Write from the POV of a security guard on the night shift, sitting in front of a wall of CCTV feeds.

Posted in Dramatic on Oct 6, 2023

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✍️ 47 stories

“In the Watchtower” by P.R. Taylor

Submitted to Contest #219

Pierre Allard is made of flesh and bone. Despite his reputation in being austere as reinforced steel and cold as winter cement by the inmates of the Palmswell Prison, his fellow officers know that Pierre’s only desire in life is to clock out each morning when his shift ends to return home and care for his wife Ana and two children; Tomas and Arabella. Both of his children are gravely afflicted by a rare genetic disorder that prevented major organs from developing correctly in the womb. They are bound to full mobility chairs when they must be...

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“Number 4” by Pebble K

Submitted to Contest #219

Something shifted. It was not obvious, and to the average viewer nothing would have registered on their consciousness. But it was there. A shift in the air in the air vents, an intake of breath from Number 2, cell 5. Something was stirring. Rilak didn’t move from his chair. Moving would alert the other watchguard that something was different, and it was better for the man to believe that Rilak was sleeping like some lazy bum. (‘Keep him quiet,’ they had told him, ‘don’t let him act before we are ready’.) The other man in question c...

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“COVERAGE” by Abby Livingston

Submitted to Contest #219

My stomach groans with hunger and my bladder is full to the point of discomfort but I deny these things. I have decided they are not important. Instead I sit straight and attentive, my eyes attuned to the screens in front of me. “She’s good at her job,” I want my higher-ups to remark. “No, she’s great at her job,” I want someone even higher up to say, and for them to nod their head as a single unit, one giant approval. It’s my first week of employment at Bodham’s Prison for Women and as a woman myself, I’m well aware I’m assumed to b...

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“'#17'” by Johnny Yeates

Submitted to Contest #219

It all started one night around eight months in. I’d been doing the standard routine, five nights a week, sometimes six, starting always at ten pm and out by eight the next morning. I liked it, for the most part. It was easy work. Before that I’d always been on my feet, stacking shelves or serving drinks. With this I had my chair, my throne. I could come in, shake hands with the guy who’d done the afternoon shift and then settle in, my dinner in the little fridge in the office space, a book or a crossword or whatever to keep me entertained i...

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“The Night Storm” by Chase H

Submitted to Contest #219

He checked the clock on the wall again, ‘2:15’ displayed in dispassionate red numbers, blurred from its own faint glow. Turning back around, Derek rolled his shoulders and looked at the screens, each showing a different angle of the ship. Big heavy clumps flashing by the cameras, the snow falling in droves. The pale light of the monitors flickered with the activity. The camera flashed again, a big line of white appearing and then disappearing. Must have been a big flake, he thought to himself. His eyes went down to the table. Th...

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“The Secret of Dr. Maria ” by Salah A

Submitted to Contest #219

In a security control room, I served as a security guard. Over the past years, I've guarded various establishments among them opulent hotels, universities, big companies, corporations, and banks. Each assignment forged me, shaping my once fear-filled heart into one of unwavering steel. Beyond mere duty, the screens of surveillance provided a window into intimate vignettes of human life, scandals, and hidden relationships. To many, this would be a breach of trust, but to me, it was an irresistible theater of humanity, where every in...

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“Witness” by Andy Ortega

Submitted to Contest #219

Niflheim (Supermax prison ship orbiting Earth) I walked into the security room in a grumpy mood. I had just switched to working the night shift and I still wasn’t used to sleeping during the day. Our sector's temperature regulators were experiencing malfunctions so it was cold as hell. I sat down in front of the wall that displayed all of the CCTV feeds. There were probably around fifty screens, of course one person wasn’t expected to keep track of them all. There were always two people watching the screens and usually three others doin...

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“Dreamscape” by Matt S

Submitted to Contest #219

I sit in my dimly lit room, cocooned by my chair, the light of forty lurid visions of distorted life washing over my face. I am alone, the unsettling apparitions on my screen my only company, as I dispel the gentle claws of sleep with an occasional sip of coffee. The images on the screens slowly swirl in and out of focus, the movements of the almost-people just slightly jerky; like stop-motion set up by a careless cameraman. Not that these visions were filmed by any man. I am watching dreams. &nbsp...

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“Chocolate ” by Margriet Kirchberg

Submitted to Contest #219

Security detail for a chocolate distributor. How the hell had Paul been so lucky as to land this gig? He spun in his office chair, beside an enormous monitor with nine split screens of silent, gray night-vision entrances, loading docks, and alleyways. He dropped a chocobomb in his coffee and gave it a stir and a sip. Delightful. There were three other chocolate bars on his desk. Paul leaned back in his chair and found the best desk spot for his feet. If he had to work a night job, at least he could enjoy good eats and comfort. The only thi...

