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

“The Thing at Wanderer's Creek” by Brendan James

Submitted to Contest #149

Julias mindlessly prodded the bubbling strips of bacon as they were being seared straight past what most would consider overdone. But the burnt bacon was routine for the first order of the day, which made its way onto the plate of the number seven combo, delivered to the always on time Sheriff’s Deputy Briscoe. Both the curse of being a moderately small town, and of the deputy’s graveyard shift meant that he was always the first in a seat at the bar across from the grill.The deputy gave Julias a courteous nod as he thanked him for ...

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“Digging Up the Past on Deal Island” by Michelle Sholund

Submitted to Contest #149

Chris Webster, a retired naval officer in his late fifties, fell into a deep depression when he lost his wife to cancer two years ago, yet with the help of his son and daughter he found a new purpose when they encouraged him to take up genealogy. A history buff at heart, Chris did find solitude looking over old family photos and documents he inherited after his parents passed. When his kids set him up on a a genealogy website and gave him a DNA kit for his birthday, Chris didn’t hesitate to send in his saliva sample the next day.&n...

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“The girl who travels through paintings” by Victoria Telford

Submitted to Contest #149

Serephine Levy had always been a unique girl. She knew there was something different about her, but she never could quite figure out what it was. It was the summer of 96' in small town Okin, New York, that she first caught a glimpse of her powers. Her and friend had made the decision to buy LSD from a boy at school, and were an hour into the trip when things got crazy. They were floating in her friends heated pool while her parents were away on a business trip, when Serephine decided she wanted to go underwater to meditate. While she was u...

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“Soufre Metamorphica” by G. W. Cunning

Submitted to Contest #149

It was after noon when the malaise set in. Perhaps it was just the first bites of lunch finally offsetting the morning's caffeine that triggered it or maybe it was just gonna be another one of those days. She could smell the faint odor of sulfur, and knew it was imminent, the associated wretch, and the coughing fit. A quick search revealed that she had forgotten to bring her inhaler this morning in an abnormal rush to get out the door. She ceased the rummaging through her purse with a sigh and mentally prepared herself.Af...

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“The Dark Comes Closer” by Emily Craner

Submitted to Contest #149

Riley stares at her mother as the morning officially begins. Some people would signal these things with an alarm clock while others maybe await its arrival with the passage of the sun. Riley waits for her mother to plug in the coffee maker and it doesn’t officially count until her mother receives the daily shock from the dilapidated outlet. Dennis says that exposure to that much electricity is going to kill her one of these days but Riley’s seen people in this town go through worse and still walk away alive. Why, they say old man Tuner’s bee...

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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

“The Thing at Wanderer's Creek” by Brendan James

“Digging Up the Past on Deal Island” by Michelle Sholund

“The girl who travels through paintings” by Victoria Telford

“Soufre Metamorphica” by G. W. Cunning

“The Dark Comes Closer” by Emily Craner

🌟 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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