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

8530+ 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 30 of 569

The Longest Winter

Submitted to Contest #282

Sunvik thought back to the day the darkness started. For years, he and his fellow villagers had been tracking the path of the sun. They knew its pattern. Knew when it would be at the highest point in the sky, giving them the longest day. They made marks in the stone at various key points in the year. This was their calendar. They used these marks to know when to plant, when to harvest and when they needed to be ready for the cold dark of winter.           Sunvik moved his head from side ...

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Diary From Gulliver's Travels

Submitted to Contest #283

A lost or deliberately misplaced manuscript concerning Gulliver's Travels was discovered in the records office of the Dublin University Literature Department. It was dated July 11th, 1757, exactly one year after Gulliver returned from his journey to the land of the Houyhnhnms. I only wish you could witness the scene in front of me. Unfortunately, you cannot. I have no doubt you will find what I am about to report, unconscionable and unbelievable.I grew bored as the year of my return to my home progressed, although I received some degree...

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A Christmas Treenapping

Submitted to Contest #283

High on a hill in the land of Green Mountains was a farm specializing in Christmas trees. The trees varied in age from saplings to fifteen years except for one, the wise old Maple tree, who grumpily boasted to be over 100 years old.Among the many trees on the sprawling farm were two seven-year-old fir trees, Doug and Frasier. They were the best of friends. Every day Doug would ask Frasier “How are you today?” And Frasier would respond “I’m very well, how are you?” To which Doug would reply “I’m fantastic.” Doug and Frasier then would go back...

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The Girl in the Snow

Submitted to Contest #282

Walking down the long winding road, a lonely, sad girl saw the snow. It came in a flurry, covering the road, and made her freeze. She hadn't seen snow since he died. Her father. Not a man named He. Her breath caught in her throat, and a slight strangled noise escaped her lips. Not today. When the girl reached the front door, she paused for a second. Her mother was inside, probably staring out the window blankly. She couldn't let her mother see the snow. The girl walked inside and saw her mom on the ground. Strange. She usually sleeps in a be...

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I AM OUROBOROS

Submitted to Contest #282

What does the desire to live forever say about a man? It's a very common wish. No one really wants to die—and yet no one's ever escaped their fate. There is a point in life wherein our own biology sits us down and sternly tells us—“Thus far shall ye go, and no further.” Yet, people still dream of the impossible. My own physical difficulties had become great—almost too great too endure. The sixteenth verse of the Havamal had been staring me straight in the face for a very long time. The coward thinks he will live forever If only from fighti...

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From Darkness to Light

Submitted to Contest #282

There I was, in the midst of a shadow filled, rugged battlefield. My iron clad comrades were falling on every side in the plight of war. They fought bravely and virtuously. After a rigorous battle, I was the last one standing. Exhausted and battleworn I stood as if I were a single candle on a midnight mountain top as darkness covered the earth. The first wave of the army of darkness had fallen without any glory, for how could darkness and glory be betrothed? Glory can only be bestowed upon the one who is worthy! No, the only thing darkness w...

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Aerodale

Submitted to Contest #282

“I’m sorry,” I whisper as I drive the silver stake through his heart. Tears are streaming down my face as I watch the grey tinge of death slowly work its way up his face. His eyes are wide, staring at me in disbelief. He didn’t think I was capable. Didn’t think I’d follow through. I feel his body go limp in my arms and I run my hands over his eyes, closing them in the process. “Rest now,” I say as I place a soft kiss on his lips one last time. Resting my forehead on his, I allow myself a few minutes to grieve. What started out as slow tears ...

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The Sopron Pursuit

Submitted to Contest #282

The sun dipped low over the vineyards of western Hungary, casting long shadows across the rolling hills. In the small town of Sopron, nestled near the Austrian border, time seemed to flow more slowly. That was, until the quiet of the evening was shattered by the sound of screeching tires.Eszter Nagy, a former military intelligence officer turned private investigator, slammed the brakes of her sturdy Jeep as a figure darted onto the cobblestone street. Heart pounding, she stepped out to find a young man sprawled in the road, clutching a leath...

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A mother’s love

Submitted to Contest #282

My son. I love you and I always will and I am sorry. Mother. I did it; and I wish I had not; and I am sorry for having done it. We chose to enter. Weren’t we warned? You knew the consequences. You understood that if you stepped foot through the opening, you should leave your hope behind. Yes, it’s below freezing. It does not matter what kind of warmth you begin with, we were never meant to leave. If we turn around, we lose everybody. “I refuse to let you go back. Pick up your backpack and march soldier!” Ross wouldn’t even make eye cont...

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The poet and the sea

Submitted to Contest #282

"I'm so sorry... I can't let you in." The captain said firmly.He was getting too old for his trade. He’d been on this ship for a month— and he was already far too tired of eating salted pork, tired of the landlubbers he’d been forced to ferry, and tired of this insufferable youngster, who’d spent the past week insisting to speak with the captain’s most important guest—who’d expressly demanded never to be disturbed."I apologize, sir," said the young, well-dressed courtier timidly. "but I have urgent business to discuss with the poet... and th...

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Venture

Winner of Contest #282 🏆

Cade steadied his horse with a squeeze of both knees, keeping her dancing legs in check and protecting the dusty mounds below from wayward hooves. The four lines of raised dirt sheltered the still-warm bodies of his dead friends. The new mount had a sure spirit, along with an insatiable lust for speed, but she would have to wait a few moments longer before indulging in the open road. Black spots peppering her stark, white hide made the beast the most beautiful he had ever owned, but also the least likely to go unnoticed. She would have to be...

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The coffee shop loop

Submitted to Contest #282

The bell jingled as the door to the small coffee shop swung open. Daniel stepped inside, shivering from the morning cold, and shook droplets of rain from his jacket. It was a Tuesday—he was certain of that, though his mornings had started to blur together lately. Routine made everything predictable, almost monotonous. The smell of freshly brewed coffee wrapped around him like a warm blanket. He glanced around. The same red-and-white checkered floor tiles, the same overstuffed armchair by the window, the same soft jazz playing from the speake...

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A Color Pencil's Journey

Submitted to Contest #281

A hand extended toward me. The cheeto-dust-covered fingers reached out, groping for a purple crayon. It picked me up and lowered me to the bright white Paper.  “No! Please No! Have mercy!”, I screamed in desperation as I tried to wiggle free from the child’s grip. Of course, the monster didn’t listen. My head gave way and left traces on the cool Paper. Paper was squirming with fear, as I was pressed harder into Paper, he screamed and tore. The monster crumpled Paper in his fist and threw him on the floor. Oh, no! Soon, there would be no...

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Murder Mayhem

Submitted to Contest #281

           “There’s Mr. Garza. I wonder what he’s doing out so late at night.” David spoke in barely a whisper, but a chill still ran down my spine. Stacy shivered deeper into her coat. Even though it was only thirty-one degrees inside the open-walled tree house and our breaths puffed in the air, I knew the weather wasn’t the cause of our discomfort.           It was the man. His name was Fernando Garza, and he’d lived next door to m...

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Rescued by the Giant Octopus - Voyages of the Destiny's Dreams

Submitted to Contest #281

“In the ancient codices, how does the sun come back after it sinks into the ocean on the longest darkness of the year?” When the storyteller Ana spoke, she saw the shining eyes of nineteen-year-old Xochitli, the scholar of Nahuatl ancient history and myths.Xochitli's face and eyes showed someone with depths that held many secrets. The young Nahuatl woman spoke. “The sun, Tonatiuh, he who goes forth shining, is reborn as a hummingbird. It is in the hieroglyphics of the ancient codices.”She continued. “We must find the ancient codice...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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