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Set your entire story in a car, train, or plane.

Posted in Short Story on Mar 7, 2025

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✍️ 146 stories

A Man Died on the Train Today

Submitted to Contest #293

A man died on the train today. I have never wanted to see a dead body, or to ease the passing of someone so close to the angels. I know how to do CPR, but I am wary of performing such an intimate and selfless act in the service of another.He was in the opposite aisle, one seat down and facing me. These are the people you study the most on a train, because to observe someone directly opposite you is so boldly confrontational. I have seen him before because we both favour the same carriage, although it’s ridiculous, because they’re all alike.I...

37 likes 38 comments 38
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The Inheritance Car

Shortlisted for Contest #293 ⭐️

Rain pattered on the midnight blue hood of the 1967 Cadillac DeVille. Eliza Thorne sat behind the wheel, key hovering near the ignition, as water streamed down the windshield in rivulets that distorted the view of her mother's Boston brownstone. The funeral had ended hours ago. The other mourners had long since departed for their hotels or homes, leaving only Eliza and this car—her inheritance. She knew what would happen when she turned the key. Family legend was explicit: the first time a new owner drove the Cadillac alone, the previous own...

33 likes 17 comments 17
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The midnight ride

Submitted to Contest #293

It was a dark night, one of those without any stars to look at and a dark moon. Not even the Universe was interested in what was about to happen. There was no spotlight over me nor a guiding light to help me escape. As I ran to my car, one of my heels broke, and I twisted my ankle. I took out the shoes and limped to the door while looking for the keys in my purse. Damn big fancy bags. This whole scenario would have been much easier with jeans and sneakers, but that was not something I could change, and dreaming about better times would not h...

33 likes 40 comments 40
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Coffee & Cogs

Submitted to Contest #293

The scent of burnt coffee lingered in the air, twinned with the ever-present miasma of coal smoke and sweat. Miles wiped his brow with the corner of his apron and leaned against the counter of his tiny coffee stand, nestled between one of the roaring engine rooms and the rust-stained barracks of the Titania’s lower deck.  His stand wasn’t much - just a battered iron cart welded in place, with a sputtering boiler and a dented tin sign that read Miles’ Brews: Strong as Steel. It was the only place workers could get a cup of coffee before ...

31 likes 12 comments 12
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Lucien in the Sky with Diamonds

Submitted to Contest #293

I really should have realized how vindictive Heather could be. What is that saying? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. When she found out I was seeing someone else and had traded her in for the other woman – a younger, prettier model, I just know that it was that very moment that she decided to exact her revenge. Unfortunately, Heather knows all of my secrets, including the biggest one of all – the fact that I am a world renowned jewel thief who has recently completed one of the largest heists of the century – the theft of the Weat...

28 likes 16 comments 16
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The Metro North

Submitted to Contest #293

She was telling Sheila all about the divorce. The Goodes and their Bad Divorce. She was pleased with herself. Something had always seemed to Carol to be off about the Goodes. They were all smiles, all laughter, but Carol knew that kind of marriage had its dark side. She and Tony weren’t like that. They didn’t smile or laugh, but they loved each other, and Carol took umbrage with couples who pretended like what they had was so precious when secretly they were dying to get the hell away from each other. That’s why Carol was friends with Sheila...

26 likes 19 comments 19
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Yellow roses for mother

Submitted to Contest #293

My reflection, dark and slightly haunted, looks back at me from the train window. We pass into a tunnel, completely black, just me and the dark, and an image of myself that I could almost like.I don’t know why I chose this train, it’s too busy. A steel tube filled with joyless people avoiding eye contact. I keep my eyes focused on my own, until we pull in at the next station, where I look out across the platform. There’s one spare seat next to me. I’m going to have company soon. I keep my eyes fixed. The al...

26 likes 27 comments 27
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The Gloryship of Gerguloid

Submitted to Contest #293

“Attention, crew! This is your Supreme Commander, Gerguloid, speaking! Welcome aboard The Gloryship—the finest, time-bending spaceplane in all the universes! We prepare for take-off. Let us soar like cosmic warriors! We shall plunder and pillage!”A hand rose. “Sir, uh, we’re just scientists looking for a rare crystal.”The commander exhaled, his eye twitching furiously. “Fine.” He waved a hand. “No plundering or pillaging today. But we WILL rise victorious! And no more interruptions!” His veins bulged dangerously.Gerguloid’s voice boomed as h...

