Write a story where a character has to decide whether to press the button or not.

Posted in Science Fiction on Feb 3, 2023

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✍️ 70 stories

“The Hidden Lie” by Lenima Hall

Submitted to Contest #184

Alesa We sit at the bus stop. Not waiting for the bus. Just waiting. The air is cold and it’s 10 o’clock pm. The streetlights are on, and a shadow runs through the light. It’s quieter than a spider moving. You could hear a pin drop. We sit. An hour has passed, and we stare into blankness. We look behind us into the forest and see a flash of light. No light flashes by the old underground chamber. No one goes there. We wait. We wait as if we were to get killed if we didn’t. We don’t move. We stay still. Roman hasn’t mov...

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“End of an Era? (2)” by L A

Submitted to Contest #184

End of an Era (2)? What time is it? Can’t have slept for more than an hour; so exhausted… Can’t be twelve. Outside is still as dark as my armpit. Surely didn’t sleep the whole day? Hold on… why is the clock flashing? Damn power must have tripped out again. Why do I live in a hellhole? ‘They say ‘the sun always shines here’, yeah right, but the damn electricity never works! Goddamn. The phone isn’t working either. Everywhere I’m surrounded by crap. Weird, it’s still plugged into the wall. Did I forget to turn the plug on? Such a dumb a...

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“Mr. Cain to Your Able” by Chris Rohe

Submitted to Contest #184

Throughout his life, he thought back and viewed all the calamities within the world. He had been a cop on the beat within the metropolis for twenty years. He had seen depravity on a scale that would dishearten any optimist for the future of humanity, then come home to troubled family life to turn on the news and see the horror happening throughout the world without any surprise or feeling of care. He sat in front of the TV set, watching the broadcast of masses being slaughtered in some far-off land as he took another drink while hearing his ...

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“The Other Side” by James Beamish

Submitted to Contest #184

Max was alone now. He could feel it. There was no one else. Not from his side anyway. His side. Sides. What did that mean anyway? Everyone was an individual, so different; what made them all band together into a side so united and so opposed to another that they could fight a war? He looked over to his left. Jenkins – or what was left of Jenkins – was in that direction. Jenkins had known what to do. He had been so certain about everything. Jenkins had convinced him to si...

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“Phone Booth” by Anthony Dayton

Submitted to Contest #184

The antique store’s delivery truck, looking kind of antiquey itself, Nick thought, wheezed along the driveway to deliver his latest acquisition. The driver claimed that it was the phone booth used in the TV Superman series starring George Reeves; Nick doubted that, but he didn’t care anyway, its attraction for him being that it was a piece of his past, something solid to anchor unsubstantial memories that otherwise might only be dreams. Hard to believe, he mused, that an entire way of life can be plowed under in less than a lifetime. &n...

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“The End of the War” by Noah Aylward

Submitted to Contest #184

The war was over. The struggle between the two great super-states of Arktis and Nirix had left the whole world scarred, diseased, and irradiated, but the war was over. Nirix was no more, and Arktis was now the United Earth. At long last, the whole human species was united under a single banner. Never again would a son be set against his father, nor a daughter against her mother. War would never again mar the planet Earth, except perhaps in small rebellions which the United Earth would easily crush. Peace with no end in sight had finally brok...

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“Microsoft Nightmare” by Nicole Daneri

Submitted to Contest #184

“Microsoft Word has stopped working.”Letti read the notification over and over again until the alarm she set on her phone went off at 4:25 a.m. It was time to take a break, but all she could do was stare at the screen of her laptop like she had been for the past 15 minutes. She took her coffee mug to her lips and realized that it was empty, so she focused her attention on the two options her device offered her:“Check online for a solution and close the program.”“Close the program.”Thank you so much, Bill Gates! Why wasn’t there an option tha...

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“Colored Decisions” by Kenneth Kendall

Submitted to Contest #184

As the behemoth released her onto the cold, smooth surface under foot, Melody felt a sense of relief to be free from the captor that had ripped her from her home and family, yet by no means comfortable. This space wasn’t new to her, yet, it wasn’t familiar. Her body shook as she took in her surroundings; everything was white, shiny, and frigid. She backed into a corner and flattened to the plane that rose behind her. The walls, too, held no warmth, mirroring the sensation below her feet. There was nowhere to hide. The view from her station y...

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“Pushing The Button” by Judith Robinson

Submitted to Contest #184

To Push The Button Or Not! As a child, Larry had many toys, but the ones he liked the best were ones where he could push buttons. Larry eventually became a radio engineer. After many years as an engineer, Larry pushed many buttons. There were buttons to start his car, towers, turntables, a microphone, and even the toilet! Buttons also kept his shirts closed and his pants up. People have buttons, too; however, they are not physical; th...

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“If I Don't Push The Button I Won't Ever Know” by Valerie Preston

Submitted to Contest #184

I didn’t know that my dad wasn’t my ‘real’ dad until I left home. When my dad left mum and me, I also didn’t know it was the second time it had happened to her. I was the saddest kid in the world and couldn’t stop crying. I couldn’t fathom why he left. “Why would dad go off like that when we were all so happy?” I asked my mum who seemed to have gotten over her loss a lot quicker than me! “Men get bored and they’re not keen on responsibility either” she told me. I was too young to know exactly what she meant and all I could reply was “But wil...

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Write a story where a character has to decide whether to press the button or not.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 70 stories

“The Hidden Lie” by Lenima Hall

“End of an Era? (2)” by L A

“Mr. Cain to Your Able” by Chris Rohe

“The Other Side” by James Beamish

“Phone Booth” by Anthony Dayton

“The End of the War” by Noah Aylward

“Microsoft Nightmare” by Nicole Daneri

“Colored Decisions” by Kenneth Kendall

“Pushing The Button” by Judith Robinson

“If I Don't Push The Button I Won't Ever Know” by Valerie Preston

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with someone saying “Houston, we have a problem.”

Set your story during a complete city or nation-wide blackout.

Write a story about a character who is experiencing glitches in their reality.

Write about someone who has chosen to disconnect and live an analog life.

Contest #184

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

281

Contest entries

121

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: