Set your story in a post-pandemic world, where the effects are still felt even as your character attempts to move on.

Posted in Narrative on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 115 stories

“Quarantino” by Oluwapelumi Adewole

Submitted to Contest #84

Ragusa, 1358QuarantinoIt was the fortieth day, of been held up in the ship that conveyed us from Kaffa, to Ragusa. I was among the six that barely survived the quarantinio. We were eighty persons in number that left kaffa six months before. It was the most horrifying voyage ever. Half of the crew and passengers had died on board and their bodies hurled into the ocean on the instructions of the priest. Only a dozen of us made it to Ragusa that rainy morning. Old ships and Cabins were also used to hold a number of us in and...

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“Little Chance” by Abigail Morse

Submitted to Contest #84

It’s 4 am in October of 2021 when Julie abruptly awakens in terror. The air feels thick and she can hardly breathe. The sheets are soaked with sweat and the pain in her stomach consumes her. She scrambles towards the toilet and retches loudly and fiercely. Eventually, there is nothing left and she falls back against the wall. Breathing unsteadily, she wipes her face with shaking hands. “God, please, please. Why me? Help me! I can’t go on this way!” she screams. The panic attacks have been a daily occurrence since that night. She cries for ha...

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“Worthy” by Catherine Beeman

Submitted to Contest #84

I’ve been in line since early this morning, awaiting the next airbus. Most of us congregate near the outdoor heaters, but once we learn a new shipment is arriving we know we need to move away from that warmth and into the crowd forming at the airfield. As we wait, my gaze travels to the electric fence that marks the perimeter of the camp, which is on the edge of town. On the other side of the fence is an isolated strip mall, abandoned now just like the other buildings in this part of the city. I can see what used to be a café, a tob...

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“Still existing” by Plum Leafs

Submitted to Contest #84

I've never liked staying in the house. It makes me feel crowded....but now I feel like that wherever I go. It has been a year since the pandemic but I still feel unsafe and dirty. I still have to go to work though. During the pandemic, they shut everything down despite their efforts to try and keep people safe they were still going out not wearing a mask, "Did they not care that they could die as well? guess not '' Today I'm going to go to the park this is going to be my first day out since quarantine and mask requirements wer...

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“The Cursed Year” by Gautam Prakash

Submitted to Contest #84

The Cursed Year Finally! 2020 in its final phase! The wicked year is finally at its end. I was laughing hysterically when the final minute approached. I was on my building’s terrace sitting on my bean bag as I wiped off my uncontrollable tears. I was pumped up that this shitty year is finally over. I looked over to both my sides. On one side, I stacked up a couple of beer bottles, vodka and an imported cigar which I was saving for this fine moment. On the other side, scrumptious home-cooked food lined up, little more than I would eat...

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“Minimal Contact” by Angie Potato

Submitted to Contest #84

Oh to be an introvert… Today was the day I had decided… it was time. I put my big girl pants on and grabbed my mask unconsciously. The day I would have to open the door had finally come. (The pandemic has been over for at least 5 months… but don’t judge me… I’m an introvert) The world seemed so bright to everyone else. The sun shining brilliantly and the air clearer than ever. And as I walked out onto the street, bustling with life once again, I held my breath. So many people… They felt like rats, they felt like they were too close, ru...

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“The mutant virus” by Sasan Sedighi

Submitted to Contest #84

While adjusting the sling of his assault M16 rifle on his shoulder, which once belonged to his late father, David watched his younger sister Aimee, who struggled to use the axe to split the woods for their fireplace. ‘If you grab the axe like this, it works better.’ He explained while showed her the proper use of the axe with both his hands.For Aimee, just ten years of age, the axe was hefty, so she said, ‘David, it is too heavy. You are older and stronger than me. Why don’t you split the woods?’‘Look, I am standing guard. I also want you to...

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“The longest march” by Robin Vanpee

Submitted to Contest #84

content warning: language Two young men stopped at the end of a T intersection. Same height, both wearing light blue pull-overs and grey pants, they could have been mistaken for brothers were it not for their vastly different faces. One of them had blue eyes, short hair and an oval shaped face. The other, a Bob-cut hairstyle which always covered a piece of his line of sight. They had met in class when someone pointed out they were wearing the exact same outfit. Since then not only had the matching outfits become a recurrence. They also disco...

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“Never Really Over” by Julie Dolce

Submitted to Contest #84

Blood stains the sidewalk. It marks the ground in a group of lines. A child no older than ten sits crying on the ground. His exposed knee being tended to a person that Laila assumed to be his mother. Laelia looked away and kept walking down the hill, passing a fallen scooter on her way. Just three years ago she was watching people collapse in the streets, blood coming out of their eyes and mouths. After the Great Sickness, as it began to be called, ended last year rain was able to wash away all the remnants of the disease. Well all the physi...

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“The world of screens” by Povestitorul Intunecat

Submitted to Contest #84

A future too cold to exist, a past too far away to be remember, is the year 2200 a, after corona virus everything change, with new technology people stop physic contact at all, everything is made by machine, first was the mask now is the room, nobody leave his room, nobody can't leave his room, no mom and child contact, no wife and husband contact nothing, we just live in our rooms, babies are made in vitro and they never get a single touch from another human, now even if our disease is gone, we forgot how to be human anymore, the fear of pe...

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Set your story in a post-pandemic world, where the effects are still felt even as your character attempts to move on.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 115 stories

“Quarantino” by Oluwapelumi Adewole

“Little Chance” by Abigail Morse

“Worthy” by Catherine Beeman

“Still existing” by Plum Leafs

“The Cursed Year” by Gautam Prakash

“Minimal Contact” by Angie Potato

“The mutant virus” by Sasan Sedighi

“The longest march” by Robin Vanpee

“Never Really Over” by Julie Dolce

“The world of screens” by Povestitorul Intunecat

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story that spans exactly a year and takes place in a single room.

Write about someone who grew up in a bunker, and lockdown life is all they’ve ever known.

Write about someone who’s trying to accomplish a task that used to be easy but is now made complicated by a pandemic.

Start your story with a character struggling to remember the date, because every day is like the last one.

Contest #84

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

664

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: