Rue Domínguez, a twenty-seven-year-old unemployed woman struggling to cure her boredom and at the same time earn some good amount of cash, learns about an app 'ZombieRush' which on winning, promises to reward with $10.5 million. That seemed too good to be true, but with a competitive streak to beat this almost impossible game, Rue decides to test her fate. After conquering the game, she realises it's only the 1st half of the game, and 2nd half is still waiting out there. Rue won $10,000 on completing the 1st half, winning the rest of $10.5 million after completing the 2nd half---now that seemed not too far. But willing to participate in this game that appeared too easy before would have such a horrific result, that Rue never expected. Being forced into a zombie apocalypse while attending a high school reunion and learning that the apocalypse might just be the next half of ZombieRush, Rue realises she very much is 'cooked.' And now she is officially a player, with no way out.

After Travis McPherson dies, his fiancée receives a voicemail, recorded an hour after his passing. *** Candace and Travis have known each other their entire lives. First as best friends, and later, high school sweethearts. As far as anyone in their small town is concerned, these two were meant to walk down the aisle together. But when a flash flood takes all that away, Candace is left grieving and heartbroken. All she has left of him is a mysterious voicemail recorded an hour after his confirmed death. It's impossible, yet she plays it over and over again, desperate for the sound of his voice. And a sign. Something, anything to ease her aching heart. All as their lives flash before her eyes. Travis always told her he loved her to Heaven and back, and beyond the grave, sends a final, heartfelt message moments before his death. The only remaining mystery is how as death parts two halves of the same heart. *** (Prompt 90: You receive a voicemail from someone you love, recorded one hour after their confirmed death). Wired for the Open Novella Contest 2026

After a year spent healing at St. Francis Mental Hospital, Neillah must piece together the life she was forced to leave behind without getting caught. ⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆ When Neillah Thomas is released back into society she expects her family and friends to have moved on--not believe she's dead. Convinced it was for the best, her mother assures her temporary grief was better than long drawn hardship that could only end in pain, keeping her wellbeing a secret from everyone, but also single-handedly cutting off Neillah's entire support system. Sworn to secrecy, she attends college at her dream school only to find her former friend group in shambles. Between the cold stares, scathing retorts, and literal evasion, Neillah is shocked to find her first crush is a loner and that hot-headed best friend of hers? He seems to be staring in her direction a little too long. Clinging to her promise to remain out of sight, Neillah stubbornly fights for the closure they all deserve and answers she never got, no matter the cost. | An Open Novella Contest Entry | | Cover by the Amazing @Caralogues |

ALIEN AMONG US is a contemporary sci-fi novella that will give you the giggles, tug at your heartstrings, and leave you wondering if there really is life beyond the stars. ************************************************************************ Entered into the Open Novella Contest 2026 | @OpenNovellaContest - Rules & Guidelines: here: https://www.wattpad.com/story/406004197-open-novella-contest-2026 **Main Prompt** 25. You live with four other housemates, but one of them is secretly an alien trying to learn how to act human. ©2026 E. S. Elias, All Rights Reserved. Book Created & Published to Wattpad: 02.01.2026 Book Marked as Completed: 00.00.2026 Book Cover: Me @DesignsbyEH Word Count: 2,222 / 20,000 Goals: ✔ Round 1 ✔ | 2,000 words ✔ | Round 2 _ | 8,000 words ✔ Round 3 _ | 20,000 words LONGLIST _ | SHORTLIST _ Round Winner? _ | Honorable Mention? _ | Ambassadors' Pick? _ Mentioned in Ambassador Newsletter _ Top-5 Winner? _ Rankings: #ONC2026: #ONC #2 02.03.2026

The woods surrounding Crenshaw are haunted by the secret between life and death---a monster known only as the Reaper. For centuries, Crenshaw's Institute for the Dark and Gifted has had one rule that its students are never meant to break: stay out of the woods, or face the Reaper's wrath. Faceless and formless, the Reaper feeds off the blood of those unfortunate enough to wander into the forest, but never touches those who obey the golden rule. That is, until a body is found in the library, drained entirely of blood. With the school halls no longer safe from the Reaper's bloodlust, four gifted students are forced to team up to uncover what the Reaper truly is---and more importantly, how to get rid of it. (Prompt 16: "And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.")

Main prompt - Prompt 19: <when you accidentally spill coffee on someone, the moment that should have ruined your day becomes the beginning of a surprising and life-changing friendship> 2nd prompt - prompt 24: <staying as friends feels safe, but that doesn't mean it's the path you're meant to take> *********** Ever since she was a child, May always had someone to rely on - her parents, her siblings, her relatives and most of all, her best friend. She's always never had to worry about anything until she and her best friend get into separate universities. Faced with a new environment with no friends, she's terrified. She doesn't know how to survive on her own. She's falling apart. What she doesn't expect is to find someone who'll teach her how to be independent and survive university on her own. And moreover, that person happens to be her best friend's older brother - Asher, the boy she's not familiar with but from what she's heard, he's controlling, annoying and takes life way too seriously. And maybe, just maybe, he might be the one May needs to survive.

Tris McCoy is having an uneventful summer. It's the summer before eleventh grade, and it's the last summer she has before she has to start worrying about driving, and college, and a career. With her mom being in the hospital and her dad enjoying the title of father out in Australia, she's left to spend the next six weeks alone. Until she (literally) stumbles across a stack of old letters from her pen pal, July Souders. July lives in British Columbia---four provinces away---but Tris knows of a camp she used to attend. Unwilling to spend the summer alone and desperate for any change, no matter the size, Tris sets off for summer camp.