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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story where a character is experiencing parallel realities.

Posted in Science Fiction on Jul 22, 2022

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✍️ 68 stories

“We/I” by Sjan Evardsson

Something happened in the lab the other night. I’m not certain what but it was something.I powered up the device, and there she…I…the other I…was. It was a possibility I hadn’t considered. By opening a door into a parallel universe, I opened the door to myself in that same universe.Some clarification first. My name is Samuel Worth, I am a thirty-four-year-old physicist that likes doing stupid experiments in my garage. I go by Sam. Her name is Samantha Worth, a thirty-four-year-old physicist that li...

42 comments 42 WINNER 🏆
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“False Awakening” by Brynn Helena

Before I even opened my eyes, I knew I was somewhere I had never been. The smell of chlorine was so strong it was almost nauseating, and the air so humid the stench clung to my skin. When I finally did open my eyes I gasped, breathing in a gulp of water as I floundered to find my footing and stood up, bursting out of the water. I choked, my lungs fighting some of the liquid out of my throat, the chemically taste making me gag. Doubled over, I stared at my feet surrounded by crystal blue water and endless white tiles. They floated before m...

30 comments 30
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“Effigicide” by Michał Przywara

It’s not murder because I’m killing myself, and it’s not suicide because I’m still alive.Nobody thinks twice when weird lights and noises come from one of the stalls of the bathroom-sty at Shannon’s Pub, which is why I like the place. It’s reliable.I wish I could rejigger my spacial reality trans-shunter so that it didn’t whine and flash like lightning every time I used it, but that’s a problem for another day. The device itself fits into an oval metal case sized for my palm, and I keep it affixed to my belt. My shi...

64 comments 64
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“Sweet, Savage Love” by Beth Jackson

“Go to hell, you saggy-faced frumpy old bag.”The words hit me, piercing the tender space between my chest and my heart. My daughter. Screaming at me. Rage puckering her acne ridden face, and her limp hair clinging to her scalp as she flicks it in defiance, stopping short of giving me the single middle finger.The door slams. I blink. My Cassie. Screaming at me. How the hell did we end up here?I walk into the kitchen and grip the bench, my knuckles white, heaving shaky breaths to fight o...

35 comments 35
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“Betwixt Worlds” by J.C. Lovero

This must be what fairy tales are like.Dawn broke crisp and clear, winking at me through the small window opposite the foot of the bed. The cottage evoked memories of my attic back home: from the exposed wood of the floors and walls, to the dust that hung in the air. I rolled over, yanking the covers over me.“Krissy?” “Five more minutes,” I said. It was a luxury to sleep in on the weekends after another late night in the lab. Plus, with many scientists redeployed to the field, the Vraxed threat left us s...

18 comments 18
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“The Traveller's Gift” by Suma Jayachandar

Growing up, my father taught me two things.Don’t talk to strangers. And never try to turn the clock back.Yet, the precarious situation that I find myself in, demands that I do both. Or at least one of them.I stop the turban-clad man on the high street and ask “Where am I?”He is taken aback. I’m sure he doesn’t get asked this question every twilight by a proper white girl in her teens, strolling past a temple.He communicates through incoherent speech, head nods, and movement of his forearms. I catch ‘Myso...

12 comments 12
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“Choose Your Own Adventure” by Emma G.

When you think about it, life is really no different than a choose your own adventure game. Sure, maybe we’re not choosing whether or not we want to travel back in time to meet the dinosaurs, but we do get to choose whether or not we want to break up with our partners, move to a different state, or have a cup of coffee in the morning.We’re presented with millions of choices everyday from the moment we take our first breath. Some decisions lead us down mundane paths while others force us into situations far more exhilarating....

8 comments 8
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“Truth” by Sherri Moorer

Emilyn stared at the harsh green light glinting on the silver cuffs around her wrists. She knew that people sat on the other side of the mirror studying her, but what was there to see? A defeated and broken person, guilty but not of what they accused her of? One thing was for certain: she didn’t belong here. In more ways than one. The door opened. A tall, skinny man and a dark, stocky woman walked in, ...

6 comments 6
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“I am the black” by Jaden Christopher

I clench my eyes shut to another failure, steadying my breath.  “I don’t know if I can do what needs to be done.” I say to myself.  I open my eyes and prepare to try again. And I shift. I push my way through the sweaty, gyrating bodies. Each one adjusting the rhythm of their dance to let me pass. I slide between them, sometimes touching skin to skin. This is normal for this nightclu...

20 comments 20
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“Out Of Time” by Tiana Malhotra

The ocean always gave me a tranquil, soothing feeling of serenity. The glistening waves giving comfort of the infinite possibilities that stretched on as long as the ocean did. The dancing palm trees swaying to every blow of the wind as they welcomed a surge of green, amid the neverending oasis of blue. Best of all, the baking, golden sands leading a pathway to the waters like it was the heavens. Each step was ingrained...

9 comments 9
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“Stirring the Dust” by John K Adams

A wet bar towel hit Josh in the back of the head. He turned to see the bartender point at the door. “I know who you are. Get out.” Josh looked at the full buffet table. Quiches, quesadillas, sandwiches, wraps and more, displayed for the taking. So much food, hardly touched. He’d never seen such a spread. Customers watched with vague curiosity. Josh said, “Happy hour’s almost over. I thought…”...

7 comments 7
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“Under the Raft” by Kendra Lindholm

I felt like a kid again swimming under water with my goggles on, cooling off from the day's heat, diving deep enough to feel the layer of cool water underneath the warm surface. Underwater I approached the raft that's been there for as long as I could remember. Despite my love of swimming, I used to always fear going under it because of the schools of fish hiding in its shadow. Now, as an adult, I knew t...

9 comments 9
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“Multiverse Mike” by Graham Kinross

TW: Swearing. A featureless, sexless being of pure black light held my hands and told me I would be a wanderer. Clicking my fingers would take me to the next universe. Clicking the other fingers would take me back. With no more explanation, the multiversal god vanished. I stood alone in the car park of a fast-food restaurant, drunk. “Yeah right,” I said, clicking my fing...

3 comments 3
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“Sessions” by Ela Mikh

March 18“You are very quiet today. What’s on your mind?”“Mmmm…I don’t know if I want to talk about this just yet.”“I can see it bothers you. Why don’t you try?”“It will sound silly… I … Well, in the last couple of weeks I keep seeing the same dream. It comes to me every night. It was curious at first but now… now it bothers me.”“Do you think about it during the day?”“Well, NOW I do. I didn’t at first but the more it happened the more I couldn’t shake it off.”“Do you want to...

0 comments 0
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“The purple room” by F.O. Morier

People have their whims and quirks. Their seasons of recklessness. Entire communities can fix their minds on an abstract thing, whatever it is; real or imagined, and go mad in pursuit of it. They can be so impressed by a delusion that it becomes a new reality for them. Until their attention is drawn by another folly, and only regains their senses when rivers of blood have been spilled, and harvests of...

2 comments 2
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Contest #156

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Ended on 23:59 - Jul 29, 2022 EST

Won by Sjan Evardsson 🏆

Title: We/I

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