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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about a character who’s lost.

Posted in Narrative on Nov 29, 2024

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 74 stories

“Hard Rain's Gonna Fall ” by Caitlyn Erwin

Submitted to Contest #279

Sam woke abruptly, heart pounding in the now daily moment of panic between sleep and awake when she couldn’t remember when or where she was.  The pretty floral top sheet that she had found at the goodwill a week before, taken home and washed in washing soda and hot water, was wrapped around her right leg. A jumbled pile of blankets lay half on her, half off the bed. Sweat soaked her tee shirt despite the chilly apartment, making the wet cotton shirt cling uncomfortably to her shoulders and lower back. Her winter beanie was pulled down l...

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“Directions” by Jazmin Brooks

Submitted to Contest #279

These are Jason's worst directions yet. I try to decipher his rambling text again. "Once you leave the station go over the bridge with the graffiti and turn left at the jazz cafe with the saxophone menu board out the front" - I passed the right café; I can still hear the jazz - "keep going until you see the really old manor with the bronze lamps and marble lions on the gate on the right is a narrow path to the park we'll be at the third bench from the wishing fountain". No punctuation, no grammar and no street names; Jason's signature d...

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“Lost in a Frozen Forest” by Gail Nelson

Submitted to Contest #279

Shadows danced across the inside of the small tree branch and mud shelter. Leaning back, she enjoyed the fire’s warmth. She and her three dogs had been safe enough here since their arrival.“Well, what’s next, guys?” She looked at Chaos, a black and white short-haired mixed breed, and scratched behind the dog’s ears. The shepherd mixes, Mayhem and Havoc, looked on as she rambled.“The days are getting longer, snow’s starting to melt, and maybe…” she paused, “if we’re really, really lucky, there’s a town a little farther than we’ve been able to...

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“Imaginative Lost.....forever” by Paul Tyree

Submitted to Contest #279

No matter which way I turn, I am going nowhere, unless you count and recount the steps from where you were to were you are. I turned to the left then to the right, I turn north and then I turn south, then I turned east then I turned west, all to no avail. It seems that no matter how I turned and where I turned, I was never sure where I had finally turned to or onto to. I was uncertain where I was at or whether I had actually even made any progress, because I was always going in circles and it was beginning to feel like I was trapped inside a...

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“Lost in a 1950s Time Warp ” by Sarah Adewolu

Submitted to Contest #279

Frank and Natalie were about to turn the TV off for the evening, when a news flash alert came on, reading: ATTENTION. DUE TO BLIZZARD, RIVERVILLE AND ALL SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES WILL EXPERIENCE A POWER OUTAGE, STARTING AT 12 MIDNIGHT.  The news reporter appeared on-camera, confirming the announcement and adding that it was unclear how long the power outage would last during the night, but everyone must take precautions during this stormy night. Frank shut the TV off and sighed in agony. He knew that Little Charlie was afraid of the dark...

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“You've Got Time” by Aster Lee

Submitted to Contest #279

“You’ve got time”“Don’t stress”“You’ll figure it out”“The right thing will find you eventually” What a load of shit.  What if I don't have time, and I am stressed, and I can't figure it out? What if the right thing can’t find me because I’m too far down a sink hole for it to hear me screaming its name? What then? I'm truly unsure what I have done to give these people such misplaced, blind faith in me and the trajectory of my future. I feel too young to be out of time. Then again, time has been ripped away from far more innocent and far...

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“They Call Me Sky” by Bärbel Morsch

Submitted to Contest #279

He woke slowly, struggling to find himself in this vast sea of pain. It seemed as if he could still hear the shrill alarm, the horrified cries of his crewmates, the shattering of the spaceship. He blinked, trying to see something. Everything was white, and the light far too glaring. He heard the steady beeping of machines and wondered where he was. He tried to move but couldn't, as if something was holding him down. His head felt like it was about to split open at any moment, and he closed his eyes. Panic rose within him, and he tried to sup...

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“Zoe the Zombie: Lost at the Amusement Park” by Bridgetta Tomarchio

Submitted to Contest #279

Zoe the Zombie loved the amusement park. The bright lights, the laughter, the smell of cotton candy—it was her favorite place to be. Today, Zoe was at the park with her family: her mom, dad, and her 7-year-old brother Zak. They were going to have the best day ever. Her parents had promised to let her go on all the fun rides, and Zoe couldn't wait. As they walked toward the first ride of the day, the big roller coaster, Zoe's arms flopped up and down as she skipped ahead, excited for the thrills and adventures of the day. She had always loved...

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““Green Eyes” #ReedsyUnknown” by Tucker Sloan

Submitted to Contest #279

Trigger Warning: This piece of fiction contains suspense, some violence, and insinuated animal cruelty.Green EyesThe alley cat made me do it. It was a Thursday night, and I was new in town. “Never go out after midnight.” Said my landlord, Walter. “Nothing good happens after midnight.”I had no problem with this, except I woke up at three in the morning with a terrible headache, and I just wanted to have a cigarette on my front porch, so I did. I’m a twenty-three-year-old woman. I have mace. It was chilly out, so I knew to smoke my c...

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“The Traveling Inspector” by Tara Piper

Submitted to Contest #279

I never thought of my situation as lost. It's not like I'm playing hide and seek. The whole precedent of being lost is someone searching for you, or I suppose you could be searching for yourself. I'm doing neither. Nobody is looking for me, and I'm not looking for anybody, some introspection is going on, sure, but I'm not one of those cringe millennial woman who fall off the face of the earth to "find themselves". You know, the ones who delete their six hundred follower instagram count to "get some space", only to make a new account three ...

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“The woman and the beast” by Annie Chibesakunda

Submitted to Contest #279

Professor Manda entered the lecture hall, and the entire auditorium fell silent upon noticing her presence. She tapped the floor as she walked in her blocked purple heels, which complemented her purple and green Ankara dress. Her braided hair was styled in a small bun, and she adorned her normal-sized earlobes with silver earrings. She looked the part as she stood in front of the people. She was the wife, the mother, and the first woman professor in her town.She stood at the podium and leaned forward into the microphone. She began to sp...

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“Always South” by Matt Keating

Submitted to Contest #279

Always South     The burning timber, the orange light, the tree shadows, I had forgotten warmth completely, and here it was again. I hugged myself and stood, rotating my body, warming myself all over and evenly. Then I laid on my back and held my feet out toward the flames until they were too warm, then I held them a little longer before cooling them down in the snow as I stood. The sizzle of snow melting, by the flames, was like the drawing of a dozen bows across a dozen perfectly tuned violins.   &nb...

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“The Echoes of Home” by Cynethea Cunningham

Submitted to Contest #279

Noah stood at the edge of the forest, looking into the vast sea of trees. The sun was setting, casting long, eerie shadows. He took a deep breath, feeling the chill of the evening air. Then, he stepped into the forest, and things took an unexpected turn.He had visited the forest before, but only the edges, painting nature’s vibrant colors and serene landscapes. He never stayed long, and he was never there until dark. But this time, his anger had driven him too far.Noah was always carefree, a dreamer with a wandering spirit. He loved sketchin...

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“Harrisburg” by Jill K

Submitted to Contest #279

I wandered through the empty shopping mall. It was decorated for Christmas, but the all storefronts were dark, the security gates down. I looked for other shoppers, a maintenance worker, anyone who might help me exit the building, but the mall was vacant. Save for my own footsteps, the only sound I could hear was the worst holiday song ever recorded, on repeat. I concentrated on finding my original entrance point. If I could find that, I could locate my car. I walked quickly, lapping the mall several times, only to find JC Penney in a diffe...

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“LOST” by Glenna Agnew

Submitted to Contest #279

Megan crawled her way up to the beach, her fingers clawing into the sand, her feet digging in to give her purchase in the crashing waves. She was gasping for air and choking on all the salt water she had swallowed. When she felt solid ground beneath her, her arms gave out and she collapsed onto the sandy beach. She started choking again and soon threw up all the salt water that she had swallowed. She lay there for long minutes as her heart stopped pounding and her mind started to grasp the fact that she had made it to the beach.  She ha...

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