Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Featured stories
Activity feed

Discover weekly, the best short stories

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

8550+ 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 160 of 571

The Day it all Changed

Submitted to Contest #197

A long long time ago, one very cruel man did a very cruel thing to the people of Bushington. The people of Bushington tried to stop him, but Abaddon De Hatman was just too overpowering. This thing that Abaddon did was so wrong that people refused to talk about it. Abaddon De Hatman made it impossible for people to do the things that they loved. The poor kids never had the freedom to celebrate New Year’s or stay up past 9:00 o’clock. But the one that struggled the most was Koda McScoon. Koda McScoon is a senior in high school or shall I say ...

8 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Maev and the Path Not Taken - Version 2

Submitted to Contest #197

“You have failed me Erylis,” growled King Corliss his deep rumbling voice echoed throughout the throne room. His golden eyes glowed hot with rage. “And now, you have brought dishonor on our name by appearing in my court as a humanoid,” said Corliss in a disapproving tone.  “Father, if you would just let me explain! I...”, Erylis started but Corliss cut her off with a wave of his hand.  “I have heard all I need to,” he said and motioned forward with his hand.  From behind the fine-grained slate throne stepped a black dr...

9 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Maev and the Path Not Taken - Version 1

Submitted to Contest #197

“Why is this taking so long?”, Erylis groaned.   Anker had known of an old informant he had used during his early days when he had first graduated from the Academy. So, they had come to Sirus, a neutral planet that sat in the middle of several star systems, hoping to get a lead on finding out more about this Maev so they could find her and switch places back.    “Nawt that much longer yur highness,” Anker whispered back. “Yew know, the longer yur in that form the more impatient yuv been getting', yur majesty.”  “I...

8 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Labyrinth

Submitted to Contest #197

Chapter one The Creator lost the beauty of the surroundings, the lush foliage with the bonus of every flower imaginable, in his/her mood. Rarely seen in this bad mood, the arch angels stood helpless as the Creator walked in circles, waving His hands, and talking loud and profusely. “How did they end up there? That dimension has the worst monsters and a clue, but not the first one.” “We haven't arranged the clues in any order. The one there is just one clue. They cannot decipher them unless one has all four together. Someone stole the b...

7 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Brightest Secret

Submitted to Contest #197

Thunder boomed in the dark sky, but no lightning showed itself. Several people stopped to look down at the path to the Oracle. A heavier darkness weighed on the realm and the people noticed. The landscape of crooked empty trees and barren land changed from its normal hue of dark, muted blues and purples, black, and grey to an overwhelming sense of pure blackness. A young dark elf was approaching the Oracle. As the thunder sounded and the sky darkened, her gait changed from one of a normal errand to one that trembled. These people knew someth...

8 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Another Hero's Journey

Submitted to Contest #197

There he is. Man…. An ordinary primitive man, furs and pelts covering his body. A vast open plain lay before him with all sorts of fauna dotted across the landscape; antelope, buffalo, stag, mammoth, numerous other horned and hooved animals that called this place home. He stood under the hot sun, stone spear in hand. Gazing out onto the land, he studied, looking for his next meal. It had to be something small as he was alone. The tribe he was once apart of had all but disappeared, having lost them in a bad snowstorm the winter prior. He ...

6 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Olympics Gamed

Submitted to Contest #197

Mars, the god of war, clapped his hands and addressed the crowd. “Welcome! What a beautiful morning here on Mount Olympus.” The crowd cheered. Epimetheus suppressed an ironic smile. The god of afterthought and the father of excuses considered his lowly status amongst his peers. “Some gods get all the breaks. Why is the god of war presiding over the opening of the Olympic Games?” No one answered him. Sitting on his lonely cloud, the other gods considered his location ‘nosebleed’ territory. Mars continued, “Minotaur, Chimera and Cerberus wa...

12 likes 7 comments 7
Read story

Trapped

Submitted to Contest #197

I sat beside her and looked at her as the wind blew her hair to the side. She had planned to have a picnic with me for a while, we both knew that things like this happen rarely because we both work very often. We were in a beautiful open space, on the grass surrounded by dandelions. As Lori takes one of them and blows at the round dandelions causing the seeds to fly all around the field. She smiles at me and returns her gaze back to the field and then to the beautiful clouds above us. She says,  “Rick, we should take photographs of the...

