Write a story where fortune doesn’t favor the brave.

Posted in Thriller and Suspense on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 38 stories

“Old Debts Paid Off” by Joseph Franklin

Submitted to Contest #135

CW: School shooting, violenceBailey walks into the classroom and is greeted with an assignment on the whiteboard. He dreads math class, especially the teacher, Mrs. Jenson. Bailey hates how she talks. She has a lisp and is loud and proud about it or so it seems. He is usually tired when he comes in then leaves with a pounding headache. He sits in the far back corner, farthest away from her desk, with a nice view of the front lawn, and gets to work on the assignment. Bailey is one of the top students in the class, so it doesn't take long for ...

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“Bittersweet Legacy” by Cindy Strube

Submitted to Contest #135

This story contains some references to the following: alcohol abuse, anger, marital discord, deathMarch 1894 - Watertown, NY“Are you expecting another child?… Answer me! ANSWER ME!”“Sshhh… Leo - please…”“NO! Get rid of it!”“Shh! The children will hear! I won’t! Leo - what’s happening? If you would just… we had a good marriage, at first - but your drinking has changed -”“I’m leaving!” The door slammed, punctuating Leo’s angry words. Jane, left standing in the kitchen, felt the developing baby flinch - the first detectable movement. She ...

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“Light Feet” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #135

Jimmy Galapino looked out into the gallery as the verdict was passed to the judge.“On the count of murder in the first degree," Judge Smithfield hesitated for dramatic effect, “we find the defendant…not guilty.” His wild, wiry white eyebrows crept up his massive forehead like curious caterpillars. He strongly resembled Fred Gwynne, the actor who played Herman Munster. The victim’s family in the front rows howled and screamed. Reporters in the hallway swarmed like bees, their many voices buzzing in agitated impatience, ‘w...

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“The Circle of Life with Scarlet and Rhett v. Bonnie and Clyde” by Felice Noelle

Submitted to Contest #135

(Violence trigger if Mother Nature can be accused of such in the animal kingdom)With an ominous thwack and a sloshy swish, the Florida 'gator crushes the unwitting flamingo in its strong hinged jaws, dragging it deep under the murky water. In the age-old dance, the flamingo struggles, thrashing wildly about, aiming its sharp talons at an impervious hide, shrieking into the deafening air. The silvery ladyfish drops from it beak to fall back into the muck and swims off, leaving a bloody trail. The exhausted flamingo breathes its last and succu...

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“SUNRISE” by Turquoise Tatters

Submitted to Contest #135

SUNRISEOnce upon a time, there was a Writer. He sat atop a plinth made of gold, dusted with diamonds and finished with the caresses of each one of His angels. He thought no wrong, He wrote no wrong. Each one of his stories were distinct from the other, walled off with immense care and reviewed to the last letter. There were no mistakes. No fallacies, or coincidences. It was a seamless and completely faultless procedure. And yet, there was one solitary thread that ran through each one of these tales, meshing them together, binding and interla...

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“Change of Heart” by Rebecca Stack

Submitted to Contest #135

Roxanne had always meant to follow in her father’s footsteps, up until this point she had loved her job. Ever since that dreaded night something had changed in her; no longer the same person, an empty shell of the woman she used to be. Thinking back, the shift had begun quietly enough but it wasn’t long before all Hell broke loose. On her break in the early hours of the morning she’d gone into a 24hr convenience store. Unfortunately for her, she had chosen the wrong time to do so, as two thugs in black ski masks barged t...

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“Brotherhood” by Ricky Poole

Submitted to Contest #135

Sparks and flashes in every corner of my vision, missile impacts so great they shake the very core of the earth, a sea of bullets whizzing by, just barely missing the heads of our helpless regiment. “ Sarge! They’ve broken through our left flank and are pouring in right on top of us!”Sarge cursed angrily, after a brief pause he spit into dirt and stood up over the bunker cover, firing many rounds into the enemy’s direction. Hot brass and fiery rage spewed from this man, the only person I knew to have such courage to scream in the face of the...

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“The Mines” by Coltrane Rogers

Submitted to Contest #135

The messenger entered the throne room. “My Lord, I have word from the council.” The King switched his gaze from the glass pane that overlooked the mines to the man in green robes. “There has been a rumour from Faction Red. There are plans of a revolt. As suggested by the council, we seal off the Faction and send more guards into the mines to exorcise those who spread word.” “No.” His voice was carrying, “if the miners choose to spill blood once more, then let them.” The last revolt neared a decade ago. Over two-hundred fatalities and ...

