3830+ Speculative Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Looking to explore terrains beyond Earth and stretch the limits of your imagination? Welcome to the Internet’s best source of speculative fiction stories.

🏆 Winning stories

“Everything is Connected” by Olivier Breuleux

🏆 Winner of Contest #245

Many people don't believe that everything is connected. It's strange. They believe in magnets, in electromagnetic waves, in quantum action at a distance. They believe that the force of gravity makes the Earth revolve around the Sun, and yet they do not believe that the same forces can influence the smaller details of our fate. They believe that it is all up to them. That they have free will. They say that Jupiter can gently pull the Sun, yet it cannot move our infinitely smaller souls.A paradox.The stars are difficult to read, for sure. The ...

95 likes 42 comments 42

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“Ke Kulanakauhale ma ke Kai, or The City by The Sea” by Thomas Iannucci

🏆 Winner of Contest #243

Ke Kulanakauhale ma ke Kaior,The City by the Seaby thomas iannucci Author’s Note: In this story I use Hawaiian words, as the story is set in a post-apocalyptic Hawaii. However, I do not italicize them, as I am from Hawaii, and so these words are not foreign to me. Growing up there were many English words unfamiliar to us in school, and they were never italicized; I would like this same standard to be applied to Hawaiian, which is, for better or for worse, also now a language in the United States. Mahalo for your kokua. “The city by the sea,...

93 likes 113 comments 113

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“Metonymia” by Gem Cassia

🏆 Winner of Contest #239

“God is dead.” “Which one?” “I meant it as more of a blanket statement, but if we’re getting into specifics, I guess I mean the one that I killed.” [When | the | god | of | cause-and-effect | is | slaughtered | in | cold | blood | everyone | knows | who | to | blame.]“People aren’t too pleased about that, you know.” “I’ve heard.”[Everyone | has | heard.]<...

122 likes 55 comments 55

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⭐️ Recommended stories

“The Interior Life of Ruck” by Ajay Sabs

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #243

I backpack. Named Ruck. Store person put me on shelf. She say I “handsum”. I not know what it mean, but she make happy face when she say, so must be nice thing.  Nothing to do while I sit here but lots to look at. After I see sun come up from outside window two times, I feel little bored. I feel little empty, like I hungry. But I not wait long. Young man come, he look at me. He lift me from shelf, take me to store lady, who ask him if he want me “in a bag”, which make them both laugh. We go outside, he sling me on back. What a feeling! ...

27 likes 33 comments 33

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“Catalyst” by Nicole Ashcraft

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #243

The truck jolted over another crater-like pothole as the pungent odor of rotting fish filtered into the cab, mingling with the salty air scratching at the back of my throat. I grabbed my grimy steel travel mug from the busted cup holder and took a swig, gripping it tightly to protect the precious brew that had been cold for hours. As much trouble as the old diesel gave me, she could navigate anything but a sinkhole. Over the years she evolved into a fortress of jagged rusty metal, deterring thieves and most everyone else, too. I named her Ma...

17 likes 12 comments 12

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“Apparition in Blue, No. 5. ” by Darya Black

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #242

“There is a hidden side to every picture—the conception which was in the artist’s mind and heart. That conception, when he formed it, expressed itself clearly in the astral and mental matter, even though he may have succeeded but partially in bringing his idea down to the physical world.” — C. W. Leadbeater, The Hidden Side of Things, Vol. II, 1913  1: Separation I don’t know much about the man who created me. I feel only threads of him, currents of his energy seeping through the paint in my veins. In my mind, he is a bearded man, ...

16 likes 9 comments 9

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✍️ All stories

“The Girl On the Bridge” by Carissa Cherrington

Submitted to Contest #246

CW: Death of a teenager It was July, and the summer sun had beaten Silver Falls and all its inhabitants into a sticky, languid submission. The town was filled with the drone of fans and rattling old swamp coolers. Children lived perpetually in shorts and bathing suits, trying to eat popsicles before they could melt and darting through sprinklers to wash away the rainbow carnage on their faces and fingers when they weren't fast enough. The days crawled snail-like into weeks, even time seeming to have decided it wasn't worth the effort to br...

