Onc2020 Stories

They lived and loved in a world where skin contact was absolutely forbidden. One day, on what the past called the Day of the Hearts, they slipped up and held hands in the middle of the street. Three years after a deadly pandemic wiped out 65% of world's population. The Government's Mandate continues to control the lives of a few surviving cities across the globe. But things are dire. The virus continues to mutate. And there is no cure. ONC Prompts #4, #27, #54, #57, #62

By performing the ritual of this legend you will open the Gateway to Pandemonium and if you're lucky, you will come face to face with The Devil himself and ask him for anything you want. But everything has its price and The Devil twists everything to be in his favour. Ellis Parker is desperate and only sees one option: see if the legend is real and find The Devil in Pandemonium. She will do anything to get what she needs. And so she does and sets out into the underworld. But what are the consequences of the deals she will be making? And what is the reason for the Devil visiting her five years later? - TRIGGER WARNING- Some mildly strong language will be used from time to time, plus the subject of suicide will be shortly meantioned. Nothing will be discussed in detail, but if you do have trouble with these things I would ask you to be cautious when reading. It is all VERY lightly discussed, but I did want to give people a warning just in case. ©All Rights Reserved Prompts #49 and #42 ---- Highest rankings so far: #41 in Hades #3 in Spinechilling

Frei has no family, no blood to call her own. She is a mage hiding her powers, one bound to the order of the Knights of Sol, a group dedicated to eradicating those like her. She hides her true self, emotions numbed by the instinct to survive, by the hatred she harbors for herself. Ignus Soltero has royal blood, and the powers of life and death at his command. Haunted by the dead king of Primero, he slaughters his fellow mages in an attempt to stave off a slow, painful death for himself, and for the chance to bring his sister back. Their destinies intertwined, together they will shake the foundations of the world by force. And if all else fails, they'll throw a little magic at it.

"As if you could kill time without injuring eternity - Henry David Thoreau When six likely teenagers take a camping trip just outside of their small town Northcliffe, Western Australia, in the 1960s, everything seems to be normal. That is, until they wake up the next day in a completely different timezone, 50 years in the future. The hunt is on. Can they get back to their old life and loved ones? Or will time catch up with them? Meanwhile, their family and friends are searching for them as well. But with the challenges the new century faces, will they ever find their way home alive? "A story based on love, loss and finding your way in a World that changes, for one way or another, we all become lost in life." This story is created for the Open Novella Contest 2020. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

While the city is tormented by the Memory Thief, Liliya is struggling to keep her job when the government issues yet another law further restricting the use of magic. Desperate, she finds herself looking for new ways to support her ailing mother and pay the growing pile of hospital bills. One day, during a not-entirely-legal endeavor, something goes awfully wrong, but she's saved by charming barkeeper Nyron. As her world collapses around her and pushes her under, Nyron is there to keep her from drowning. When Liliya learns the identity of the nefarious Memory Thief, she finds herself entangled in a web even Nyron can't get her out of. Especially since he's just as tied up as she is. ONC2020 entry! Thank you SO MUCH @SophieHellberg for this amazing cover! :)

Studying geology was not supposed to involve helping an alien prevent the destruction of his world. -- When a large crystal falls from the sky and lands in her friend's rural backyard, geologist Jade Harlow cannot help her curiosity. However, when it gradually changes over the course of a year, it becomes apparent that there is much more going on then she first thought, especially when there seems to be a body inside of it. It all falls apart when the Krisoala, the alien race responsible for the crystal, comes to collect it. The being inside introduces himself as Nesilva, a Krisoala himself. He's on the run from his own species, who have plans to create a new type of organism too powerful to exist in nature. The Krisoala are here, and they are one step away from finishing their catastrophic experiments. All they need is Nesilva. Except there's something else, something about Earth that appeals to the Krisoala, something they may have to take by any means necessary.

|| ONC 2020 || Round One Qualifier When Cara was asked out by a cute guy at school, she had no reason to say no... or to believe it would be one of the worst decisions of her life. A year later and she is still dealing with the trauma, attending a support group for survivors of sexual assault. When a fellow classmate named Tabitha joins the support group, Cara is terrified she'll tell everyone at school her secret. She knows she's supposed to rely on the other members but can't help feeling that something is off about Tabitha. Refusing to trust her, Cara decides to keep her distance. That is until Tabitha tells the story of her own assault, the details of which sound eerily familiar to Cara. Realizing they have much more in common than simply sharing a support group, the two of them work together to pick up the pieces of their shattered pasts. But when another girl comes forward with a similar story, they decide picking up the pieces just isn't enough. The three of them hatch a plan... one that will lead them down a destructive path toward violence, vengeance, and murder. || ᴏɴᴄ 2020 ﹣ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛ 68 || ᵞᵒᵘ ᵐᵉᵉᵗ ˢᵒᵐᵉᵒᶰᵉ ʷʰᵒ ˢᵉᵉᵐˢ ᵗᵒ ᵇᵉ ᵖᵉʳᶠᵉᶜᵗ ᶠᵒʳ ʸᵒᵘ˒ ᵇᵘᵗ ᵃᶠᵗᵉʳ ᵈᶤᵍᵍᶤᶰᵍ ᶤᶰᵗᵒ ᵗʰᵉᶤʳ ᵖᵃˢᵗ ᶤᵗ ᵗᵘʳᶰˢ ᵒᵘᵗ ᵃ ˢᵗʳᶤᶰᵍ ᵒᶠ ᶜʳᶤᵐᵉˢ ʰᵃˢ ᵇᵉᵉᶰ ᶠᵒˡˡᵒʷᶤᶰᵍ ᵗʰᵉᵐˑ ᴺᵒᶰᵉ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ᶜʳᶤᵐᵉˢ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵒᶠᶠᶤᶜᶤᵃˡˡʸ ᵇᵉᵉᶰ ˢᵒˡᵛᵉᵈˑ

