Write a short story that takes place on a train.

Posted in High School on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 128 stories

“The Passenger” by JE Rowney

Submitted to Contest #27

The Passenger The stench of Lynx from the man next to me is mildly more appealing than the stale, sweaty smell that it is trying to conceal. As if the temperature and proximity of the other sardines in this carriage weren’t enough to make me want to throw up my breakfast; this guy is about to tip me over the edge. This summer is sticky and stifling; this day is heavy with heat.I nudge Davey and make an exaggerated facial expression. He nods and smiles, puts his hand on mine. At least we have seats, even though that means my eyes are dir...

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“On the rails to Dong Ha” by Derrick Kakooza

Submitted to Contest #27

It was a bright Monday morning on January 23rd. Looking through the window on my left, I could see that the sun was a big fiery ball in the sky. The clouds stood still, the trees gently swayed and all life seemed to be at peace. I stretched gently and reached out for my yoga mat. I had just started doing the Downward Facing Dog when I received a call from Merlyn. She had moved to a new city and wanted me to pay her a visit.Merlyn never made appointments. She always expected me to say yes on all occasions. I had to choose between the 10:30am ...

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“Power of the Tongue” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #27

Wyatt put his plastic glass down and nodded to the bartender who opened a one-ounce bottle of gin, emptied it over the ice and topped it with a squirt of soda water.“You want a fresh slice of lime?”Wyatt shook his head. “I’m good.” He raised the glass and drank. “So, the key is to get in early before the flies gather. Like Palm Springs before Bob Hope bought land out there. Just desert. Buy low and sell high. Like I did for the California bullet-train right of way.” “I bet there were a lot of sweetheart deals there.”“Everyone wanted in on th...

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“A meeting, a rescue and a remembrance ” by Lauren Smith

Submitted to Contest #27

Myles tented his slim fingers together, pressing his fingertips together until they blossomed purple under the dim light from the train compartment light overhead. The light was yellow, not white, and put everything around him into sepia tones of brown, orange and tan. It was a boring carriage, as train carriages went. Unplumped cushions sluggishly slouched on the wooden benches and gold trim peeled at the signs affixed to the walls. ATTENTION! They declared, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR LUGGAGE BEHIND! That was all very good, Myles presumed, if you we...

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“Track Therapy” by Christine Johnson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #27

Audra needs a quiet train ride this morning so she is purposefully taking a later train than normal. The sunrise train cars full of business people bickering about work-induced anxieties will be pulling into the terminal station tunnels downtown when she boards the eight-nineteen.With the Loomis presentation on digitizing their warehouse only two days away, Audra will lead the rehearsal for the entire team this afternoon. As project manager, she will orchestrate a cohesive narrative – ensuring everyone understands how their piece o...

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“Train Trip Trauma” by Suzanne Kiraly

Submitted to Contest #27

As I stared through the train window the drizzling rain was painting delicate patterns on the glass as it trickled down. I smiled. What a joy it was to see such a heaven-sent gift in the midst of our severe Australian drought. One appreciates something once it is taken away and nowadays rain certainly feels precious.Sure, it wasn't a lot of precipitation, I grant you, but it was wet and fresh, and we really had been missing it. The whole country was on fire all summer long. First, we'd suffer...

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“Night Train to Pinea” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #27

“Tickets and passes, please! Tickets and passes!” bellowed the conductor, startling John awake from his slumber. His eyes snapped open and he lifted his head from the table. Panic jolted into his veins like crackling electricity. His stomach lurched.“Ticket?” said John with a frown, wiping the sleep from his eyes. “What ticket?” In his half-dozing state, the phrase came out as, Wha’ tic’?“Tickets and passes, please! Tickets and passes!” repeated the train conductor, who was now moving into view, walking down the train carriage towards John. ...

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“A Fowl Liberation” by Brittany Gillen

Submitted to Contest #27

The train was set to leave the station at midnight, full to the brim with merchandise and passengers travelling from Omaha, West to the California coast. The engineer, Tommy, let out a slow breath and watched it crystalize in the air. It was going to be a cold night and a long quiet ride. He pulled his parka closer around his face and felt the warm fur tickle his nose. Shivering, he pulled himself into the engine, and with one last wave to Fred the stationmaster, he released the brakes and headed out int...

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“It's the Unusual Circumstances That Bring Us Together” by Kathleen M.

Submitted to Contest #27

It’s not an unusual circumstance to see a person boarding a train without a ticket. It happens all the time when people with little money have many places to go. In my case, however, it was because the cops got wise and I had to skip town in a hurry. Con men have to eat, we’re not an exception to the rules of life. I had spent the earlier part of my day dodging the conductor who was looking for tickets, and the two police officers searching the cars for me. Perhaps I shouldn’t have made off with the mayor’s pocket watch, but when I see shiny...

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“Outlaw Homecoming” by Annie James

Submitted to Contest #27

At the ticket booth the clerk asks "What is your name, sir?" "Jim Rawlings." I don't tell him my full name which in America is well known, decorating several wanted posters, along with my face. The clerk just writes it, showing no sign of recognition. I step out of the train ticket office into the sunshine outdoors. On the bench outside are several other people waiting for the train. I discreetly size them up from under the shade of my bowler hat picking up clues to their identity that most people wouldn't notice but my...

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“The Lady in the Red Coat” by Kelsey Mathias

Submitted to Contest #27

Eighty-eight was not so great for Marty Arons. There was a birthday party swirling around him in the senior facility, but he was mentally elsewhere, though physically imprisoned in his bed by the tubes and other indignities foisted on the frail body and spirit of a dying old man, tortured even more by a mind that was as sharp as it was that day so long ago…It was 1944 and the world was at it again, shooting and bombing. And for Marty it was truly personal. This war had sent him all the way to a little one-horse air station in the California ...

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“Next treehouse illusion *a short story” by Kari Hyp

Submitted to Contest #27

" John, are you sure you're going to be okay up there?" I ask him, he's laying on his back on the top of the running train. He smiles-a genuine smile, one that not too many people understand nor do- and says, " Robin, I'm going to be alright. Don't worry about me."I believe him, and continue with the problem at hand: in order to not be caught. You see when you are the age of sixteen-years-old and you simply "snuck" your way into a train going to Geneva, Switzerland, you definitely don't want to get caught when you're only five hours away fro...

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“The Train (Eternity)” by Taylor Ingrassia

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #27

Green pierces the dim light of the room. A whistle cuts across the din. The scratch of words on the thin paper in your hand tells you your train departs abruptly at 3 a.m. and, as the whistle and lights have warned, this leaves about five minutes to board. You pass through the crowds gathered on the platform, dialogue in countless dialects drifting apart from the rest to meet you momentarily. Each spoken word is different, yet familiar. Over your endless years of traveling this route you have had plenty of time to pick up on the sounds...

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“Vampires and Zombies” by Bruno Lowagie

Submitted to Contest #27

A train stands still in a field. The weather outside is bad. It’s raining, and clouds are covering the moon. There are three people in the last wagon of the train: Steven, Marc, and a stranger. They don’t know why the train has stopped. Steven: “This looks like the setting of a horror movie.”Marc: “What do you mean?”Steven: “We’re in a train that stopped for an unknown reason in the middle of nowhere. There are only three people in our wagon, us two and that silent stranger three rows behind you. We haven’t seen or heard anyone in the p...

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“The Stranger from the Train” by Keri Dyck

Submitted to Contest #27

“Excuse me, miss.” A young man swayed as the train began to move. He clutched his carpetbag tighter and reached for balance to the seat. The woman he was addressing did not move, entirely engrossed in the book she held in her hands. “Excuse me, miss, is this seat taken?”She looked up then, the brim of her hat lifting to show cherry lips and chocolate eyes. “Oh, no, not at all.” She smiled, then went back to her book.He placed his carpetbag on the floor and sat down, carefully positioning one hand on the knee where the material was slightly s...

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Write a short story that takes place on a train.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 128 stories

“The Passenger” by JE Rowney

“On the rails to Dong Ha” by Derrick Kakooza

“Power of the Tongue” by John K Adams

“A meeting, a rescue and a remembrance ” by Lauren Smith

“Track Therapy” by Christine Johnson

“Train Trip Trauma” by Suzanne Kiraly

“Night Train to Pinea” by Joshua G. J. Insole

“A Fowl Liberation” by Brittany Gillen

“It's the Unusual Circumstances That Bring Us Together” by Kathleen M.

“Outlaw Homecoming” by Annie James

“The Lady in the Red Coat” by Kelsey Mathias

“Next treehouse illusion *a short story” by Kari Hyp

“The Train (Eternity)” by Taylor Ingrassia

“Vampires and Zombies” by Bruno Lowagie

“The Stranger from the Train” by Keri Dyck

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a short story about a jury of people tasked with making a decision. (It doesn't necessarily need to be a court jury.)

Write a short story in which a specialist is called upon to carry out a job.

Write a short story that ends with a twist.

Write a short story that takes place in a quaint, idyllic, English village.

Contest #27

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

379

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: