Make a mysterious message an important part of your story.

Posted in Mystery on Aug 4, 2023

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✍️ 40 stories

“Project Un: The Whisper of the Stars” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #210

“There are whispers in the stars; A prophecy of things unknown. For the observer, it is chance and circumstance, but to the believer… to the fanatic, it is truth.” - Captain’s log, R. Gunson, Paradigm Prime Sebi, Daughter of Medai, Daughter of Shura, did not like the desert. Of all the many complaints one could have of the wasteland devoid of pleasantries, Sebi disliked only the solitude. Discomfort, hardship, and danger, these things are unavoidable, but solitude is not. If one is alone, they can find companionship in animals. One can fi...

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“Master of None” by Rewa Anand

Submitted to Contest #210

The story began with the first of the messages that Amruta received. It came printed on a crisp, white square of paper, in a crisp, white envelope that bore no clue as to who had sent it in the first place. The print read simply Amruta Jadhav will never be the best at anything she does. At this point, Amruta was only a young girl of twelve. In a small town that had had its fair share of inexplicable events and random instances of magic, the message was taken with the utmost solemnity and was believed without question. And that was before all...

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“Violation” by Retro Bolic

Submitted to Contest #210

“You have seven days.” Scratched onto a stone cube, seven of them dropped off on every continent (it took a while for people to find the one in Antarctica). “You have seven days.” Naturally, humans immediately took to fear. The messages were written in human language, but the material of the stone was alien. “It’s clearly a threat!” yelled a scientist, one of the best in the world. More specifically, she was good with astrophysics, not stone cubes. “Who knows? Could it be a hoax?” asked a military man, who had never once dealt with...

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“Live-Stream ” by Poppy LaC.

Submitted to Contest #210

Arabella tapped her keyboard, her computer screen lighting up as she plopped in her chair. “Another long streaming night…” She muttered under her breath, opening Discord and Twitch. She clicked on her microphone, “Hey guys, welcome back to my stream. Today we’ll just be chilling and doing random things today.” She’d shrug, smiling as she joined a Discord Call. Her gaze would glance over to her comments every once in awhile, seeing stuff such as: @blueskys: These streams are always so relaxing! 🥰 @panda954: since when was ur hair blu? @arab...

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“The Games Kids Play” by Sydney Crago

Submitted to Contest #210

74631283Too many digits for a local phone number, not enough to include the area code. Not enough for a bank account or a credit card. One digit shy of being a social security number. Too long to be a house number, too short for a Zip code +4. Laurel tapped her finger against the desk. For nearly 25 years, these numbers had stared detectives in the face, taunting them. Now they were leaving her sleepless and scrolling the internet.It was only a fluke that she even knew them. The secretary at the station had forgotten to redact the final line...

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“The Lost Message” by Henrry Peinella

Submitted to Contest #210

Albert and I have been thinking, researching, and experimenting with the strange artifact in the laboratory. I am starting to feel tired of this place. We’re still stuck on the problem and while we've deciphered most of it, this particular part seems to be crucial in understanding the entire thing. Suddenly, an alarm goes off. “What is that?” I ask. I’ve never heard that alarm before–I didn’t even know we had one. “Ah, ignore it,” responds Albert in his characteristic way. “And that buzz?” “Don’t know. Ignore it.” I do and continue...

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“AN EMBROIDERY FROM THE STARS” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #210

AN EMBROIDERY FROM THE STARS Greta had a quiet, serene, and rather lonely life. She lived alone after having married twice and been divorced as many. Her three children were now adults and lived in other cities. Marisa, the youngest, had been living abroad for years. Since she had retired ___he had been a music teacher in a high school____ Greta devoted herself to gardening ___her oriental roses were a rarity, and, of course, to music. She played the piano and the violin. Greta loved walking at night, especially in the ...

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“the arrival” by James Mckinley

Submitted to Contest #210

The Arrival The Earth, a blue jewel sitting in a precarious position near a Yellow Sun. A planet with so many questions and struggling for answers. Through wars, political upheavals and disasters both manmade and natural, there was always a hope that someone or something would save us from ourselves, unfortunately that never materialized. For the first part of the 21st century, humanity struggled with the same old familiar problems, then in 2030 there was finally a breaking point. The breaking point was both in scientific advancement and c...

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“Who's Left Behind?” by Asa P

Submitted to Contest #210

YOU MURDERED METhe words were big enough for a blind man to see but some foreign church must've left it. Before he could get out his phone to open Papago to translate the strange note that had been slid under his door while he was away, the middle aged office worker was blinded by a flash of white light and then inky blackness. When he awoke he had the worst migraine ever yet his skull simultaneously felt thick. He was bound at the ankles, elbows, and wrists naturally. A strip of duct tape sealed his eyes. The source of the accent elude...

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“Faith” by Harini Leninraj

Submitted to Contest #210

"Just hand me the damn crucifix!" Heimileria urged me. "I'm sorry! Here, take it. Hurry!" I yelped, scared. 10:28 PM - realisation Jack found the lock pick from a precarious pile of junk and frantically ran up to the door with it; he picked out the lock in a flash. The ominous, unholy breaths surrounding me made my stomach churn in a knot. Heimileria stared at me. As white as a ghost. She groaned as her skin began to wrinkle unpleasantly. I was stunned at what I was witnessing; the hotel was filled with eeriness. Was there anyone out...

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Make a mysterious message an important part of your story.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 40 stories

“Project Un: The Whisper of the Stars” by Samuel Bowen

“Master of None” by Rewa Anand

“Violation” by Retro Bolic

“Live-Stream ” by Poppy LaC.

“The Games Kids Play” by Sydney Crago

“The Lost Message” by Henrry Peinella

“AN EMBROIDERY FROM THE STARS” by Mara Masolini

“the arrival” by James Mckinley

“Who's Left Behind?” by Asa P

“Faith” by Harini Leninraj

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story after aliens have officially arrived on Earth.

Write about a character who has to grapple with something completely alien to them.

Write a story about a character who is trying to share groundbreaking news, but isn’t being taken seriously.

Write a story that includes someone saying, “We’re not alone.”

Contest #210

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

299

Contest entries

112

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: