4780+ 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 319 of 319

A Million Ancient Bees

Zilla Babbitt

Shortlisted for Contest #18 ⭐️

The tears dripped off my nose, down, falling to the ground until they hit the floor and disappeared into the reaching embrace of the ground. I wrapped my arms around my knees and tried to swallow my sobs. My body shook. Outside, the sky was turning a purple-blue sunset, like a bruise filling the sky. I could hear the whining of the bees outside, pulling the shrill scream of the bees out of the sky like a whirling vortex. I hurt. The sobs racked my body as I tried to quell them. I was cold. The little house that I had found on this abandoned ...

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Glimmers From a Gem by Christina Steele

Christina Steele

Submitted to Contest #18

She kept a stone in her pocket. A black stone, cold to the touch, but it fit her palm as if moulded just for her. In times of indecision, she ran her thumb over the flat surface discerning the small crevices and bumps, angulations eyes could not see, but touch could memorise. Intuitively, the surface's rises and falls represented life’s journeys, the everyday ups-and-downs, and scars, and struggles. Touching was usually enough to soothe her worries, one large Zen bead, or single Rosary bead.  Occasionally, she needed to see the sto...

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Life Found on Mars

Christina Steele

Submitted to Contest #17

The council had agreed. Euthanization of the immigrants would happen today at the high moon this 2052 MY (Mars Year) 549 Sol. Most were in poor health anyway, some would stay for continued scientific examination, and four of the youth who survived information intake showed educable promise would receive Partial Martian citizenship. Quatek had attended the meeting with her mother, Supreme Empress Quarmine.  Quatek practiced her self-teleportation and levitation. But the word euthanized sharpened her already pointed ears. As part of ...

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The Brackish

Julie Le Blanc

Submitted to Contest #16

Ronan slapped at his neck and cursed.'If another one of these feckin' mosquitoes bites me--''Look, it's your own fault,' Sara said. She rolled her eyes while her fingers nimbly drew the feathered fragments of the fishing net together again. 'I offered the bug spray, but nooo--''I break out in a rash when I used that stuff,' Ronan grumbled and pulled the collar of his shirt closer. 'Why do you think I'm wearing long sleeves?''I dunno,' Sara bit off the thread and examined her work. 'Just thought you liked to sweat. This should do well enough ...

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All The Slender Devils

R. A.

Shortlisted for Contest #13 ⭐️

There were a lot of things August had been expecting from the one-night-fright deal he'd been sent online. A few scares, maybe, and a reprieve from the constant ridicule of his friends. They were always ribbing him about his tall, spindly frame, his ghost-pale skin — all the things that made him a kind of ripoff Slender Man, really — and how it was therefore that much funnier that he was such a veritable scaredy-cat.  August, of course, preferred to think of it as a healthy dose of caution.  His self-preserving instincts had defini...

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Time of Plenty

Jessica C

Submitted to Contest #9

A timid morning sun shows its first signs of arrival now, highlighting the blank sky with traces of gold. The stars have nearly disappeared, ready to retire, another night’s work nearly complete. This is the place where the evening meets the daylight, conversing with one another without any expectation. Soon it will be full dawn, but for now the world sleeps soundly beneath a blanket that the two skies have woven together. There is a house discreetly nestled between earth and sky. Slightly overgrown and shabby, it stands ...

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Unmatched

Christina Steele

Submitted to Contest #5

The agony always began at 10:45 PM for us runaway socks. That’s when Sara, the laundry attendant, wiped the exterior of every washer and removed lint from every dryer. But horror surfaced at the sight of the long-unfolded hanger. Sara scraped the floor under the machines running the long metal hanger along trying to drag out any dirt or “lost” clothing. We weren’t lost. We know why we ran. But humans never accepted sock-loss. Humans say dust to dust. Our equivalent is lint to lint, and our biggest fear is not a sickness, but a hole. Though t...

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Porch Love

Christina Steele

Submitted to Contest #5

Circled. Karen circled every fourth word of his last message. A code long ago crafted by those in espionage to convey secret messages. A simple have you read Persuasion by Jane Austen would inform the other to find the book, then using a count circle the words to reveal a secret message. Tim and Karen used their code to conceal a secret love affair. In their notes to each other, they would circle every fourth word; fourth as in forever. The last seven circles she received from him read, Wait, I’ll be yours, in seven years, I promise. Silly t...

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