Second Chance

Submitted into Contest #54 in response to: Write a story about a TV show called "Second Chances."... view prompt

45 comments

Fantasy

Bright lights filled the studio.

Willow blinked but could still see nothing except for a blur as the game show host leapt in front of the cameras.

“And action!” a man holding a clapper board yelled.

She couldn’t see him or the audience but she knew they were there as they started cheering and clapping.

“Welcome, welcome everyone!’ the host was yelling over the noise until it slowly died down,’ nice to see you!”

The audience clapped and cheered again.

Willow squinted and looked around her.

The other contestants standing around looked as bewildered as she felt.

“And let’s meet our contestants!’ the host yelled, appearing in front of the lady standing the furthest away,’ tell us your name!”

The lady jumped. Her skin became paler than it had already been, almost as if she had no blood left.

“ Urm, Helen”, she murmured.

“And why are you here Helen?”

“Urm, I don’t actually know”.

The audience laughed as the host turned to them, winking,” Well that’s what they all say”.

The host continued down the row of contestants until he was standing in front of Willow.

She glanced at him nervously and he grinned back.

He was different to the normal game show hosts you saw on television with their flamboyant suits and slicked back hairstyles.

He was grinning but his eyes remained the same. Cold and calculating. Willow felt herself shiver.

“And what’s your name?” he asked, one hand gripping a microphone lightly and the other resting against his dark suit. His voice was oily, almost creepy.

“W-Willow”.

“And why are you here?”

“I have no idea. I was driving and it was dark”.

“Yes, I think I’ve heard this story before”.

The audience clapped and cheered again.

Willow squinted but still couldn’t see anything only the bright lights.

“So now it’s time to play our first game’ the host said, whirling away from her so he was standing center stage,’ called Why Do I Deserve a Second Chance?”

He turned to Helen who instinctively stepped backwards.

“So Helen’ he said,’ tell me, why do you deserve a second chance?”

“What? What second chance? What are you talking about?”

“This is always the best part of the show!’ the host said, turning towards a screen behind them which Willow hadn’t noticed before,’ have a look at this”.

The screen flickered on.

Images and silent film clips appeared, showing Helen from a baby crawling to the night she stabbed her husband and then herself.

The screen flickered off and he turned back to her.

“So tell me’ he said, his voice becoming cold and hard,’ why do you deserve a second chance?”

“Urm I don’t know, I didn’t mean to kill him, I had to!” Helen whispered.

“And what would you do if you had a second chance? What would you do differently?”

Helen blinked and then stared at the other contestants, willing them to rescue her.

“Tick, tock, tick, tock”, the host said, moving his head from side to side.

“Urm, I don’t know!”

The host looked at her, his grin turning into a snarl and his eyes glowing red.

“Then you lose”, he said quietly.

“No please, I’ll do better next time!” Helen said, her hands clasped in front of her.

“Too late”, the host said, waving a hand in the air.

The ground opened up below Helen’s feet and she fell down, screaming.

A puff of white smoke and the smell of brimstone wafted over to Willow as the ground sealed itself again.

The audience clapped and cheered, stamping their feet on the floor so the ground felt like it was moving.

“Now, let’s move to our next contestant!” the host said, turning to the next person, his voice oily and creepy again.

Slowly he moved along the row of contestants until he was standing in front of Willow.

She was the last one standing.

All the others had disappeared through the ground.

“So Willow’ he said, his mouth forced into a grin,’ why do you deserve a second chance?”

The audience became silent, waiting for her answer.

Willow swallowed the lump that had appeared in her throat.

“I don’t”, she whispered.

“Excuse me but you’ll have to speak up, what did you say?”

“I don’t’ she repeated,’ I don’t deserve to have a second chance”.

The host stared at her.

The audience remained silent.

“Why don’t we have a look at your life”, the host said quietly.

“If we must”.

Slowly Willow turned and watched the screen.

She saw herself wave goodbye to her love, climb into her car and start driving away from her house, saw herself become sleepy as the sky became darker and then crash into a tree.

“So you don’t think you deserve a second chance?” the host asked, his voice still quiet.

“No. I knew I was sleepy but I still got in that car”.

“But what about your love? The one on the screen, won’t they miss you?”

“Of course but I don’t deserve that chance anymore than the people before me”, Willow whispered, gesturing to where the other contestants had been standing, tears pouring down her cheeks.

The host looked at her silently for a few minutes before waving his hand. He was no longer grinning. His fun was over.

Willow gasped and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the ground to open up beneath her feet.

“Hey, what are you doing? Are you okay?”

Willow opened her eyes.

She was back in front of her house, next to her car with the keys clutched in her hand.

“Are you okay? What’s wrong sweetheart?”

She felt strong arms wrap around her.

“Oh, oh, I can’t believe I’m back!” she whispered, throwing her arms around him and squeezing tight.

He pulled away slightly and glanced down.

“What are you talking about?’ he asked,’ you just walked to the car!”.

Willow shook her head.

“Hey why are you crying?” he asked as he noticed the tears running down her cheeks.

“It doesn’t matter but you know I don’t think I’ll go out now”.

“Are you sure? I thought you really wanted that chocolate?”

“Not that much”.

Together they curled up in front of the television.

“You know what? I reckon we might have some snacks in the kitchen anyway. I’ll go find them”, he said, strolling into the kitchen.

“Okay, I’ll….’.

The television screen flickered.

The host appeared, his face lit up by the bright studio lights.

“Don’t stuff this chance up”, he whispered.

The screen flickered off.

August 09, 2020 01:10

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45 comments

Alexi Delavigne
17:37 Aug 13, 2020

Wow I love this! So creative! The description of the show and the host kept making me think of The Hunger Games. Really well done!

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Vicky S
00:42 Aug 14, 2020

Thank you for the comments

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Skylar Rose
14:15 Aug 13, 2020

Amazing ending!! This was so beautifully written and well narrated. Great job!! -Skylar Rose

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Vicky S
00:43 Aug 14, 2020

Thank you skylar

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Kristin Neubauer
12:08 Aug 10, 2020

Oooooo....I love this! Especially how you wove the sinister hints into the beginning. When it opened, I was picturing a bright and happy "Price is Right" type game show and was completely hooked at the first mention of the host's cold eyes. Great concept and what an ending - it made me go back and read the whole thing over again. Looking forward to reading more of your work!

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Vicky S
20:48 Aug 10, 2020

Thank you so much!

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Avery G.
16:14 Aug 09, 2020

Wow! This was a cool take on this prompt! Great job!

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Vicky S
20:38 Aug 09, 2020

Thank you

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Avery G.
20:52 Aug 09, 2020

You're welcome!

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Maya W.
19:24 Aug 19, 2020

Aww, that ending was so sweet! I really loved the concept of this story - it's vague enough to be interesting, if that makes sense. All in all I though this was really well done! If you could, would you mind checking out my stories? Thank you!

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Vicky S
06:48 Aug 20, 2020

Thank you so much

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Thom With An H
16:55 Aug 19, 2020

As I looked over the different prompts for this contest , this one was the one I eliminated immediately. I thought it would be difficult to come up with a story and even more difficult to keep it from feeling cheesy. Its for this reason I am so impressed with your story. The concept was original and the delivery was first rate. I believe this is the first story of yours I've read so I don't know your style beyond this offering but I have to say so far so good. Keep up the good work. And now for my ask. I used a different prompt and ...

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Vicky S
20:52 Aug 19, 2020

Thank you for the comments Thom. I try to write a different style each story submitted so I can learn a bit more

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Tariq Saeed
15:31 Aug 19, 2020

Vicky,u have a style.

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Vicky S
20:50 Aug 19, 2020

Thank you tariq

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Keerththan 😀
02:43 Aug 18, 2020

Wow! Wonderful story. Your descriptions were great. Well written. Great job. Keep writing. Would you mind reading my story "secrets don't remain buried?"

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Vicky S
03:23 Aug 18, 2020

Thank you so much for the comments

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Anna Maria
14:53 Aug 17, 2020

Wow. This was so different from all the others I've read, it's truly creative! A very interesting take on the prompt! Great job!

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Vicky S
20:49 Aug 17, 2020

Thank you so much Anna maria. The story just came to mind. I love it when that happens

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Anna Maria
14:26 Aug 18, 2020

Me too! I love writing about problems, and what things are going on in the world to spread awareness, based on my experience or others! Sometimes I just encounter them on the street, or as I'm online.

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M Daly
10:55 Aug 16, 2020

That was great! Really enjoyable read, I loved the sense of mystery in the beginning and then the reveal. Great ending too. Nice job!

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Vicky S
21:10 Aug 16, 2020

Thank you for the comments. I was thinking of turning it into a novella with a different twist

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Lily Kingston
02:06 Aug 16, 2020

Sweet ending :)

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Vicky S
02:36 Aug 16, 2020

Thank you cara

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00:54 Aug 16, 2020

Really creative thriller! I could really sense the tension when Willow was asked those questions by the host after seeing what happened to Helen. Good work!

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Vicky S
02:37 Aug 16, 2020

Thank you deepika for the comments

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Tvisha Yerra
15:05 Aug 11, 2020

Wow, the ending... it was so beautiful. But you could cut most of the "urm's" at the start. It got kind of annoying because we knew Helen was nervous anyway.

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Saron Mengistu
13:59 Aug 10, 2020

This is a beautiful story jampacked woth profound theme and meaning. It was subtle and original, and connected with the reader deeply. My favorite part was the groundbreaking truth that none of us deserve second chances. But we're given them anyway. Your story highlights the importance of second chances I think you can work on the structure. The transitions between the events could run a little better by enhancing the language and vocab. Other than that, well done!

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Vicky S
20:53 Aug 10, 2020

Thank you so much

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Gopika Ashokan
13:22 Aug 10, 2020

This was so good! The dialogues, the atmosphere and the ending you created everything was very apt. It was such an interesting piece. Thanks for writing!

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Vicky S
20:51 Aug 10, 2020

Thank you so much

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Vicky S
20:51 Aug 10, 2020

Thank you so much

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Rayhan Hidayat
23:09 Aug 09, 2020

I LOVE this! 😄 The premise, the quick pace that kept me reading, the creepy host. Good stuff! 👍🏽

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Vicky S
23:29 Aug 09, 2020

Thank you so much for the comment

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Charles Stucker
22:28 Aug 09, 2020

Nice short humor piece. The show's MC made me think of Richard Dawson's character from Running Man. You might be able to go through and meticulously edit out a dozen or so words ('except for a blur' might be 'except a blur) but you're close to minimum. I understand why everyone yells, but you might try announced or called for some of them. There is very little to comment save the positive, good voice, quick pace, strong plot. It all works. You could probably send in pieces for publication if you looked for the right market.

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Vicky S
22:38 Aug 09, 2020

Thanks for the comments

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Doubra Akika
21:34 Aug 09, 2020

Very interesting approach! Loved the concept so much. Please keep writing!

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Vicky S
21:38 Aug 09, 2020

Thank you

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Corey Melin
19:02 Aug 09, 2020

Very entertaining read. Many wish they had a second chance but not to be. There are a few lucky souls.

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Vicky S
20:38 Aug 09, 2020

Thank you for the comments

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Aditya Pillai
15:13 Aug 09, 2020

Wow, that was such a unique concept! I loved your take on the prompt! Always good to see different and refreshing stories like this. Great job! Would love it if you went through my latest story! :)

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Vicky S
20:37 Aug 09, 2020

Thank you

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