Write about an animal species that doesn't exist in real life — an alien, new discovery, imaginary creature — it's up to your interpretation!

Posted in Middle School on Nov 1, 2022

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✍️ 145 stories

“A Real Daughter” by Zara Bertram

Submitted to Contest #41

I have been called by many names, but never had a name to call my own. Instead I’d always known myself as my father’s daughter. The details have long escaped me, but in a blurry, distant way I can remember being born. Being pushed forward and tumbling out onto a white hospital bed. The feeling of stretching my small limbs and blinking open my bright, shining eyes; bright, white light and hot breath fanning across my tiny face. Being greeted into the world by a cold, analytical face and a violent, never-ceasing tapping that could’ve...

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“The Great Poan Hunt” by Garrett Hastings

Submitted to Contest #41

“PULL OVER!” The sheriff’s car raced down the road in hot pursuit, dust spouting up behind it. The whining siren and flaring headlights savagely beat the night into submission. The wheels screeched, and the stench of crying brakes filled the small car. Sheriff Rod Stern rolled down his windows to feel the cool of the evening rush in. He veered a sharp left with the road, and the man in the gray sedan in front of him had some difficulty but maintained his distance. The sheriff spun into the curve hard, and his Great Dane, Snout, yelped, as he...

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“The Fairy's Garden” by Tomika Darden

Submitted to Contest #41

“I’ve had it!” I groaned, to no one in particular, as I walked into my bedroom, and after dropping everything previously held in my hands on the floor. At work my boss man had insisted that I work with Brian. Brian is the most conceited man I’ve had the displeasure of ever working with, and for some reason I end up doing it often.We work for a few minutes and then Brian sits on his butt and talks about the other women who work with us. I’m the one focusing on staffing issues, sorting through endless applications noting who needs to be hired,...

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“Thresholds” by Anikah Gordon

Submitted to Contest #41

“I haven’t even looked at the food I packed yet,” I laugh. I open the bag, taking out at least 5 candy bars for both Shiloh and August, tossing little bundles to them.“Obviously you have,” August retorts as he catches his, placing them into his bag. “And trust you to bring candy, Zephyr.”“I can take them right back, mister,” I give him a dangerous look. Shiloh puts theirs into a blue backpack they’d been carrying. The one that August brought is green and mine is black, so I guess that will be easy to tell. Midday sunlight filters...

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“ENDING TO THE STORY” by Shreyonti Chakraborty

Submitted to Contest #41

We didn’t know where Manu had come from. Two Australian trekkers had found him in the Himalayas, deep in the terai, where they probably had no business being but who would question them now that Manu had our attention? “He was just standing there, sucking his thumb, in the middle of a clearing!” said one of the Australians.“Clearing?” the police asked. “There are no clearings in this area. It is all wilderness.”“Exactly!” said the other Australian. The police had reason to be skeptical. Travelers liked to believe their own fantastic tales. H...

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“The H'Cenalot Beast” by Julie DiDomenico

Submitted to Contest #41

The sight of mangled corpses used to deter him. No longer did the sight bother him. He adjusted the white fabric on the last body and stood back. He stared at four pyres, a body atop each, bound in white wrappings. He would have to perform the ceremony to send the soul on its way for each. Luckily they had plenty of wine. He knelt in front of the pyre he’d just adjusted the fabric. Two men stood at the closer corners of the wooden structure, each holding a lit torch. The flames flickered in the dim light, the sun rising, but had yet to crest...

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“Just Me” by Jacqueline Han

Submitted to Contest #41

Sitting by the ever-changing water, I let my feet slip in. The cool pull of the river tugs on the fine fur that enveloped my three feet. My glowing eyes tinted in purple find their matching pair in the water as I glared at my reflection. Long pointed ears that stick up beyond the fur on my head. The strangely splotched patterns that covered my skin. The three antler-like horns that grew from within. The baby pink nose that is hugged by the many strands of navy and violet whiskers. My eyes trail lower in the reflection until it falls on my ta...

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“Sacred Serpent” by Corey Herrera

Submitted to Contest #41

”You have been freely given, so you also freely give. Don’t be greedy with your knowledge. Share it.” These are the words that crossed her mind and guided her daily. Her name was Raquel. She was a member of the cryptozoologist society and made it her life goal to find mythological creatures that were spoken about in folklore and ominous creation tales. Raquel came from a small tribe located in the Southwest. She had heard tales from her grandparents about creatures that had been observed over the years. Tales and origin stories that fue...

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“Gashi and the Runt” by Adam Weinstein

Submitted to Contest #41

“Welcome to Zoo Earth. The only zoo for you. That will be fifty Zlatkos.” the employee mutters in a tone that seems to say “I’d rather cut off seven of my arms than speak to you.”I transmit the money while the little runt who dragged me to the hick country of the universe zooms past me to look at the outdated holograms of the Zoo’s main animals.“Wow! Do they really look like that! Hey, Gashi, why do they only have two arms? Do they really walk like that? What’s that weird stuff on their face?”“They only have two arms because whatever God the...

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“The village that never woke up” by Saloni D

Submitted to Contest #41

Roohi was playing on the beach when the lightning struck into the sea. She thought it was strange for a single bolt of lightning to strike in the middle of summer, when the sky is cloudless and as blue as the new rug that Ma has recently splurged on. Roohi thought it was stranger that there was no sound of thunder which usually followed behind the lightening, a phenomenon that her fourth grade science textbook had taught her this week. But what she found strangest was when she saw something floating in the water at the exact spot where the l...

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“Kind, Sweet, Forrest” by Emily Ku

Submitted to Contest #41

I, Natasha (Tasha) Williams, look through the electron microscope and see the mysterious, unknown thing. An alien, perhaps. Let me start from the beginning. I got a call from the director of NASA, saying that they found a special kind of rocky object that was unknown to us. Not a color of rock you find on Earth, but one that you find in space on a planet far from here. NASA thought it might be approximately 700 light-years away from the edge of this solar system. They found the rock from the famous space explorer, Leonardo Fitz. As I jot dow...

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“RoadKill” by Thomas Wilson

Submitted to Contest #41

It is late at night on U.S. Route 79, the south-north highway that starts from central Texas and ends in southwest Kentucky. A massive storm just past making the roads slick and glistening like the skin on a frog. A mist is forming, crawling it's way out of the woodline and onto the highway.A rig and its wagon barrel forward, hitting triple digits on the highway. The driver is a heavy-set man in his early forties sporting a long salt and pepper beard, wearing a faded green and white cap with a duck logo on it. The cab has trinkets and o...

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“By the Light of Two Moons” by Mikayla Ruvalcaba

Submitted to Contest #41

Breakfast was different that morning. No dehydrated protein cereal today. Instead, they feasted on real potatoes and ham from a can. It was the last breakfast Nathan’s father would get at the Jamestown colony base camp before the expedition, and as such, it was a special one.“Where are you going this time, honey” Laura asked, blowing on her instant coffee.“They’re sending the five of us up to Olympus. Which, let me tell you, a volcano will be a welcome expedition site after the last one at the pole.” Nathan’s dad, Luke, chuckled, but shivere...

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“Dream” by Tanisha Gopal

Submitted to Contest #41

It was all a blur, our sight hazy from the tornadoes whizzing around us. Our hope of possibly going home completely shattered, we were trying our level best to at least stay alive, but with our team slowly being killed by these.....things, one-by-one, even that seems to be impossible.“Max!” I whipped my head around, hearing my name, followed by a strangled gasp, seeing blood spurting out of Malcolm’s mouth as a rigid thorn-like tentacle pierced through him from the back, his eyes wholly red. I screamed, tears streaming down my face, only to ...

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“Ghost Horse” by Nina Novella

Submitted to Contest #41

"Honey, breakfast is ready!" my mom yelled from the kitchen. I put on a jacket and quickly ran down the stairs. I was so hungry that you could probably hear my tummy growling a mile away. I came to the kitchen table and started to eat. As soon as I was done, I went back upstairs to change. My friends and I are going horseback riding. We are practising for a competition that we want to join. An hour later, we were ready to ride. We climbed on the back of our horses and rode them on the route through the...

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Write about an animal species that doesn't exist in real life — an alien, new discovery, imaginary creature — it's up to your interpretation!

Submissions are closed

✍️ 145 stories

“A Real Daughter” by Zara Bertram

“The Great Poan Hunt” by Garrett Hastings

“The Fairy's Garden” by Tomika Darden

“Thresholds” by Anikah Gordon

“ENDING TO THE STORY” by Shreyonti Chakraborty

“The H'Cenalot Beast” by Julie DiDomenico

“Just Me” by Jacqueline Han

“Sacred Serpent” by Corey Herrera

“Gashi and the Runt” by Adam Weinstein

“The village that never woke up” by Saloni D

“Kind, Sweet, Forrest” by Emily Ku

“RoadKill” by Thomas Wilson

“By the Light of Two Moons” by Mikayla Ruvalcaba

“Dream” by Tanisha Gopal

“Ghost Horse” by Nina Novella

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about an animal who changes a person's life (for better or worse).

Write about an animal who goes on a journey.

Write a story featuring an animal who subverts expectations (like a snuggly tiger, or something more magical, like a literal fish out of water).

Write about an animal who causes a huge problem.

Contest #41

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

614

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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