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4840+ 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.

Speculative Short Stories – Page 180 of 323

Today’s not done

Submitted to Contest #153

Looking back, through my childhood, is difficult. In fairness to all parties, it was a different time. For context, I was born in 1986 in southwest Louisiana. Lake Charles, Louisiana to be exact. It was the same town that my mother, aunt and uncle grew up in. In fact the Smith’s had lived in that area dating back to the 1700’s. Evidently my ancestors were removed from France. After refusing to fight a war against the British. They were relocated to modern day Nova Scotia, Canada then once again displaced in the mid eighteenth century to...

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The greater good

Submitted to Contest #153

I work for Hell. See, a lot of humans think Hell is just the entire ‘fire and brimstone’ part but there are a lot of people who make sure that it’s well regulated. There are a lot of different departments down here. I don’t deal with torture, that’d be the folks a couple layers down. I work in the more bureaucratic departments. I work in one of the very first levels of the afterlife, dealing with petty disputes over morality. I decide who goes up to heaven and who gets dragged down to hell. Most decisions are automated now but a few mor...

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Gypsy Rose Me

Submitted to Contest #152

So, I'd had a few. But the Guinness in Dublin is beyond compare, and I have as much willpower as I have savings. Yes, Mastercard was sponsoring this trip to the Emerald Isle as it had so many excursions before, my one and only constant travelling companion. How long had I spent on O'Connell Bridge mesmerised by the yellow October sun twinkling off the Liffey as it bid adieu to another day? Too long, it seemed. A chill ensorceled me, breaking the spell as the sun sucked the last of its warmth beneath the horizon with it en route to New York...

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E.R.M. - Awkward, Strange and Unexpected Emergency Room Miracles

Submitted to Contest #152

What is a “miracle? A quick “googling” of the words  “miracle definition” on your mobile device’s web browser might elicit the following: 1- a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency. "the miracle of rising from the grave" Similar: supernatural phenomenon mystery prodigy sign 2- a highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment that brings very welcome consequences. "it was a miracle that m...

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The Path of Moonlit Feathers

Submitted to Contest #152

Stories are not always formed in straight lines, but in circles. Picture a conical pendulum. Can you see it? It’s just like any other pendulum, only it hits different points each time it swings. If you connect these points, you’ll end up with something round. Back and forth it travels on its predetermined trajectory, always cutting through the center, always without a finish line in sight. This is how our story moves. We’ll start at whichever point the pendulum decides to swing towards next. It’s beyond my control, you see. Ev...

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Pranav Bisht

Submitted to Contest #152

​​__________________________________________ “How many times have I asked you to get a mobile phone? '', he recalls his maa yelling, “even I got one”. “Maa you don’t know the mobile phone; how can you speak to someone you don’t know” Oh my poor dumbo, what would happen to you after I am gone, you don’t speak to the mobile phone, you speak to the person who is on the phone” “No maa, the person on the phone is the devil, it’s not the person speaking, it’s the devil. “You mean your aunt Kavita is a devil” He gave her the “cmon even you know i...

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Asimov's Madness

Submitted to Contest #152

Many years ago the oracle at Fadelfea made a prophecy. The artificial intelligence there analyzed a collection of badly damaged artifacts found during construction at the station. The oracle then broadcast a single short message before going silent: When the skies are streaked with fire, beware creatures which swarmed like ants upon the earth, for madness follows. Having no supporting evidence to substantiate or interpret the oracle’s obtuse claim, the system filed the message with no consequence. *** I was with the rabbits when I saw th...

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The Resolution

Submitted to Contest #152

Jack pulled back the soggy flap which served as the door to his cardboard cottage. A bitterly cold breeze greeted his hairy face. He hated the beard, but at least it afforded him a modicum of protection from the elements. He scratched his chin vigorously, dislodging pieces of dried food and dirt. He glanced at his wrist just like every morning, always forgetting that he no longer wore a watch. He wondered if he’d ever grow out of the habit. He let the wet cardboard flop back into place as he rummaged around for his grubby overcoat. He strugg...

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Deva's Last Miracle

Submitted to Contest #152

Deva’s Last Miracle “Morning Deva,” my boss Celeste greeted as I walked into the Miracle Room.  “Busy today?” Soft beeps mixed with an occasional buzzer resounded in the room. “Eh, not too bad. I’ll take it after last Tuesday.” I nodded. Tuesday was one of the busiest days I remember. I performed over a thousand miracles alone during my shift. I sat at my desk and placed my hand on the palm reader. The screen appeared before me. The left side showed miracles that had succeeded since I last logged off. Thankfully, the right side ...

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A Wise Choice

Submitted to Contest #152

***Contains some minor use of adult language MIRANDA’S PERSPECTIVE:     “BLOOD! Blood! Mommy, it’s blood!”     In a panic, the (on the end of its life-span, bristles turned yellow, while starting to smell of mildew) dish-scrubber escaped my hand and plopped into the soapy ocean below (well, more like a murky, disease ridden river), where bits of macaroni and cheese and old milk floated amongst an army of plastic nipples, metal straws, spoons, and a pan with last night’s dinner glued to the edg...

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Seer

Submitted to Contest #152

I believe in miracles simply because one hasn’t happened to me. It’s easy to believe in something that no one is sure exists—there is no evidence to prove it doesn’t, after all. Hope is like that. It’s easy to have hope when the future is unknown, unfolding like the crumpled wings of a newborn bird. It’s like oxygen and clouds and the space between fingertips—something we can’t always see or touch, but know is there. I’ve always believed in the inherent unknowable mysteries of the world. I’m not so naive or egotistical to say that I have a G...

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Fortune's Misgivings

Submitted to Contest #152

I’ve always had these ideas in my head about fortune-tellers. They’d live in musty back alley parlors, deep within a room filled with a haze of lavender and myrrh. A wrinkled woman wrapped in robes of wisteria would take your hand and direct your gaze toward a pearly translucent orb that sits on the table covered in beads. She’d close her eyes and chant mysteriously before spilling out the tantalizing hints of your future like silky drops of plum tea. The exotic trinkets would clatter and ring. Sunlight would stream thickly through the dust....

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The Sleeper

Submitted to Contest #152

Some people are particularly smart, or handsome, or witty. Harold Anders wasn’t particularly anything except particularly bored. He loathed silly parties where everyone talked about themselves and nobody ever really listened, unless there was some titillating nasty news about the deviant behavior of so and so, and who would have ever believed Sharon was such a whore. No, he preferred to stay at home and fall asleep watching reruns of the Andy Griffith show or Bass Masters. I guess you could say that Harold was particularly good at sleeping,...

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The Screaming Hole

Submitted to Contest #152

The hole had never been there, but this morning, somehow, it was. In the middle of the park. A black spot in a sea of green. A dead pixel in the aerial view.            “Aaagrooooooomn,” the hole said.            Nearby, a boy dropped his ball. He stared at the hole, then approached with as much precaution as a kid could have.            Half an hour later, six other kids had joi...

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Just One Wish

Submitted to Contest #152

I gulped enormous amounts of air, even though it belonged to a cave. A million fingers of musty air shaken with refreshing mold, a dash of stagnant water with twist of stale urine. It was awful, but anything that didn’t reek of oil, dust and seven centuries was fine by me. Boy it felt good to be out! “Hi!” I said, smiling at the girl holding my lamp. She was in her early twenties, her scraggly frame supporting faded blue pants and a green t-shirt that was two sizes too big. Her hair sprang in every direction and were as curly as the ancie...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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