Center your story around a character bargaining for something that's important to them.

Posted in Dramatic on Jun 14, 2024

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✍️ 43 stories

“Bargain to Rot” by Rho Ryan

Submitted to Contest #255

Trigger for emetophobia (briefly mentioned), talks of death, body dysmorphia, disassociation, and vivid descriptions of an unhealthy body. Why are you here, child? I don’t know. What are you? Where am I? Delia brought you here, I presume. Meddler. Do you want it then? Want what? Please, I want to leave. Do you want to live, of course? Am I… dead? You’re nothing. Would you like to be something? I need to live - please, my family… I have a life. Not anymore. Bargain for it, or be nothing. Anything you want! I just want to live. As yo...

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“Angel of Death” by Hannah Nicholson

Submitted to Contest #255

My boots scuffed against the gravel road as I walked toward my destination: a cross-roads. My backpack thumped heavily between my shoulderblades, the contents inside: my great-grandmother’s grimoire, black candles, and a rib bone from my beloved. Digging up that had been the really tricky part. Nevermind digging the grave up. Honestly that had been the easier part. Katia had only been buried a few days ago. The soil had still been loose, and it was still too early in the winter season for the ground to be frozen. No, the hard part had ...

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“Win-Win” by Lisa Lapointe

Submitted to Contest #255

Focus, she thought. She’d been standing there, towering over the creature for several minutes. She could hear him talking, but she wasn’t registering what he was saying. What the hell IS he? “And what do you think of that, my dear?” An elf? A gnome? A leprechaun? No, a leprechaun would be dressed in green, wouldn’t he? He’s got ears like Spock, that alien from Star Wars. No, that’d be Star Trek. “Did you HEAR me, dear?” He lifted his hands up, palms towards her and waved them b...

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“The Razing of Sciftania” by Aeryn Goodspeed

Submitted to Contest #255

"Run, little wolf, run!" Lupe could still hear its voice whispering in his ears as if carried on the roar of the flame. The thundering of his boots were drowned out in the cacophony of dying screams and cracking buildings. He was lost, but he didn’t care. He just had to get away. "You can’t get away." He shook his head, trying to dislodge the phrase before it could take root. He just had to keep running. This maze of fire, stone, and bodies couldn’t extend forever, could it? “Break.” Startled, he stumbled over a newly formed crack in the roa...

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“At The Beginning of the Day” by Asa P

Submitted to Contest #255

"It can't end this way. I only need to start the day over again. " The little girl pleaded."When it is your time to go then it is your time to go. Every living being only has a set amount of time." The wise elder countered firmly. "You can go forwards and you can go backwards, but you cannot add time."Her birthday fell in the waning days of the school holidays. And this year the day just happened to be the Friday before she was to start fifth grade. On the floor beside her bed was a small box without any wrappings. Her present did not draw h...

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“Bronco” by Ian Dooley

Submitted to Contest #255

The Ford Bronco made its first appearance in 1966. It was a result, though indirectly, of WWII. Theodore “Ted” Hoffstetter made his appearance in 1967. He was the result, though indirectly, of the conflict in Vietnam. The story of the Bronco begins with the Jeep. A civilian alternative to the all-purpose vehicle that won the war, Willy’s Jeep was an instant classic. Bronco was the Ford Motor Company saying, “Yeah, we could do that.” The moment Ted’s father first saw the Bronco, he was hooked. He took every dollar he had saved straight to th...

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“The Longest Stage of Grief” by Sarah Jo

Submitted to Contest #255

Contains mentions of mental health, death, violence, and other uncomfy things. It's not often you realize just how much you mean to someone until that someone is no longer with you. And then, once they're gone, your brain strains to figure out who they were. What their life was like when you weren't in it. Before you were in it. What they went through. Who their best friend was. What was the thing they loved cooking the most.All of those things are left to go unanswered forever. And if you ever do get answers, they will never be straight f...

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“A Ring for the Fugitive Princess” by Cami C

Submitted to Contest #255

It was a night of velvet and desire. Faris sat with his palms twisting frantically in his lap. He had escaped the palace and wandered listlessly through the garden. The air was thick, and he breathed in the faint sweetness of midnight. Faris's hands shook as he untied his turban, fingers clumsily tugging at the fabric. He ruffled his hair, undoing the crusting gel that itched him so. He was tired, and she was not there. Faris did not belong here. He was not truly a prince. Faris’s wife, Nova, had disappeared a few months prior. They liv...

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“Dealing with The Devil” by Sara Rogers

Submitted to Contest #255

I was twelve when I started dabbling in witchcraft. Funnily enough, it’s not very difficult to get into. Especially when your mom works long hours and you’re bored. I started with sprinkling pink Himalayan salt from the cupboard in the doorways, hoping it would keep Mom’s various parade of boyfriends out. They were all shapes, sizes, and colors. And they were always bad news. People think that witchy stuff is complicated. To be honest, I’ve made up almost every spell I’ve ever hocus-pocused. Magic is about intent...

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“Vicky's Encounter” by Eden Beka

Submitted to Contest #255

“I am lost. Everything seems unbearable... or at least so it seems. I find myself wondering where it all went wrong. I am beginning to question if things were ever right in the first place. Maybe if I go back, and reflect, I might be able to find where truly my life became the thunder shits-storm it is today...”These were the first words Vicky uttered after almost six hours of practically complete silence, with her occasional heavy breath being the only thing to break it. Vicky had yet to realize this, but she is to walk a very dark path be...

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“Memory Keeper” by Brianna Gonzales

Submitted to Contest #255

The clouds hung low like whisps of orange and pink cotton candy against the pale blue sky of early autumn morning. Burnt red and orange leaves crunched below my tread. The tall grass soaked my socks and the hem of my pants with dew as I followed the wafting scent of pear and honeysuckle up the hill. It always trailed off her hair and skin, the calming aroma of my mother. Her joyous stride carried her several yards ahead of me. She swung her arms, palms out, like she was trying to catch the wind. She kept looking over her shoulder at us with ...

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“July Thirty First” by Martin Casagrand

Submitted to Contest #255

Josue Salamanca lay in the dirt with the side of his face covered in pig shit. The hot Mediterranean sun baked his back and the soles of his gnarled feet. One sandal had broken a strap and lay a meter from where he bled. Tears, saliva, and blood created a crusty sludge against his cheek and lips. It tasted nauseating. A lone magpie squawked in the old oak tree by the barn. “Por favor, Señor.” He whispered. The four men couldn’t hear him. Not that it would have mattered. Josue looked at his wife about twenty meters away. She al...

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“Bargaining” by Keith Legg

Submitted to Contest #255

The bars on the gate were rusting away. Years of rainwater and tired fog have eaten away at the barrier separating the outside world from the Manor. It used to be an impressive show of intricate iron design and wealth, now a strong wind could be its killer. Poor maintenance aside, the fixture still remained menacing; a warning for those about to cross the threshold, a plea to reconsider. From a distance, the metalwork resembled a modified paisley design, though on closer inspection, the circles and ovals changed into vines and crescen...

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Center your story around a character bargaining for something that's important to them.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 43 stories

“Bargain to Rot” by Rho Ryan

“Angel of Death” by Hannah Nicholson

“Win-Win” by Lisa Lapointe

“The Razing of Sciftania” by Aeryn Goodspeed

“At The Beginning of the Day” by Asa P

“Bronco” by Ian Dooley

“The Longest Stage of Grief” by Sarah Jo

“A Ring for the Fugitive Princess” by Cami C

“Dealing with The Devil” by Sara Rogers

“Vicky's Encounter” by Eden Beka

“Memory Keeper” by Brianna Gonzales

“July Thirty First” by Martin Casagrand

“Bargaining” by Keith Legg

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about a someone who's in denial.

Write a story about anger.

Start your story with a character in despair.

Write a story about someone finding acceptance.

Contest #255

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

365

Contest entries

142

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: