Write a story about people preparing for Y2K.

Posted in Dramatic on Jan 10, 2025

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✍️ 31 stories

“Doctor RED” by John Rutherford

Submitted to Contest #285

It is getting close to the eve of Y2K, and in the land of the clock-watchers all was not well.Across all the land, the towns, the cities, the whole populace was stirred, in an uneasy feeling which pervades their every waking second. It prolongs into every minute, every waking hour, the uneasy feeling hovers close to their every conscious thought. There is a general feeling of anxiousness that verges on clinical depression. The thought of entering the unknown, for people who are control freaks governed by precision, clock-watchers by nature. ...

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“Making a List” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #285

Making a List3-2-1!At first it seemed like nothing, nothing at all happened. Was this only hype, a cruel hoax played on the world?Then a loud rumbling started in the distance and rolled over our heads in a whoosh of violent wind. A cacophony of sounds exploded above. Even Grandma who lived through the last war wasn't sure what it could be. All our electronic devices winked out at the same moment. We donned our gas masks to be extra cautious. We waited. Finally, we sighed a collective sigh of relief when we were sure we had survived at least ...

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“Glass Tombs and Digital Ghosts” by Jim LaFleur

Submitted to Contest #285

In the dying light of December 31st, 1999, Sarah Morgan stood before her basement shelves, counting cans of preserved peaches for the seventh time that day. The amber-hued fruit floated in glass tombs, distorted and strange in the fluorescent light that hummed overhead like an electric dirge. Her fingers, pale and trembling, traced the dates she’d meticulously written on each label – expiration dates that might outlive civilization itself. The basement air hung thick with the musty breath of concrete and fear. Stacked against the walls, jugs...

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“The Great Y2K Panic of Pineville” by Edward J. McCoul

Submitted to Contest #285

“The Great Y2K Panic of Pineville“ By Edward J. McCoulIn the small town of Pineville, the Y2K bug was the talk of the town. The local newspaper, The Pineville Gazette, had been running a series of increasingly alarming articles about the impending technological apocalypse. By December 1999, the entire town was in a state of hysterical preparation.It all started when Mayor Bob Jenkins called an emergency town meeting. The town hall was packed with worried faces, each person clutching a copy of the latest Gazette article titled “Y2K...

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“Fear the New Year” by Catalina Felix

Submitted to Contest #285

Intense anticipation surged as the days inched closer to December 31, 1999. Families gathered in living rooms across the globe, and friends crowded the streets, laughing as the planned-on crackle of fireworks and the soft whoosh of champagne corks mingled. But in a small, dimly lit town, far removed from the revelry, a thick veil of dread settled like a heavy mist, refusing to dissipate. Evelyn sat hunched over her computer, blue light illuminating her anxious face as she typed away for hours. Her husband James crept beside her with ...

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“A Millenial Story” by Leah Spindell

Submitted to Contest #285

They were a rowdy group of suburban kids, though they thought they were adults. At the start of this next year, they will all become 17. At 18 years old, they can enlist in the army, buy porn and cigarettes, vote. But at 17, in a state where they all got their driver's license that past year, there are no milestones to look forward to. The drinking age didn't concern them either. There was no adult around to care. The house was filled with them because Sammy‘s dad was never home. They often had parties like this at Sammy’s because her dad w...

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“The Mountain” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #285

From an abandoned tape recording:You might think I’m creepy, future people who find this, but I don’t know what’s gonna happen tomorrow. Everyone here is freaking out over Y2K, and I don’t trust anything connected to computers to save this info. I could write this down later – that’s a plan – so maybe this isn’t such a bad idea. And J. said she’d call me soon so that we could head up. But let me talk about what’s happening here.We are in Tokyo and we are panicking. I have never seen that many people worried about one thing at once: mana...

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“Y2K FRENZY” by Candy Burrowbridge

Submitted to Contest #285

With doomsday only a few days away, the epidemic-like panic was felt by all. The "Millennium Bug" was going to attack, creating extensive havoc. Y2K is a serious computer programming issue which will result in a malfunction causing a major glitch. Milo worked on software development. He had been very happy with the company he worked for, but a year ago he signed a two year contract with (FEMA) Federal Emergency Management Agency. Hired on as (CORE) Cadre of On-call Response/Recovery Employee, Milo wanted to help people before, after and du...

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“Clock is a Tickin'” by Eamonn O'Hara

Submitted to Contest #285

“Freeze, Jabroni! Don’t make a move!” Carl almost burst out laughing until he turned around and saw the camouflage-gear-festooned rodent-faced man pointing what could only be a large caliber handgun directly at him. “I tol’ you don’t make a move! Now turn around and put your hands behind your back!” shrilled the man with the gun. Carl, a tall, thin, balding man with blue eyes, was no longer in a laughing mood. In fact, a sense of ice-cold terror was trickling down his spine. He’d never had a gun pointed at him before. Teetering on the edge o...

