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Discover weekly, the best short stories

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

4820+ 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 4 of 322

THE WIZARD

Submitted to Contest #298

Amery FauxAs I sprinted toward the university's notice board, a tumultuous mix of excitement and apprehension stirred within me. The midday sun cast a warm glow on the campus, but my mind was preoccupied with who would be my roommate for the upcoming year. I was fully aware that two girls would share one room, and the mystery of whom I would be living with was consuming me. Who would I share my space with? Would we click, or would our differences create friction?My heart raced as I ran my pointer along the neatly printed list of names and ro...

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Silk Flowers

Submitted to Contest #298

Adhara was engineered by humankind over fifty years ago, and this was her first baby shower.She scanned the room for her friend, Samantha. Her friend, Samantha, was working the room, introducing everyone. Her friendliness was her saving grace that had kept her from being replaced at the bank where Adhara worked. Her friend, Samantha, was the only human still employed at the bank. This baby shower was quickly becoming a study on human interaction. It was a large group of familiar people in a non-commercial setting.People were strangely kind a...

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1 a.m. Deliriums of an Attention Deficit Mind

Submitted to Contest #297

I write this narrative to supplement the speculations of the so-called “Sugar-Woman” that have been wafting through this region of the state, and to affirm that the reports are true, which should be astonishingly clear by the mere traces of these words, as I have no greater abhorrence than the practice of writing, rendering me the quietest of the hermits in the neighborhood. With that said, it is no surprise that I am not familiar to most who might read this passage, which is written by me, Arnold Clemons.I take the time to emphasize this pe...

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The 10:00 Appointment

Submitted to Contest #297

The young couple sat silently in their car outside the big, ominous building. They were each deep in their own thoughts, but they both knew that those thoughts were the same. Staring out the car’s windshield, the couple studied the building that sat conspicuously on the corner. Across the top in big block letters read Women's Clinic. That was more proper than Abortion Clinic. The imposing building was old and made of bricks which had faded over the years, turning them to a brownish-tan color. It was four-stories high and in the shape of a sq...

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The 10:00 Appointment

Submitted to Contest #297

The young couple sat silently in their car outside the big, ominous building. They were each deep in their own thoughts, but they both knew that those thoughts were the same. Staring out the car’s windshield, the couple studied the building that sat conspicuously on the corner. Across the top in big block letters read Women's Clinic. That was more proper than Abortion Clinic. The imposing building was old and made of bricks which had faded over the years, turning them to a brownish-tan color. It was four-stories high and in the shape of a sq...

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The Strongest Storms Reveal the Strongest of Trees

Submitted to Contest #297

The Strongest Storms Reveal the Strongest of TreesBy: Evelyn CurrieIt was a cold, early spring day when the storm began. The wind came first and went up to speeds of 100 km per hour, which caused a flicker throughout the town; if you looked close enough, you could see a bolt of lightning strike in the sky. They say it all started slowly, and that would be correct. Around half an hour later, the drops of freezing rain came slowly, and as time passed, those drops grew and grew. Hours passed, and the rain kept on. After about 4 hours, the darkn...

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Brown Bondye

Submitted to Contest #297

Our story takes place over a single, three-minute period of time...I. The Watcher (Soul Veil’s Guard).In Lunvéra, shrine of shadowed waters,Where forest folds to mirrored gleam,And air hums low with ancient whispers,I stand, Brown Bondye, Soul Veil’s guard.Beyond these groves, thrones lie broken,Winds wail through a world undone,But here my watch holds, fierce and firm,As dawn cracks wide the sky’s embrace..Yet nearby lurks the Caged Ravager,A beast of brindle, storm and spite,Muscle thick, jaws drippin’ dread,My cursed foe from nights untol...

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The Invisible Weight

Submitted to Contest #298

They lay on the cold concrete floor, shoulder to shoulder, a single candle burning down between them. The flicker of the flame danced across the low ceiling, casting long, tired shadows. The air was still—almost too still—and the silence pressed down heavy, broken only by the occasional creak of the shelter settling or the quiet rustle of fabric as one of them shifted, searching for a slightly more forgiving patch of floor. “Are you asleep?” Lily whispered. Hep let out a soft snort. “Do I look asleep?” “No. You look like someone trying reall...

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12:09

Submitted to Contest #297

S: Are we there yet?A: No.S: What about now?A: No, and I would advise you to stop asking.S: When are we going to get there?A: It’s looking like 12:09.S: How long from now is that?A: Not that long.S: Why do we have to go?A: Well, we aren’t going anywhere. Just you.S: Just me?! By myself?!A: No, you won’t be alone.S: Well, then, who else is coming? Jimmy? Erica? Kyle?A: No.S: Well, then, who? Do I get to choose?A: No.S: Well, who?!? Who’s coming with me?A: No one’s coming with you. But you won’t be alone once you get there.S: Oh. Well, who’s g...

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10am Tuesday - Appointment with Death

Submitted to Contest #297

Death was late for his appointment with me, again. I’d asked him so many times to put me out of my misery, but he’d always come up with some excuse when the time came: “I have a headache”, “The weather is bad”, “Jupiter is not in alignment”. After all the words I’d written in his favor, his continual snubbing made me question the depth of our relationship. And here I was again, waiting, when I knew he wouldn’t come. Well, maybe a part of me thought it would be different this time, based on our last conversation over the phone: “It’s been fi...

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3V3'S 3D3N (EVE'S EDEN)

Submitted to Contest #297

Trigger Warning! Proceed with caution and, at your own risk!Contains:- Sexual Violence-Disturbing Imagery-Abuse-Mental health-Substance Abuse--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shivering. Dirt and muck covering her face, little cuts and bruises marring an olive skin, chapped lips and frayed hair yet there was still something distinctively breath taking about her. Soft features, appearing to be in her mid-20s, and almost a short but slender build. Too slender, as if she hadn’t been fed in days. The ...

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13B

Submitted to Contest #297

My suitcase bumped along the path behind me –my entire life folded up, tightly packed in the tiny, green-shelled four-wheeled case I dragged along. It had a scratched exterior even though I could count on one hand how many times I had used it –it must have belonged to someone else before me. But still, I had left a life’s worth of memories left behind, the fragments I was bringing a jarring reminder of what I had lost. ‘Hi, my name’s Adeline Stewart. I’m moving into apartment 13A today.’ I watched as the receptionist’s brow furrowed, lines c...

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23:57:06 - A few minutes before the End - Story of the race of the minutes and my inner voices

Submitted to Contest #297

I can’t believe the time is almost up. Just a few minutes and everything is going to be over. Here it comes, midnight is lost and I have to rush to get to bed and close my eyes prior to midnight! And if I manage to accomplish that everything will be OK. If I pass the time awake just one minute after the day is over it would be like entering a new dimension and all that happened during the day will be erased, everything! Absolutely everything! And everyone…since the boy riding a bike this morning delivering papers until the love of my life wh...

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You Die Two Times

Submitted to Contest #297

“What year is it?”The panel in front of Paul hummed before it answered in a friendly female voice “2507.”Paul took a deep breath. I slept for almost five hundred years. “Why have you woken me up?”“Your conviction has been overturned.” replied the female voice. “You need to make a choice between three options; live out your estimated remaining natural life, live forever, or expire now with your name cleared of wrongdoing."Paul was silent as he looked around the room.There were things he recognized, like a flag hanging above the panel but with...

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7 Months

Submitted to Contest #297

There are a lot of assertions about time. It heals all wounds, it’s the most valuable thing, it’s money, but perhaps the most potent is that it waits for no one. It’s true, unfortunately, that you could be looking ahead for the greatest moments of your life, but then time cruelly takes them away from you. The life you thought you’d live can disappear within a fraction of a second. I never gave much thought to the concept of time, until it was made apparent that I didn’t have a lot of it left. 7 months- are you sure? Nobody is ever sure.I ref...

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