Write an open-ended story in which your character’s fate is uncertain.

Posted in Short Story on Feb 7, 2025

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✍️ 95 stories

“The future has no reason....” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #289

The world kept turning, the sun rose anyway. A new dawn. Who were the survivors? No humans left in the immutable cycles of Mother Earth. The sparse remaining fragments of the sophisticated technological ages of the humanoids had all been drowned and demolished.Sadly, only one form of life made it through. Yes, a new dawn of a new day. As the now cooling red orange sun appeared, there were only lowly fungi. Of all the many varied forms of life's web, only fungi. Naturally, the sun arose anyway to lighten fungi, lichens, moulds, ragworts, alga...

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“Devil's Pit, Arizona” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #289

The desert wind blows dry and hot. The sky is pale blue due to the lack of moisture. Beneath the cloudless sky rides a solitary rider slumped in his saddle, his head bobbing with the pace of his pony’s steps. His hat is pulled low. A bandanna covers his face to fight the blowing sand. On the rise of a dune, the dappled mare stops and snorts sand from its nose. Its master lifts his head and rubs the dust from his eyes. He squinted at the town ...

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“With Blades” by Arran Appleton

Submitted to Contest #289

I received the call on Wednesday morning, telling me my brother was dead.It was suicide, apparently. He hadn’t shown up to work for a while, and eventually one of his colleagues had gone round to check on him. They found his door unlocked and him sat at his kitchen table. They say he had driven a kitchen knife up into his neck. I listened to the phone call, feeling numb. An hour later I was stood in front of the covered table in the morgue. They pulled the sheet back and I mumbled that yes, this was my brother Scott. The wound on his neck ha...

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“THE ART OF PERSUASION ” by Joanne Oliver

Submitted to Contest #289

Clarissa Jones was not the type to have emergencies. That would signify chaos. Clarissa Jones prided herself on control—the kind she’d mastered one fateful night when her jealous over nothing ex had ditched her alone and terrified at a weekend festival. Now she runs Concert Companions, her own business ensuring women get home safely after nights out. Soon, they’d launch a women-driven taxi service. Everything was organized, efficient, and precise. Which was why this unplanned trip to the dentist’s office was pissing Clarissa...

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“Father Or Foster” by Helen Murat

Submitted to Contest #289

Something was off. Lucy knew the minute she walked through the door. The lights were off, though thin slivers of light slid through the cracks in the closed blinds. The acrid and stale smell of cigarette smoke hung in the air. That was the first sign. Lucy set her bookbag down on the kitchen counter and noticed the mess of kitchen items spilled and scattered across it. The second sign. Slowly she stepped lightly towards the living room where she could hear the television playing an old movie from the 1950s. The third sign. Rounding the corne...

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“Freedom For Sale, $20.25” by Jes Oakheart

Submitted to Contest #289

Crystal Collection For Sale, $20 Large collection of polished stones and raw crystal clusters, including amethyst, obsidian, selenite, tourmaline, quartz, jasper, lapis lazuli, and many more. My wife is devastated to say goodbye to them and we hope they end up with someone who will appreciate them. Purchase at your own risk, these crystals are considered “anti-Christian occult tools” and are banned by the Department of Faith. We are under investigation and cannot have these decorative items in our home when the feds come by later this week.[...

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“For the Record” by Jan Keifer

Submitted to Contest #289

For the record, I have no idea where this story will lead. Let's just say that my original assumption was totally off the mark. I did not think this could ever happen in my lifetime. Now that it has happened I am not sure if I would change anything if I could. I met the fellow on a street corner and took him home. It was not unusual for me to do this. I have rescued lots of fellows along the way. This particular gentleman was fairly decent and open to all my suggestions. Had I known now that it was not to be I probably still would have broug...

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“Mrs. Muffins' Buffet of No Return” by Mecyll Gaspary

Submitted to Contest #289

Disgusting. Look at those fools, swallowing plate after plate of food they couldn’t even finish, Onyx told himself, cringing at the sight of thick oils around the people’s mouths. Perhaps the disgust had already reached his head, and he needed to rise from his seat and get another ice-cold beer to ease. As he went through tables, he couldn’t help but gaze at each cousin’s family he met along the way, grazing their plates, slithering their tongues to finish the last drop. His scarlet eyes shook, wondering why he’d gotten himself here, asking ...

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“A Choice” by Rozmarin Ideas

Submitted to Contest #289

Orange streetlamps flicker flames onto my counter-top as I consider the knife. It’s a beautiful thing: ten inches long, with a rippled pattern down the blade. The handle is smooth in my grip- a treated wood, pleasing to touch. It’s sharp; I was just cutting parsnips with it.What made me pause, made me look? Why do I watch the reflected light play across the silvered steel?It would be easy, I think. I drop it. The metal clinks against the counter, wobbling for a moment before coming to rest. I retreat from it, my hands coming up t...

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“Through the Veil of Time” by Scott Taylor

Submitted to Contest #289

A confidently posed bronze statue of General Gerald Musgrave stood in Applewood's square. His outstretched hand beckoned the townsfolk to remember their savior. Nearby, Emma watched him, frozen, notebook in her lap. She idolized her grandfather. To her, he was more than a man.The general wasn't a savior in the biblical sense but a savior in the economic sense. He stopped the highway from being built miles away from the town, ensuring that travelers would never exit to shop the many stores and shops that lined the town's streets. Shirley's vo...

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“The Pretender Plague” by Joe Smart

Submitted to Contest #289

It’s funny. I only write here at my lowest. For the last week the plague has reappeared, tormenting my flawed existence. In the palm of my hand, I could feel it, the grasp of sanity. Trust in my being and just like that, in a fleeting moment, it’s gone. For these past few years, clarity has felt like an unblocked nose, only missed when you no longer have it, then it’s all you wish for. At this moment it’s all I can wish for. That the strength inside me, as elusive as it is, can overcome this disease; but maybe I am destined to walk this empt...

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“Homme Mort Marchant or Dead Man Walking” by Susanne Kirven

Submitted to Contest #289

NOTE: This story is set in a medieval dungeon. While the contents are not so much graphic as realistic in a historical context, torture, death, and corpses are mentioned more in passing than in overly disturbing detail ### England, 1139 A.D.Leaning against the wall in hopelessness, the warrior contemplated falling from his saddle all those weeks ago. Bleeding profusely, he’d prayed his mount escaped the fray and made his way to the royal keep. If Caturix prevailed, his blood-soaked saddle would tell the tale he might not live to share. If t...

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“Jennifer's Choice” by JP G

Submitted to Contest #289

Jennifer Haley, a young and ambitious reporter, had always been driven to uncover the truth. She had always been fascinated by the supernatural and the unexplained. Of all the reporters in the business, Jen had a nose for a good story. No matter the story, nor how dangerous, the petite blonde was never afraid to ask tough questions. So when she stumbled upon a whispered rumor about vampires living in the city, she couldn't resist investigating. The source had been credible and one Jen had used in the past to dig up some crazy stories over he...

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“~Traveling~” by Jim Parker

Submitted to Contest #289

~Traveling~Debbie put her darling SUV, Miss Interceptor, on cruise control and held up her right hand. “We are exactly half way there …right… Now!” Shewuma took her right foot off of the dashboard and turned in the passenger seat to pose a question. “Why do you always get to drive? Sometimes somebody else might want to.” “A year, 1 month and 2 days ago, you didn’t even know how to drive,” Debbie answered flatly.&n...

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“Zombies” by Aaron Chin

Submitted to Contest #289

ZombiesEverywhere you look, you see zombies. They are behind the phone screens, staring blankly into pixels. Two-dimensional pictures of cats and women in lingerie give them instant gratification. Sacks of flesh, complete with skin, membrane, and even hearts think of nothing except the infinite DOOMSCROLL. Zombification: Step 1.Download the app that everyone’s talking about. Instant access to the most intimate parts of people’s lives. Libbie is vacationing in the Maldives. Tony just won a chess tournament. And Sam has liked three MLB posts. ...

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Write an open-ended story in which your character’s fate is uncertain.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 95 stories

“The future has no reason....” by Julie Grenness

“Devil's Pit, Arizona” by Ralph Aldrich

“With Blades” by Arran Appleton

“THE ART OF PERSUASION ” by Joanne Oliver

“Father Or Foster” by Helen Murat

“Freedom For Sale, $20.25” by Jes Oakheart

“For the Record” by Jan Keifer

“Mrs. Muffins' Buffet of No Return” by Mecyll Gaspary

“A Choice” by Rozmarin Ideas

“Through the Veil of Time” by Scott Taylor

“The Pretender Plague” by Joe Smart

“Homme Mort Marchant or Dead Man Walking” by Susanne Kirven

“Jennifer's Choice” by JP G

“~Traveling~” by Jim Parker

“Zombies” by Aaron Chin

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with the lines: “The room is unfamiliar. I don’t know how I got here.”

Write your story as text messages or an online conversation between two characters — and at least one of them isn’t who they say they are.

Write a story in which a character discovers that a truth they've believed their whole life is either false or not the whole story.

Your character is getting changed in the bathroom of a nightclub or restaurant, then emerges looking completely different. Why?

Contest #289

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

364

Contest entries

155

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: