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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.

This week's prompts

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

Dramatic – 55 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 – 81 stories

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

Horror – 43 stories

Stories

“Perplexing Prison-break” by Chloe M

Submitted to Contest #241

The unmarked helicopter touched down, whisking a cloak of dust over the complex. "Complex" was a generous term for the trailers tucked deep in the desert canyon. Moving as a unit, the private security team hustled out with their guns drawn. Part of the unsanctioned prison was still ablaze. They were paid well to ensure incidents like these never made it to the media. If those in power with money wanted to punish, ransom, or torture (other) criminals in the desolate wasteland without trial, they didn't give it a second thought. Their sk...

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“Devil’s deal” by Jacey Raytchev

Submitted to Contest #241

Clay sat in his room thinking. He had lots of work to get done, but was too fearful. Suddenly he heard a knock at his door. He got up and opened the door, it was his best friend Spencer. Him and Spencer had worked together for a few years, he helped with leading the group. Spencer asked “did you get the paperwork done, we need it by tonight. You know how strict the authorities are when it comes to traveling to another district. Especially with large groups like us.” They were a group of many young adults, they needed to get out cause t...

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“Blood on the Leaves” by Jacqari Hill

Submitted to Contest #241

Jumping into the big pile of autumn leaves, Ryan felt like a child again. The smell of the damp earth and pinecones lingering in the air surrounded him as he got buried into the colorful piles, and it was enough to evoke the sense of nostalgia and make Ryan reflect. He stood up and stepped out of the pile, dusting himself off from the speckles of dirt that the leaves left on his clothing. "You just couldn't help yourself, hm?" At the sound of his twin's voice, Ryan turned to look at his own reflection. The freckles on his twin's face were bu...

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“Benighted, Betrayed, Beshrewed” by Robert Pyke

Submitted to Contest #241

November 1962 We huddled around Father Fred with our heads down, eyes on the stage floor. Most of us had our arms wrapped around ourselves, whether to ward off the chill of the Illinois night or to comfort ourselves. The great director was browbeating us again. His voice echoed in the empty fieldhouse of Our Lady of the Holy Scepter College. “You girls, Bell Jacoby especially, show up looking like tramps—or like you’re trying out as prostitutes! And when you’re not on stage, you act like prostitutes—trolling for johns among the boys!” “Not...

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“The Battle of the Senate Palace” by M. L. McCortney

Submitted to Contest #241

The Battle of the Senate Palace4:59 A.M., June 22nd, 1951Moscow, Soviet Union The only sound inside the Senate Palace as night becomes morning, perhaps in the entire Kremlin, was the hammering of Stalin’s fingers on the typewriter keys. The sound mercifully pauses for a second. Stalin coughs, then returns to his tireless work, only pausing in his keystrokes to move to a new line. Presumably, he is preparing for his speech to commemorate the ten-year mark since the German invasion. “Should we check on him?” Valery whispers to the other guard...

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“Great Edith's Ghost!” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #241

"It worked!" Edith thought, so who was listening? There she stood, right next to her own coffin, all dressed up to go away. The lady undertakers she had selected when planning this last trip, all did a double take. Clear as a bell, there stood Edith. The female preacher, also chosen for chick power, yammered on, seeming to ignore this ephemeral specter of Edith."Yes, it worked!" Edith tried to say to her son, as he stood to read the Eulogy she had been forced to write herself, before her sudden demise. Horrified, dumbfounded, her only son an...

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“Animals we be ” by Reed Rolfe

Submitted to Contest #241

warning, unshown but implied cannibalismEvidence: Journals of alan percivial smithson and William ty-kell Robertson Report: found on a deserted island,writings very old appearing to be from twenty first century, almost two hundred years ago , journal very torn and and worm eaten but still readable Significance: two hundred year old murder. contents of journals are a follows Journal of Alan Day one This cruise will be very exciting! They say it goes Deep into the pacific islands and shows us many new things! Willia...

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“Homecoming” by Kim Meyers

Submitted to Contest #241

He had made her a promise. Her help in exchange for a lifetime together. She had held up her end of the bargain. She saved their lives and got them to this faraway, distant place. He in return had agreed to the marriage and to be hers forever. And now, this. Ten years of marriage and four children later, he was leaving her. Yet she vowed that she wouldn’t let him go easily. Maybe he just needed a reminder of all that she had done for him. She had protected him, counseled him, nursed his father back to health, and even killed for him. H...

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“Atticula” by Kristy Anderson

Submitted to Contest #241

I woke up groggy, my eyes sticky with sleep. My muscles were stiff and aching like I had been bedridden. well, that was new. I woke up, and stood up from where, the floor? I spun around scanning the room for my coffin. Trunks and chests in red, gold, and blue all varying in sizes and shapes sit around the room.A red one to my left lay there with its lid wide open, a quick peek revealed strands of garland and layers of small figurines, Saint Nicholas, small reindeer, and shiny round balls in all varieties of color. ...

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“Paranormal Frontier: Greed that Glimmers Like Gold” by MJ Maddox

Submitted to Contest #241

Warning: This story contains violence and foul language. “Human deparavity, it’s someth’in that’s in all of us. It circles around us like a vulture around a dying animal, hungrily waiting for the moment when we finally succumb to our ill-gotten fates.” ”We can’t escape it. It’s just part of our nature, and no matter how hard we try we’ll give in. It’s just a matter of time.” “Eventually, we give in to our temptations, thinking “I can control it. There ain’t noth’in to worry ‘bout. It’ll only be this once, and I’ll never do it again.” Huh, th...

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“Caged Bird” by PJ Miller

Submitted to Contest #241

Sunlight streams into the room through the blinds, I get out of bed, dress, and tell my servants to bring coffee and eggs into the sitting room, forgetting that Walt wanted me to save them for the guests. Nothing to be done now, we can buy more after all. I make my way through my routine, reading through the mail, and setting aside the bills for Walt until the list is done. Looking guiltily over at the piano, I’m reminded I should be practising my singing, but my throat is aching from last week's party performances. Walt reminded me that I s...

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“Bounty Hunter's Dilemma” by Štěpán Kat Cenek

Submitted to Contest #241

Damn it. This was supposed to be my last job—one last moment of adrenaline, heart pumping, and all that other shit. I wanted to grow old, have a family, maybe a kid or two, just some fucking peace without looking behind my back. But I screwed it. No, correction, he screwed it. That rotten bastard made the whole plan and created an entire list of things that could blow up in our faces. Well, that scoundrel didn't think about the Purple suits, right?The interrogation room is so small and quiet I can almost hear my heartbeat. There are no windo...

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“Cor Familae” by Tanya Strydom

Submitted to Contest #241

They say art unlocks what lies within your heart, that it can reveal the secret and the real you to yourself and to others. I think that was what took me to the art exhibition that day. I was searching for answers. I wanted to know more about my family, and I wanted to discover more about myself. I entered the renowned art gallery, took an exhibition guide, and searched for my family name. There it was, right at the end: Zounder. My family, the Zounders, was a family of artists, reaching from my great-grandparent...

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“Paranoia ” by Sakshi Goel

Submitted to Contest #241

As she approached the house, she was sure she saw a face in the upstairs window of her house. She took smaller, unsure steps then, hesitating with every fall of her foot, wary and aware. She focused hard on the window, and with a blink of an eye, the face vanished from her sight, as did any remnants of what could have been. She stood still, contemplating whether or not she had actually seen anything or rather, anyone. Her breathing became shallow and short lived, she dared to peek another look at the window and it was so empty and devoid of ...

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“A Day to Remember” by Lindsay Burns

Submitted to Contest #241

‘Daniel, your phone’s ringing!,’ shouted Lisa up the stairs, holding the phone in one hand and hanging onto her Jack Russel’s collar with the other, trying to thwart his attempts to dash up the stairs. She didn’t recognise the phone number, with its triple digits at the end. ‘He’s in the shower,’ called her daughter Sophie from her bedroom. The phone stopped ringing, so Lisa went back through to the kitchen to finish her breakfast. A glance at the clock told her she should have already left for work by now. Two minutes later, as she was...

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$250

Prize money

255

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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