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“The Rabbits” by Elanore Fandek

Submitted to Contest #285

~Connie~Connie hurried down the hallway, her eyes darting back and forth. This part of the building made her nervous. It’s where the new middle school wing connected to the original, century old, school building. There were two separate staircases at the core of this junction. The old and new alongside each other seemed like a grotesque double spine, with long rib-like hallways protruding out in all directions. She turned left. Her blood tingled through her body as she rounded the corner. The light in the next hallway had gone out. She felt ...

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“Y2K Shambles” by Debra Koffski

Submitted to Contest #285

In 1999 who knew the world would be in such a panic? Especially nearing closer to 2000. With the new year encroaching upon us, people were terrified the computer systems would glitch because they stored data using the last two digits of the year. My mama heard this, along with the world, and started preparing. Here is a snippet of a conversation with her. "You better get ready! We will have no water, power, planes will fall out of the sky, we won't be able to get our money out of banks! It will be total panic. You can store some stuff in the...

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“Henny Penny, Alive and Well?” by Pete Gautchier

Submitted to Contest #285

Prompt: Write a Story about People Preparing for Y2K. Henny Penny, Alive and Well? My head was tilted up to the sky as I eagerly anticipated the ball drop in Times Square. The weather was typically mild for this December. I felt a mist upon my face as I continued gazing up to the heavens. Perhaps like so many others in the crowd, this was my first time to watch the spectacle of a large man-made six-foot ball of glass crystals plummet over 70 feet on a pole nearly 400 feet above my head. The frenzied crowd counted down the time...

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“All We're Missing Is an Apocalypse” by Astrid Skarsgaard

Submitted to Contest #285

Hank and Lisa Gregson were a typical couple in rural east Texas. They turned live animals into dead animals for the express purpose of eating them. They distrusted the “gumment” and “’stistics” and light beer drinkers.The good people of this area, in general, were a fascinating mixture of Type II diabetes and paranoia, so it should come as no surprise that they viewed anything or anyone not aligning with their value system as suspicious. The Sunrise Collective was at the top of the list.The collective was a farming cooperative, w...

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“Y2K As Imagined by a Gen Z” by M.G. Davis

Submitted to Contest #285

“You do know the world’s about to end, right?” Steph says, her eyes wild and wide, as I flip through the most recent fashion magazine. I scoff, cocking an eyebrow. I meet my little half-sister’s blue gaze and watch as she pulls her unruly, coiled black hair back into a ponytail. There’s one stray piece that hangs down over her left eye like always. “Oh, please. Don’t tell me you believe in that stuff.” ”Evie,” she says, sitting next to me on the couch, “maybe the world ending is an exaggeration. But…” She huffs. “We don’t know what will happ...

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“Barry Tavern” by Stephen McManus

Submitted to Contest #285

The mustard yellow sign creaked as it swung gently in the chill December air. “Barry Tavern” it read, but with space between the two words. A fluorescent bulb near the bottom flickered like it was on hospice, awaiting its last exhale. Damon leaned forward into the breeze, striding carefully across the uneven sidewalk. He paused to stare up at the sign for the third time that week, knowing what the missing words were, and hoping he’d have the courage to say something tonight. The icy cold door handle burned his fingers as he yanked it open.&n...

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Write a story about people preparing for Y2K.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 31 stories

“Doctor RED” by John Rutherford

“Making a List” by Mary Bendickson

“Glass Tombs and Digital Ghosts” by Jim LaFleur

“The Great Y2K Panic of Pineville” by Edward J. McCoul

“Fear the New Year” by Catalina Felix

“A Millenial Story” by Leah Spindell

“The Mountain” by Kendall Defoe

“Y2K FRENZY” by Candy Burrowbridge

“Clock is a Tickin'” by Eamonn O'Hara

“The Rabbits” by Elanore Fandek

“Y2K Shambles” by Debra Koffski

“Henny Penny, Alive and Well?” by Pete Gautchier

“All We're Missing Is an Apocalypse” by Astrid Skarsgaard

“Y2K As Imagined by a Gen Z” by M.G. Davis

“Barry Tavern” by Stephen McManus

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in the form of a landline phone conversation.

Write a story from the POV of a now-defunct piece of technology.

Write a story in which someone time-travels 25 years or more into the past.

Write a story with a character or the narrator saying “I remember…”

Contest #285

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

430

Contest entries

147

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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