8 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Sister Sister, Rat Bastards, and Fierce Ice

Submitted to Contest #197

I’ll just say it. I’m free. Fourteen months of eating food with sketchy provenance and enduring the company of unwonderful people has left me devoid of any fond feelings for Huntsville state prison. Also, I can now pee without an audience. It’s the little things that matter. Don’t take that the wrong way, buddy. I have thirty-seven dollars to my name, so getting a hooker was out of the question. A decent chicken-fried steak, though, was in the cards. I got to Lily’s Chicken Palace and sat down. I was soon approached by a waitress large enoug...

27 likes 25 comments 25
Read story

The Redemption of the Cowardly Immortal

Submitted to Contest #197

It was the fifty ninth day of Tomryan’s immortality and the God of Life was still furious. Her golden orbs for eyes fixated on him as she moved in close, scowling so intensely that Tomryan thought that she might knock him backward with the force of her glare alone. For a split second, he contemplated dashing in the opposite direction, back out through the waterfall that concealed the entrance of the God’s magnificent chamber; but he stood his ground. ‘I assume you didn’t bring me here to lecture me on my choices again,’ He said with false br...

13 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Escape!

Submitted to Contest #197

The day was hot and dusty, but Johnny knew that it would cool down during the night. Southern Arizona’s nights could freeze a body’s bones sometimes, but he would be moving. Moving as he never had before. Just twenty minutes more. Twenty more minutes and most of the guards would turn in for the night. Only Hopkins would be lift on duty, and Johnny had observed Hopkins for two nights. He was lazy. Why they used him for guard duty Johnny had no idea, but no matter. He was glad they did. With Hopkins on guard, Johnny could escape the prison cel...

6 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Playing The Game

Submitted to Contest #197

Choice: Press Play or Press Exit.You Press Play.Note: Warning, Choices made are Choices kept. Future Choices do not override past ones. No matter how hard you try to forget, your memories may never fade. It is The Game that controls your destiny from here on out. Choose wisely. You're laying in a bed of wildflowers, the dewey morning grass soaking you through. The sky above you is a pale orange, quickly fading to blue. No clouds in sight, the sun is blinding at first but slowly decides to show you kindness. You sit up to find the field ...

18 likes 12 comments 12
Read story

Rising Wind

Submitted to Contest #197

The wind whipped across the surface of the ocean, and the waves crashed upon the rigid rocks of the bluff down below. The tree line that was standing tall behind him cut off the rest of the world, and they swayed like a recently closed stage curtain after a long play. Nobody stood up and applauded. Nobody laughed. There would be no congratulations. There would be no reward. Instead, there would be only silence, sorrow, and regret once again. He fell to his knees at the edge of the world and screamed into the wind, but his voice got lost lik...

16 likes 7 comments 7
Read story

Virgil’s Aeneas and the Founding of Rome

Submitted to Contest #197

“Is it fate, or us, ending the world?” The admiral asked the question, but to him the answer would not come from the doctor, but the bright star to the west where the sun had just set. The night sky opened as a stage, and there, Venus, a false star, beckoned. The admiral listened. What did his god mother ask of him now? And would he listen?The doctor dismissed the admiral’s question, to him an enquiry to a deaf heaven. To ask a star, even the brightest, where their fate was headed, seemed the logic of a child from what he could tell. “W...

17 likes 10 comments 10
Read story

My Fate

Submitted to Contest #197

Wake up. Get ready. Go to school. Get home. Do homework. Eat dinner. Go to bed. Wake up. Get ready. Go to school. Get home. Do homework. Eat dinner. Go to bed. That's my normal. My “Fate” as my little sister, Destiny would call it, or my “destiny”, either one, she uses them as intertwined meanings. And yes, she uses her own name to tell me that I don't have control of my life. She doesn't care. It's so annoying, “Destiny this” “Destiny that” of course it doesn't help that my name is Hope. Something that people directly relate to fate and des...

8 likes 1 comment 1
Read story
RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. All for free.