me howling for retribution. In those days towns had to grow, and fast, or they faded back into dust. Unfortunately, my community saw something of a boon as a pit-stop for the wagon trains moving on to better prospects. Wasn’t four ...

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“His Name Didn't Matter ” by Grace Melstrand

Submitted to Contest #204

The earth had shriveled up under the scorching reach of the sun. Loose dirt rose in clouds with every gust of dry wind, unrestrained by the absence of the roots which once held it in place. Dirt was the only sign of nature here, if it can even be classified as such. The dirt had taken it upon itself to remind any soul brave enough to cross its barren face, of their place in its kingdom. By the way it filled boots as though it had been hand poured, seeping through even the toughest wool socks. It always found its way into eyes, blurring visio...

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“Before You Meet the Devil” by C. Charles

Submitted to Contest #204

Skinner, Arkansas, 1877 Jack sat behind the bar reading a newspaper. It was mid-afternoon and the saloon was quiet, but it was always quiet until suppertime when the gamblers came in. It would be standing room only, everybody hoping to get a seat at a table or making bets on the side. Jack had started the bar in a tent, in 1870. He had named it the Red Ace Saloon and it soon garnered a reputation as a card-playing hot spot. He learned quickly that gambling was thirsty work. Men drank to calm their nerves, for courage, or to drown the...

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“Wilde, Wilde, West, and Associates” by Victoria Hatton

Submitted to Contest #204

Wilde, Wilde, West, and Associates By Victoria Hatton “Wilde, Wilde, West, and Associates. This is Annie. How may I help you?” “Hi. Ummm…is my lawyer there? Patrick…Mr. West?” Annie instantly recognized the caller’s voice. Mr. Holliday. He had been in litigation for divorce and child custody for a year and a half. He had a bit of a short temper, but he was by no means the worst client Patrick ever had. “No, I’m sorry, he’s out of the office right now. Would you like me to transfer you to his voicemail?” A...

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“A Somber Calamity ” by Donna Kessler

Submitted to Contest #204

The log cabin stands still among shapes of gloom, surrounded by a haunting silence. The brightness of sunlight has not touched the building since the happening of a heinous tragedy. The wind blows, scattering ashen hues across the barren land. A man sits in the shadows, crippled by the memory of his wife. Each moment that passes, he could still smell the overwhelming scent of her blood, he could still see the imprint of faded crimson on the floor. He could still feel the coldness of her flesh as he held her dead, battered body in his arms...

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“Shattered Dreams and Vengeful Skies” by Sophie Chipping

Submitted to Contest #204

The scorching desert sun beat down on the gallows, casting long shadows across the scene. The executioner tightened the noose around my neck, and the crowd held its breath, their eyes fixed on the tense anticipation of the impending execution."Listen closely, partner! This court has decreed that you'll be taken from this very spot and locked up tight until the sun sets. When that time comes, you'll be escorted to the gallows, where your life will be cut short, swinging by the neck until you breathe no more. May the Almighty above show mercy ...

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“The Consequence of a Rumour ” by Hannah Wilson

Submitted to Contest #204

TRIGGER WARNING - Allegations of Sexual assault and violence. Claudia gulped from the smooth, glass bottle she held in her hand. She felt the burning sensation slide down her throat and settle in her stomach. After the burning subsided, she was left with a numbing sensation with tackled the emotional turmoil swirling inside. She looked around at the bush she was now hiding in and sniggered. How had she fallen so far? She was reduced to spying on a life she was no longer welcome to participate in. Claudia stared at her daughter and her hus...

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“One More Cowboy Ballad” by Dhruv Srivastava

Submitted to Contest #204

Along the streets of Goslin, shops formed an even line of large façades. Their dark brown wood was long since encrusted with dust and pummeled by weather. If one entered Main Street from the east, the first set of shops would be the convenience store and the local paper store. Then they’d find a hat shop and a general clothing store. A horse supply store would be next, directly across from the local saloon. Most folks didn’t go much further than there on their first stop in Goslin, but if they did, they would find the sheriff’s office, a sma...

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“No Time for Justice” by Ambrose Cole

Submitted to Contest #204

CW: Gun violence and language Not many people walk into the saloon at 10 in the morning. On most days, the dusty room is filled with nothing but the stench of ale and echoes of the previous night’s revels. The air lingers with the ghosts of men who have come and gone, chasing greater purpose than an evening of drinking in a hardly notable hamlet. Passersby pause their journeys for a night’s time to add their story to the symphony of lives painted in the air of the town bar, then leave newfound brothers for a tomorrow somewhere else. In this ...

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“Under the Front Porch ” by Ilyas M

Submitted to Contest #204

Every time I’m unsure, I look in the mirror and remind myself of the re-birth I’ve been allowed through this arrangement. My eyes scan the sheer baby blue fabric clinging to the soft lines of my body, when a pair of arms wrap themselves around my waist. He nuzzles his chin in the space where my neck connects to my shoulder. The beginnings of a smile tugs at my lips and I turn my head to connect our lips, running my fingers through his salt-and-pepper curls. He pulls me in closer and there’s a friction from our abdomens touching that elicits ...

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Write a story about someone seeking revenge for a past wrong.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 73 stories

“Let No One Cut Him Down” by Matthew Keoki Miller

“The Cold Hand Of Death” by Douglas Goff

“I Am the Thing You Made Me” by Alicia Bablick

“Annoyance” by Roxanne-Lou AMINIAN

“Black Walnut” by Randel Hodge

“Afterclap” by Amanda Bennett

“His Name Didn't Matter ” by Grace Melstrand

“Before You Meet the Devil” by C. Charles

“Wilde, Wilde, West, and Associates” by Victoria Hatton

“A Somber Calamity ” by Donna Kessler

“Shattered Dreams and Vengeful Skies” by Sophie Chipping

“The Consequence of a Rumour ” by Hannah Wilson

“One More Cowboy Ballad” by Dhruv Srivastava

“No Time for Justice” by Ambrose Cole

“Under the Front Porch ” by Ilyas M

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a stranger coming to town and shaking up the order of things.

Set your story in a desert town.

Write a story about someone undertaking a long, dangerous journey.

Write a Western-inspired story in a new genre or setting (e.g. a space western, fantasy western, etc.)

Contest #204

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

300

Contest entries

94

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: