Set your story in a town full of cowards.

Posted in Fiction on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 31 stories

“What We Heard” by Rebecca Loften

Submitted to Contest #135

When they came for us, no one said a word.We heard they were looking for us. Not us in particular, but anyone like us. We heard they were going from town to town, rounding us up. Pounding on doors in the middle of the night, looking in cupboards, under floorboards, determined to root us out. Assembling us in the streets - cold, trembling, scared - before packing us onto trains and deporting us to the camps. And we all knew what happened in the camps. Maybe not the specific details - those we wouldn’t learn until much, much later - but w...

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“Among the Wildflowers” by Jordan Caves-Callarman

Submitted to Contest #135

There was a patch of wildflowers growing outside the funeral home, and they were just perfect. A ray of morning sun filtered down through the trees and lit them like a spotlight, their delicate purple blossoms a sharp contrast against the deep green of the grass. Eight-year-old Jacob broke away from the crowd that was milling about out front to inspect them more closely. They were all beautiful, but one in particular stood out from the rest, its petals lush and vibrant. Jacob plucked it carefully and held it gently by the stem as he looke...

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“Water in Eden ” by Annasophia Pixton

Submitted to Contest #135

This was getting utterly ridiculous. Nobody here cared at all? Really? They were all just going to let this happen, essentially killing themselves off. I would never be able to understand this. I mean, come on! This town was in the middle of the desert; there was no other water for miles around, that is, besides the heart spring. The heart spring is a beautiful oasis which is, well was, fueled by some magical glowing crystal that gives their isolated tropical osis life. A glowing crystal that was unfortunately and mysteriously missing. Oh, d...

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“Campbell's Cowards” by Andrea Mariana

Submitted to Contest #135

Content Warning: references to domestic violence Rhonda Pruitt was stupefied as she sat down on her kitchen barstool and slammed her elbow onto the laminate countertop. The letter trembled like a dried leaf in her hand, but her watery eyes fixated on the return address label: Thomas L. Campbell Partner, Campbell and Custis Associates The law firm’s New York City address followed. Rhonda tried in vain to imagine Tommy, now a grown man, wearing a crisp suit behind a fine desk on the hundredth floor of a building far more impressive...

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“Lapse in Control” by R. B. Leyland

Submitted to Contest #135

The steady tapping of the keyboard was the constant companion to my ears these days. When I dare to take a second’s respite, even the muted sound broke through the thick, material booth that was meant to segregate us all from each other. No communication, no chance for discontent; take the cards you were dealt and keep your head down. This was the way they wanted us. Docile. Hopeless. The perfect workers to fuel the idea of a perfect empire. Since countries around the world had decided that enough was enough, that the constant protests ...

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“Brave Boy in a Cowardly Town” by Robert Obszanski

Submitted to Contest #135

The room was empty save for a few lingerers. Each man but the bartender staring at the bottom of a glass or off into the distance. “Another round, Jim?” “Yes, sir. It’ll be the last.” “Coming right up.” The bartender grabbed a fresh mug, tilted it at an angle and began to fill it. He grabbed the empty mug Jim was staring into and swapped ...

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“No Heroes Left” by Hayden Morrison

Submitted to Contest #135

In our town, there were no heroes left. One by one, anyone with even the smallest ounce of courage departed, to protect those who lacked the courage to defend themselves. Even those with no strength, with nothing but bravado to their name, were willing to pick up a sword and fight the good Fight. But not I, nor my friends. Despite being of an appropriate age to give our lives for the cause, we remained in the safety of our homes; in the warmth of our beds. It would be easy to blame others for our cowardice. To say that our parents be...

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“In the Shadow of My Tower” by Mae R

Submitted to Contest #135

The town was built in the shadow of my tower. Why they chose to build there is beyond me. My tower is centuries old, and sometimes I fear to touch the grey stone that it’s built of, for fear that it will crumble beneath my fingers. A single staircase winds from the base to the top, the stone steps drooping in the middle, worn down by the countless tread of feet. There’s no question it was long established before the town was built, so why did the villagers choose to come so close? Perhaps the tower seemed to offer them protection. The mag...

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“Our Identity” by Jane Delgado

Submitted to Contest #135

Take a deep breath. Inhale, and exhale. “I don’t understand why I am being grounded. Aren’t we supposed to be a peaceful community” I roared, “How can we live peacefully if we have people like that invading and bullying us around?” “Well, you shouting at them wasn’t very peaceful” mom replies. “But we can’t just let them barge in here anytime they want and take our food, even people!” I exclaim in a rabid rage. “Melody, you know that we have no control over what happens, ok just accept the way things are”. “I can’t be...

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“Rule of the Fog” by David Lontok

Submitted to Contest #135

“The worst of fears acts like a contagion,” my mom, the bookkeeper, used to say, “like a rumor that seeks a wider audience.” Slam... Slam... Slam... The doors of our small town on a cliff sliced winds short, acting on their purpose, which was to shut out the unwanted. The fog had arrived with the evening, weighing down our roads. It was like a scorching poison to us. Our visitors would often ask why, and the quick question always earned a quick answer: people had been vanishing inside it—horrifying. The fog hadn’t always been an enemy. It...

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“Written in Stone” by Richard Davis

Submitted to Contest #135

Remembering the last time I took this curve in the road I had a metal dashboard and a magnetic plastic Jesus staring at me with His arms outstretched. Tell you the truth, I could use a little Jesusing, a little salvation, and a little help. But that is a story for another day, and, besides, who couldn’t? Like then, I tuned the car's radio to WBRF, the "Sound of the Rivers," to see what the latest news was in town. Unlike years before, now there was a syndicated talker on, not a local radio guy, and he was sitting in some st...

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“No Risk, No Reward” by Raeleigh Wilkinson

Submitted to Contest #135

I could have been happy, had it not been for that wretched pregnant woman. Perhaps happy isn’t the word, come to think of it, but I would have been fine. I would have been content to sit at this sewing machine day in and day out, letting fabrics from all over the world flow through my fingers and thinking nothing of it. But now each new bolt fills me with torturous curiosity. Whose hands wove this wool? What was their life like? Who did they love? What made their hearts sing and sob? No, Marie. I shook my head to shoo the inc...

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“A Golden Flame” by Harley Marshall

Submitted to Contest #135

“The boy stood alone nothing but an old sword in his hand; his hulking opponent towered before him. Uncertain of his fate and desperately yearning to be back with his family, the boy trembled with terror, but he knew he had to face this beast, his fears; for if not him then who? What would become of his family if he didn’t stand his ground? He took a timid step forward, tightening his grip on the hilt. The hairy beast threw its awful head back against the light of the full moon and let out a bloodcurdling howl; this was his moment. He readie...

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“Nika's Bravery” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #135

I never expected this to happen. I never intended for this to happen. I did what any normal person would do. But yet it is happening, the whole town is here. I don't want the recognition nor do I need it. I'm a simple person who did something others would do. But nobody did anything. I was there and saw what happened. Yet others were there as well and did nothing to help. I did something. I saved a life no one wanted to help and now they want to honor me for doing something they didn't have the guts to do. There were so many people...

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“A COWARD'S HAVEN” by Darrell Grant

Submitted to Contest #135

My grandfather had told me a story of how he had lost his way in life during the war and became a wanderer before stumbling into a town that wasn’t on the map. The town was called BRAVERY. The craziest thing was that while he was there, he found out that this was a small town full of cowards and only for cowards. I know... the irony of it all.He said that after a short time he was able to escape the grip he felt the town had on him and the force that brought him there . One night he just upped and left the same ...

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Set your story in a town full of cowards.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 31 stories

“What We Heard” by Rebecca Loften

“Among the Wildflowers” by Jordan Caves-Callarman

“Water in Eden ” by Annasophia Pixton

“Campbell's Cowards” by Andrea Mariana

“Lapse in Control” by R. B. Leyland

“Brave Boy in a Cowardly Town” by Robert Obszanski

“No Heroes Left” by Hayden Morrison

“In the Shadow of My Tower” by Mae R

“Our Identity” by Jane Delgado

“Rule of the Fog” by David Lontok

“Written in Stone” by Richard Davis

“No Risk, No Reward” by Raeleigh Wilkinson

“A Golden Flame” by Harley Marshall

“Nika's Bravery” by Melinda Madrigal

“A COWARD'S HAVEN” by Darrell Grant

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a hero or a villain deathly afraid of doing their job.

Start your story with someone stepping outside their comfort zone.

Write a story where fortune doesn’t favor the brave.

Write about a casual act of bravery.

Contest #135

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

212

Contest entries

154

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: