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Looking for a steady supply of adventure short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

8500+ Adventure Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. From riding the high sea to climbing behemoth mountains, there isn’t any action that’s out of reach when it comes to adventure stories.

Adventure Short Stories – Page 16 of 567

It's time

Submitted to Contest #291

Although I was covered in darkness, I could still make out swirling shapes of the making their way. Nothing certain but something glided under my head, soft…and humming. I wasn’t even using my own legs; it seemed more like a swim where I could float as the current moved me lazily along. I could have floated all night with no worry in the world, that’s how I liked it anyway. But something else had other plans, as a harsh light stabbed through, I curled covering my eyes as my darkness evaporated from me. I could feel my legs touching solid gro...

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Isis Ice Cream Island: The Rainbow Ripple Rescue

Submitted to Contest #291

The soft glow of the nightlight, usually a comforting sentinel, now felt like a hesitant whisper against the deepening shadows in the nursery. Baby Isis, her round cheeks flushed with slumber, lay nestled amidst a sea of blue blanket, her tiny breaths puffing out like miniature clouds. The lullaby, a tinkling melody from the carousel mobile, seemed to slow, each note stretching into an almost tangible thread of sound.Then, a ripple. Not a sound, but a subtle distortion of the air, like a heat haze shimmering on a summer day. The yellow light...

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The Adventures of Sklumper

Submitted to Contest #291

“Drat!” I called out as I ran straight into the wall for the fourth time that day. I was rushing about the castle up to the throne room after an urgent summons from King Fergus. The King was not a patient man and as his most beloved jester he called upon me fairly often. My quarters being the furthest point from the kings it was always a mad dash to reach the great hall before King Fergus decided he no longer wanted a belly laugh to fill him. I was most scorned when the king turned me away, for each laugh I received was worth coin. The more ...

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The Tip of The Iceberg

Submitted to Contest #291

 THERE HAD BEEN a buzzing about, a form of nonsense that you could feel on the tip of your tongue if you could pinpoint it. Careful, don’t think too hard. It’s happenstance; you found yourself in a discombobulated maze that was small but never ending. You could unfold it like a blueprint or a newspaper, the origami puzzle could span a life time. Catacombs to get lost in.    You’d try to get the attention of others around you. You take a closer look. You’d begin to realize they had no faces, no faces for you to f...

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On the Bridge of Time

Submitted to Contest #291

"Gordy, can you please come help us with this?" I hear from the back room. They are calling for me to help them with the huge pumpkin that sits on the table in the rec room, too big for these weaklings.I grumble, and grudgingly get up, and trudge over with my too big overalls trailing on the floor and scuffling every time I took a step."Boy, look who finally got up," the recreation therapist teased, and pointed to the huge pumpkin, gnarled and not far from beginning to rot."Ok, where do you want it?" I picked it up and it slipped out of my f...

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Dust and Faeries

Submitted to Contest #291

Hank sat in his antique chair in the dark library, it smelled of oldparchment, leather bound books, and musty years gone by. While he sat at the windowsill a sliver of light gleamed through dark maroon tapestry holding back the full onslaught of day, he watched a symphonic ballet of dust particles dancing, swirling, and churning, floating up and down and around to unheard music, a sudden gust of wind disrupted the tranquil overture that had him transfixed. “Hank, Hank! You must come see what I have found.” Sarah saidrushing in the room. Hank...

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Dragon Knight Awoken

Submitted to Contest #291

I woke up, feeling dazed, wondering what the hell happened to me. I perked up from hearing shrill yells of panicked people and security outside, and then noticed I was in the backroom of a store. Am I supposed to be here? I got up and noticed I got taller after hitting my head on a light. I looked at my hands and noticed that I had clawed hands with obsidian scales. While wondering about that, I heard a security guard yelling, "The creature is in here, sir!" That’s when I ran in the place further. Then while looking back a bit, I noticed a h...

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The Scuba Diver

Submitted to Contest #291

James clipped a carabiner to his waist and took a final breath of crisp morning air. Everything was set: his regulator double-checked, tank secure, depth gauge ready. After more than a decade of diving, prep was second nature. Like setting up for a procedure at the office: every tool in place, every step methodical. “Let’s get started,” he murmured, amused at the familiar rhythm. Only today, instead of a dental mirror and a suction hose, he had fins and an oxygen tank. The water lapped lazily at the dock. No boats yet, no chattering tourists...

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Rumble Strips

Submitted to Contest #291

I am reminded that there is a duality to life. An inherent dichotomy to our nature. Two sides to the same coin. Darkness and light. We are conflicted. A constant disagreement shuffling around in a state of confused bickering. Yet we’re sold a pup and made to believe that we are one. Coherent. Together. A single being. We are given a name for this singularity of ours. A cursory label. Those around us use that label and we all think that is who we are. I am Adam, named after the first of my kind. A good, strong name. Pure. Steadfast. I have ne...

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Brothers

Submitted to Contest #290

They call it survivor's guilt, and from everything I’ve seen, it’s aptly named. It’s the name they used to describe my condition when they told me I had a classic case. It was a symptom of the PTSD they diagnosed me with after I got home from serving overseas. I didn’t have, by traditional definition, a TBI, a Traumatic Brain Injury, from a roadside or other kind of dirty bomb, been shot in the head, or suffered some kind of other physical head injury. I only had the misfortune to witness and survive the sights, sounds, smells, and calamitie...

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The Thieves and the Heart

Submitted to Contest #290

Adina didn't understand why Kamin made her fingertips tingle or her breath hitch before she spoke. It was a mystery, and an odd one at that. Although it didn’t bother her physically, it did deter her from reaching their target in the allotted time and often proved a distraction.Today was no different. Kamin was on watch duty as always, blowing the smoke of his cigarette against the brisk winter winds, his leather-studded jacket hugging snugly against his body. His stance was casual, leaning against the brick wall like he didn’t have a care i...

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The Heart's Compass

Submitted to Contest #290

In the heart of a bustling city, amidst the towering skyscrapers and the ceaseless hum of urban life, resided a young woman named Bria. Bria was a dreamer, her heart yearning for something more than the concrete jungle that surrounded her. She longed for adventure, for a life filled with romance and intrigue.One day, while wandering through a quaint antique shop, Bria stumbled upon a peculiar object – a heart-shaped compass. Its intricate design and warm, golden hue captivated her, and she felt an inexplicable pull towards it. As she held th...

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The addiction of a family member

Submitted to Contest #291

The day started as usual getting up going to work 6 days a week including the overtime working double shifts. I'm ready to quit I have so much going on outside the job I deal with daily.My home has turned into a battlefield between me and my son addiction, I came home one day he had locked the screen door which was odd when I finally got in by coming through the front door I had left out of this morning.When I approached the kitchen my son standing in the middle of the floor with the broom,I just stood there in shock because he was leaning o...

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Code name: Osprey

Submitted to Contest #290

“Goodbye,” he whispered just before he kissed her dry cracked lips.“I’ll come back for you.”He turned away, pulling the bill of his hat down lower on his forehead and tucking stray hairs up under its sides. The door clicked shut behind him. ***A day earlier:“We have to go… NOW!”“What’s the rush? I don’t have to be to work for another hour.”“You’re not going to work today.” “What are you talking about? Are you feeling, okay? You look a little pale”“No time to talk, our lives are in danger,” he said grabbing her wrist as he pulled he...

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Enchanted Bookshop

Submitted to Contest #290

Gail Beauregard  2,076 words                                                                             Write about two characters who meet and/or fall in ...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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