Write about a person or object vanishing into thin air.

Posted in Thriller and Suspense on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 44 stories

“Keeper of the Memories” by Francis Daisy

Submitted to Contest #108

I forgot how to write the number six today. I was in a meeting with my boss and I couldn’t write the number six. Ironically, there were six people seated at the conference table in the air conditioned room. My chair swiveled on the carpeted floor as I tried to concentrate on moving my pen on sheet of paper in front of me. I knew I should be making eye contact with the person seated at the head of the table, but if only I could get this written down first. I needed to just make the lines or curves or squiggles in my notes. What the hell! What...

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“The Dark Karma Café” by Ava Carpzov

Submitted to Contest #108

The acupuncturist had told her to keep the needles in. She must walk around the town for at least an hour and then return to the clinic to have them removed. This was not the sort of thing Nancy usually did; she prided herself on her common sense and refused to believe in anything that scientists couldn’t prove, so she wore a sour expression and her darkest sunglasses over it as she walked around Glastonbury. No one stared at the needles, which were sticking out of her head, neck and back; as if it were a common occurrence in Glastonbury t...

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“The creation of a star” by Silje Louise Jensen

Submitted to Contest #108

Some things in life are a given. For example, if you combine fire and air, they will morph together into something powerful. But if you combine water with fire, the flame will only shrink and die out. We all know the science behind how these simple elements work together. They are opposites. They can make each other thrive, or they can be the destruction of each other. But there are things the world of science has yet to explore. Sometimes the unthinkable happens. Like when a single human managed to create something that should not have be...

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“The Bookstore Chair” by Wake Lloire

Submitted to Contest #108

Devin blinked his eyes. She had just been there, sitting crossed-legged in the oversized red chair, singing Moon River in a high falsetto…and now she wasn’t.Or rather, Devin had watched her disintegrate into iridescent sparkles. She had gone from corporeal to disappeared, Devin knew that because only moments before she had vanished, they had been kissing. Admittedly, it had been a weird week.On Monday Devin had begun his new job at the bookstore. It was a small town, quiet bookstore, with a solid cast of regulars. Sarah who loved queer ...

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“Dei Ex Machina” by David Brown

Submitted to Contest #108

Doctor Marcus Bliss warily worked his way down the newly excavated section of the Temple of Jupiter, careful not to soil his freshly pressed salmon-colored polyester suit. The powerful flashlight in his left hand lit the roughly hewn corridor while his right hand braced the ceiling as he crouched to ensure that he didn’t bump his head. Entering the crypt chamber, he doused his flashlight, as the space was sufficiently lit by a pair of portable halogen work lights mounted on tripods. Two fellow archaeologists were hunched over a crate contain...

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“Up” by Colleen Christi Willett

Submitted to Contest #108

A weekend camper went missing in Rocky Mountain National Park. It happened a lot. Enough that the park relied on volunteers to help find people when they disappeared. I hadn’t been doing it long, but there was a certain draw to setting out on the trail of someone who’d disappeared. And this particular disappearance was confusing. By all accounts, Joseph Kinneman, who was twenty-eight and a high school basketball coach, was in excellent physical condition. He and his pals spent most of their free time in the park, hiking, rock climbing, ca...

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“The Pursuit of Universal Happiness” by Bruce Friedman

Submitted to Contest #108

At a time not too far in the future….It was exactly 2400 hours and Controller 7564385ZE, known informally to his friends as Zed, stood in the entrance to his work-pod, anxious to start his usual 12-hour shift. He was never late for work, partly because such a mistake was grounds for dismissal as a Zone Controller and partly because promptness was his natural inclination. He was relieving Controller 8999541AL, nicknamed Solo Al, who was not a close friend but more of an acquaintance. Zed nodded to him as they swapped positions in the work pod...

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“Thank You Photon” by Jerry Nourrie

Submitted to Contest #108

“The show tonight. You going?” An excited voice asked, directed towards the back of Levi’s head. He turned to see that the anonymous question came from Ava. She playfully turned to look behind her as well. “A-are you asking me?” he nervously replied. “Casper, did you hear something just now?” Ava said as she pretended to look around. “Of course you. Who else? All of us in the student council worked so hard to make this happen tonight. We have to go.” “Oh yeah, the fireworks show,” Levi said as he rubbed his head and looked off...

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“Strangers On a Plane” by Emma Powell

Submitted to Contest #108

My dad always tells me not to say I have bad luck. He says it’s a self fulfilling prophecy. I decide this may be worth examining as I take my seat aboard the airplane I will be stuck on for the next thirteen hours, between a mother with a screaming baby, and a man who definitely forgot to put on deodorant this morning. I’ve always hated flying. The idea of hurling through the air at five hundred miles per hour in a zillion pound death trap, has always made me want to throw up. I’ll take my feet planted firmly on the ground any day, thank you...

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“Mary and Kate” by Robin Owens

Submitted to Contest #108

Her phone keeps going straight to voicemail. “Hey, it’s me. You can leave a message, but I’d prefer a massage.” Massage. I was with her when she set up that recording. We giggled, though admittedly tipsy, and I assumed she’d change it later. She never did. It usually makes me smile, but today it’s unnerving. I let myself into her house a few minutes ago with my own key. I can tell it’s empty by the way the dust is settled and the silence is loud. Neither Kate nor her boyfriend are home. I’ve wandered through the rooms while calling Kate’s ...

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“Red Creek” by M. J. Riv

Submitted to Contest #108

“What a fucking mess!” Rodney had his head poking into the bedroom doorway with a crumpled, disgusted look on his face and his trademark toothpick dangling on his wet bottom lip. Rodney was our new boss. He had just been promoted and transferred to our unit, despite having a lack of qualifications and experience. The worst part is he didn’t even realize it. “What the fuck happened here?”He also had a penchant for unnecessary “Fuck”s. I guess he figured that gave him more of an old school “street detective” authenticity. It did...

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“The Lost Journal” by Amy Zhu

Submitted to Contest #108

Alexia walked into her room. She jogged to her very messy closet and dug through her scattered clothes and dirty shoes until she found a purple and blue box with silver patterns on it. She opened the box, and found her secret journal she’s been writing in. It was filled with her deepest thoughts and some things that had happened to her each day, but Alexia labeled it as her “Math and English Language Arts Journal” so that hopefully nobody would read it. She hid her journal at the bottom of the pile of clothes in her closet so that there was...

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“Magic Basic: Manifesting” by Vox Deruste

Submitted to Contest #108

Magic Basic: Manifesting By Justin Ramirez “ All right please sit down and take your seats, everyone.” The class sat down on wooden seats as their instructor started to write on the blackboard. “ My name is Vox Deruste, I will be your mysticism teacher for the semester.” The instructor was clad in a tri-colored robe. Red, blue, and green. And yet the most eye-catching part of their appearance was the green fire and black smoke that made up their body. A green fire-based body, Black smoke inside their mouth, and eyes that leaked out like ci...

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“Gone!” by Elizabeth Maxson

Submitted to Contest #108

“It was right there!” “You say that every time you lose your phone, Celeste.” My mother’s grimace was growing on her face as I frantically started throwing the papers on the dining room table around searching for my phone. “I mean it this time,” I wailed and continued my desperate attempt to locate my Smartphone. “I would say retrace your steps, but we do not have time. We have to leave, now.” Her tone was final, and I let the last few teardrops that had been welling in my eyes escape down my cheeks. It was hopeless. All day w...

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“Hannah” by Ben Connolly

Submitted to Contest #108

I close my laptop and rub my strained eyes. I've been staring at the screen blankly for almost forty-five minutes, and not a single stream of inspiration has flowed through my mind. The words I've typed are weak, destined for a cruel fate of highlighting and deleting. Prompts and expectations have been staring back at me with impatience and derision. I can just tell, they're ready to yell at me. A fresh, cold drink and a walk may help the avenues in my brain open up again, but it's been getting harder to reset my mind after it muddles. I don...

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Write about a person or object vanishing into thin air.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 44 stories

“Keeper of the Memories” by Francis Daisy

“The Dark Karma Café” by Ava Carpzov

“The creation of a star” by Silje Louise Jensen

“The Bookstore Chair” by Wake Lloire

“Dei Ex Machina” by David Brown

“Up” by Colleen Christi Willett

“The Pursuit of Universal Happiness” by Bruce Friedman

“Thank You Photon” by Jerry Nourrie

“Strangers On a Plane” by Emma Powell

“Mary and Kate” by Robin Owens

“Red Creek” by M. J. Riv

“The Lost Journal” by Amy Zhu

“Magic Basic: Manifesting” by Vox Deruste

“Gone!” by Elizabeth Maxson

“Hannah” by Ben Connolly

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a voyage on a boat.

Write a story about a team tunneling down into the centre of a planet.

Start or end your story with a house going up in flames.

Write a story about a character who’s trying to fill an empty space, literally or metaphorically.

Contest #108

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

203

Contest entries

207

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: