Write a story that takes place across ten seconds.

Posted in General on Jan 19, 2021

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✍️ 286 stories

“Kindergarten” by Scout Tahoe

I’ll be on the train. It’ll be an underground train, like the subway, but in an airport. One door is both the exit and entrance with a few people trickling in and out. The train’s name will be Bart and my father will have warned me about it. The train will have pastel colors of gum, crafted into inappropriate pictures of body parts and messages in another language. I’ll know that if I was in another wo...

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“The Attic” by Zilla Babbitt

It wasn't until Naika had reached the top of the ladder did she realize she'd made a terrible mistake. *** One. Her arms and legs began to tremble uncontrollably, though she was barely three rungs away from the attic floor. The striped wood of the floor below her stretched and yawned beneath her, suddenly bloated and blurry, like she was looking through a...

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“To The Moon And Back” by Tangerine Timmy 🍊

10. I buckled my seat belt over my lap and waited nervously. My team had spent years preparing for this moment, I had been so excited for this moment but now I felt scared and timid inside the vast rocket ship. This was my dream; to fly out of one world into another one. When I was a kid I would always stare up at the stars and imagine myself leaping on the moon, floating around plan...

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“Where Our Wishes Landed” by Aaron Caicedo

I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say. I mean, I know what I’m supposed to say, what my “line” is: “I do.” A couple vowels and a click of the tongue; two little words, that’s it. Pretty simple, really. But despite their tiny appearances, the words must be much larger than they seem on paper; they’re currently wedged in my throat, and I can’t quite get them past my tongue.I’d ask you what’s wrong with me, why I’m suddenly so incapable of uttering such a minuscule phrase, but that would also involve the use of my vocal cords...

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“Game Over” by Writer Maniac

Trigger warning: Death They took off my ventilator. Ten seconds left. Before I lose. Ten. I stayed at home. I washed my hands. I wore a mask the rare times I went outside. I adapted to the online classes, the Zoom birthday parties and the occasional awkward family group call. I texted till my thumbs were sore and watched television till my eyes were red. Nine.I did it all. I tried. But it wasn’t enough. Cl...

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“Bombs Away” by Nainika Gupta

I stare in horror at the smirking face of Albert Grindstaff, the purveyor of death and horror, not the sanitized version of television screens, but the real genocides, the killing of entire families, smirked at me, scarlet blood blossoming over his heart from the bullet I just shot into his chest. There is a dead quality to his eyes as if the soul had long departed and left this zombie-man in his stead, a monster ...

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“The Coldness of Sand” by Deidra Lovegren

3.1688739 x 10^-10 MilleniaIn ten seconds you will break my heart. In a thousand years, I will never recover from the words that will come out of your mouth, from this serious conversation you want so desperately to have, from your dead shark eyes that fail to hold my gaze. I will get up from this moderately priced seafood restaurant’s table, fully understanding that our relationship is, indeed, over. Like preparing a fish for a feast, your words will cleanly gut me. And at this point, I seriously doubt my le...

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“Ten Seconds 'Till Death” by Mango Molly 🥭

I’ve heard about someone’s life flashing in front of their eyes before they die. But mine was more of a movie. An old-fashioned movie. The scenes of my life slowly unfolded, shifting from one to the other on a tape. I could almost hear the clicking sound of the transitions. And somehow, I knew that I had ten seconds before the car would hit me, therefore killing me. And then the movie started.10 secondsI was the stereotypical “nerd” in middle school: I always had my nose in a book. I loved reading, it gave me an excuse t...

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“Countdown!” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

Title: Countdown! Author: Haripriya Author's Note: Hello everyone! I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! 10: I carefully bite the humongous popcorn kernel I accidentally got, as I foraged through the entire jar. I look down at my buttery popcorn and look at mom, who looks at dad, who looks at my littl...

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“Heart to Beat” by Rayhan Hidayat

As soon as her eyes snap open to a dark ceiling and her body registers the sense of unease, she knows the Dream has begun.She climbs off the mattress and slides the bedroom door open to reveal a short stretch of hallway, dimly-lit; at the end of it is a staircase descending into the light. Any time now, the seconds will start to tick down.And I’ll only have ten.It’s a small house, and from her vantage point she ...

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“10 seconds.” by 𝚋𝚕𝚞𝚎 𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚝💙

10 seconds that’s all we had to get out. The call came from nowhere telling everyone that there had been a bomb planted inside of the school.It was a normal day. I woke up around 8 in the morning. I had two classes in the morning one began at 9 and the other at 10:45. My roommate made the small apartment we had lived in smell like a 5-star cafe once again. This morning she made waffles with blueberries, powdered sugar, and some syrup. Everything looked so perfect as it always did. I washed down the meal with some orange ju...

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“Ten Seconds of Jessamine” by Maya W.

***Trigger warning for death***“This winter sky - how can anyone sleep? There was never such a night before! I feel like putting my arms around my knees and squeezing tight as possible, and flying away. Oh the moon! Oh the snow in the moonlight! And your childlike eyes and your distant smile, I will never be this happy again. You and I, you and I, you and I, and no one else. Maybe he came today - maybe he came already. Maybe he’s sitting in the drawing room, and I simply forgot.”It takes just ten se...

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“Static Line” by Beth Connor

Inhale. My hands clench on the cold metal, and I glance over my shoulder at the middle-aged instructor. A lined face set in a permanent scowl, gray hair balding.The memory of his voice droned on in the back of my mind, “you could die doing this, pay attention.” Comforting. Why was that the morsel of information I recall, and not the eight hours of practical instruction? The training class had been full of tips and pointers, continually reminding us we were not doing something safe. I kept ...

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“TAKEN” by Amy Hodges-laurenzo

(This story is in conjunction with the Theta story and the ten second part is highlighted. This does involve a kidnapping)A black Mercedes E63 AMG pulled up near the Royal Sonesta. The driver parked his vehicle and jumped out. The dressed casual in black denim jeans, black leather jacket, and a black skin tight pull over shirt with boots, Lucian King walked up to a trio of men that were very well built and served him as enforcers. “Where is the girl?”One of them gestured to the Night Club...

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“A Princess” by Julie Ward

Laura stood on one end of the park, a tiny speck in a sea of people. She kicked the lock on her stroller and held tightly to her daughter's hand. Brightly colored banners fluttered in the breeze. Tables manned by an army of moms offered carnival games, cotton candy and a tantalizing array of prizes. The annual school fair was the biggest fundraiser of the year and Cameron had begged to go all morning. “Please mom, please!" He’d pulled out all the four-year old stops. “All my friends will be there. Spider Man too! And princesses ...

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Title: Kindergarten

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Write a story that takes place across ten seconds.

Submissions are closed!

✍️ 286 stories

“Kindergarten” by Scout Tahoe

“The Attic” by Zilla Babbitt

“To The Moon And Back” by Tangerine Timmy 🍊

“Where Our Wishes Landed” by Aaron Caicedo

“Game Over” by Writer Maniac

“Bombs Away” by Nainika Gupta

“The Coldness of Sand” by Deidra Lovegren

“Ten Seconds 'Till Death” by Mango Molly 🥭

“Countdown!” by ✯𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫✯

“Heart to Beat” by Rayhan Hidayat

“10 seconds.” by 𝚋𝚕𝚞𝚎 𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚝💙

“Ten Seconds of Jessamine” by Maya W.

“Static Line” by Beth Connor

“TAKEN” by Amy Hodges-laurenzo

“A Princess” by Julie Ward

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone scrambling to finish a goal in the last few hours of the year.

Write about someone keeping track of time with tally marks on a wall — until one day they discover that all the marks are gone.

Write a story that takes place across ten days.

Write a story in the form of a top-ten list.

Contest #74

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

907

Submissions

Win $50 in our short story competition 🏆

Tired of MS Word?

Explore more writing prompt ideas: