Set your story in a town that’s teetering on the edge of something dark, literally or metaphorically.

Posted in Dystopian on Oct 31, 2022

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✍️ 50 stories

“Rhubarb Pie” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #149

Present day…Diamond Pete Lansing, aged sixty-eight, slammed his red-faced fists on the conference room table. “No! No! No!” he screamed, each word accented with a slam and followed by a mist of spittle. “Gonna git my trucks! Gonna git my guns!”Virginia and Wilson Buss, aged sixty-four and sixty-five, glanced at each other. Their faces were tight and they held hands beneath the table. Father Norval, a spry fifty-five, stood up and licked his lips. “Peter, please–”“-Aww, hell naw!” Diamond Pete said. He threw his white Stetson cowboy hat down ...

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“1 1 3” by Alyssa Telgenhoff

Submitted to Contest #149

My town of Burning, South Carolina had two unspoken rules: go to church on Sunday and don't touch The Dead Tree. On a Halloween night, my gran revealed our tiny town’s local legend. My parents were at some party and she had been tasked with taking me trick o’ treating. We were out later than I was allowed to be and Gran grabbed my hand leading the way home. I was annoyed. I couldn’t see the beautiful colors of the crunchy leaves and my princess costume had turned more uncomfortable than cute. The tiara was too tight and my shoes too b...

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“Don't Invite Death” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #149

TW: Death Eyeless immortals gathered around Sir Danielle Longbow in their great library miles beneath the surface of the world. “I know you know something. Tell me. I need to understand.” Danielle begged the uamhith librarians whose heads were twitching in the silent conversation of telepathy. “You are lucky again, Danielle, for many reasons.” Quick Foot, a young uamhith with just over two centurie...

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“The Deep Dark Woods” by Rhiannon Carroll

Submitted to Contest #149

Content warning: some bad language -------------------------------------------------------------- Camping out in Ollpheist Forest was a tradition most freshmen at Patrick Town University followed at least once, and Cassie Garratt was no exception. Though she had lived in town her whole life, she’d never been this far into the woods, not this late at night at any rate, and never to camp out. But she had promised herself she’d do it, even if she had lied to her mother about it. Margaret Garratt was a stern, God-fearing woman, and she’d bee...

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“The Camera of Tomorrow” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #149

Ryan Perkins is a gentle and quiet thirty-one-year-old office worker who likes collecting antiques. He lives in New York City and is well acquainted with the antique shops there. However, this afternoon while walking to the convenience store, he looks down an alley. He notices an old-fashioned symbol of three gold balls hanging over a door signifying a pawnshop. He hadn’t seen that particular sign in years and, with caution and curiosity, enters the alley to have a look. &nb...

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“Against the Dome” by Phillip Moore

Submitted to Contest #149

Gray tapped at his digital watch in vain as it flickered off. It was ironic, he thought, and perhaps a little cryptic that his trusty timepiece would die today of all days. He sighed, resting his chin on the butt of his shotgun as he returned his stare to the section of dome he’d been assigned to watch. It had been over six months since the domes—gelatinous-looking shadows which covered huge expanses of land—appeared. At first they did indeed resemble domes, enveloping entire cities and miles of earth in perfect circles. However, they had si...

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“Dark Dreams” by C.B. Tannon

Submitted to Contest #149

[Note: this is a sequel to the story "Lies of the Rational Mind", although it can be read as a standalone story]The aftermath of whatever had gone down was grisly, grislier than most supernatural crime scenes I had investigated. I’m slightly ashamed to admit I’d had to run to the toilet to puke immediately. I returned to the bedroom a shade paler than usual, brushed underneath the yellow and black tape crossing the doorway, and appraised the corpse for a second time, trying my utmost to ignore the viscid stench of rotting offal emanating fro...

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“a house, awhile ago” by Angel C

Submitted to Contest #149

(Sensitive content - nudity) We as young people don't often tend to write about our memories. What person, during this time of their life, has time to be so reflective? When you're this age, the world only tends to move forward. Nostalgia and sentimentality aren't the type of thrilling emotions one wants to feel when they're young. On the other hand, it's why a young person should write. Writing is reflective, but rarely do we hear the reflections of the young. What will tumble out of the pen of one still wading through the periods that ...

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“The Airing” by Carolyn Brown

Submitted to Contest #149

COVID came to their town, as it did all the others. At first the citizens believed that their distance from the cities would protect them, as in olden days when the miasma was expected to hover above a populace and not spread through individuals, but modern realization soon proved that humans, as always, were the biggest threat to humans. People left the town, of course, going in their cars to visit relatives or in planes to visit beaches, and then they returned to the safety of home and the normalcy of work and school and church...

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“The Path Unspoken May As Well Be Unspoken ” by Bob Nike

Submitted to Contest #149

Hi im this 18 year old kid and something has been teetering on my mind. People have been saying this town I'm in has a quote on quote dark past. Whenever I walk around this small but very big eerie town there's always strange happenings, things that people can’t explain. You may believe or not believe in these strange happenings but i can tell if you were to ask anyone who lives here they will tell you lies to make you stay. Sometimes this town's curse as I may call it sucks you in and won't let go. May 16th 2020, a dark and seem...

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“SURVIVAL” by VICTORIA HALTON

Submitted to Contest #149

SURVIVAL My eyes are opening up to the heat of sunlight shining in through the window on the right side of my bed. The warm touches are hitting my face and getting me ready for my daily routine. First, a full breakfast before working out. Next, a shower lasting at least thirty minutes or so. I never liked drying off with a towel. As I only enjoy letting the sun and air remove the water from my sun kissed skin. I reviewed my itinerary for the day. On the list is me taking care of business. As a young creative of course this means boring m...

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“Dark Ages” by Jim Johnston

Submitted to Contest #149

DARK AGES, a Dystopian Capriccio by Jim Johnston Even with the plastic helmet, my nostrils burn from the acrid air, with its hint of rotting melons and animal feces. The storm has subsided, and official instructions for domestic cleanup appear on my device. The house, inside and out, is covered with a thin layer of opalescent dust, scattered with little flecks of light, like tiny diamonds. Why should something so lethal look so beautiful? I wonder as I begin my chore. I place the soap, the bleach, and a scrap of rough burlap on the kitche...

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“Darkness Has Fallen” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #149

The darkness is back. I feel it in my bones. I see it everywhere I go. No one can stop the darkness for it has come once again and hit my town of Sandy Shores. Sandy Shores use to be a town of light and beauty. Laughter was in every corner of my small town. Life was full of happiness. Families were together. Friends were having fun with each other. But ever since the darkness came the beauty, the light, the laughter and the happiness have left Sandy Shores. My name is Jamie, this is my story of how the darkness overcame my small town o...

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“Meaty Claws” by R W Mack

Submitted to Contest #149

It wasn’t like a wall at all. The dark wave spewed across beaches, asphalt and sidewalks like swarms of hungry crimson ants. “Red tide” people said. Something about algae and the smell of rot. The rot was right at least. I’d seen it coming from the city street as I stared at the horizon between brick buildings. The shoreline snuck up fast, carrying our detritus through corridors of shops, offices, restaurants and alleyways. Thick water running by cars, trying to drag them away as far as it could. Some tires sprayed in defiance, punctured by...

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“Secret Santa” by Andrea Doig

Submitted to Contest #149

He led her down the stairs. Bright tinsel snaked its way along the balustrade, and people were already gathering in the Christmas wonderland below. They were all waiting for her. It was Christmas Eve, and Rudolf had chosen this day specifically. Her anxiety grew as they descended. She focused on the large overly adorned Christmas Tree in the corner but looked away with a shudder of revulsion when her eyes fell on the fat Santa shadowed in the corner of the room. His ruddy cheeks and twinkling eyes were strangely at odds with the fear that ...

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Set your story in a town that’s teetering on the edge of something dark, literally or metaphorically.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 50 stories

“Rhubarb Pie” by Michał Przywara

“1 1 3” by Alyssa Telgenhoff

“Don't Invite Death” by Graham Kinross

“The Deep Dark Woods” by Rhiannon Carroll

“The Camera of Tomorrow” by Ralph Aldrich

“Against the Dome” by Phillip Moore

“Dark Dreams” by C.B. Tannon

“a house, awhile ago” by Angel C

“The Airing” by Carolyn Brown

“The Path Unspoken May As Well Be Unspoken ” by Bob Nike

“SURVIVAL” by VICTORIA HALTON

“Dark Ages” by Jim Johnston

“Darkness Has Fallen” by Melinda Madrigal

“Meaty Claws” by R W Mack

“Secret Santa” by Andrea Doig

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character who is trying to convince others to play a game.

Start your story with the flickering of a light.

Write about two people who form a bond with each other through music.

Write a story about an unlikely group (or pair) of friends.

Contest #149

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

256

Contest entries

123

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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