Set all or part of your story in a jam-packed storage unit.

Posted in Mystery on Feb 10, 2023

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✍️ 46 stories

“LOVE LOCKER FOR SALE” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #185

“Darling, would you like more wine? Just a touch? We can always open another. It’s not every evening we get to enjoy one of your succulent roasts, is it? And with potatoes gratin, no less. You know they’re my favorite. You spoil me, you always have. I honestly don’t know what I ever did to deserve you. I’m just so glad I did whatever it was, and just know I would do it again if it meant another lifetime to spend with you.”Maurice Chanel poured what was left into his glass, one of a set of Riedel hand-...

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“ Indiana? As in Jones?” by Chris Mueller

Submitted to Contest #185

“We found him unconscious under the storage unit door.”“Strange. Well, get what you can out of him and fill out an accident report,” the sergeant said. “I’m heading back to the station.”“Sergeant, he's claiming he was attacked.”“Attacked?” his right eyebrow raised. “All right, I guess it's a crime scene. Go ahead, tape it off.” “Sir, he's concussed and confused. He can't remember much and, um, uh—-.” “Spit it out, Officer.”“Um,” he smirked, “He said his name is Indiana.”“As in Jones?” His brow took another step up. “Yes, I thi...

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“You Must Keep Quiet, Little Ruslan” by RJ Holmquist

Submitted to Contest #185

Gaziantepe Turkey, February 5th, 2023***“You must keep quiet, little Ruslan,” said my mother, “they cannot know we’re here.” I nodded, but I did not want her to go.“I will be back soon with something good to eat. Just stay quiet, and do not move. Will you promise?” I nodded again. She adjusted my mittens and checked that my coat was tightly closed, then stepped quickly out the door.We had stayed two nights already in this room so full of dusty things. There was hardly any room for us among the crates and boxes, only enough to curl ...

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“Murder at the Roadhouse Saloon” by Frank Lester

Submitted to Contest #185

I dozed, peacefully drooling on the notes from my philosophy class when the phone began its merciless shriek. My heart stopped. Notes, pens, and phone scattered across the floor in my shocked and befuddled response.Groggy, I rifled through the refuse until the lighted face of the phone gleamed from under the bed. Grabbing it, I cursed the caller. The ID announced, “Carol.”“Who the hell is Carol and why is she calling at—” I checked the time in the upper left corner of the phone “—four p.m.?” I rubbed the grit from my eyes and checked the ID ...

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“Orange and Yellow, by Rothko” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #185

Harry thought it would have been a lot easier to steal from his Stepdad, since he was dead. But they had to get into the unit at StoragePro first. “No.” The guard said. “We‘re his stepsons,” Harry pleaded. “Look, we have the key and everything.” He held up a key with the StoragePro logo. The guard buzzed them into the entrance. “What unit?” He looked them up and down, sensing something was off. “Number 222.” Harry said. “It is awfully late to be going into your unit-.” The guard looked at the mismatched pair...

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“The Collector” by Valerie Church

Submitted to Contest #185

THE COLLECTOR Arthur was, as usual, the last to leave his office. He tidied his desk, emptied the waste basket, put the file he was working on back into the filing cabinet and brushed away a recalcitrant morsel of fluff. He liked to keep his desk clean and orderly, shuddering at the thought of the sticky remains of surreptitious snacks he had noticed on his neighbour’s working surface. Not that his own work station really deserved to be called a desk, more of a corner, actually, the end of a shelf housing office equipment, first aid box etc....

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“The Faceless” by Shane Murray

Submitted to Contest #185

The stained and rusted steel doors groaned in the wind like the maw of a sleeping dragon. Adam took it in while he waited by the team’s truck. The old igloo ammo bunker built during World War Two was now a personal storage warehouse, sold off like the others in the area when the government no longer needed the infrastructure. Located in the middle of nowhere, Hamilton Township, Illinois, the place felt like a forgotten ruin. A simple chain link fence with a small access hut next to the gate separated the gravel lot outside the large ste...

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“Henkin’s Mellified Honey” by Jack Kimball

Submitted to Contest #185

According to Wikipedia, for at least 2,700 years honey has been used by humans to treat a variety of ailments through topical application. The contents of the mellification process however would turn the honey into ‘sort of a confection reputedly capable of healing broken limbs and other ailments. This confection would then be sold in street markets as a hard to find item with a hefty price’. “Do you think he’s ready?” The only care remaining in Ann Henkins was for her son, John Jr., who everyone called Little John. She wanted to p...

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“THE ANGEL WITH FLOWERY WINGS” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #185

THE ANGEL WITH FLOWERY WINGS Richard, who had always been a framer, had begun to collect every work of painting that he happened to find or that he could afford to buy since, for almost a long time now, with the advent of contemporary art, painting seemed a forgotten practice, certainly no longer considered an art. If you continued to paint in the era of installations and video art you were at best a craftsman, certainly not an artist. But you could also be considered a troglodyte or a poor fool. Richard had always been passionate ab...

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“Old Man Jenkins” by Kev Neylon

Submitted to Contest #185

Everyone knew Old Man Jenkins was a hoarder. His house had been deemed a fire hazard decades ago, piles of all sorts of everything making the inside of it like a maze, one in almost complete darkness as natural light couldn’t get in through the windows, covered as they were with boxes and piles of rubbish, and no one wanted to turn the lights on for the fear of their bare bulbs sparking a fire on one of the many piles of books, magazines, or papers. It had got so bad his wife had left him before the new millennium had started, sick of state ...

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“Pink Strands and Graham Crackers ” by S N

Submitted to Contest #185

This story explores themes of Mental Illness and Self Harm. Reader discretion is advised. Everything is pink. And soft. And offensive. Large too, yes. Everything is massive in this room and I hate it. How did she get them in here? “Shoe box,” has been used to described rooms like this, but this pales. This is a matchbox. Half, half of a match box and just as packed. “Sarah! Are you still in there?” mother calls. My breath catches and I kill the light, snuffing out my presence like a damp pinch to a flame. A sudden craving for s’mores ta...

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“My Momma’s Things” by David B Fraser

Submitted to Contest #185

The storage unit door rolled up. Eduardo stood with his elderly momma beside him and his wife behind them. “Okay, momma, let me get a chair for you.” Eduardo took out from high a Louis XV style chair and placed it on the concrete for her. He got one out for Maria, but she waved him away and fumbled for her cigarettes and lighter. “Could you do that over there?” He pointed. She gave him a look of outrage. “The wind. The smoke will get in the chairs and the carpets. Maria, ple...

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“Memories” by Isaac Walker

Submitted to Contest #185

Along with the fortune I inherited through my father's death, I got a key to an old storage locker that my father had seemed so keen on keeping secretive and hidden. I remember him being so proud of buying it. I was around twelve or so then, which is insane because it has already been ten years since that day. I don't think my father intended to have to give my sister and me the key so soon, but it's not like getting mixed up with the mafia doesn't have its dangers. That stupid, stupid man. Why did he have to take out a loan from one of th...

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“Oxygen deprived rambling” by Kajetan Badach

Submitted to Contest #185

Head spinning and skull crashing. Gonna need several of these nasty sour vitamin shots this time.Okay, breathe in, breathe out. Open my eyes in 3.. 2.. 1..Oh, they’re already open. And I can’t see shit. Has alcohol decided to take my optic nerve this time? Okay, that’s new. I got pretty good at letting things go, but this one’s in a whole different category of losses. Uhh, on the bright side, there’s a lot of truly awful sights. No more people’s disappointed looks for me.But I’m still a human with typical human reactions, and so I feel the p...

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“Frog Jam” by Suzanne Clement

Submitted to Contest #185

Suzanne Clement Word count:2678 325 Lakeview Runaway Bay, TX 76426 817-944-8354 qsuzyq@live.com Story Prompt for #334 Hoarding Away: Set all or part of your story in a jam-packed storage unit Frog Jam By Suzanne Clement...

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Set all or part of your story in a jam-packed storage unit.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 46 stories

“LOVE LOCKER FOR SALE” by Susan Catucci

“ Indiana? As in Jones?” by Chris Mueller

“You Must Keep Quiet, Little Ruslan” by RJ Holmquist

“Murder at the Roadhouse Saloon” by Frank Lester

“Orange and Yellow, by Rothko” by Marty B

“The Collector” by Valerie Church

“The Faceless” by Shane Murray

“Henkin’s Mellified Honey” by Jack Kimball

“THE ANGEL WITH FLOWERY WINGS” by Mara Masolini

“Old Man Jenkins” by Kev Neylon

“Pink Strands and Graham Crackers ” by S N

“My Momma’s Things” by David B Fraser

“Memories” by Isaac Walker

“Oxygen deprived rambling” by Kajetan Badach

“Frog Jam” by Suzanne Clement

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about someone who doesn’t know how to let go.

Someone’s beloved collection is destroyed. How do they react?

Start a story with someone saying, “It’s mine, and you can’t have it!”

Write about a dragon who doesn’t know what to do with their hoard anymore.

Contest #185

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

138

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: