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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#241: Et Tu, Brute?

“Beware the Ides of March!” In Shakespeare’s play, these fateful words are thrown at Julius Caesar during a procession through Rome, warning him of the day his compatriots will betray him. In the play, and in reality, this warning came to fruition. On March 15, he was stabbed thirty times by his fellow Roman senators, including Brutus, someone he thought he could trust. As that date is just around the corner, I find myself thinking a lot about Caesar’s story, and about other stories of betrayal.

It’s the ultimate breaking of trust. You thought they were a friend, a mentor, a close confidant, a person you could trust through thick and thin — only to find yourself stabbed in the back at the most inopportune moment. What leads people to make such a drastic decision, and sever a once unshakeable bond? How do you move on when your faith in the people around you is shaken? These are just a few of the questions to consider as we look towards the fateful Ides this week.

🥇 Winner

“When I Read Beckett” by Liz Grosul

🏆 Winner of Contest #241

…in…in this room…cursed room…loved?... cursed…. where she slept…half-grown in her hometown t-shirt…shorts…no shorts…t-shirt worn with holes…on the floor…he having thrown it…under the bed…dust collected and swept and settled again…. and again…who?... he… not she?...gracious!...there for the first time…assuredly last time…no boys in the room, father said…keep out!...nodded her head… but in the room…blue light hugging the window…scotch tape…peeling off the paint whether chipped or freshly laid or…exhumed…he found her in the— no, not found…held…...

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“The Kiss of Judas” by Harry Stuart

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #241

The betrayal needled me at a 45-degree angle. It was caustic and driven, sinking its teeth into my flesh, razor-sharp in its edge and piercing. I sat there, staring at the Skype screen, wondering if I had heard my sister correctly, an out-of-body experience that had me floating between a time when I was complete and this moment when the wind was sucked out of my lungs. I couldn't breathe; I couldn't exhale. I was suspended in a repetition of a phrase, "We are flying into St. Louis first. We won't be arriving in Memphis until the fourth of Oc...

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“The Unbecoming of Belinda Blackwell” by Giulietta Villalobos

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #241

There are few places Belinda Blackwell likes to lay down to rest more than upon her husband’s chest. He hadn’t been expecting her. Belinda hadn’t been expecting to be home so soon, either– what with the unpredictability of her father’s illness demanding open schedules from his children, someone on-call at all times lest the old man die without one of them there to hold his hand. When Oscar had come to join them a week early— something about a case closing timely and a stiffening in his shoulders when Belinda enquired about her sister-in...

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“In Too Deep” by William Maher

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #241

(Contains adult language)Sean sat alone in a dark confession booth, fighting back his tears. The mesh slat to his right took the shape of the crucifix. A door clicked open and light shone through the slat, before vanishing as the door shut.“I wondered if I would see you again,” said the priest, sitting beyond the divider to Sean’s right.The devil sat on his left.“Read it to me one more time, Father,” Sean said.The voice that spoke through the crucifix was soft, “I would be more help if you just told me—”“Please… Father… don’t. Just read me t...

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“The Shot” by Joseph Keener

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #241

He didn't need to do anything. He could just sit down at his desk and wait. The waiting would be the hardest part. The shame would come, and perhaps it would never stop. The thousands of employees under his company would be blameless, they wouldn't put it together until it was too late. The blame would fall squarely on the men in this room. For the last one hundred and fifty years, the painstaking process of terraforming the exoplanet Gupta-2125 had fallen on his company: James Adelade Space Innovations. The process had been beyond revoluti...

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This week's prompts

Write about someone who is convinced they’re going to be betrayed.

Dramatic – 54 stories

Write about someone who is stuck between two opposing sides and can’t decide which one to choose.

Fiction – 49 stories

Set your story at a tense event where everyone is unsure whose side they’re on.

Thriller and Suspense – 27 stories

Start your story with an unexpected betrayal.

Adventure – 80 stories

Write about a backstabbing (literal or metaphorical) gone wrong.

Horror – 43 stories

Stories

“When I Read Beckett” by Liz Grosul

🏆 Winner of Contest #241

…in…in this room…cursed room…loved?... cursed…. where she slept…half-grown in her hometown t-shirt…shorts…no shorts…t-shirt worn with holes…on the floor…he having thrown it…under the bed…dust collected and swept and settled again…. and again…who?... he… not she?...gracious!...there for the first time…assuredly last time…no boys in the room, father said…keep out!...nodded her head… but in the room…blue light hugging the window…scotch tape…peeling off the paint whether chipped or freshly laid or…exhumed…he found her in the— no, not found…held…...

Read story

“The Kiss of Judas” by Harry Stuart

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #241

The betrayal needled me at a 45-degree angle. It was caustic and driven, sinking its teeth into my flesh, razor-sharp in its edge and piercing. I sat there, staring at the Skype screen, wondering if I had heard my sister correctly, an out-of-body experience that had me floating between a time when I was complete and this moment when the wind was sucked out of my lungs. I couldn't breathe; I couldn't exhale. I was suspended in a repetition of a phrase, "We are flying into St. Louis first. We won't be arriving in Memphis until the fourth of Oc...

Read story

“Dead Man’s Hand” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #241

We took drags off Marlboro Lights out on the basketball court before the next round of Texas Hold ‘Em started. Ken looked at me blankly and said, “So what would you do if I fucked Alli?”“I would fucking kill you. That’s what I would do,” I said.“Okay, but if she was the one that was interested in me and you are such a courtly love motherfucker, wouldn’t it be hypocritical for you to deny her happiness?”“Go fuck yourself, Ken,” I said, and we went inside to play poker. One thing I knew for sure is that Ken would never break code and make a mo...

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“The Hippocratic Oath” by Alexis Araneta

Submitted to Contest #241

TW: Mention of sexual abuse, incest***“With regard to healing the sick, I will devise and order for them the best diet, according to my judgment and means; and I will take care that they suffer no hurt or damage…”I scan the cross-stitched words in the examination room of my clinic, framed in gold and screaming at me in scarlet thread, as I feel the prickle of what feels like a thousand knives at my throat. Five years ago, as I walked across the stage of a packed auditorium to receive a diploma from the medical school and a shiny new prefix t...

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“Let's Steal A Deal” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #241

“He’s gonna take the deal. I just know it.” “Then, beat him to it, Tom, old chap.” “I can’t betray him.” “Oh, so you want to be the fall guy, do you?” “No! I just can’t do it!” “Tom, it’s pretty simple, dear boy. If Eric here takes the deal, then… you go for curtain number two or three. Or you take the deal and leave his fate in his own hands.” “Can I just have a little more time to decide?” “Certainly… Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls watching at home. Will Eric take the deal of a cruising lifetime, or will it be curtains for Tom? We’l...

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“A Fable: The Gardener and the Potter” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #241

A Fable: The Gardener and the Potter Samuel, a slightly stooped, aging gentleman of humble means in a humble village, visited with his eldest daughter. “Is all well with you and your new husband?”“All is wonderfully well. He treats me like a precious flower. Seeing to my every want and need. Gordon is such a hard worker. He works from sun-up to sun-down in our fields growing the best crops any gardener would be proud of.” Marigold marveled.“Is there anything you need from me, My Dear?”“Well, the only thing I could request is that you pray f...

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“Let them eat cake.” by Claire Trbovic

Submitted to Contest #241

The thought of cake wandered aimlessly into her mind as she pushed the knife into his flesh. Layers of moist sponge, moving against a birthday blade, except it wasn’t her birthday and this cake had bones.The slim body on her pathology table couldn’t have had many birthdays, 16 or 17 at most. She wondered how many cakes he’d been given, how many candles he’d blown out, how many wishes he’d made and kept secret to ensure they came true.She was glad she’d made the effort to make George a cake for his birthday this week. He deserved it for the c...

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“Treachery” by Corey Melin

Submitted to Contest #241

I looked upon my brother in shock because the one I loved and cared for had just betrayed me. “How can you do such a thing?” I asked Nikom. “Do you not have the love for me as I do for you?” Nikom looked upon me with a stern look, but there was a flicker of regret. “This needs to be, Grason,” he muttered. &nbs...

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“Declined” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #241

“Declined.”“What? That’s not possible.”The young cashier stared at me with blank eyes through the window. “Can you try again, please?” I watched as she swiped the card and then flicked her wrist to hand it back to me. “Declined.”Shoving the card into my bag, I drove off without my much anticipated caramel Frappuccino but instead a knot in my stomach.***“So, what did you do?” The voice came from the darkened backseat.“I thought it had to be a technical error, a glitch. I pulled over to check my app. Sure eno...

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“Church on Saturday” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #241

I had a friend in college who said he was never going to have children. At the time I thought he didn’t want the responsibility. Looking back now, I wonder if he was actually hoping to avoid the heartbreak.I can’t speak for all fathers, but the day my son was born, I saw his life flash before my eyes. He was going to dominate the other infants in the nursery, be valedictorian of his preschool, hit puberty at nine, and start at quarterback on the varsity football team his freshman year. After that, the visions became more serious and les...

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“Caesar Calls CMXI” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #241

Hello? Is this 911? I’m sorry, I’ve never phoned before as we don’t have phones in Ancient Rome. A friendly time traveler handed me this device right before we imprisoned him for being an evil magician. I had no idea that if you pressed certain numbers you could talk to people. I just spent twenty minutes talking to somebody named Russell from a place called…Louisville? I have no idea who Louis is or why they named a place after him, but Russell is really having a tough time in his marriage. I suggested that he accuse his wife of being a sor...

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“Not Worthless, Nor Forgotten” by J. D. Lair

Submitted to Contest #241

A stern-looking woman came to our house today with some policemen. She is in a pinstriped long skirt, a white top with frills, and black heels. Her silver hoop earrings reflect the sunlight and make my eyes water. Being the eldest of three boys, I am striving to be strong after the policemen took away Mama. Hanson is holding little Charlie on the brown futon across the room and they are both weeping. It is clear Charlie has wet himself.“It’s Luke, correct?” Pinstripe addressed him while staring down at some paperwork. “Luke Reid, age 12. Tho...

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“The Tragedy Of Frederick XIV” by Roderick Sutton

Submitted to Contest #241

ONE. “The Gallows.”The guards dragged a man through the gallows. His eyes were flushed and red and his face was swollen from holding his breath, for he refused to allow even a single tear to fall. The guards pulled the man up the stairs; the soddened and weathered wood creaked and bounced with each step. They carried the man across the stage of the scaffold to the Hangman, whose eyes were buried in the hollows of the hessian-burlap fastened to his face.A crowd had gathered in the gallows. Among them was King Theobold, The Crown of the N...

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“In Too Deep” by William Maher

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #241

(Contains adult language)Sean sat alone in a dark confession booth, fighting back his tears. The mesh slat to his right took the shape of the crucifix. A door clicked open and light shone through the slat, before vanishing as the door shut.“I wondered if I would see you again,” said the priest, sitting beyond the divider to Sean’s right.The devil sat on his left.“Read it to me one more time, Father,” Sean said.The voice that spoke through the crucifix was soft, “I would be more help if you just told me—”“Please… Father… don’t. Just read me t...

Read story

“The Unbecoming of Belinda Blackwell” by Giulietta Villalobos

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #241

There are few places Belinda Blackwell likes to lay down to rest more than upon her husband’s chest. He hadn’t been expecting her. Belinda hadn’t been expecting to be home so soon, either– what with the unpredictability of her father’s illness demanding open schedules from his children, someone on-call at all times lest the old man die without one of them there to hold his hand. When Oscar had come to join them a week early— something about a case closing timely and a stiffening in his shoulders when Belinda enquired about her sister-in...

Read story

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$250

Prize money

253

Contest entries

116

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 15, 2024 EST

Won by Liz Grosul 🏆

Title: When I Read Beckett

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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