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“Out of Reach” by Hannah Martin

Submitted to Contest #135

I always knew what my life would look like. My daddy told me at a young age that I’d marry a good man and raise strong boys for him. I had accepted my fate without really thinking about it because it was just what was expected. By the time I was seventeen, it was widely known throughout the town that I was next to be married. My cousin Fiona had married the preacher’s son only a year earlier and she was already pregnant, hopefully with a boy. One day after I cooked breakfast for the two of us, my daddy asked how I felt about the Phili...

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“A Debatable Act of Bravery” by Kim Anderson

Submitted to Contest #135

Content Warning: References to Child Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, Teen Death I would like to say that I don’t know what I was thinking, or that I don’t know what I thought I was doing. Because it’s embarrassing. Shameful. The fact is, I knew exactly what I was doing – and exactly what I was thinking. I cocked my fist and swung my arm as hard as I dared. The punch landed with a dull, heavy thud. I prepared myself again, determined to land an even heavier blow. Again and again, I swung my arm, the punches land...

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“Willow Falls” by Kai Storm

Submitted to Contest #135

Willow Falls in itself has never failed to astonish me. Pure white suburban houses, cul de sacs, and freshly cut lawns. The kind of area where you can let your kids go out to play unaccompanied. The entire east side of town was a river in an almost perfect oval shape, spanning over 30 miles. The entire area is encircled by the most beautiful willow trees you can imagine. It is said that willow trees signify resilience in the way they thrive in many environments. When a willow tree’s branches are in danger of breaking, they bend rather than s...

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“The money” by Lee-Anne Lenore Archibald

Submitted to Contest #135

He drove that Brinks truck, like he was the super, proud owner, and earner, of every dollar in the back of it."Bye daddy" the cute little brunette, with the soulful dark eyes, squeaked, to her own close personal hero. I love you, was what he said to her, making a heart out of his two hands and fingers together. Smiling at her beauty, the beauty, only a six year old that loved you, could make you believe.Get on the ground m@#$$$ f#$%^%". "Sack of poop, he just told you to get outta the truck and get ona ground" said the second stupid, uneduca...

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“Pyrrhic Victory” by Wendell Ernstzen

Submitted to Contest #135

Where there’s smoke…Not all the tears streaming from Nikola’s eyes were from the acrid smoke filling the room. Tinny coughs echoed from close by, adding to the ringing in his ears, giving a tiny sense of comfort that he wasn’t the only one alive. Though even that faded rapidly as something warm and sticky seeped into his left eye. He gingerly wiped the back of his sooty hand over it, horror creeping up his chest as it came away crimson. Right eye staring, left eye blinking spasmodically, anyone might have guessed he was a mad scientist on th...

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“Believe Your Lady” by Michael Pelepko

Submitted to Contest #135

James Dag Flood is a Registered Nurse with twenty years’ experience at the bedside among the sick and dying. The nurse remains on duty despite “burn out” – about which he’ll tell you: “don’t believe in burn out, don’t believe in cures. I’ve met Jesus Christ and believe in healing. Amen.”Flood maintained a steady gaze at his eldest child's check for Two-hundred and pondered the consequence of cashing it. The nurse had tonight off after six straight. The clock on his bedroom radio read 12:08 when he awoke after four hours of disrupted sleep, i...

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“But You're A Man ” by A Naomee

Submitted to Contest #135

Based on a true story.Charlie swiped a swerved clearing from the steamed mirror as the shower ran hot. He didn’t look at himself at first. He stared down at his hands instead as they gripped the sink tight, keeping himself from trembling. He was afraid to look, afraid to see if it was as bad as it felt. Just man up already. He taunted himself and finally forced a glance. His right eye was already swelling and that sting on his lip gave true his expectations of a split. His beard could keep that discrete as it healed. But his eye, he knew it ...

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Write a story where fortune doesn’t favor the brave.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 38 stories

“Old Debts Paid Off” by Joseph Franklin

“Bittersweet Legacy” by Cindy Strube

“Light Feet” by Tanya Humphreys

“The Circle of Life with Scarlet and Rhett v. Bonnie and Clyde” by Felice Noelle

“SUNRISE” by Turquoise Tatters

“Change of Heart” by Rebecca Stack

“Brotherhood” by Ricky Poole

“The Mines” by Coltrane Rogers

“Out of Reach” by Hannah Martin

“A Debatable Act of Bravery” by Kim Anderson

“Willow Falls” by Kai Storm

“The money” by Lee-Anne Lenore Archibald

“Pyrrhic Victory” by Wendell Ernstzen

“Believe Your Lady” by Michael Pelepko

“But You're A Man ” by A Naomee

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a hero or a villain deathly afraid of doing their job.

Start your story with someone stepping outside their comfort zone.

Set your story in a town full of cowards.

Write about a casual act of bravery.

Contest #135

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

212

Contest entries

154

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: