Catch

by Neil Shooter

Claudia's black braid swings like a pendulum. Melanie has put streaks of kool-aid-pink in her blonde hair. Daphne's curly mop of black hair is kept from her face by a headband covered in pink sparkles.
Just three girls walking side by side, intent on each other, and the game they are about to play: Catch.
Anyone with an up-to-date phone can play. Not just thirteen-year-old girls. This is the game's strength, and it's weakness.

40 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 7, 2018

About the author

I grew up in Robin Hood Country, spent some time in the sprawling metropolises (?) of London, England, and Toronto, Canada, and now I've found a quiet corner of rural Ontario to put myself out to pasture in.
I'm always in search of my serenity and my muse.
I try to read, and to write, a little bit every day, so that my gears keep turning...

Reviews

[Chantelle Atkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this short story in one sitting, unable to break away from it as the writing and the content were so gripping. The narrator introduces us to three thirteen-year-old girls who are walking the streets, phones in hand, intent on 'catching' the strange beasts that appear in the game 'Catch.' Similar to the Pokemon Go phenomenon, this story explores what can happen when people get so drawn into a game, and their device, that they fail to notice the danger around them. As the story progresses, I felt tense, as the main character Claudia, made increasingly reckless decisions in her determination to 'catch' the next monster on her screen. The story depicts many moments of madness, including street violence, damage to cars and near misses, and people's property being trashed and disrespected. All of this helped build up a considerable level of tension, as I felt the players, and Claudia, in particular, were all heading for some terrible fate they were unaware of. It felt like, the more near misses there were, the bigger the danger was going to get, and that is kind of how it played out. I won't spoil the ending, but the twist was genuinely creepy and I would actually love to see this story developed into a novella or novel. The writing and characterisation were excellent!