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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story where the law plays an important role.

Posted in High School on Nov 1, 2022

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 24 stories

“Maiden Voyage” by Gregg Voss

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #158

Vestal, Ohio The heat. The damn, ever-loving summer heat. It covered like a veil, even at 11:04 p.m., according to the clock on the squad’s dash. A single drop of sweat ran from Officer Todd Fowler’s hairline behind his right ear onto the collar of his navy uniform shirt, which was bear-hugged by a twenty-pound tactical vest that did nothing but absorb all that heat.    Hell of a night for my maiden voyage, he thought, as his eyes flitted from the clock to the blue-screened laptop in front of the passenger seat to the unopene...

47 comments 47
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“Interview with the Vigilante” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #158

Detective Nunez sips coffee, looking around my apartment as if he’s just a visitor.             “Congratulations on your promotion,” I say. “Officer to Detective, that’s a promotion, isn’t it?” My voice is dead. I keep looking at Billie. Why is she messed up in this? Why did I think I could live a happy life?             “First I want to say congratulations to you,” he says, smiling. He aims an open palm at Billie’s convex ...

22 comments 22
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“Not Music to My Ears” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #158

CW: Mention of death by suicide/homicide.“Normally, one cannot distinguish between homicidal poisoning and suicidal poisoning,” a hoarse voice from the witness stand rasps.Unless someone cries too much or too little.I shush my mind. I am not here in the capacity of an advocate or a private investigator. But just as a teenager sent to the courtroom to figure out if she is meant to pursue law.The Judge, honourable C.K. Gopal looks on impassively at the prosecuting witness. And coughs.“That will be all, your honour,” the rotund prosecuting advo...

14 comments 14
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“Mystery in Mayhem” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #158

           It was another dismal day in the City of Mayhem, where criminals outnumbered law enforcement three-to-one.            The dark, grey clouds hovered over the city like a blanket. Thunder rumbled so loudly, that it rattled the windows of the 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme that was parked in the shadows on Porter Street. Shards of metal fell from the rusted-out fenders as the door swung open.      &n...

10 comments 10
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“Pick a box” by Alice Richardson

Submitted to Contest #158

Pick a Box Gina stood in the dingy, smelly basement (or ‘the dungeon’ as it was colloquially referred to) and cringed inwardly at the sight of row upon row of boxes stacked on shelving units. There must be hundreds of them, she thought. ‘Pick a box. Any box,’ Senior Detective Matt Rankin said with a smug grin. ‘Every one’s a winner and every one’s a loser. I’ll leave you to it then,’ he said as he turned on his heel and walked out into the passage that led back to the relatively bright lights of Police Headquarters.     ...

9 comments 9
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“The Good in the Badlands” by W.E. White

Submitted to Contest #158

**This story contains violence and briefly speaks of suicide**The fire glowed from the windows of the weathered wooden shack that nestled in the center of Breakers Canyon, only feet from the Missouri river that carved its way through Deep Valley, Montana. The rock face rose up on either side of the valley, speckled with shrubs and trees that thrived in the dusty dryness. Black tailed Prairie dogs scurried to their burrows as the moonlight caressed the nooks and crannies of the Montana badlands. The Henry Ranch homestead was a three...

3 comments 3
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“280” by D.C. Reed

Submitted to Contest #158

The following is part of the official transcript of the People v.s. William Devin Jones. Outside of offending passages, this is how it was transmitted via social media on the day of the trial in accordance to all laws including ADMT 1.6 of the First Amendment which states: To protect the honor and sanctity of truth, debate, and speech, all communications, digital or otherwise, must be communicated in 280 characters or less. Language usage outside these bounds is the responsibility of the creator and subject to prosecution.  “All Ris...

0 comments 0
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“Immunity” by Ashley Frerichs

Submitted to Contest #158

Alison McDowell burst through her front door, red faced and shaking, tears streaming from her panic-stricken eyes. As she leaned forward to pry off her shoes, she toppled over and fell head-first into the mirrored door of the front hall closet. Shards of reflective glass exploded all around her, as if to mock and magnify her pathetic state. She crumbled into a ball on the floor, tears and blood coalescing all around her. Daniel rushed down the stairs, half asleep. “What the… honey! Are you okay?” He slid his slippers on and waded through t...

0 comments 0
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“There is Nothing Funny About Murder” by Brian Bywater

Submitted to Contest #158

There is Nothing Funny about Murder  The Sixth Sense Some days have a way of enforcing you should not have decided to get out of bed. From the time his office door opens, admitting a man he would come to know as Joseph H Pomeroy, TJ Scobie is overwhelmed by the recognition, this is definitely one of those days. His sixth sense engages the high alert setting as soon as the man asks, “Is this the office of TJ Scobie the Private Detective? Bit small isn’t it? More like a broom cupboard.” Two months ago TJ parted with a considerable s...

6 comments 6
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“There's Always One More” by Stephen B. Allen

Submitted to Contest #158

There’s Always One MoreMake no mistake; this was a monster!When it had formed out in the Caribbean, it had steadily grown from a Tropical Wave into a Tropical Depression. Moving as slowly as it was, it had plenty of time to build up strength once it entered the warmer waters of the Gulf; until what had been Tropical Storm Judith exploded in strength and fury into a Cat 2 hurricane in only a matter of hours!And she wasn’t even done forming yet!The latest information from the Hurricane Hunter planes of the Florida National Guard flying directl...

4 comments 4
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“Ellen's Gams” by Tod Moran

Submitted to Contest #158

Ellen’s Gams They’re just bad kids. They need to go away, for a long time. Judge Ellen Morphonious There are many stories about Dade County Circuit Court Judge Ellen Morphonios. A few false, others exaggerated, some she told herself in her autobiography, Maximum Morphonios: The Life and Times of America's Toughest Judge. But the one most often repeated in the Justice Building, most in character, one that always brought a smile to those hearing it, was the incident known as Ellen's Gams. But before we get to the incident I will introduce y...

2 comments 2
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“The Elephant necklace” by Chris Holland

Submitted to Contest #158

John looked up from his work bench, the window to his right giving him a view into his kitchen across the narrow concrete pathway separating his workshop and the house. Jackie was indicating to him that supper was ready by making an eating motion with her hands. He smiled at her, nodding acknowledgement. He switched off his drill press at the wall of plugs and closed the large sliding window above the bench. He had planned his workbench to give him a panoramic vista of the countryside, the rolling verdant hills made way for a green fertile v...

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“Redemption” by Gloria Parker

Submitted to Contest #158

Emily gently placed her foot on the brake pedal as she approached the red light. She made sure she was completely stopped before she got too close to the white line. Emily, impatient as usual, started tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.   “La, la, la...” she looked around boredly. Across the street a man struggled to lift his bag of flour into the trunk of his car. Another man, whom Emily presumed to be homeless, walked across the parking lot with his single backpack on his back. He went over to the first man’s car and grab...

1 comment 1
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“It Was Never Supposed To Happen” by Donna James

Submitted to Contest #158

The accident happened in August 2020. This was such a bad, bad time. Russell was ping ponging from place to place. His last job had ended in March 2020. Working conditions had become unbearable. The pandemic also was in full bloom and people were hesitant to venture out. Russell had become rather stir crazy and even his reading and writing were not enough to occupy his random thoughts. He left on Friday afternoon and went to spend time with a friend, if you could call him that. Mark, the so-called friend, was also dealing with his own chal...

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“Nightmare in the Library” by Jamie Schacher

Submitted to Contest #158

Allison Danvers stood in between the stacks of books in the library on campus of the University of Washington. She took in the smell of the old books, a musty smell that wasn’t too strong. Her fingertips grazed the spines of the books on the shelf in front of her, feeling the texture of all the different kinds of book covers. She enjoyed the covers that almost felt like fabric and were older than most on the shelves. Allison preferred these books more because they had so much more history to them than just writing inside of them. Most of the...

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