You’re walking down the street, when you spot a familiar figure. It’s another you. And they’ve come from an alternate reality to warn you about something.

Posted in Thriller and Suspense on Apr 28, 2023

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✍️ 32 stories

“'GOOD LOVE'” by Kajsa Ohman

Submitted to Contest #196

‘GOOD LOVE’ Dear BFF, you wouldn’t believe who I met last night! Walking toward me, under the streetlights…he’d just finished buttoning something into his shirt pocket and was getting ready to glance back up. Our eyes met; our footsteps slowed. The mutual recognition was as instantaneous as two particles. Our grasp of its significance took a little longer. Okay, here’s what I saw. (I don’t know what he saw.) He was taller than me, of course, and his hair was longer than mine is since my recent hack job. He was extraordinarily good-...

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“The High” by Rudy Senecal

Submitted to Contest #196

I remembered the shot, but that was it. I remember being startled by the lack of kick, and the brightness of the green beam that lit up my face and cut through an air car like a plow through snow. I’d looked up from the display with a dropped jaw and wide eyes as I watched the fiery wreck spin out of control and tumble to the ground below. It felt like something washed over me. All my doubts, shakes, and cold chills were burned away by that laser. The ensuing firefight hadn’t even scared me, and I hadn’t lost this smile and light in my eyes ...

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“Supermarket shopping isn't best done at Night.” by Abigail-Rose BUTTERWORTH

Submitted to Contest #196

As I step out of the car, reluctantly leaving the heated seat and the warmth of the confined space, and am instantly hit with the bitter cold wind of classic Melbournes mid-July. I walk around to the boot to pick up some shopping bags, The wind irritatingly whipping tendrils of my hair, that I fruitlessly tried to bat out of my face. The car park was deserted, save for a few lone cars of Coles employees that dot the also empty street. The bright white light of the supermarket looks to offer much better protection from the bit...

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“The Misinterpreted Patients” by Ian James

Submitted to Contest #196

(CW: Vulgar Language)"Alright, Patient 21," I said in a professional tone, tapping my pen against the clipboard as I looked over the young boy's file. "It appears that you've been diagnosed with Elaboration Deficiency." Hakimi looked at me with a sheepish grin, as if he had expected this outcome.I couldn't help but reflect on how this was becoming a familiar scene at the I Can Do It (ICDI) Clinic. As a group of educators, my colleagues and I had noticed a common thread among our students - a reluctance to admit their weaknesses. Despite our ...

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“Purposeful Chaos” by T A Mulder

Submitted to Contest #196

She yawned. The scant sunlight peaking over the city’s skyline was not proving an adequate substitution for the thermos of black coffee she had forgotten at home. She’d once tried to impress an ex by telling her that’s the only way she’d drink it, and while not true at the time, it was a habit that had stuck with her ever since, sheerly on principle. As usual for this time of year, heavy storm clouds blanketed the skies in oppressive shades of gray. While she had once enjoyed these gloomy days, the novelty had long since worn off. She conti...

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“At The Crossroads of Reality” by Josh Zyelinske

Submitted to Contest #196

The city streets swirled with busy faceless people as I ambled my way through the urban maze. The horizon blurred the towering buildings and sky together like a muddy puddle of deception. Each step of my path held a familiar beat in the rhythm of my stride, but today felt different with an eerie sense of anticipation lingering in the air. My gaze was fixed on the path and the world around me seemed hazy and distant. I was a solitary drifter amidst the currents of humanity. As I moved through the sea people, a movement caught my eye. A man ...

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“Krosha” by NNEKA PLUMMER

Submitted to Contest #196

Police and medical officials have strongly advised the public to not leave their homes unless absolutely necessary due to the recent rise in cases... Though it's unsettling to think about what lies in wait for me outside, I find that unemployment and begging for change on the street to be a little more terrifying. Recurring nightmares of homelessness and hardship in the not-so-distant future will do that to you. Despite the fact that I would much rather be curled up in bed with a good book, someone's gotta make ends meet. And as I live ...

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“Beesberries” by Atheism Got Stopped P

Submitted to Contest #196

Beesberries I have this dream every night.I am standing over my father, barely conciseness in a hospital bed. We are in the ICU unit again, and though there were other patients, in my dreams I only see him, laying there frail and weak. He is nearly skin and bones now. He had once been a strong man, muscled like one of those action heroes from those lame movies he made me watch as a kid. His eyes are closed, wrinkles over his face that make him appear much older than he actually is, and his cheeks are sunken in his face. His breath is sl...

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“A Matter of Oneself” by Quin Vinistra

Submitted to Contest #196

September winds blew through the streets, and people I knew scurried inside buildings. I merely pulled my scarf up over my mouth and shoved my hands into my pockets. The library was in sight, still open. I walked up the rugged stairs into the warm building. Pulling my hood down, I looked around for my lady. The library was the same as it has always been, with shelves stacked high and a fresh scent of paper that never wavered, even with how many stinky school kids came in. “Quin, there you are!” Ms. Cathreen Greenlands said, coming in fr...

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“If there were Two” by Diamond Keener

Submitted to Contest #196

“There are two of them. One of them is already here. And the other one has yet to arrive.” Not said with any hint of mystery. Like she was reading some numbers off a spreadsheet. She squinted at the cards one more time before she gathered them back up and put them in the little paper box. The same one they’d been originally packaged in. She didn’t even let me write down which of them she had drawn. The only thing I could remember was The Tower. I wasn’t even sure what part of my question that applied to. I just knew the card meant tr...

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“Doppelganger ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #196

There are things that really freak me out. Listening to someone tell an urban legend when I live in lower Manhattan is guaranteed to give me the willies. I live alone and so it is easy to rattle my cage, especially since I am a timid sort to begin with. My name is Alex Weedly and I am a junior executive at an imaging company known as Scott’s Solutions. I make enough to comfortably afford a loft apartment near the Chelsea Hotel. I am telling you this so you will understand my trepidation about something th...

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“Who are You” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #196

Melbourne O’Day doesn’t like people. He goes out of his way to avoid them. It angers him to deal with them, but he must work to pay his bills. Melbourne is the manager of a hamburger joint, and employee turnover is tremendous. Because of his nasty disposition, everyone he hires quits a few weeks later. However, because the hamburgers taste delicious, the constant flow of new employees doesn’t affect business. As a result, the spot on the wall for employee of the month is always vacant.The only woman in his...

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“Humanity's Sin” by Sammy Courtney

Submitted to Contest #196

John woke up feeling weird. Something felt off about today. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but he suspects it was from his dream. He didn’t remember his dream was, but it woke him up in a weird mood. He went through school in regular fashion. Talking with friends, going to class, flirting with girls, the usual. During the last class of the day, he day-dreamt about being a famous filmmaker, an aspiration of his, but one he would never pursue. He left school, sped home, and studied for the SAT, which he was taking in a week. Bein...

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“The Commute” by Aaron Tippit

Submitted to Contest #196

Clinton Fischer lay in bed staring at the ceiling. He stopped himself from looking at the clock for the umpteenth time that night. The light in the room was increasing with the gray of dawn. His feet jittered. If he were standing, it would be a foot tap. Lying down, it was more like a spasm. His fingers twitched. He took his arms out of the blanket, then put them back. He flipped to one side, then the other. BEEP, BEEP, BEEP "Finally," Clint stopped the alarm as he bounced out of bed. His belly filled with helium when he stood up. Then bu...

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“THE WARNING” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #196

THE WARNING I’m walking on the sidewalk, and the florist’s shop is beyond me when I suddenly see that face among the passers-by coming in the opposite direction to me. A face with pronounced cheekbones, a long nose, and a small mouth. And blue eyes. It is little to say that it is a face familiar to me. That face is mine. It had also a mole between its nose and mouth, like me. But look what is happening to me this morning: to meet my double, I think embarrassed. I take a few more steps and I find myself facing the man ….with my face...

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You’re walking down the street, when you spot a familiar figure. It’s another you. And they’ve come from an alternate reality to warn you about something.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 32 stories

“'GOOD LOVE'” by Kajsa Ohman

“The High” by Rudy Senecal

“Supermarket shopping isn't best done at Night.” by Abigail-Rose BUTTERWORTH

“The Misinterpreted Patients” by Ian James

“Purposeful Chaos” by T A Mulder

“At The Crossroads of Reality” by Josh Zyelinske

“Krosha” by NNEKA PLUMMER

“Beesberries” by Atheism Got Stopped P

“A Matter of Oneself” by Quin Vinistra

“If there were Two” by Diamond Keener

“Doppelganger ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

“Who are You” by Ralph Aldrich

“Humanity's Sin” by Sammy Courtney

“The Commute” by Aaron Tippit

“THE WARNING” by Mara Masolini

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a character unknowingly experiencing a “sliding doors” moment. Write your story in two halves; what could have been, and what actually happened.

Write a story that includes the phrase “Maybe in another life.”

Write a story involving a portal into a parallel universe.

Set your story in a world where time travel has been perfected, and people can use it to hop between alternate timelines — but at a cost.

Contest #196

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

279

Contest entries

149

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: