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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story with an open ending that gives readers just enough details to draw their own conclusions.

Posted in Narrative on Sep 15, 2023

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 111 stories

“The Exile's Choice” by Jakob Roy

Submitted to Contest #216

Alaric Austin had never known a place so miserable as Raleigh 5. The red dust of the crumbling little satellite clung to his clothes, to the face of his oxygen mask, cutting deep into his flesh where it could. An ill-placed step was all it took to summon up a cloud big enough to swallow a man whole, of that he could attest. By virtue of a carefully woven bloodline, he was an iron-boned titan of seven-foot-two with a muscled bulkiness that made him as well proportioned as any civilian, save for when they stood side by side. Dust-clouds tended...

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“The Public Eye” by Cade Holter

Submitted to Contest #216

His penthouse was hardly anything she hadn’t seen already. A blocky modern design with windows for walls on their right as they entered, and flat boards for stairs on their left. The only noteworthy thing she could name was that the front door closed slowly, with a hollow whooshing noise as it nestled softly into the frame.“Is your front door hydraulic?” She asked.“Yes, I find it’s better for soundproofing.”“Why do you need soundproofing?”“Wouldn’t this be better answered during the interview.”She saw no real flaw in that argument, so she to...

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“The Debacle of Dream Paper” by Roshini Perera

Submitted to Contest #216

Have you ever fallen for a book character in your life? Have you ever wished you could make some kind of connection with a book character you found attractive? To talk with them? To meet them? To befriend them and even replace their counterpart with yourself? If you are a reader, you certainly have. Book characters are strong, just like real people. Someone gave them life and character. They have personalities, feelings, likes and dislikes, and everything a normal person would have. The moment an author pens their characteristics on the manu...

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“A Rock in Walker County” by Karen Davis-Hudson

Submitted to Contest #216

A Rock in Walker CountyMiss Lane lived alone and it was impossible to say how old she was. It seemed like she’d been in our town forever; like the Baptist Church on Main Street so old the steeple was tilting. Miss Lane was there every Sunday, rain or shine.She never missed the quilting circles, always bringing her famous banana pudding. Nobody could make a meringue peak like Miss Lane.How she supported herself was a mystery. She lived comfortably in a house three blocks from the church. It was a white clapboard with a large front porch. Her ...

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“Yugen” by Christopher Kramer

Submitted to Contest #216

“We’re falling from geostationary orbit,” Gardner reports. “Adjust,” I say as I flick switches. “He can’t,” Wells calls from navigation. “The gravitational force … too strong. It’s pulling us in…” I manage a side-eye at Wells. His face conveys what I already know. The navigator says in a solemn whisper, “Velocity increasing.” Gardner looks at me. “We’re plummeting fast. I can’t maintain—” “Compensate. Regain control,” I command, despite knowing it’s impossible. “I can’t. We’re losing it!” Gardner cries. The spacecraft’s hull rumbles ...

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“The Gas Station.” by Cirrus M.A.D

Submitted to Contest #216

The Gas Station. I’m not really hungry, I mean I already had what could pass for dinner and I really should be trying to get home as soon as possible but God I do want some kind of candy. My car is filled with all the gas it could need but I still find myself pulling up to the gas station and heading into the store. It’s quiet, silent in fact. No cars, no birds, not even the sound of buzzing lights that should have been there, the large neon sign was very bright and the dark misty air seemed to reflect it tenfold. The only sound I could ma...

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“When the Next Train Comes” by Michael Novak

Submitted to Contest #216

“Evening, Mr. Manzelli. The usual?” “Yeah Frankie, what I always get.” “One Scotch and Soda, coming up!” Vinnie Manzelli sat in his usual stool in his usual bar, about to have his usual drink. He heard Frankie the bartender drop ice into a highball glass with an audible thunk, followed by pouring a measure of scotch, and then finally the hiss of the soda siphon as he finished off the drink and slide it down the bar. Vinny caught the slid drink with reflexes surprisingly fast for someone of his age. He was around 50, impeccably dresse...

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“Bizarre Tuesday Café” by Alexey Dirigo

Submitted to Contest #216

Sophie, a city girl, accompanied her mother to the countryside for a month due to her mother’s urgent business matters. As she settled into her rural life, Sophie quickly grew bored due to the lack of internet. She decided to find a job in the town. Her effort was almost fruitless until she met Mr. Henry, who was wiping a coffee cup, at his counter, in a café in the middle of nowhere. There was nobody except for Mr. Henry, and a young male worker named Kyle, who was sweeping the floor.Mr. Henry had a meticulously groomed moustache that grace...

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“Project Un: Jeffery” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #216

TW: Violence and gore. Disturbing imagery “Many have left religion to the wayside, claiming intellect is all one needs. But without religion, where is the solace for the damned?” - Captain’s log, R. Gunson, Paradigm Prime [Subject: A.T.A.03] [Bio: Test Subject 03 of the Aexian Trials] [Vital Status: Stable] [Chamber status: Sufficient] [Archive LT: Live] [Designation: Protocol 03_Solitary Confinement] Jeffery woke to a gust of cold air. It was always cold in his room. His feet stuck out over the edge of the bed and his bed sheet was...

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“THE COACH IN THE MIST” by David Holmes

Submitted to Contest #216

THE COACH IN THE MISTThe crew was exhausted. It had been a long hard, 5-day slog to get what they wanted. And they were ready for landing at their home and home comforts; looking forward to wives, girlfriends and long cool drinks; not caring by this time about the quality or integrity of their individual and combined efforts. Those had long been discussed and conjectured about hours earlier during their buffeting and uncomfortable journey back.Suddenly, dragging each one of them out of intermittent bouts of sleep, there was an electronic cli...

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“Tempted, by the fruit of another...” by Hector Luna

Submitted to Contest #216

A stunningly gorgeous blonde opens my office door and leans in to whisper, “I have to cancel tonight and this weekend.” I smile as I lean across my desk and quietly ask, “why are we whispering?” Jill, my wife, starts to giggle. “Oops, thought you were on the phone. You typically close the door when you’re on speakerphone.” Ugh. I forgot about the door again. “Yeah, that call was an hour ago. What do you mean you have to cancel?” I try not to let my disappointment show as I straighten up. She points at a calendar on my wall behind h...

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“Ziena's Choice” by Rudy Senecal

Submitted to Contest #216

Grand Regent Ziena, stood on the viewing deck of a regime ship. It dragged a shadow that blocked out the sun for the forces below in the trenches and gun positions and turned more heads than the enemy. The artillery shelled, and scorched landscape was a depressing sight to Ziena. At this point, this valley should have been in full fall bloom like the small bit of her planet that they still resided on. Whatever I decide, these will be our final days, she thought.       Her eyes carried up to the emperor. He was l...

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“Duck” by Nick Haynes

Submitted to Contest #216

I served as Tony Two Shoe Junior’s driver for over 25 years, and I drove his father before him. I saw a lotta things in my time driving for those two but nothin I couldn’t handle. The odd night trip or two, court dates, Hell I even drove senior’s hearse to the burial, and then junior back home after. More than anything else though I served as a hunting partner. See both Junior and Senior loved to hunt birds and went every Saturday morning.  You want to know what he asked me my first week driving for him? He asked why I thought that Mall...

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“The Vanishing: The Enigma of Willowbrook's Woods” by Francisco Valdez

Submitted to Contest #216

The small town of Willowbrook was known for its picturesque charm, nestled amidst rolling hills and surrounded by dense forests. It was a place where everyone knew everyone else, where children played freely in the streets, and where life moved at a slow, steady pace. But beneath its tranquil facade, a mystery loomed that would shake the community to its core. It all began on a warm summer afternoon when Sarah O'Connor, a 32-year-old schoolteacher, went for her usual hike in the woods. She was an avid nature enthusiast and had explored eve...

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“The End, for Real This Time, or Is It?” by Ashton Macaulay

Submitted to Contest #216

How many times can someone tell you the world’s going to end before you stop believing them? Ally takes a drink from her glass, swills the ice, gives it a good long think. Twice. Someone could tell her the world was ending twice before she’d start giving it a second thought. Everyone could make one mistake, especially when it came to doomsday predictions. A comet could be off by a few days; The second time, she’d still be heading down to the bunker. That was just common sense. But the third time? The third time she was going to sip a drink i...

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Contest #216

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Ended on 23:59 - Sep 22, 2023 EST

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Title: Long Live the King

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