Two aliens on the run, manage to bump into each other on a distant planet at just the right time. ✨~✨~✨ Liri Delaney, the only child of Dubrovn planetary moguls, is accused of murder. Scouring several solar systems to find the true murderer, she runs into trouble in New Seattle. Ardon Rowe, a sweet-talking High-Draconian hybrid, sees her plight and offers his unconventional services. The two find more trouble than they ever bargained for with wrongfully imprisoned Shape Shifters, military battleship chases, and needy lovers. Lustral: rite of purification. ✨ ONC 2020 Shortlister! ✨ ✨ Featured on: ✨ @Opennovellacontest shortlist 2020 @TheAmbys ~ Space Opera winner '22. @ScienceFiction ~ Galactic War @Ambassadors ~ Speculative Fiction @SpeculativeFiction ~ Breaking the Space Time Continuum. @BeyondSol ~ Andromeda Action/adventure @Readers Choice Awards 2020 winner. 👽 Lustral is the type of SciFi I adore. Strong characters, creative worlds and species, and a plot that keeps you at the edge of the seat and so many twists that will leave you dizzy. ~ @SallyMason1

Maya Ward has spent almost half of her life being used by the Paranormal Council for her powers. Unable to leave, she struggles with keeping her morals and her heart intact. With a touch of her hand, she has the power to see someone's strongest memories. But even she finds herself blind against Ailbhe Capulet and Xavier Montague, two of the most powerful supernatural beings in the country. She has no choice but to convince them to unite to fight a bigger threat, lest the Council chop her head off. But she has to protect her head and her heart, because both of them are unfairly attractive and they both seem to want a taste of her. (And of each other?) This is my official entry for the #OpenNovellaContest2020 so wish me luck! © 2020 All Rights Reserved COVER CREDIT: @value-yourself 💕

With a dream in tatters and another soon to follow suit, Sybil Nightspun still longs for the storytelling days of her apprenticeship. Once a promising Nightspun initiate, now a soil tilling Outcropper she spends her days breaking shovels, resenting her mother and avoiding the High Nightcaster's wrath. But with fields to plough and Sunspell to keep in check her dreams of old and new come crashing down when her faithful jackalope familiar Dewdrop stirs up more than just tall tales from long ago. Can Sybil overcome her families bloodline or will it change more than just her dream? (Cover by @dumplingbabe)

... London nights are hazy nights, dizzy nights that Caero can't bring himself to remember, but most London nights don't end with a dead girl in his arms, and the ghost of a kiss he never gave. London nights are hazy, dizzy messes of nights that Caero can't bring himself to remember, but now, he needs to know what he forgot. ...

Saiph Urania and Rigel Clio are a Demon and a Spirit respectively. Saiph follows rules. Rigel would rather not. Meeting each other will only lead to bad things. So let's watch it happen! As Told By Orion [You Don't Need To Know My Last Name]

[ONC 2020 Shortlister] Something evil dwells in the black lake by the misty woods, something that will claim the souls of those who dare to dive into its realm. Lynn Morris is ready to enjoy some well-deserved holidays in the company of her closest friends. And that house on the lakeshore looks like a dream come true and is exactly what she needs. Or that's what she thinks. It takes her diving into the lake, it takes a blood-curdling vision for her to know they shouldn't have touched the waters. Something is watching her; ready to turn her holidays into the worst nightmare ever had. When reality and illusions start clashing in a never-ending war, will she be able to remain sane and save her friends? Or will she fall prey to the darkness growing in her own mind? *ONC 2020. Prompt #40.

A poor farmer enlists the help of a memory snatcher to discover the truth about his sister's suspicious death. *** Upper-Caldozzans have access to everything: wealth, power, advanced technology, even memories of things their overindulged bodies could never achieve. Lower-Caldozza's creators feed themselves and their families by selling their experiences to the elite through memory snatchers. When a prolific creator, Messita, dies suspiciously, her brother, Runan, a poor farmer with a grudge against the memory selling business, enlists the help of a childhood friend, now memory snatcher, Solara, to discover the truth about Messita's suspicious death. *** Cover image by Rohan Makhecha from Unsplash

Exiled for her high ideals, Asa leaves her home planet to continue her medical career on Concordia in the Eulian Outskirts. Though the Celest-ruled empire is a drastic change from her nomadic tribe, she is determined to take the species' knowledge to not just treat but to eradicate all chronic illness. Her plans change, however, when she stumbles upon a patient, Renvir. An unorthodox love blooms between the two, but the secret he carries forces her to question the perfect world she's imagined. She must ask herself if her quest is worth the lives sacrificed. ***** First draft, very unrefined. Originally written for the Open Novella Contest. Novel version coming 2022. Open to constructive feedback.

Jun-jun spent most of his young adolescent life in the streets of Manila. After escaping from a government-run shelter to return home, he learned of his father's death in an anti-drug police operation. Resorting back to the streets, Jun-jun must find means to get by. With his friends already scampering away from the police and his uncle laying low for fear of being targeted next, sooner or later, Jun-jun's hope of a new home may just only be left in tatters. ✨✨✨

An Open Novella Contest 2020 Longlist Finalist Arabella W. Washington recently moved to Lower East Side, Manhattan, to do something with her life and start fresh. With the help of her grandma Wang's sizeable inheritance, she is able to rent out Apartment 10B in Windsor Hall, a small, old, and creaky building full of history and personality, which harbors a secret of its own. Food in her refrigerator and utensils in the cupboard starts going missing, and at exactly 6:00 in the evening, she gets the feeling that she is being watched. What is happening in 10B? Is there a human-sized rat trying to make a meal of her groceries or are the rumors true? No wonder the rent was affordable!

Minion is a regular guy: he's got a wife, a kid, and an app ruined his career as a henchman. Being a villain's sidekick used to be a good job: risky, sure, but well-paying and with top-notch life insurance. But Henchr has brought the tech revolution to the supervillain business. Now it's uncertain schedules and no worker's comp. No villain is evil enough to have dreamt up the gig economy. After one too many jobs gone wrong, Minion decides to retire. This is fine. His self-worth isn't tied to his job. But it is a little humiliating when his wife starts talking about going back to work as the supervillain Dominatrix, a career she retired from a decade ago. And now their daughter is dating a girl that Minion suspects goes out at night in a mask - as a hero, no less. Only a supervillain can sort out Minion's problems, but he can't ask his wife when she's, well, part of the problem. There's only one thing to do: it's time for Minion to become Villain. THE INCREDIBLES meets DOCTOR HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG with a dash of THE VENTURE BROS ***** Contains profanity and cartoon violence *featured on superhero's 'Anti-Heroes and Awesome Antagonists' list and antiheroesgalore's 'Shockingly Short' and 'Badass Authors' lists* Complete at 25k words

The Scourge is how history will know it. The time that defined, and shaped the person I am today is how I will know it. The Scourge was costly to all who survived. Countless died, dozens of cities and villages were swept away in lethal waves. I saw the Scourge ended, but the cost was high. Unconscionably high. As the man who rallied the last bastions of the living, I bear the full weight on my shoulders. I am now broken: body, mind, and soul. But I will bear the weight of the Scourge until I pass it to the Cloud Empire, the people who thought themselves above it all. ONC Submission Prompts used: 4. When something tragic happens, it's often said we lose a piece of ourselves. How far would you go to find these lost parts of yourself in order to be whole again? 29. After the war is over, you set out into a new world to find and see the legendary Cloud Empire, a kingdom that is built on islands floating in the sky. 41."Yeah, that's right, son. Zombies used to be a thing.

"What the hell is a "woman?" Jacob asked his father, desperately in need of some kind of an explanation. Abbot got up and stood by his son's side, quickly reading through the notice projected in front of him: "Congratulations, JacobSon, You have been selected for an honor chosen only once every four years. The Counsel of GrandFathers has found you worthy of Engagement, effective at oh twelve hundred hours tomorrow, in which you will face expulsion from Andriodus immediately thereafter. Report to Grand Stage ten minutes prior to debriefing. All food and supplies will be provided solely by the Counsel. Prepare yourself to meet the woman. We wish you the best of fortune with your new spouse." --------- Jacob has spent his life on the all-male inhabited community of Androidus in hopes of becoming some kind of special man, destined for the status and prestige not found amongst farmers like himself. And he believes destiny has finally called his name when he receives an edict from their noble patriarch Great GrandFather Merrick. But when he reads it, he finds that destiny has indeed called him, but in a way he'd never have expected. Now he must embark on a journey outside of Androidus's boarders to find a woman...whatever that is. Based on prompt #5 provided by the Open Novella Contest 2020.