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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story that starts with the line “So, what’s the catch?”

Posted in Dialogue on Mar 3, 2023

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✍️ 96 stories

“Random” by Bill Cook

Submitted to Contest #188

“So what’s the catch?” Those were the last words Clark heard before he fell asleep. His Dad had asked him the question. He was in the middle of telling his Dad how perfectly imperfect his life was. Clark knew growing up that he would have a large family with a dog on several acres by the time he was 40. He was on the high school football team; living, breathing, eating, and sleeping all things football. As a teenager, he would run around telling everybody how his dozen sons would be a string of team captains for 15 ...

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“Discretion ” by Bethany Yeoman

Submitted to Contest #188

CW: Partner Abuse; Sexual Harassment  “So, what’s the catch?”, asked Issy, sitting across the dark oak table from the suited man slated to be her new boss.  “No catch,” said Mr. Wantor, “We’re just looking for someone with a commitment to the firm and a willingness to learn.” A toothy smile stretched across his face and the creases in his bald head grew deeper. “And, of course, discretion. Due to the high profile nature of our clients, you would be required to sign an NDA and protect the identities and sensitive information of ...

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“The Catch” by Cihan Reyes

Submitted to Contest #188

[THIS STORY CONTAINS IMPLIED VIOLENCE]----------------------------------------------- "So, what's the catch?" he whispers to himself. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't catch quite that." He can't see the waitress across the counter through the greasy thicket of black hair that envelops his face. "Just a coffee, please." No sooner does he finish speaking, he feels the warmth of her body move away from him. She’s uneasy, he can feel it in the way her breath hits the air. He picks at the brown crust of dried blood under his fingernails. The coffee i...

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“A Gift from the past” by Pamela Clarke

Submitted to Contest #188

A GIFT FROM MY PAST by Pamela Clarke “So, what’s the catch?” I asked in a shakey voice. My throat was suddenly dry and there was a tightness in my chest. Mr. Joseph kindly brought me a chair and I took a tissue from my pocket. I was grateful to sit down, and took some deep breaths. “No catch. You have told me how you come to own it, and we have carefully checked what you said, and everything seems to be in order.” His nice face was smiling at me, and I just stared at the mellow wood, which had become part of me. I wiped the tears from my c...

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“Patience” by Astrid Nolan

Submitted to Contest #188

“So, what’s the catch?” I heard my lone customer call out from across the room. He was facing the wall of crystals, messing with the organization that I set up that morning.“Huh?” I responded from my seat behind the counter. “I don’t think I understand the question. You give me money, and you get to walk away with the item you bought.”He exhaled loudly. “No, I mean, how do these stones work? Do I just… hold it? Will it give me my inspiration back?”Without looking up, I conjured the instructions that I heard Auntie Athena repeatedly...

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“RIDING FOR FREEDOM” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #188

1961 "So, what's the catch?" I look around the room. Many more people I don't recognize enter the room. "Ayesha, the catch is we go to jail, we get beat, spit on and cursed at." I knew this is a strong possibility. I just didn't know it would happen so soon. Present Day Wow, look at me. I can't believe this was me, a girl in college fighting for her freedom. This picture was taken in 1961 the year I joined the fight for freedom. I still remember to this day the meeting that took place where we decided enough was enough. 1961 The meeting ...

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“The Ferret and the Three Keys” by M B

Submitted to Contest #188

“So what’s the catch?” the gray furred ferret asked, her arms folded over her leather-clad bosom. Her muzzle was turned up in a smirk as she challenged the male coyote. The ferret leaned against the wall of the cellar the impromptu meeting was being held in. A few lanterns hanging from the wall were all the illumination they were provided with.  The coyote’s ears twitched as he grinned a toothy grin. “The catch, my dear Farah, is quite simply the fact that the bank is only the second most secured facility in our kingdom. No one has ...

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“Gestalt Therapy, Interrupted” by Richard E. Gower

Submitted to Contest #188

Sensitive content: Profanity, violence, gore, capital punishment.So, what’s the catch?Colson reflected now, that it was a question he should have asked, when Ziggy promised that snatching the courier’s bag with the cocaine would be easy pickings. A walk in the park, he said. Maybe, just maybe, he should have thought it through, and told Ziggy to go fuck himself.Back in the Varner supermax, time had always dragged, and Colson had a lot of it on his hands. There were mainly two things that you could do there by yourself besides pulling your pu...

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“BEHIND THE HORROR :The True Terror of Theme Park Halloweens” by Ruth Simms

Submitted to Contest #188

BEHIND THE HORROR The True Terror of Theme Park Halloweens So, what was the catch? You must sign a non-disclosure agreement. I read the add: “Can you stay in a room filled with hundreds of giant hissing cockroaches? Would you enjoy lying in a glass coffin while dozens of live rats crawled on you? Do you have screws surgically implanted in your head to support metal spikes? If you have any of these or similar qualifications, there’s a job for you at one of the country’s largest Halloween events…” As a writer who likes to pick up odd...

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“To Bargain With a Faerie” by Zoë Page

Submitted to Contest #188

“So,” I said tentatively, “what’s the catch?”I sat awkwardly perched on a tall stool by The Upturned Pint’s bar, swizzled round to gaze at the faerie before me. Its alien beauty struck me – I had never seen one in person before, had only ever heard stories of their strange human yet inhuman likeness. This particular one had long, silky hair the color of green apple; its skin a waxy, pale color, like an apple’s flesh; and red lips just a shade too deep to be natural, bold against the drapes of its hair. Little accents of gold leaf adorned its...

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“A Love as Pure as Gold” by Maggie Hardy

Submitted to Contest #188

“So, what’s the catch?” “That is for you to determine, young king. Though you must swear to accept any and all consequences.” The young king stared at the shining goddess. In his mind, deep within, he knew this had to be too good to be true. Though he couldn’t possibly imagine any consequences with such a gift. So, he turned those doubts away. For what evil could come from a golden touch? Besides, his kingdom was too close to financial ruin. It was up to him, and him alone, to fix it.  “Do you accept my offer?” The goddess asked.&nbs...

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“The Deal” by Elliot Kessler

Submitted to Contest #188

“So, what’s the catch?” asked Teddy.“No catch,” said the guy I assumed was the dealer. I mean, he was the one handling the bags; and he was the one waving the gun around. “I give you the money, and you walk away and keep quiet. Capeesh?"The dealer pulled a wad of cash out of his bag and waved it around in front of our faces. “Huh? What do you say?”I stared at the wad with no idea what I should do next. I looked at Teddy, and Teddy looked at me. He shrugged, looked back at the wad of cash, and leaned close to me.“I think the answer is obvious...

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“The bag” by Phoenix-Rose Parchman-Lee

Submitted to Contest #188

“So, what’s the catch?” Odette asked taking black duffel bag from the masked man. ”Ha! Easy, there is no catch. Just take the bag, I promise you won’t regret it.” The masked man says walking away in the dark allyway. All you could hear was the howling wind and the pitter patter of his feet getting quieter as he walks away. Odette sighs as she cluches the bag in her hands. Unsure what to do at that moment. Well, in that moment she was regretting all her life decisions. Despite the fact that she was the one who wanted the bag. She was the one ...

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“The Offer” by Nicole Farmer

Submitted to Contest #188

“So what’s the catch?”“A choice, no catch. You can either stay here and meet your fate or leave with me.”Romina Vega flipped the business card between her fingers, thinking. “You make it sound easy. I can’t just stand up and walk out of here. If you haven’t noticed…”Romina pushed forward, repositioning herself in the metal chair. Her chains chattered as she moved.“If you tried to leave, the guards wouldn’t be able to stop you.”Romina pressed down a short laugh. There was no indication that she posed a threat to anyone. She was young, ba...

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“The Devil in the Details” by CJ Shutt

Submitted to Contest #188

  “So what’s the catch?”  “Who said anything about a catch darling?” He smiled at me, a meek measure of reassurance on his face. His smile gave me the creeps. It had a sharpness to it that could pierce through you. He seemed to recognize the effect it had on me, and the grin would only widen. “When deals have a catch they aren’t always apparent.”  He chuckled as he stared at his feet for a moment, before looking up and straight at me.  “It’s been said that the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was c...

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