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“Cell 7B” by Tom Davis

Submitted to Contest #219

“You’re late Bob. You can’t keep showing up late every day. I know you are a week away from retirement and don’t give a rat’s ass, but we have a responsibility.” Norma said. Bob nodded in agreement and took his night shift post at the detention center. “She’s a real ball buster, isn’t she?” Jim said. “Well, I only have a week left and then I’m outta here for good. She can say whatever she wants.” “It’s been pretty quiet so far today. Hope that continues for us tonight. Even your buddy in cell 7B has been well behaved.” Jim said. Bob peered a...

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“"The Eye in the Sky(ies)?" ” by Jennifer Stowell

Submitted to Contest #219

“The Eye in the Sky” The clickety-clack of high heels strolling across the marble tile, the lobby attendant being ignored despite his nightly attempts to greet the residents, and the doorman stepping inside every so often to ward off the bone chilling temperatures this winter evening are just a few scenes unfolding. Nine p.m. and all is well, yet somewhat stimulating for George, as he peruses over the six CCTV screens in front of him. Conversing with himself out loud, as usual, his slumped stature transfers to a noble “back straight in the...

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“A 'Night' for Sore Eyes” by Hugo Arsénio

Submitted to Contest #219

If you were to ask me what I do for a living, I would confidently answer that I am a hardworking, capable, and resilient security guard who acknowledges the high levels of responsibility that come with my role. The truth? I am the embodiment of a huge sloth that spends half of the night shift sleeping and the other half thinking about how lovely the act of sleeping is. Nobody can blame me when I have the most legendary edition of all workplace recliners, also known as the "plastic chair," under my butt. Large, parallel holes in the seat pr...

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“The Night Shift” by Dora Acosta

Submitted to Contest #219

Before I started working here, I thought the hardest thing about doing time was how long you had to be here. I read somewhere that they use places like this to suck the soul out of you. I’m paraphrasing, and I don’t know how true that article was, but it does feel like this place consumes you every time you walk in here. It takes everything you have to give: energy, clarity, and time. And if you’re lucky enough to walk out. You have little, if anything, left over. For some folks, time flies. For others, it stands perfectly still: six...

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“Eye” by Ashley Anon

Submitted to Contest #219

"The Eye, Sector 2, reporting for duty. I swear to uphold the social standards stated in the doctrine of the order, I swear to deal with all blasphemous violations, swiftly and without mercy. I am the judge, jury, and executioner, the fist of our lord." He shovelled cheesy, fried potatoes into his starved mouth, at a pace of eager greediness, with one hand, whilst slurping from a can that came with heart attack risks with the other hand. He crammed and crammed more crisps into his gaping hole of a mouth like a relentless conveyor belt, all...

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“The Security Guard” by Annie Hite

Submitted to Contest #219

THE SECURITY GUARD by Annie Hite Thirty five year old Harold Crackwilder, otherwise known as “Bub”, short for “Bubba” due to his stocky physical development, became a security guard in a somewhat dilapidated well-known Catholic hospital. It wasn’t what he really wanted to do. He had started out as a police officer and was fired after two years for lying to a senior officer more than once. The lies weren’t even very good. An example of one of his lousy lies was: he fell asleep after ...

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Write from the POV of a security guard on the night shift, sitting in front of a wall of CCTV feeds.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 47 stories

“In the Watchtower” by P.R. Taylor

“Number 4” by Pebble K

“COVERAGE” by Abby Livingston

“'#17'” by Johnny Yeates

“The Night Storm” by Chase H

“The Secret of Dr. Maria ” by Salah A

“Witness” by Andy Ortega

“Dreamscape” by Matt S

“Chocolate ” by Margriet Kirchberg

“Cell 7B” by Tom Davis

“"The Eye in the Sky(ies)?" ” by Jennifer Stowell

“A 'Night' for Sore Eyes” by Hugo Arsénio

“The Night Shift” by Dora Acosta

“Eye” by Ashley Anon

“The Security Guard” by Annie Hite

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that includes the line “I think someone’s listening/watching.”

Set your story in a type of prison cell.

Write about someone who is shackled by fears of failure, until they break free.

Write a story about someone who breaks an unwritten social rule and the consequences they face as a result.

Contest #219

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

254

Contest entries

114

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: