Center your story around a person who believes they’re the last human on Earth.

Posted in Dystopian on Nov 29, 2024

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✍️ 64 stories

“Wilting ” by Diamond Keener

Submitted to Contest #279

Content warning: Themes of substance abuse and mental illness.“Just because a dog doesn’t have a soul, that doesn't mean you get to treat it badly. You still pet it, feed it, and take care of it. Isn’t that right Martin?”Simon put out his menthol which was only half smoked and then gave his dog a wink. Atop the empty sardine can with all the other butts, the cigarette sat smoldering. A dog so plump next to a man so withered, they made quite a pair. Martin did not respond to Simon’s question. Instead he rolled over and showed the ...

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“The Dollhouse” by Ashley Cutshall

Submitted to Contest #279

Teresa woke up happy on Thursday, September 25, 2030. She turned on music, gotready for the day, and went downstairs to eat breakfast. Her husband was already in the kitchen cooking scrambled eggs and bacon. “Good morning Allan.” Teresa said as she smiled then kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks for making breakfast, you're such a doll.” “Anything for my family” Allan said with a kind smile as he dished up the food. “Are the kids up yet?” Teresa asked. “I've heard them but I haven't seen them yet.” “Okay. I'll go get them. Chelsea! ...

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“Secure Facility” by Jonah Buck

Submitted to Contest #279

Nick set down on the helipad, using the distant light of still-burning Denver to help guide him into position. The light dusting of snow on the helipad blew away as Nick hovered and then landed. His skids bounced once on the concrete pad before he powered the craft down and hopped out. In the winter moonlight, the snow on the mountainside reflected upward as pale as a funeral shroud. He cursed to himself. He should have remembered to look for footprints before he landed, any sort of clue that anyone had been here. He was praying to find surv...

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“Asteroid Bailey” by Tara Piper

Submitted to Contest #279

Breaking News The direction of Asteroid Bailey has changed course dramatically, now predicted to land within the United States of America at 4:35 PM Monday October 23rd. I could still hear the news announcement replaying within my mind as if my TV wasn’t tragically demolished within my old home. I heard the words of the late night news reporter--terrified and serious, with an undertone of a millennial savior complex. A woman who undoubtedly believed she would survive the world-ending asteroid. As it turned out, nobody had survi...

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“Road to Nowhere” by Jack Shoemaker

Submitted to Contest #279

8/16Starting a new journal. I lost the last one in the trailer of that semi. Guess I should’ve spent ten seconds to check my own pockets. But maybe it’s for the best. If there’s someone out there to find it, maybe it’ll bring them closer to me. But I can’t wait around here. Have to keep moving. 8/18I saw a deer today. A real, honest-to-God deer. Thought they’d all died out. Between the snow and ash, I haven’t seen a hint of green for miles. But there it stood, in all its shaggy, soggy glory. Not fifty feet away. If I’d had my rifle handy, th...

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“Behind the Curtain” by KS Kalev

Submitted to Contest #279

The disappearances were infrequent at first. There would be one, sometimes two every few weeks and then everything went quiet. Occasionally the breaks lasted longer, and you’d almost start to think life was getting back to normal, but then someone else vanished, and the temporary illusion of normality was once again shattered.A disappearance wasn’t a sudden event but rather a slow drawn-out process which took several days to complete. First the person’s overall frame started to fade, then their bones became brittle and lost the strength...

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“Alone” by Jessica C. Wheeler

Submitted to Contest #279

Year OneHannah sat on the cracked steps of a cottage, her hands trembling around a can of peaches. The cold wind whipped through the small town she had discovered three days ago. She stared at the sky—an unforgiving shroud of gray that never seemed to lift.It had been months since Hannah had heard another voice or seen another human, months since she had awoken to a vacant world— months, since the day she realized she was absolutely and utterly alone.The last thing she remembered was driving home from the restaurant she worked, speeding to e...

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“The Creature Known as Danger: One Wolf's Account of Humanity” by Ada Smith

Submitted to Contest #279

Her scent, caught on the snow-fallen breeze, was entirely new to me, but my mother knew her kind.We were in the tall-rock-place, and the scent on the wind was salt, blood, and something not quite floral that raised the ends of my thick fur with its echo touch. I had not yet survived my first winter.When I bounded over to my mother, she was weary. Did she know to whom the scent belonged?Danger, came my mother's answer, her tail stuck straight as a birch log.My mother was an old wolf, and she had spent her whole life learning our territory and...

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“Alone” by Judi Wallower

Submitted to Contest #279

ALONE The last thing I remember is a bright light and smoke. Before that I was taking a walk through the park. Relaxing, smelling the flowers, soaking up the fresh spring air and saturating myself with the sun’s vitamin D.Trying to lift my head, I don’t know what happened, it’s fuzzy, as if there are tiny grains of sand in my eyes and no matter how much I rub them, I just cannot clear my memory. It’s frustrating.“Help! Someone please help me!” But no one comes. I try to stand up but cry out in pain. I look down and see a large piece of ...

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“Christmas Spirits” by Fred Horan

Submitted to Contest #279

I woke up with my head busted, my mouth tasting like a junkies carpet. The weak winter sun shone in through the curtains. I shaded my watery eyes with a shaking hand. With a grimace I got up slowly and stumbled towards the fridge. There was half a bottle of Buckfast on the bottom shelf. With shaking hands I unscrewed the cap and downed the viscous liquid of life. I held out my hand. The shaking had stopped "Magic" I said to myself and smiled.I sat down with the bottle cradled in my lap and tried to piece together the night before. In tr...

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“Irrational Feelings” by Jihwan Kim

Submitted to Contest #279

I made it no secret that I’m not much of a people person. Some rare individuals I could respect for their nuanced depths, or their sharp quirky wits and their kind gestures, but humanity as a whole? It’s a nightmare.Just open any history book and you’ll see why. All these endless political upheavals, our ancestors’ unjustified prejudice from bias, savages bigoted and blinded by their bitter hatred for one another. It’s written all over in our past, and an acid knot forms in my chest whenever I read of these things. We pretend like these...

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“Scared Happy” by Debra Koffski

Submitted to Contest #279

Picture this, the year is 2024 and it really has been a rough year but not even in my wildest dreams could I imagine the events that were yet to come. I arrived at home from my job as a computer analyst and was greeted by my loving family, just another ordinary day. The same things occur every night. Dinner, television and bedtime. It's what happens next that put me into a tailspin. Upon rising from a good night's sleep, it seems like the universe decided to play a sick joke on me. GONE, my entire family is gone!! What in the world...

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“The last girl in the world” by Gemma Reilly

Submitted to Contest #279

I unzipped my weatherproof jacket and threw it open as a cool breeze swept through the residential street. A bright spring morning turned into a sweltering afternoon as I started on my third hour of walking. I thanked the forces of the universe for the small closet full of clothes and shoes, all in my size, at the townhouse I had stopped in the night before. It had been a while since I switched out my wardrobe. I always travelled light, there was no use in carrying a heavy backpack full of supplies when I would inevitably find more. There w...

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“The Timekeeper” by Matt Pearson

Submitted to Contest #279

There was a tree, unlike the other trees around it, or any one Luke had seen before. One that stood proud, immune to the effects of war and disease. A tree so giant, that when Luke looked up, the leaves seemed to touch the sky. He wondered how old this marvel of nature was. If it had eyes, what did it see? Could it tell a story of how the world was? How did it end? After everything Luke endured, he should have felt triumphant simply for being in its presence. Instead, his heart was weighed down by guilt. It was my brother who should be alive...

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“Fires of disbelief” by Zali Suti

Submitted to Contest #279

Gida lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, tracing her eyes from one panel to the next, back and forth, up and down. She knew the ceiling had 17 panels across and estimated it’s length to be about double it’s width. She studied this vision daily. The hands of a clock moved with each moment that passed, echoing dimly from the kitchen through the bedroom door. Gida shared a queen sized bed with her eldest daughter, and her son slept at the end of their bed on a blow up mattress. Between the tick of the clock and the ceiling above, Gida had more ...

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Center your story around a person who believes they’re the last human on Earth.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 64 stories

“Wilting ” by Diamond Keener

“The Dollhouse” by Ashley Cutshall

“Secure Facility” by Jonah Buck

“Asteroid Bailey” by Tara Piper

“Road to Nowhere” by Jack Shoemaker

“Behind the Curtain” by KS Kalev

“Alone” by Jessica C. Wheeler

“The Creature Known as Danger: One Wolf's Account of Humanity” by Ada Smith

“Alone” by Judi Wallower

“Christmas Spirits” by Fred Horan

“Irrational Feelings” by Jihwan Kim

“Scared Happy” by Debra Koffski

“The last girl in the world” by Gemma Reilly

“The Timekeeper” by Matt Pearson

“Fires of disbelief” by Zali Suti

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story from the POV of a zombie, mutant, or infected creature.

Follow a character who’s looking for someone or something.

Write a story about someone confronting their worst nightmare.

Write a story about a character who’s lost.

Contest #279

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

334

Contest entries

146

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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