Start your story in the middle of the action.

Posted in Short Story on Jun 16, 2023

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✍️ 69 stories

“The Hour-Glass Figure” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #203

The Hour-Glass FigureHer eyes popped open. Someone had their lips on her mouth. Kissing her. Oka-ay. Kissing... She let her eyes drift shut to enjoy the sensation. It must be her mate. What? Wait. No! It can't be...She had the overwhelming need to cough. She couldn't help it. She coughed. Turned her head to the side and coughed and… Eww. That had to be a turn off! She spewed out even more. Poor fellow trying his best to make passionate love to her coming in again to close his mouth around hers just got spit on instead.He turned her towards h...

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“Daydreaming” by J. D. Lair

Submitted to Contest #203

Eggs are frying in a pan—scrambled with cheddar, and seasoned with black pepper and garlic powder. Sneezing is inevitable. Apple slices are softening in the steam pot on the burner next door. Our twins like them with sprinkled cinnamon. There are some soft tugs at the hem of my gray robe. I see they have joined me in the kitchen. You are still resting on the couch, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing.“Just a minute kiddos. Papa’s getting your breakfast ready,” I say to the twins.They are cramming their little arms into cracked-open cupb...

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“SpyPal” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #203

The black velvet painting of a bullfighter that had hung unmolested since before the millennium, tore and fell from its wall mount, as a whiskey glass shattered upon impact with it. Closely following the glass, a wicker chair violently crumbled against the bare stucco wall where the painting had just vacated, while raised, angry voices grunted and yelled foul obscenities, as their despatchers of vulgarity wrestled and rolled around the sawdust floor of the small Mexican cantina. The scene resembled an old western movie bar fight where head l...

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“We Don't Use That Word Anymore” by Patricia Merewether

Submitted to Contest #203

Day 1I arrived by ambulance. Actually, it's Night 1. I don't remember if I was rolled or walked in, or why. Well, maybe why.I had my own room, complete with a bathroom with ashower stall that didn't work, no curtain, no curtain rod, and no shower head, so I'm guessing, no way to hang myself.Someone put me to bed, and I drifted off to sleep. Then, bright lights and loud chatter, and raucous laughter woke me. Sorry to the good third-shift workers, but I believe the worst hospital staff are assigned to the night shift. Loud, rude, and dismissiv...

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“A List of Demands” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #203

The young man on the phone was laughing after the first slap, but I kept my cool. “We are listening.” “Then you know that I am not screwing around and that I want to speak to someone higher up right now!” There was a particular etiquette in these situations and I was following it to the letter. My boss, the main officer on the case, put me in charge for a reason: he did not really care about this one. A man – really, a kid - had a supermarket locked down with a gun and the promise to use it. It was not in a very important part of town – immi...

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“Legend of Imelda: Dark Countess” by Derrick M Domican

Submitted to Contest #203

There were Shadow Skulls everywhere, pouring into the Hall through every door and window, a seemingly endless amount, cloaks flapping, blades slashing as they charged at the Champion, determined to keep him from his love. Van was close to the tower in which the object of this final quest awaited, but having fought his way through horde after horde of the Undead, exhausted his supplies, given everything he had, he knew he wasn’t going to make it. Not unless he used the Atomic Spirit, the weapon he’d ventured into a secr...

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“THE EDGE” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #203

“Please don’t die.”Freddie’s eyes were open but could not see. Her pupils were dilated to the extent that the greenish-gold color they once were had now all but disappeared. “Come back. Please come back.”Freddie’s face turned slightly to the sound of Michael’s voice. Her lips quivered. Michael lowered his head.“What is it?” he whispered, “I’m here.”* * *“Mike, we're over here!”Michael Woodman, a fourth generation Phi Beta Kappa, was filling his party goblet from the house keg. He'd be...

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“white boy” by Colleen Ireland

Submitted to Contest #203

“White boy, white boy, whatcha gonna do? Watcha gonna do when they come for you?” “Claire, STOP! Not funny or appropriate….” “What? He’s white, a boy, and you called the authorities, so..” “Claire, can you not? How can you joke about it?...” “You know dark humor’s my go-to in stressful times. It’d be yours too if you had a stepdad like mine.” Kenna twisted her face, “Ew. True.” Gripping the wheel tightly, Kenna turned onto the street leading to the private community entrance where she had seen him earlier, distressed ...

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“The Midnight Inferno” by Janie Holliday

Submitted to Contest #203

The roof collapsed in on them. Flaming debris fluttered down from the hole in the ceiling. The two young women cowering inside the building stared up in horror, though they couldn’t see anything through the rising smoke. A shrill scream ripped out from one of their mouths, but it got lost in the commotion outside. Shouts and screams filled the air, combining with the roar of the flames and the cracking and collapsing of the nearby buildings. “Go, go, go! We’ve gotta get moving!” the one who’d been silent shouted once her senses returned...

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“Front Desk” by Susan Whitlock

Submitted to Contest #203

“So, what should I put for the address?” the chubby boyfriend, introduced as Trevor, asked. He stared at Brenda with glazed, muddy brown eyes. “Excuse me?” she replied. She raised her head to answer his hundredth question. “I don’t really have an address. I never filled out a job application before. Do I put where I stay in Ada sometimes, or my girlfriend’s place here in Neosh...

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“Experience” by Racer Goddard

Submitted to Contest #203

His sword clashed against mine. I didn’t want to do this, but I knew I had to. I knew I had to do this because I couldn’t let more people die. I love him with my soul but he doesn’t understand what will happen if I don’t do this.My sword was pushed against his as I stared into his black eyes which were once a deep blue. I didn’t want to kill him, but I have to.I have to.I push a little harder and his sword slips. I quickly take my chance and plunge my sword deep into his chest.His body hits the ground with a loud thump, and I can’t do a...

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“The Moonlight Chase” by Krystal Brown

Submitted to Contest #203

“Wait! Stop!!” I shouted, but my words only fueled the boy to run faster, increasing the distance between us. The hem of my sundress flapped against my thighs like a flag in the wind as my ankle boots pounded the dry, grassy field. I was running as fast as my lower body allowed. Somehow, though, the boy was faster. Judging by his size, the young child was about 7 or 8 years old, but I hadn’t been able to get a good look at his face to verify. Either way, I should have been able to keep up with a boy his age, but he was quick as lig...

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“Alright, honey- You can have your divorce...” by James Larder

Submitted to Contest #203

‘Please stop hurting me.’‘Er….. Nope.’Colin punched his ex wife in the nose again for the third time that minute. This time, she vomited. Colin laughed as the sick spilled from her mouth and meshed with the blood that had already soaked the front of her shirt.‘Hahahaha oooops!’ Colin’s his ex wife passed out.‘Awwww- And you like that T-shirt as well, don’t you?’Colin asked his unconscious ex spouse.‘I know. It’s a good one. ‘Hope sweet hope.’ Clever. How much hope you got now though, darling, hmmmm? Pumpkin?’Colin’s ex wife’s head slumped li...

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“Welcomed by Dwarven Beings in a Mysterious Underground Realm” by Hugo Lemes

Submitted to Contest #203

They found themselves falling into a bottomless abyss, hoping that this would finally be the revelatory stage of the adventure they had embarked on. They kept falling through darkness for what seemed to be an eternity, until a faded light became visible. Gravity seemed to change as they fell, slowing down their descent, allowing both to gently land upon a field of giant mushrooms. The air felt denser, and the hunger that occupied their minds moments ago quickly transformed into awe. A cavernous realm with sprawling and fragrant fungi laid be...

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“Tomorrow's Funeral” by Bill VanPatten

Submitted to Contest #203

Tomorrow’s Funeral Bill VanPatten Death is a distant relative. It seldom knocks. It just shows up, quietly stepping over the threshold into a home, an office, a hospital room. Estranged from everyone else, it sits off to the side. Watching. Waiting. Then, as silently as it appeared, it leaves—and you wonder if it was ever really there. And you realize, death has no limits. It visits people, animals, plants—and marriages. Juanita sat in a pew in the back, thinking these thoughts. She wasn’t sure about this funeral, not sure why she’d...

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Start your story in the middle of the action.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 69 stories

“The Hour-Glass Figure” by Mary Bendickson

“Daydreaming” by J. D. Lair

“SpyPal” by Chris Campbell

“We Don't Use That Word Anymore” by Patricia Merewether

“A List of Demands” by Kendall Defoe

“Legend of Imelda: Dark Countess” by Derrick M Domican

“THE EDGE” by Susan Catucci

“white boy” by Colleen Ireland

“The Midnight Inferno” by Janie Holliday

“Front Desk” by Susan Whitlock

“Experience” by Racer Goddard

“The Moonlight Chase” by Krystal Brown

“Alright, honey- You can have your divorce...” by James Larder

“Welcomed by Dwarven Beings in a Mysterious Underground Realm” by Hugo Lemes

“Tomorrow's Funeral” by Bill VanPatten

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story during which two conversations happen simultaneously.

Write about how a single event affects a seemingly unrelated area of a character’s life (their friendships, career, romantic relationships, etc.)

Write about two friends getting into a fist fight.

Write a story that experiments with tone — perhaps a difficult subject dealt with in a playful way, or an ostensibly happy scene that hints at darkness lurking beneath.

Contest #203

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

226

Contest entries

121

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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