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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story where someone’s paranoia is justified.

Posted in Mystery on Jan 20, 2023

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 78 stories

“Tequila Tuesday” by Leanne Levi

Submitted to Contest #182

Warning: This story contains an implied sex scene and themes related to abuse.Tequila Tuesdays                                                                    By Leanne LeviHe texted way too early. I squi...

3 comments 3
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“Body Bag Barry” by Needs Chocolate

Submitted to Contest #182

Recently, I was searching an online dating site. Don't ask me why. I'm happily married. Perhaps I just wanted to see if I was as invisible as I felt. After the first fifteen minutes with a current photo on my profile, fifteen eager fellows were sending me hearts and asking to chat. Wow. After an hour there was a steady stream of requests to meet or chat. Overwhelmed by all the attention, I tried to comment back politely to everyone, then realized it was impossible to keep up. So, I chose to only reply to actual messages, which was enough t...

5 comments 5
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“I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED” by Fred Kanshamba

Submitted to Contest #182

We all know men. Sweet and sour; trash. We know how bad they are yet we long for them. We long for their lustful gazes, their empty promises, their too good to be true compliments… Their touch. Yes. We all want that masculine touch cupping our faces, assuring us that the world belongs to us and that we are the only ones their eyes see. We want to be kissed, cuddled, embraced and above all else, chosen. We want to be the ones that win! Oh How naïve we are but can you blame us? Anyways, There is a story I want to tell about a girl I used to k...

2 comments 2
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“For Real” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #182

“How did you get in here?” She scowled and looked quite annoyed. “No really, you shouldn’t be in here, you know that right?” She blasted out a jet of air and put her hands on her hips in something approximating consternation. I looked around me as though this was going to present me with an out, or rather an idea of how she managed to get in here. “Look, you’re not staff, so who are you?” I asked her. “As if you don’t know!” she poked her tongue out at me and then she did something extremely disconcerting, so disconcerting in fac...

6 comments 6
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“I Want You Dead” by Rokeia Wheeler

Submitted to Contest #182

“I want you to repeat after me. There is no one after me.”  “There is no one after me.”  “Good. Again.”      Dr. English had me repeat this five times. His method is you will repeat it till you believe it. The problem is I don’t, and I never will. When something traumatic happens to you, you don’t just forget it like people want you to. They’ve been telling me, “Oh it’s been four years Riley. You must move on now.” How can they tell me something like that if they’ve never stood in my shoes?  “L...

5 comments 5
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“Once Upon A Time” by Rena Aliston

Submitted to Contest #182

‘Once upon a time’, she said, that’s where we should start. At the beginning, when time had no meaning and darkness veiled what lay within chaos. But I had no recollection of a time when chaos was dark and couldn’t fathom a veil eclipsing time, as I’ve always seen the light and always heard the echo of life. But I obliged her and opened the fountain. Hesitant to turn the knob, bits of information trickled out of my mouth. Eventually, my words rushed out like a dystopian horror novel, haunting everyone who listened. The room grew quiet. A...

7 comments 7
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“Zack Owen” by Greg Lambert

Submitted to Contest #182

Zack Owen “She’s watching me.” I invited him into my apartment, unaware of his condition. “Who?” I ask, but I already know who, or what. “My mother, she died last week.” I reach forward and put my hand on his knee. What looks like an act of comforting is really information gathering. I have managed to keep a safe distance from everyone in the building, but once the dead find me, the living follow. It’s hard to be invisible when everyone sees you. “I know she’s watching me.” He jerks his head upward to the left, forcing his feathery blond...

3 comments 3
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“Growing Pains” by Michelle Solis

Submitted to Contest #182

I'm the “smart” guy, at least that's what everyone calls me. I have many other skills and hobbies but I get the “smart” label just because I get straight A’s, it's not hard for me you know? I don’t even pay much attention, I just catch up with the subject at the last chance. I guess if I put in more effort I’d be a model student, but unfortunately I’m a lazy bum. My classmates ask me for answers, even if I don’t have them. They call me weird just because I want to talk to them, no one tells me things, I’m just a weird, smart transfer student...

1 comment 1
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“Mozambique Noir” by Bryan Westby

Submitted to Contest #182

The hand shouldn't be there. "And where should the hand be, Senhora?" "Attached to an arm," she said. Holding the phone to her ear, she took a few steps toward the window of her villa. "That would be the best place for it, in my opinion, and not waving at me poolside." The swimming pool was right across the walkway, set in the middle of Coconut Palm Lodge on the white sand beach of the Mozambique coast. One villa sat next to hers, and on the other side of the pool two more, all facing the clear, green-blue water of the sea. "You said t...

2 comments 2
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“The Niyati” by Sonia Ferrigno

Submitted to Contest #182

I hardly ever remember my dreams, but that morning was different. It stuck with me, tugging at my brain as I percolated the coffee, showered quickly, and slipped on my sensible slacks and blouse.    Lying down on a rough surface, I had been looking up at a sky laden with menacing clouds while millions of feathers floated down, pirouetting above me, settling on my forehead, tickling my nose and mouth, and finally stifling my breathing, until I had awoken, gasping for breath. The vivid and heavenly experience had not been a bli...

2 comments 2
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“We Know About You ” by Lindsey Jeans

Submitted to Contest #182

John made it through life flying under the radar. He wore nondescript clothes, kept his hair neat and trim, and had an agreeable, if quiet, disposition. It wouldn’t be fair to say that everyone liked him, but no one hated him either.  He was fully aware that he didn’t leave an impression on people. He just assumed that if someone was ever asked about him, they’d say “Who? I don’t recall.” The thing is, he was okay with that. In fact, he preferred it. Attention was uncomfortable like a pair of ill-fitting shoes, so he stuck to himself an...

2 comments 2
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“Fortunate Omens” by DT Wallace

Submitted to Contest #182

My fingers fumbled with the clasp at the back of my neck, an awkwardness brought on by the flush at my cheeks and the fluttering in my stomach. The sapphire teardrop fell neatly between my collarbones, an unfamiliar weight. ‘What do you think?’ I asked, posing to lighten my shoulders. ‘You wear it like you were born into royalty!’ Logan exclaimed, watching the teardrop with eyes nearly the same colour, blue like the sky, blue like the ocean, blue that you could drown in. I entwined one of my hands with his while pulling out my iPhone wit...

1 comment 1
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“3:33 a.m.” by Cariann Acosta

Submitted to Contest #182

Silvia waited in Dr. Luther’s office. The waiting room was small and bright white, the furniture was white, and the walls were white and plain. Only a few seats in the room and she seemed to be the only patient today. The bright lights in the ceiling bothered her, she was blinking more than usual. Silvia has had no sleep in the past three days. The bright lights from the ceiling didn’t let her see properly. Her legs were shaken by the nervousness in her body, she bit her nails until her cuticles bled. She could hear whispers coming from insi...

2 comments 2
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“Oh Rats!” by Emanuel Diaz

Submitted to Contest #182

Francoch Ratta, a 27-year-old New Yorker of Irish-Italian descent, woke up one morning to find he had a peculiar sensation. It was as if someone, or something, was watching him. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was a feeling that wouldn't go away, no matter how hard he tried to shake it off. He went about his day as usual, working at the pub that served beer and pizza, exercising, drinking, and even dating girls. But the feeling persisted, and it was starting to affect his daily life. Especially his secret love of rodents. A.K....

2 comments 2
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“Mrs. Wexler's Things” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #182

“Things are coming back,” Mrs. Wexler said.At some point, Dorothea Wexler might have suggested a goose had walked over my grave. For me, it’s always something dank and slippery circling for the kill or at least a succulent chunk.  Dorothea Wexler at 94 was nearly as petite and and pixie-ish as 80-year-old Dorothea Wexler. But for me there’d been a 14-year void between the two, from that first Sunday bulletin “Aftercare” listing through a displaced hip, a Monday Silver Alert resolved by Tuesday morning drive-time, and periodic praye...

16 comments 16
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Contest #182

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This week's theme: Feeling Watched

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Ended on 23:59 - Jan 27, 2023 EST

Won by Liv Chocolate 🏆

Title: Careful—You’ll Slip, Fall, and Die on Those Slippery Slopes

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