4 likes 0 comments 0

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“The Swings of Grief” by Hannah Deegan

Submitted to Contest #246

Jules always ran ahead. Like walking, even at a fast paced, was a catastrophic delay to wherever she was going. Especially when it came to the playground. Dramatic my girl is, but hey she didn’t get it from me. Jules has already gone down the slide twice by the time I step onto the wood chips. The playground isn’t too big, so I’ve never had to worry about her going anywhere if I’m further behind. Kids will keep you on your toes far beyond their years as a teenager and I expect no less from Jules. As more kids start to invade the jungle gym, ...

4 likes 2 comments 2

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“Roll a Double” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #246

The drive to the coast was too much. He could feel the weight of it on his shoulders and another part of it pressed obscenely into his forehead. He would have cried, but that option was not open to him – it lay in a faraway place and the distance of it hurt him. There was no release here, which flew in the face of why they had come. A long weekend away from the stress of the day-to-day. An escape from the dumb humdrum. The peculiar price paid for such an adventure was beyond any that he was willing to pay, but he would pay it all the same. P...

10 likes 8 comments 8

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“The One” by Giacomo Signaroldi

Submitted to Contest #246

8 march 2036 -Is it a yes now? Rose maniacally stared Albert in his beautiful green eyes, so rare and so attractive, even now with the tears flowing from them. 8 march 1996 -Hi, I am Rose and I am five and a half! -Hi -Can you tell me your name?  -Leave me alone -I like you -Girls are boring! Leave me alone! -BUT I LIKE YOU! -I don’t care -Why don’t you like me? -Because I like another girl -And if she wasn’t here anymore? -There will be another one -So you don’t want to marry me? -Listen, you crazy, the only way I would marry you… Chi...

8 likes 1 comment 1

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“Before” by Kerriann Murray

Submitted to Contest #246

*This story contains mention of various forms of trauma, violence, and loss.*Where we exist is a playful and play-filled place, and we like it that way. Well, I guess we like it. None of us really knew what it was to not like something. The world we knew was satisfying and joyful, and we knew nothing but contentment.There are several hundred of us, and the place where we live is breathtaking - rivers, mountains, trees, beaches, all beneath a sky that is always sparkling. Everything we need is provided for; our only purpose is to play.Each of...

25 likes 23 comments 23

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“Best It Can Be” by Jack Kimball

Submitted to Contest #246

The eight of us gathered, lost souls one and all, at the recruiting station. We were waiting in a light rain. Every Sunday morning at 10:00 am our district had a drawing, but rumor said the number of groups to cover all the days, and even the hours of every day, were growing more and more.This morning, Adam had come down with me. He tilted his head back like he does, his eyes a little too wide open, so I could tell he was scared. The last time we'd both gotten notice our numbers came up '1' and '2'. Can you believe it, our numbers '1' and '2...

28 likes 29 comments 29

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“Monkey Business ” by Patrick H

Submitted to Contest #246

Monkey BusinessThe bell rung just after 4th period and that always meant recess. All of the kids that were itching to just run out to the playground, lined up in the hallway per the teacher's instructions to walk in a safe and orderly fashion.I walked with the others all in a line towards the playground which was beyond the dusty softball field. As soon as we were near the basketball hoops, the teachers let us disperse and we all ran to the various places in the playground like the slide, the ladders, the jungle gym and t...

15 likes 10 comments 10

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“Charlie” by Jean Hyde

Submitted to Contest #246

The joints of the swing tensed as she eased herself into the seat, gently releasing her body weight to avoid the whole thing giving way and both her and the chains hitting the wood chip below. She looked up at the iron links as she gingerly lifted her feet from the floor to the air, her shoulder length grey hair falling behind her and the cool air of the night brushed the back of her neck. She felt her 70 years begin to trickle away as she slowly began to swing back at forth. Suddenly she was 8 again, feeling the wind in her face and the lur...

7 likes 0 comments 0

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“Cue the Neighbor” by Joe Smallwood

Submitted to Contest #246

Oh, you could talk me out of it if you seriously tried. I’m half expecting it. It’s a sideswipe away.As in something you never seriously do! Don’t you get it? Why do you always look at me that way? Like I don’t know what I am doing. Be serious for once!Systems analysts could problem-solve everything in half a second. Like I’m doing now. Whether they are human or not doesn’t matter. I don’t even know half the time!But look at it this way: you want a payoff, right? An Elationship? Perfect.Wuz! Slow tech! Five seconds till the sim payoff, and I...

14 likes 5 comments 5

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“Look Left” by Hazel Ide

Submitted to Contest #246

“You heard about the asteroid, right?”“Hmm…?” It takes a second for my wife's words to register, but when they sink in, I drag my attention up from my mindless scrolling on my phone. “What asteroid?”“It’s supposedly three times the size of Mount Everest.” She slumps onto the couch, her glass of wine filled to the brim, sloshing precariously.“And? Is it going to hit Earth and kill us all?” I muse.She rolls her eyes, pulling up her phone. "Most of the comments are people saying things like, 'Let it come.'”"That's stupid."She shrugs, and we go ...

25 likes 25 comments 25

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“Lolo's Little Thing” by Lerato Mahlangu

Submitted to Contest #246

Two months ago Lolo sent me a picture of the new apartment she’d bought in the botanical suburbs of Johannesburg. It looked lovely, like a photograph in the pages of a House and Home editorial. Below the picture read the caption: ‘Come through for drinks, some peach pie and lots of catching up’ I couldn’t resist, with work, life, and trying to figure ourselves out as adults, Lolo and I had not seen each other in about two years. So, first thing Sunday morning, I was standing on her front doorstep.Lolo had outgrown her adolescent stage, the c...

12 likes 3 comments 3

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“How would you spend your last day?” by M Oakwood

Submitted to Contest #245

The world was going to end in twenty-four hours. There was no stopping it, no escaping it, no delaying it. The end was definite. Humanity's reign was finally coming to a close. We found out mere minutes ago. But it had been two hours since everyone had gathered to watch a comet pass by in the night sky. It was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime event and I suppose it still delivered that on that much, even when it all went wrong. The burning rock of dust and ice had appeared like a shooting star one thought only existed for wishers in fairy...

4 likes 2 comments 2

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“The Twin Moons of Aksala” by Kaja Gjelde

Submitted to Contest #245

Last night’s snow layered on ice crunched beneath her boots. The harsh wind from the mountains polished the light snow into a glass sheet. The tracks left by earlier travelers helped her metal cleats find purchase, making the climb slightly less arduous. Breathing heavily, Arda reached the plateau and strode towards the gathering crowd. In the twilight she could see the few locals in attendance stood a good distance from the group of refugees. She moved past the latter nodding in greeting. Some she recognized from the camp on the far west si...

2 likes 1 comment 1

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“Job” by Dustin Gillham

Submitted to Contest #246

Fade in from black.  Final episode.Last season.Location: Remote island, somewhere.Crowd cheering.  Opening title.Welcome to…The Ultimate Survivor.Somewhere in Hollywood.  The host stands before a crowd with a background of Job. The final contender. "And now, our final survivor. Let's see how long he can tolerate this hell, ladies and gentlemen. Certainly not long. Nobody has survived!” An applause sign lights and a consecutive cadence of cheers and screams roar in the background. "And this man needs no introduction. I giv...

33 likes 41 comments 41

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“Entomo-Eclipse” by Beth Templeton

Submitted to Contest #245

We stare at the sky as our world becomes dimmer. The constant drone is almost a lullaby. The sun is nearly gone, and as it slowly fades from view, we too fade into darkness. Holding hands, we think back on our lives as our minutes turn into seconds. I can’t hear my mother beside me but can see the tears streaming down her face. Her mouth fills with black as we begin to become one with the flies.It’s hard to imagine a life without constant buzzing and blackouts.My grandmother tells stories of her childhood, running around outside and catching...

2 likes 0 comments 0

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