23 likes 28 comments 28
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A fiery dispute

Submitted to Contest #293

My father and I were sitting in the car with the engine idling for over ten minutes, waiting for my mother to arrive. My mother's second cousin, who recently moved from Singapore to Sydney with her husband and young daughter, invited us to dinner. It's worth noting that my mother is a Singaporean, while my father is a white Australian. His family originally comes from Scotland, having moved to Australia for a better life, likely to escape the dreadful Scottish weather. "What is your mother doing, Jess?" Dad broke the silence and asked. ...

23 likes 7 comments 7
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The First Frost

Submitted to Contest #293

The cold bites through his new uniform, still stiff with factory creases. Ken pulls his collar up, remembering last winter’s cashmere coat, now sold on eBay along with his Brooks Brothers suits. Nowadays, he doesn’t need them; neither his job nor his surroundings would explain such high-end garments. The security company’s uniform allowance covered one set of shirts, pants, and a jacket. He’d bought a second set with his own money – a habit from his management days. Always be prepared.The evening bus stop gathers its usual crowd beneath the ...

22 likes 13 comments 13
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What Makes a Mother

Submitted to Contest #293

Ruby eases into the upholstered window seat, and as she leans into her husband, Doug, her heart flutters. The flight attendant approaches on her first round of inspection, and her eyes catch Ruby's for a fleeting second. Ruby’s lips turn up in a tight smile, and she nods. Her hands, clasped together in her lap, twist and turn, sweating slightly. Meanwhile, Doug, calmly reaches for his book and pencil, underlining key points to remember as he reads.The pilot's voice crackles with announcements for takeoff, and the safety demonstration begins....

22 likes 19 comments 19
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Going Solo

Submitted to Contest #293

I only have 30 seconds before I smack the ground at the speed of an Audi on the German autobahn. It’s my first ever skydive and I’m petrified. With a static line exit, the canopy should have deployed automatically on leaving the aircraft. Mine, however, resembles a cannonball rather than the colorful silky plumage of a bird in flight. Freshly divorced at 34, after ten years in an abusive relationship, the skydive would prove I could survive on my own, a ritual to say goodbye to the powerless victim, that would accept every ‘I’m sorry, I love...

20 likes 25 comments 25
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Train Number 0ne

Submitted to Contest #293

The first problem was waking up in bed.It had been a beautiful morning while he waited in line for the bus. Will was expecting to take a very short nap before getting back to work. But he would also have to call them. That was the deal. Family is family, and we don’t get to choose them, do we? That was his thought as he put his knapsack on the floor, closed his eyes, and let the articulated city bus rock him gently into sleep in his seat.So, why was he in a bed?The bed was gently rocking as he woke up and looked around. It was the type that ...

19 likes 8 comments 8
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Unexpected Turbulence

Submitted to Contest #293

Unexpected Turbulence I catch myself staring into the bright blue space of nothingness as I instinctively prepare another cup of tea. Balancing myself with a wide stance, the tea swoops up around the cup teasing a spill as I manage to place it down for the woman in 12D. Her legs stretch out in front of her as she makes the most of the emergency exit row. I move down the next few rows, filling plastic cups with water and stale coffee. My mind is once again invaded with their final words to me, “You're just asking for it now being another...

18 likes 2 comments 2
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A Chance Encounter on the Corn Belt Rocket

Submitted to Contest #293

He stepped onto the train just as the last whistle mournfully blew, signaling the train pulling away from the station. Both the gray briefcase, containing his quarry, and the loaded Roscoe in his harness weighed on him. He could head to his compartment, but he needed a drink. He asked the conductor the way to the bar car, and reached it before the train fully pulled out of the station. “Highball, and a side car.” “Yes sir. Right away.” The whiskey hit his lips when he saw her. A dame, her legs went all the way to Tuesday, strolled into the c...

17 likes 10 comments 10
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