The Short Story Lottery Novels & Stories

In Berlin, after World War Two, money was short, food was in very short supply and everyone was hungry ... A girl saw a blind man trying to cross the road. Being a kind soul, she helped him, and the two started to talk. He asked her for a favour: could she deliver a letter for him? The address on the envelope was on her way home, so she agreed. Left with the letter, she was about to go when she turned around to see the man hurrying away, suddenly without his dark glasses or his cane. She stopped a policeman and told him what had happened. He read the letter, and immediately called on three colleagues to hurry to the address. There, they found a slaughterhouse full of human flesh for sale.

"We will, but first we need to make a quick stop somewhere." "Where are we going?" I pulled her cheeks jokingly. "You'll know when we get there.” Then I started the car again. After asking several people for directions, I finally located a small corner store with a bright yellow "LOTTERY TICKETS SOLD HERE" sign flickering in the window. My heart hammered against my ribs as I stepped inside. I saw an elderly man with thick glasses behind the counter and it seemed he was the one running this place. This was going to be my breakthrough. I was sure of it.

“You said you went to talk to her that night. That you scared her off. That she ran—” “She didn’t run!” Elias bellowed. “She was already leaving. Her apartment looked like she was packing up her entire life. Boxes, duffel bags, envelopes. She wasn’t scared of me—she looked like she’d already won.” He stopped pacing, face red, breathing hard. “I found a lottery ticket on her hand while we were talking. I—I know she won. One thousand dollars. Just like that. And I knew.” Norma’s jaw dropped. “You stole it?”

When we pull apart, I smile at him. "Thanks, I needed that," I say softly. "I could tell." He puts his arm around me, and we turn to Julie and Austin. "What did you do to my parents?" Eli asks Austin. The man dares to smirk. "I killed them. Imagine a rat killing two horses. They were so gullible. I told them I wanted to be part of the herd because all of my herd had been killed. They accepted me, and I got close to them. Right after they had you, I gave them some horse tranquilizer and then buried them alive. They didn't know what hit them." I can sense Eli's anger in the way he holds me tighter and through our connection.

Before she could protest further, he caught her hand, and as the orchestra struck up the first notes of a waltz, he led her onto the floor. The first dance of the night had begun. From the sidelines, Jillian leaned toward Caitlin, whispering, “How did it end up being Wendy? Isn’t that a little too convenient?” Caitlin smirked and murmured something in her ear. Jillian’s eyes widened in realization. “Ohhh… so the lottery box was rigged. Every ticket in there said 177, didn’t it? That’s brilliant!” Indeed, no matter how Benjamin drew, Wendy would always be the one chosen.

' Julia inquired, arching her eyebrows. 'Yeah, The Lottery,' Lacey confirmed. 'This was from one of her novels, The Haunting of Hill House. They made a couple of movies about it, one that was pretty good way back, and one that well… wasn't… not too long ago. This place reminds me of that book.' We all nodded, even though we had never read it. Everyone felt weird looking at the place like something's using its normal walls as a disguise. 'So, do we just walk in?' Kelly was still indecisive.

Before she could react in any way she found herself being dragged out of the car harshly. " W-What are you doing? Leave me". She stuttered. " Why will I even leave my lottery? Who can fetch me loads of bugs?". He replied laughing out evilly revealing his nasty intentions. " What?" She uttered unbelievably. " Yes, of course. You know, there are a lot of prizes bestowed with the exchange of your life. Now I'm the luckiest person who is gonna become owner of all that at the expense of your life". He caressed her cheek with his fingers making her feel disgusted. She shoved his hand away. " Feisty are we? What to do babe, you know how hard it is for me to kill a beautiful form like you. It's pain

Thankfully, Odyssey Club and Grill was conveniently located in walking distance, just around the corner and up the street. After leaving Nicky's, I was rushing down the street, almost at the bar, walking past Lucky's convenience store, when I noticed the lotto sign with the jackpot lit up in the window. With only minutes to spare, I popped in. After I said hello to Mrs. Kim behind the counter, I bought a ticket with both my new and old numbers, hoping they'd bring me luck. Then I quickly stashed them in my purse and ran the rest of the way, so I wouldn't be late.

Phoebe screamed at the top of her lungs, causing everyone nearby to look over. "Those winning lottery tickets belong to me! That multi-million dollar jackpot is mine! What right do you have to keep it? Give it back to me this instant!" I smiled faintly. "You think it belongs to you? Is your name written on it?" "Why, you!" Phoebe was so furious that she was speechless as she glared at me intently. "Those were rightfully mine to begin with! You shouldn't have taken those winning lottery tickets with you since you've chosen to come back here!"

Now that I knew the secret, I made my move. I had my men buy me a huge stack of lottery tickets, and every time I scratched one off, I hit a million-dollar jackpot. After scratching off four or five winning tickets in a row, I finally stopped, satisfied. Then, I posted a quick update on my feed. "A blessing in disguise." It didn't take long for the office group chat to blow up with question marks. Apparently, Yelena had accidentally tumbled down a flight of stairs, which left her bruised and swollen.