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Susan Catucci

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jul, 2022

Stories (66)
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135 Followers
85 Following

66 Stories

2525 karma pts

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ON THE VERGE OF SPEECH

Submitted to Contest #190

“Speak now, Bock. Speak, and you can have this treat.”Oooh . . .why, human, why tease and torture me? I wiggle my butt, isn’t that good enough for a cookie? See my tail? I’ve been wagging forever! Please, please, please! Give me the damn treat!“Speak! Come on, Knickerbocker. You can do it!”Of course I can, but it’s humiliating, human mom! I’m not a circus dog!“Speak? Speak! Well, if you really don’t want it . . .”*BARK*“Good boy! Here you . . . OW! Knickerbocker, not so rough!”...

21 likes 33 comments 33
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DANNI'S FRESH HELL

Submitted to Contest #189

She went somewhere outside herself after she’d landed the first thrust of the knife, as the blade sank deep into his stomach. After that, there wasn’t much she could remember clearly. She remembered what it felt like to hit bone, the sound it made when the blade could go no further. Like the thud of a dead body, the muted tone of a final utterance. She saw him as a wild boar that needed slaughtering before he could rise and attack her again. She was careful to mind the blood that accumulated on the knife handle and n...

22 likes 26 comments 26
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SHOWDOWN INTERRUPTED

Submitted to Contest #189

Messenger angels and demons throughout Heaven and Hell had begun spreading the word about an upcoming event that would determine, once and for all, the fate of the world. The polarization of life forms had proven to be a disastrous experiment. God and Satan had watched from their respective vantages and come to the same conclusion. The mortal realm simply could not figure things out on their own and it was time for drastic measures before Planet Earth was reduced to a fading memory, a blip on the radar of what once was.The two...

19 likes 18 comments 18
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CATCH OF THE DAY

Submitted to Contest #188

“So, what’s the catch today? Would you be the Skip in Skipper?”“Ahoy! You must be the new owner of the Rustic Scup.”“That’s me. I’m Chet. I hear you’re the man to see for seafood.  You the Skip?”“Last I looked. How do, Chet. So, I hear you’re also the chef, that right?”“Guilty.”“Well, then, that’s what I’ll be calling you. Welcome to Skipper’s Slip, Maine’s finest, at least here in our little hamlet called Limerick. So, Chef, what’s your pleasure?”“I’ll just go back to the beginning. Wha...

25 likes 33 comments 33
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BOOGEYMEN, COME TO ORDER

Submitted to Contest #187

Susie found herself lagging behind her parents at the second national park they’d visited in a week. She never slept well in strange beds and her feet were dragging. The endless drone of the tour guide leading the group wasn’t helping. She felt as though all she wanted was to curl up on one of the wooden benches they passed occasionally and sleep the rest of the day.“Catch up, Susie!” Her mother beckoned her with a firm tone and gesture.As her mother turned her attention back to the painfully cheerful guide lady, Susie ca...

36 likes 30 comments 30
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READ THAT BACK

Shortlisted for Contest #186 ⭐️

Mary had some Mary Janes with creases white as snowand everywhere that Mary spent,her credit cards would . . .Show and tell, then everyone will . . .No, I won’t and you can’t make . . .Me and you and a dog named . . .Boo! Trick or . . .Treat me like that again and I’ll knock you . . .Down the drain, that’s where the money went, and where I wantedto . . .Go to school and earn a degree. Then, good luck finding . . .Work with me, people! The bride gets here in less than an . . .Hour to go before quitting time.  And...

49 likes 55 comments 55
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COMING TO A HEAD

Submitted to Contest #186

** WARNING: Gore, drugs, language, violence, all within reason. *** * *“Before we begin, we are being audio and video recorded. Do you understand? I need a verbal response. If you say ‘uh huh’ or ‘nuh uh’, we might say ‘is that a yes, is that a no,’ just to be clear.”“I understand.”“I’m Detective Jim Harrington. This is Deputy Hank Snowden. Having gone over your Miranda warnings, is this the form you signed certifying you understand your rights?”“Yep.”“Is this your signature here?”“Yep.”“And did you sign it voluntarily, w...

32 likes 27 comments 27
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LOVE LOCKER FOR SALE

Submitted to Contest #185

“Darling, would you like more wine? Just a touch? We can always open another. It’s not every evening we get to enjoy one of your succulent roasts, is it? And with potatoes gratin, no less. You know they’re my favorite. You spoil me, you always have. I honestly don’t know what I ever did to deserve you.  I’m just so glad I did whatever it was, and just know I would do it again if it meant another lifetime to spend with you.”Maurice Chanel poured what was left into his glass, one of a set of Riedel hand-...

23 likes 21 comments 21
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LIFE CAN BE A GLITCH

Submitted to Contest #184

“KP-6, what’s taking so long? I need more coffee, you clotted bot!”I was in a foul temper. I’d gotten up early this morning, realizing I had a story due today. I’d been working on it, but not as diligently as I should have. Now I was smack up against a deadline. My piece had to be proofed and ready to go before noon if it was going to make this week’s edition of Tech Life. Where was that coffee?“KP . . . oh, great, about time. You’re really dragging this morning; I’m going to have to check your circuitry wh...

26 likes 24 comments 24
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LIFE UNPLUGGED

Submitted to Contest #184

“Pres? Pres, can you stop what you’re doing for one second and listen to me?”Preston Philips looked up from his iPhone where he’d been checking his mail. He’d set his phone’s vibration to a different frequency for all modes of communication, whether it be email, news, weather, facetime, conference call, wife calling, the kids, wake-up, go-to-bed, take-your-pills, and more.“What is it, Jane?”“I want you to look around and tell me what you see.”Preston felt a new vibration; this one signaled his mother was calling.“It’s my mother; le...

23 likes 17 comments 17
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I HATE YOU - PLEASE DON'T GO

Submitted to Contest #183

* * *Warning: Profanity where appropriate * * *How much you wanna bet?Well, let's see, Brandy. How about a hundred dollars and one weekend of catering, without question, to the winner’s every wish and desire. Define “weekend.”Friday midnight to Sunday midnight. Whoever breaks first, loses.  And we have witnesses. Just look around.Maybe, but nobody sober. Should that even count?Why not? I’m certainly not sober; you’re definitely not. You grin like a pirate when you drink; everybody knows that.Arrgh, that'd b...

17 likes 10 comments 10
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I'M NOT ALICE AND THIS IS NO WONDERLAND

Submitted to Contest #182

I wish I could disappear, be like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. The difference is, if I had a choice, I’d prefer to leave nothing behind, just appear or reappear on my own terms.My name is Alice, but I’m not Alice. I refuse to be. I will see to it, or I’ll drink something that will, indeed, make me disappear.  I’m sure I could find a bottomless hole to jump into, if it came to that. We’ll just have to see.* * *My connection to Alice in Wonderland, beyond childhood familiarity with both the...

26 likes 26 comments 26
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DON'T LOOK DOWN

Submitted to Contest #181

I first learned of the avalanche upon my return from the two-hour hike it takes to reach the nearest forest from our house in Khumba. I had left early that morning for firewood.  The basket strapped to my back was packed with as many branches and leaves as it could hold, and the length of the wood doubled my height, requiring of me both strength and balance. I had grown stronger this past year and could now manage close to double the weight I had carried the year before. The Sherpa are a proud people and I knew this ...

24 likes 22 comments 22
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STOP ROCKIN' THE DICE

Submitted to Contest #180

** WARNING: Story contains alcohol abuse and profanity. *** * *Ralston Casperelli rolled heavily, flounced really, onto his side with a groan, becoming even more entangled in his sweaty sheets. Within seconds it was clear that was a mistake.  The room not only began to spin, it ping-ponged around in his head as if searching for a way out. He rolled back to his hot spot, becoming dislodged from what sheet cover he’d barely managed the first time. Now he was completely without cover but neither cared nor dared do a thi...

16 likes 16 comments 16
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THE MIDAS TOUCH

Submitted to Contest #179

I came to the big apple with a plan, and a man. The plan was solid; the man, not so much. His sister warned me he couldn’t handle freedom. Without someone to constantly rein him in, he would self-destruct. She said it just seemed to be the way he was wired. Stan’s phobias and insecurities would kick in and he’d sabotage just about everything good he had going in his life.But I was headstrong and just self-centered enough to think I would be enough of a tether for him. The world was ours, was how I saw it. Well, now a...

30 likes 25 comments 25
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