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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 46 of 571

Forest Whispers

Submitted to Contest #272

Forest Whispersby Joe Miller The wind howled through the trees, sending a shiver down Mia's spine. She huddled closer to the warm campfire. The forest buzzed with the sounds of night—crickets. Leaves rustled, and an owl hooted in the distance. Then, a different sound pierced the air, making her heart race. “Did you hear that?” she whispered, her voice barely rising above the crackling flames. Tom, her older brother, glanced up from prodding the fire with a stick, his brow furrowing. “Hear what?” he replied, irritation creeping into his tone....

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It'll Be Fine

Submitted to Contest #272

Should have seen that coming, I thought to myself as I dodged between two oak trees, narrowly avoiding a burst of purple fire thrown by an angry witch. This is why you never trust a gremlin. “Hey, I heard that!” shouted the psychic little cloaca. “I heard that, too! There's no need to be so vulgar.” I spared a glance at the hairy little green wannabe pixie dodging through the forest beside me while dragging a jagged knife with the heart of whatever poor sap had agreed to be the witches' sacrifice still impaled on it. How's this for vu...

14 likes 1 comment 1
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Invisible Trap

Submitted to Contest #272

CW: This story contains themes of emotional neglect, childhood trauma, mental health struggles, and unhealthy relationships. Reader discretion is advised.The You Are Here sign and accompanying arrow was nowhere to be seen, but then neither was the map upon which it would have been situated. She wasn’t even looking for the map, but had she been, she’d have looked in all the wrong places. The confusion of that unborn search was not helped by the fact that it would never be clear whether the map was one of life’s paths or of her mind itself. We...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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Rosepot Reapers

Submitted to Contest #272

“The whirlwind saga of Rosepot Reapers comes to an end! The infamous gang terrorizing Bellemonte since May has been successfully captured and awaits a trial. The story garnered public’s attention last May when three of the gang’s members attacked the Mayor’s son. Criminals left him with a broken arm and a concussion in a stranded property south of the city, having the previous day kidnapped him from his father’s garden as the man was tending to roses. This occurrence brought the group’s antics to the forefront of police as well as the Mayor’...

16 likes 1 comment 1
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Cache

Submitted to Contest #271

A beadless rosary, a rusted railway tie, four pennies (1912, 1972, and 1968: twice), a padlock key wrapped in twine, and a treble hook red/white crankbait. Cache’s metal detector had returned the small haul swiftly before sunset. The end of the peninsula was cleared for the day and he tightened the drawstring pouch at his waist. The walk back to the harbormaster’s shack was a short walk across the rainbow bridge.The happiest folk spent the better part of fifty years clamping a myriad of styles of padlocks to the bridge. The saddest among the...

6 likes 0 comments 0
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A Rowing Pit Offers Hours of Sit-up Sleeping

Submitted to Contest #271

They don't tell you in rowing school that you sleep where you row. No! They let you believe you'll have a quadruple bunk or at least a wooden floor to sleep on. Surely, a ship in Selwyn's navy affords that much comfort? But no. The rowing pit offers hours of sit-up sleeping, no room to stretch out, and splinters to rollover sleepers - like Flimlet."Curse that cursed belt," Flimlet mumbled to himself loud enough for Lady Nimmo to hear.Lady Nimmo lay against her husband, unable to sleep. The belt wasn't the only thing she'd like to curse right...

42 likes 16 comments 16
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The Patagonia Llamas Connection with the Ship Destiny's Dreams

Submitted to Contest #271

In the 1800s, high on a volcanic island, the earth and the world shifted one day for three llamas and their human family members.Over a century later their story would be found in a sailor’s journal when an old wooden box in the attic of a lighthouse on the Mystical Coast was opened.It began with “I, Marco, was previously the keeper of books at the Biblioteca, the library, in Buenos Aires in 1850. Later my parrot Bonita and I became the library keepers on the clipper ship Destiny’s Dreams.There we met Captain Alfonse Belanger, who kept ...

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The Horsemen

M B

Submitted to Contest #271

“Have we met before, sir?” Marsha asked the man sitting at the far side of the counter. Marsha was tending the counter of the general store, and felt a twinge of recognition when she looked at him. He was different to say the least. Marsha had the distinct impression that he was a sailor: Beneath his tricorn, his brown hair was tied back in a manner popular with seafarers, his skin tanned and weathered. He seemed to be still quite young but his blue eyes held an aged weariness. He wore a greatcoat, which would open on occasion, and Marsha’s ...

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The Creek Did Rise

Submitted to Contest #271

The Day BeforeI said, "See You Tomorrow." She said, "God willing, and the creek don't rise."I smiled and tapped the red button on the phone, reflecting, 'How many times had Sherry and I exchanged this archaic mountain idiom. And how many times has it come true?' The Day OfI was awoken at five AM by Mr. Spec, a Queensland Heeler who was whining and shaking, his standard response to his hearing thunder no matter how distant. I listened to the rain on the dome tent for a minute. It sounded heavy, and the creek was thunderous. I had to urinate, ...

7 likes 4 comments 4
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A tale of the damned

Submitted to Contest #272

​​The sun dips in the bloody ocean as our ship travels across the hellish ocean, consuming us. The wind shrieked like ghosts as they ripped the ship's sail from top to bottom. “This is all because of that damned red box full of cargo,”  Edward said, slurring his words as he took another sip from the bottle. The snoring kept me up as the surrounding men rolled around in slumber. Edward held a candle and stumbled around the ship. The rain made it difficult to hear the pitter-patter of the rat's feet as he walked around. Edwards' bare feet...

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Skeletons

Submitted to Contest #272

Skeletons 2019 Jack sat cross-legged and warmed his hands at the small cooking fire. The leftovers of a rabbit he’d shot the previous day were warming in the skillet, along with some wild onions and flatbread. The coffee went down well, especially with some whiskey added to it. Though he is not normally comfortable with him and Leon going their separate ways, on this occasion, he is happy for some solitude. Their last job of the season had not gone well. Though there was enough in the kitty to see the gang comfortably through the winter, t...

11 likes 0 comments 0
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The Clockwork Boy

Submitted to Contest #271

The Clockwork BoyOnce upon a time there was a clockwork boy. He was nimble as you please, with clever little fingers made from old gears and scrap metal. He could manipulate a pencil with little difficulty. Which came in handy, because as soon as his creation was complete, the clockwork boy's father shipped him off to boarding school.  The clockwork boy had no trouble at boarding school, in great part because he could remember anything the teacher told him perfectly, and repeat it back word for word. The one thing the clockwork boy cou...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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The Circuit

Submitted to Contest #271

The Circuit by Natalie Hannah Viper and I analyzed people as they approached our shop, Josephine's Nest. Mom inherited it from her parents,  the original colonists. Everyone buzzed through their to-do list before the mandatory curfew. This is the only coffeehouse and the best place for short-order delicacies in the Colony. It's the place where everyone comes for essentials. Josephine's Jambalaya is a Colony favorite.  Our fifteen-minute Colony has everything, all within walking distance. We can just about see everything from our p...

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Mzungu Dreams

Submitted to Contest #271

Mzungu Dreams The gentle wind whistling through the savannah grass was punctuated only by the grunting of rutting impala. Young bucks fought over who got to lead the small harem of does. They’d do this all day, and the leadership, or rather ownership, of the herd changed hands every hour. Such is the nature of life in Uganda’s Lake Mburo safari park.   “Look, Quincy! I made the Buffalo!” Meren, our local Bugandan safari guide, proudly displayed her clay buffalo skull to my seven year old. They had torn apart a termite mound and use...

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Island Cruise By: Anika Gupta

Submitted to Contest #271

As the cold ocean breeze hit my face, and as my hair rustled in the wind I saw the sun setting behind the ocean. “ Maya, come look at this!” I called out, and as soon as I said my six years old sister's name she came running out from her room, and jumped up and down trying to look over the railing of the cruise.   As I was grabbing a chair for Maya to stand on, she started to yell something about a big rock, and the cruise ship sinking because of it, and it sounded like the Titanic, but then when I came back to her she looked like she h...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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