Start your story with someone saying, “We’re running out of time.”

Posted in Middle School on Nov 1, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 77 stories

“Blue Eyes” by Angelos Amaxopoulos

Submitted to Contest #154

“We’re running out of time” Evan said calmly as the wind was blowing through their hair. Layla knew he would say it. Still, she felt her stomach tighten and the breeze got colder while they were sitting on the bright green meadow. “I don’t want to leave”, she stared at him with lowered eyebrows. He smiled “It’s only a month, isn’t it?” Layla sighed and turned her head to see the house behind them. The one they grew up in. It’s still the same after all these years. Yes, the walls are discoloured and the door is barely standing, but it ...

2 comments 2

Read story

“McDonald’s Run” by Jeremy Renbarger

Submitted to Contest #154

“We’re running out of time!” my dad yells.“McDonald’s breakfast ends in *looks at watch*“Eight minutes!”We are sitting at the light right before the McDonald’s. It’s a right turn and we are in the right lane. One elongated minute passes, and the light turns green. We turn into the parking lot, I see the big yellow arches, it was like in the movies. My dad sees how the drive-thru line was insanely long, so he says he’s gonna just park. My dad never had a problem parking far for ease, but in the interest of time, he pulled up right ...

9 comments 9

Read story

“Tasty Tuesday” by Anne Holliday

Submitted to Contest #154

“We’re running out of time!” Amy shouted, “Drive faster!” “I’m already going nine miles an hour over the speed limit,” Mark said. “I refuse to go any faster.” “But …,” she said, sounding panicked. “If a state trooper stops us, we’ll certainly never make it so stop telling me to drive faster.” Mark couldn’t understand the urgency. It wasn’t as if this would be their first time. And so what if they didn’t make it tonight? There’s always tomorrow. Of course it wouldn’t be the same, but they would still be there. “We’re never goi...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Jean and Jace” by Jamie M. Samland

Submitted to Contest #154

“‘We’re running out of time.’” “Shut up, Mike,” Linda groaned and adjusted the thick collar of her bomb disposal suit. “I’d say that’s famous last words, but I don’t know if anyone heard them.” Mike stood on his toes to see the long line dwindling to a speck in front of the pair, to the limitless white that was the group, horizon, and sky, then to the line behind them just as long. “Our radios were open. Someone heard it.” Mike shifted the weight between his feet and looked down at the fluffy white wisps billowing around his shins. “What...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Timebomb” by Claudia Jackson

Submitted to Contest #154

“We’re running out of time!” The old woman had untamed grey hair that fell past her shoulders, pale blue eyes that may have been beautiful once, and yellow teeth. Leah nodded and smiled kindly. It was just her luck, she thought, to get stuck next to the crazy on the bus. She glanced at the baby carriage next to her and smiled again. It wouldn’t matter soon. “It`s a timebomb,” the old woman continued, “a ticking time bomb. We have to save the planet!” The woman stared at Leah. “For your baby! For all our babies!” She lurched forward to peer ...

3 comments 3

Read story

“The Door to Nowhere” by Jill Amari

Submitted to Contest #154

Underground bunker, location unknown, 1972"We're running out of time!"People hurried around the windowless room, chairs squeaking and voices shouting. Workspaces were abandoned, papers and charts scattered amidst the clunky machines all displaying the same word: EVACUATE.Technicians in blue overalls swept important documents into trash bags and loaded them onto a truck waiting outside the steel double doors. Over the intercom, a woman's gravelly voice yelled that they would push the button in one minute. One minute, she repeated, as if they ...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Bond Between Twins” by Marilyn Briant

Submitted to Contest #154

THE BOND BETWEEN TWINS “We’re running out of time,” Detective Inspector Willis shouted into his phone, “I need a team here now!” He gazes at the small, stiff body on the stained mattress. Reaches out, gently moving aside long, dirty, blond hair. Bruising on her neck, redness in and around her large blue expressionless eyes. Strangulation? He will have to wait for the coroner’s confirmation on that. She looks about twelve years old. He hates that. Never could deal with the emotions that come with seeing a dead child. He swallows hard, ...

3 comments 3

Read story

“The Grave of Cassiel” by Ash Tenebris

Submitted to Contest #154

TW: Minor gore and some violence, hints of suicide and related themes“We’re running out of time,” he snarled. “Hurry up.”They lifted their head, wiping sweat from their brow. “Do you want to come dig him up yourself? You’re lucky I’m even helping you!”“Keep your voice down,” he barked, storming towards the shallow hole.Nothing but the moon and stars were there to see the sin they committed, and even then, he felt the world’s judgment. He knew God would never forgive him, but he had long since cared what He thought. He snatched the shovel fro...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Lookout” by Amanda J Brown

Submitted to Contest #154

‘We’re running out of time,’ said the wiry youth as he looked out over an increasingly choppy incoming tide from his vantage point at the edge of the cliff. ‘I reckon we’ve less than ten minutes until the rendezvous.’ ‘We better get down there,’ Pedro instructed his three compatriots. They slung their weapons over their shoulders and, with the aid of a single head torch, squeezed into the narrow crevice in the rocks and into the tunnel below. Progress was slow as they followed the markings painted on the rock face. ‘Watch your foot...

7 comments 7

Read story

“Takeover” by Geoffrey Saemann

Submitted to Contest #154

“We’re running out of time Owen,” I said over the burner phone. “We need to get out of here now! There are less safe passages across the border every day, and I speak, our people are staking out more of them!” I barely finished the sentence before my boss, Derek Morgan, strode around the corner. I reacted immediately, jamming the burner phone into my breast pocket. “Oh Derek, I didn’t see you there!” Derek remained stone faced. “You alright, Mrs. Bronson?” Derek asked kindly enough, although I knew he was probing my expression and body langu...

1 comment 1

Read story

“How To Blow Up a Safe” by Tionge Nakazwe

Submitted to Contest #154

"We're running out of time," said the anxious voice in her left ear. "Agent Bone-" "We're not running out of time. I'll be in and out of here in fifteen minutes," Bone assured the voice. Poppy had always been anxious. It's what pushed her out of the running for Agent status when they were trainees, but it made her the best eyes and ears on the outside. She noticed everything. That's why Bone chose her for this mission. That and the fact that she was the closest thing she had to a friend. Poppy continued to share- Bone could hear her pac...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Fourteen Seconds” by Sean Sorce

Submitted to Contest #154

"We're running out of time. We have got to figure out a plan to run the clock down. Got any ideas?" asked Coach Pope as he gathered us around for a one minute private team meeting.It was the last quarter, we just use our last timeout, and there was fourteen seconds on the clock. The game was tied 3-3. The opposite team just scored one roughly a second ago. We only had one more point to win it for our first round of the high school playoff season. We're going against another team in a neighborhood town that was seeded number one for the seaso...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Untimely” by R. N. Jayne

Submitted to Contest #154

Warning: the following story contains sensitive content, including brief violence, gore, body horror, substance abuse, and substance abuse. Reader discretion is advised.***“We’re running out of time,” I murmured, breaking our kiss. Magda’s full lips held the flavor of bittersweet fruit.She reached for my hand through the iron bars separating us. “I’m scared.”“Don’t be.”Diving in for another taste, I pushed my tongue inside her mouth, passing along the beeswax-coated pill Granny Annie had planted in my biscuit during yesterday’s afternoon tea...

2 comments 2

Read story

“Newton's Cradle and a Rat” by Jimmy Burke

Submitted to Contest #154

“We’re running out of time!” Ding* Ding* “we’re running out of time!” Ding* Ding*. Yasha looked up at the other side of the door’s threshold as he climbed up the short stairs into the passenger car. There was a small cat standing on its hind legs, similar to the way a person would. It was dressed in a blue train conductor's uniform and it was covered in white fur with a few black spots, including one on its eye. “We’re running out of time!” It squeaked again. “The doors are closing! We need to stay on schedule! We...

0 comments 0

Read story

“"I Am The Setting Sun" ("I Am The Setting Sun")” by Aristos Achion

Submitted to Contest #154

“We” she slams her notebook and a few sheets clumped together onto the table, “are running out of time.”She stands across from me with her hands splayed on the table and I stare at her with even, if a little bit sleep blurred, eyes. I sip my tea. “Running out of time to do what exactly?” “To get back at my groomer, I’ve finally figured out what I want to do.” “Well,” I take another careful sip, awakening with each word that she says, “that’s one hell of a way to start the day.”… “So what you’re saying is that you want to out him.” She huffs ...

0 comments 0

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about someone who feels increasingly irrelevant.

Sad – 57 stories

Write a story — romantic or not — about two characters who can’t find the right timing.

Romance – 32 stories

Write a story about an object that has been around for centuries or passed down generations.

Kids – 46 stories

Write a story featuring an element of time-travel or anachronism.

Science Fiction – 68 stories

Contest #154

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: The Right Timing

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

112

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 15, 2022 EST

Won by Suma Jayachandar 🏆

Title: Moonlight and Madness

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Start your story with someone saying, “We’re running out of time.”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 77 stories

“Blue Eyes” by Angelos Amaxopoulos

“McDonald’s Run” by Jeremy Renbarger

“Tasty Tuesday” by Anne Holliday

“Jean and Jace” by Jamie M. Samland

“Timebomb” by Claudia Jackson

“The Door to Nowhere” by Jill Amari

“The Bond Between Twins” by Marilyn Briant

“The Grave of Cassiel” by Ash Tenebris

“The Lookout” by Amanda J Brown

“Takeover” by Geoffrey Saemann

“How To Blow Up a Safe” by Tionge Nakazwe

“Fourteen Seconds” by Sean Sorce

“Untimely” by R. N. Jayne

“Newton's Cradle and a Rat” by Jimmy Burke

“"I Am The Setting Sun" ("I Am The Setting Sun")” by Aristos Achion

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about someone who feels increasingly irrelevant.

Write a story — romantic or not — about two characters who can’t find the right timing.

Write a story about an object that has been around for centuries or passed down generations.

Write a story featuring an element of time-travel or anachronism.

Contest #154

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

112

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: