All clocks suddenly stop. Write about what happens next.

Posted in Science Fiction on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 45 stories

“When Time Stands Still” by Lisa Neuvelt

Submitted to Contest #125

When Time Stands Still “What time is it?” Kossiwa asked. “It’s 1:15.” Lisa said as she closed the trunk of her car with the load of books that her friend Kossiwa just bought. They climbed into Lisa’s car and started driving. “What time is it?” Kossiwa asked. “Ten minutes after the last time you asked.” Lisa answered, without even looking at the clock in her car. “Good, we’ll make it back in time for my three o’clock shift.” Kossiwa said. They were returning back from a trip to the vintage bookstore. Both of them loved to ...

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“Keeper Of The Clock” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #125

In the land of the Isles, the Winter Isles, where time is slow, the clock of Aerona keeps the village moving at a quick pace. The clock of Aerona stands in the middle of the village, its keeper Magic keeps the clock rotating day and night. While the villagers sleep, Magic stays awake watching the clock so no intruder will steal the clock. The villagers sleep peacefully knowing the clock will always keep them moving fast, but then one day during a time honor tradition something happens that will cause the village of the Winter Isles to...

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“The point of NOAH return” by Valerie Cuffie

Submitted to Contest #125

Sounds of the alarm woke her. Picking up the cell phone on the nightstand and glancing at the time she saw it was already seven in the morning. Today was the day. Jene was the new director for the S.A.D.S (Synthetic Automated Death Soldier) program. In recent years the government discovered a way to synthesize the death process causing a person's psyche to temporarily leave their body and enter into NOAH (Non-Operational Animated Humans). NOAHs practically held the psyche in place. They were chemically induced clones made from fallen soldier...

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“Frozen Time” by Lindsay Nicole

Submitted to Contest #125

Writing now seemed annoyingly impossible. He clutched his pen for hours on end into the night, yet no words had come. The blank paged mocked him with the emptiness that seemed to only exemplify his failure. In a fit of rage, he crumbled the barren page and tossed it over his shoulder, and one after another a small pile amassed in the corner. Carter Reynolds often found himself in this state. Since a child it had been his dream to be an acclaimed writer; one who would be celebrated and the cause of effective change in thousands (maybe even...

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“The Day Everything Stopped” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #125

The Day Everything Stopped Struter Jones rushed to the corner to catch the 7:58 Fifth Avenue bus. As usual, she had timed every action in getting ready for her daily work grind down to the last second. No fan of her current dull-as-hell-go-nowhere clerical position, she did only what she had to do when she had to do it, as every day she se...

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“What is meant to be remembered ” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #125

Suddenly all the clocks in the house stopped, not too long ago, in a place not too far away. She didn´t have time to take a few minutes and evaluate, there were no minutes left. Everything went dark, and the air was foul. She could sense a presence. A nightmare? So unlike any other dream, could this be anything but a nightmare? -“Hi there!” a voice spoke. A friendly ethereal and strangely comforting female voice. -“Who speaks? Who is there?” she asked with hoarseness in her own voice. -“How are you doing?” -“Who are you?” she asked, cl...

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“The Sleepy Clcok” by Sean Oreilly

Submitted to Contest #125

Tic, Tic Tic, Tic. The granular sound of each second passing was constant. Laying on the unkempt sofa, dreaming of summer days when I was younger; I had my eyes closed to the world. Tic, Tic, Tic. The sombre rattlings of an old clock pierced my ears with the passing of each moment. My time, however, was being spent in my imaginings. The playful, days I spent at the creek, or simply rolling down what I thought at the time was a massive hill. Going back years later, I realized the hill was nothing but a pile ...

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“A Tyranny of Clocks” by Melissa Woods

Submitted to Contest #125

The clockmaker’s mansion overlooked the town. Built on the foundation of a scorched castle, she’d inherited the home from whose window she now watched the sky deepen over the sleepy town. She was tired, too. A full-night’s rest didn’t enter her musings, though–not anymore... Taking a last sip of tea, she laid down. She didn’t change into bedclothes–she didn’t own any. They seemed pointless and inconvenient, given her nocturnal routine. The town looked sleepy, but she knew better. There, tonight, time would start, stop, or do both; it would c...

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“Time is what we need it to be” by Kelly Steele

Submitted to Contest #125

Right as I thought everything was finally falling into place, I looked at my watch to see if I was still on track. I had things to do and cookies to bake for Santa. "10:33" Huh. That's weird. I could have sworn it was later than that. I shrugged off the feeling and opened my computer again. The first thing on my list was to write a story that sums up this past year. I also still had 8,000 photos from just 2021 I needed to upload to the cloud, and a handful of articles to write before the year ended. But finding the motivation was b...

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“December Fool” by Pasupu .

Submitted to Contest #125

“Welcome back to the morning commercial slot. As you sip onto your coffees and scroll through your phones, where does your mind wander? Your mind lost focus already, but don’t fear your loss of focus, we’ve got you covered.” “Introducing to you, Anaitika Pharma’s latest over the counter, prescription free, dopamine control pills. Just pop two an hour, and work twice better in the same hour. Subscribe to our yearly supply and get a flat 25 percent discount right.” That was more or less the commercial which aired every morning. I hated watch...

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“The End of Time” by C.B. Oates

Submitted to Contest #125

“Well, Gabriel, it seems the clocks have stopped.” “Yes, Michael, this is the moment for which we have been waiting.”“Time to get started.”“Ah, the new arrivals. So many and just as expected.”* * * * * * *Where were you when the button was pushed? The red button that ended the world. I was sitting at my kitchen table watching the news while eating oatmeal and trying not to be late for work. My wife had just rushed out the door, and the kids didn’t miss the bus that day. I heard a noise and felt a wave of heat and then all turned black l...

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“Nine Thirty-Seven” by William David

Submitted to Contest #125

Kat brushed back her long black hair and hooked it behind her right ear as she looked over at me. “You ready?” she asked. I nodded as I reached for my seat belt and clipped it across my lap. She turned the key and that big block V8 roared to life. The windows of the Southside Chevy dealership showroom rattled as she revved the engine. That 1957 Cherry Red Corvette convertible had sat as a display for far too long. It was time to take it out for some long overdue exercise. I watched in sheer ecstasy as she shifted...

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“Time Stops For No One” by Aleksandra K

Submitted to Contest #125

tw for implied domestic abuse All the clocks stop but not a single one melts. No, what happens to time is more reminiscent of freezing than of any kind of thaw, the hours congealing into something to wade through, and the tide of minutes suspended – how embarrassing for it – like a cresting wave. But all that’s later: for now, there’s only me and Trouble. Trouble, if I may introduce her, is three years older than me and claims that I was her first wish, memory, and word. The last one is a lie – her first word was ‘dad’, and she was...

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“3:23” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #125

3:23 Emerging from what was the best sleep in awhile, I heard the voice of the radio host. I’d been listening to the regular guy for years and we’d gone through a lot together. He was off this week so I let the dulcet tones of his replacement bring me to ‘awake’ mode. I flipped over onto my back and waited for her to announce the time. I’d plugged my cell to charge downstairs last night and this station usually told us the time about twenty times an hour. Turning my head to the window on my right, I could see it was light out, given that ...

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“The Better Clock” by Brian Janko

Submitted to Contest #125

Rick woke up, ready to get to class, but saw that his clock had stopped. The batteries had died.He found some spare batteries but had to fight the clock’s battery compartment door to get it open. He chided himself for not spending the extra five dollars for the other clock that had a plug-in cord. “Cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap,” he told himself.After he got the battery door open, he still had to fidget to remove the old batteries and put in the new ones. His mind wandered and he thought, “Maybe the clock is fine and the re...

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All clocks suddenly stop. Write about what happens next.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 45 stories

“When Time Stands Still” by Lisa Neuvelt

“Keeper Of The Clock” by Melinda Madrigal

“The point of NOAH return” by Valerie Cuffie

“Frozen Time” by Lindsay Nicole

“The Day Everything Stopped” by Bob Faszczewski

“What is meant to be remembered ” by F.O. Morier

“The Sleepy Clcok” by Sean Oreilly

“A Tyranny of Clocks” by Melissa Woods

“Time is what we need it to be” by Kelly Steele

“December Fool” by Pasupu .

“The End of Time” by C.B. Oates

“Nine Thirty-Seven” by William David

“Time Stops For No One” by Aleksandra K

“3:23” by Maureen MacLennan

“The Better Clock” by Brian Janko

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a character who is always running late arriving somewhere just as it closes.

Write a story about a late bloomer.

Write a story including the phrase “Better late than never”.

Set your story in an airport, as someone rushes for a flight.

Contest #125

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

164

Contest entries

112

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: