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

150+ 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 4 of 10

Which Tree is This?

Submitted to Contest #305

Preface: due to recent shoulder replacement surgery this story was produced using Dragon dictation software as a training exercise. Since I don’t know enough of the editing commands yet, the types of mistakes that exist might be a typical of impromptu drafts. Which tree is this? I asked myself why am I in the Arctic Circle? My idea of a vacation is always been laying out on a beach chair on a tropical island. But now in retirement there’s nothing exciting about sunbathing and I gave into my wife’s desire to see the northern lights. We picked...

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The Town

Submitted to Contest #305

The Town Was he dreaming? Was there a mist forming around him or was he still at home in his bed?There was a muffled bang like a firecracker. He blinked and wondered why did he think he was in his bed? He opened his mouth, strained and looked up at the sky. It was blue. There was no mist. Brad was confused. He was standing and there in the mist that had cleared was a grove of trees and to each side of the grove were two very different streets.To his left was his compact, neat neighbourhood with cars parked, a kid on a bicycle throwing a roll...

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Go Your Own Way

Submitted to Contest #305

*Note: To stay true to the spontaneous spirit of this contest, I've only included what I wrote within the suggested 1-hour time limit, after randomly plucking this prompt. Afterwards, I spent a few minutes adding some minor formatting and correcting/replacing a few words for readability, but largely this is as I originally wrote it, warts and all.*He looked between us once more and said, “It’s either her or me…”Sarah turned to look at the two paths that each was choosing. They both looked exciting, dangerous, unexplored. Meredith stood on a ...

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The Jane Doe of Gramercy Park

Submitted to Contest #304

On a drizzly Tuesday evening in August at approximately 7:12 p.m. (or so the hotel clerk would later tell authorities), a young woman no one had ever seen or heard of before strode into the Bellemore Hotel and Suites in Gramercy Park, Manhattan, New York City, 10010.Her clothes were nondescript - a simple linen sheath dress, leather pumps with a ½-inch heel, and a long flowing coat that belled around her like a superhero’s cape, all in black, all purchased from a small shop in Copenhagen, all with their tags meticulously cut out so as to rem...

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The Forest Trip of a Fun Guy

Submitted to Contest #304

“Kara, you do realise how crazy you sound right?” said Miles in exasperation. “You need to turn back and take me to the hospital right now.” “Your crime against the forest will be met with vengeance,” Kara recalled. “That’s what the old woman said, Miles! I know you felt it too. She wasn’t normal. That forest wasn’t normal. And look! The blue mark has already spread up your arm. It was just a patch on your hand like two hours ago. No medical condition would do that.” “So…what? You think I’m turning into a mushroom or something?” Miles snigge...

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The Long Way Home

Submitted to Contest #305

Going right will take me home. But going left would take me down past the old lake where my dad used to sail toy sailboats with me. And then beyond that was more countryside and beyond. That was Kentucky, so this time instead of going home to my wife. I decided to go toward Kentucky and I was headed that way and then I remembered. I forgot to lock my door my garage door and I said, uh oh, but I didn't want to go back for that reason. I didn't want that to stop me. So I kept going and I didn't want anyone to know where I was. I wanted them th...

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“You Know What? I Quit.” — A Royal Monologue by Queen Cinderella

Submitted to Contest #305

“You Know What? I Quit.” — A Royal Monologue by Queen Cinderella"You Know What? I Quit."A first-person narrative by CinderellaYou know what? I quit.There. I said it.I’m supposed to be the happiest woman alive. The girl who got everything she ever wanted. The fairy tale princess who married the prince, moved into the castle, had the perfect children, and lived happily ever after.But you know what no one tells you?“Happily ever after” is exhausting.It’s exhausting to always smile. To always be poised. To always be perfectly polished, powdered,...

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The Last Departure

Submitted to Contest #305

At the intersection, I could go right and head home — but turning left would take me…Why on this world would I want to head home? There is nothing, or anyone, there for me anymore. The house stands silent, covered with red dust that settles on everything. It disguised what once was. I brush it from the porch rail, but it clings, the way my sorrow clings to the edges of memory. The silence in these empty rooms echoes the hollowness inside me. yet as I stand at this crossroads, feeling a flicker of something stubborn. —Hope that somewhere, bey...

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Death In Heaven

Submitted to Contest #304

I've been waiting for you, Angel Riktor. The Angels and their Archangel lords stood watch over the mortals of earth from the beginning of time itself. Extraordinary mortal men and women were granted immortality and the sacred duty of eternal service to the light. The agents of the light were to lock their blades with the enemies of humanity, both mortal and immortal, protecting the helpless citizens and servants of the light that inhabited earth below. In the Arch Heavens, hundreds of miles above the mortals of earth, the sun shone eternal...

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Glum Kloae

Submitted to Contest #304

Glum felt he, who couldn't squash a snail. Fo— "Absolute garbage," muttered Kloae, as he crumpled the paper and tossed it in the bin. The papers covered his dark room. Kloae enjoyed writing in the dark because he didn't have to see what he wrote. He went to the kitchen, a few pieces of paper sticking to his feet. The day was ordinary. Until Kloae reached for the coffee cup and noticed something scribbled on the handle. HERE - E.F. Kloae was out the door before his coffee cup hit the ground. "How did they find me?" Kloae's mind was in a ta...

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Patience

Submitted to Contest #304

Patience.That was what Pierrot desperately needed and was quickly running out of. Sitting in a dingy, damp basement that some fool dared call a tavern - the “Jewel of Viceport”, no less! - he listened to the meandering ramblings of yet another candidate who had responded to the notice he had posted earlier this week: “Crew Wanted for Voyage of Exploration on the Undaunted. Harsh Conditions, Perilous Trials, Safe Return Doubtful, Honor and Recognition on the Off-Chance of Success”. Well, that was what Pierrot believed he remembered to have po...

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Delete Key

Submitted to Contest #304

"Erasure demands a lifetime of rehearsal," Zora mutters, scraping grime off the memchip’s surface.She rifles through the box of memory chips. A waft of synthetic food oil curls into her nostrils. She swallows it and wipes her nose. The guy at the stall prods her. “Hey are you gonna buy something or just mix up the collection?” “You said: 50 credits for the box?” She eyes him. “I said 80, but whatever, just get out of the way. You’re hogging space.” He lets his fingers trace over his mohawk. “This aint stolen is it?” She knows better than to ...

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Good Intentions

Submitted to Contest #304

I start the day with good intentions. I carry them with me for the whole of that day and if I manage to find a way of making something stick. I deploy those good intentions in a last ditch attempt at living my life the way I think I always intended to. My life is a fucking overdraft. I’m in debt. The kicker is that I don’t know who I’m indebted to, only that it’s all going wrong and there’s a gang of consequences who will take a look at the ledger and come and collect. Mobsters. Confidence tricksters. Sharks circling as they sniff out the bl...

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Big Apple Takedown

Submitted to Contest #304

Publisher Joe Paulson laid it all on the line, “Dan, you either produce the next three chapters of Homicide on the Nile by the September 15 deadline or we will immediately drop you from our stable of writers. Paulson and his Magnifying Glass Publishing Company had released three New York Times bestsellers written by Dan Rodriguez in just five years. The Covid Pandemic brought everything to a standstill when the writer contracted a recurring case of long covid that played havoc with his immune system. Homicide on the Nile stood unfin...

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DEPARTURES

Submitted to Contest #304

"Anywhere here will do," Lila urged, flicking her eyes between the street and her phone: on and off, on and off. 11:55. The car inched forward. The ignition clicked to the rhythm of the driver chewing gum."Can't stop here. It's for black cabs only," he muttered. "Busy, busy. Always busy." He laughed to himself.Lila tapped her foot. 11:56."Sir. I'm going to miss my train."She unfastened her seatbelt; it snapped back against the leather, slightly damp from her sweat. Without waiting for a reply, she pushed open the door.The car screeched to a ...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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