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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

“What's in a Choice?” by Heaven Triplett

Submitted to Contest #241

Harper's hands shook violently as she watched her mother and father take turns screaming insults in each other's direction. The small six-year-old felt like a bug amidst the angry shouts crescendoing through the living room. Her mother threw belongings into trash bags in a frenzy while her father began dumping all of the objects out onto the floor. Harper felt lost and confused, unable to make sense of what was happening. Her mother was screaming swear words at her father, accusing him of being selfish and irresponsible. Her father was yell...

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“Two Turns” by Alex Roller

Submitted to Contest #241

The small, pebble-lined street opens up before me. It forks, there, not too far ahead. The left patters out to foot-stamped dirt and neglected grass while the right winds through a row of tidy cottages. The nearest door is propped open and the smell of baking bread that drifts out is warm and inviting.It’s too obvious, one or the other. Not today.I turn around.The wide, mud-brick road opens up before me. One path sprawls down to a dock bustling with workers and cargo. The other cuts a staircase into the side of a ragged mountain. It climbs t...

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“A Turn of the Tide” by Samuel Jackson

Submitted to Contest #241

A Turn of the Tide Tiberius Jackson Caution: This story contains graphic content and discusses a sensitive social issue. While this story involves two minority groups, I assure you that has been written with the upmost respect towards both parties, and serves as a lesson, not for the parties involved, but hopefully, for all mankind. For the first time in nearly six years, after having beaten the white man at his own political game – through death, uprisings, complex legislature, and historical pillaging, it seems that only now, in these mo...

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“Betrayal of Duty” by Gigi Quinn

Submitted to Contest #241

**Trigger Warning: Child Abuse**A frail boy hunches forward in the driveway contently playing with sidewalk chalk. His frame is small, and his legs bend at unnatural angles while he draws. Deep in thought, he seems unaware of her presence. Every few minutes anxiety swells in his belly and he looks around frantically to see if she is still there. For now, she is, and he returns to his artwork.She can’t help but smile at him each time he looks up. While he colors, she studies him. His eyes cross slightly. His tilted head and malnourished body...

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“In the Shadow of the Tailor's Alcove” by Raquel Belury Rosenberg

Submitted to Contest #241

The war edges around me, a spiral of fear and unrest. And yet, the non-human world moves on undeterred. The daffodils, the preface to tulips, sprung out of the ground. The ducks in their mated pairs waddle and shit all over the sidewalks as they prepare for the arrival of their next hatchlings. And I watch it all out of the window of my townhouse, the beauty of spring and the Sisyphus weight of human turmoil in the presence of the unknown and the unable. By all accounts, my business is bare of the burden that most had before...

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“The Somnulence” by Katie Schnelle

Submitted to Contest #241

“Boss! Boss! Anything I can get you?” “Still no, Dexter.” Drenched in sweat and some indeterminate amount of vomit, Eleanor only needs the cold, friendly tiles of the bathroom floor. And for her attentive research assistant to go very far away. If only she could drift off to sleep, and spend the day unconscious on the floor, forgetting his annoying bird face, her pile of paperwork, and the meeting. In time, though, she hauls herself up and restores some professional order. There is no avoiding this day. “Morning, boss!” Dexter meerkats...

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“The Execution” by Shiloh Avery

Submitted to Contest #241

No one breathes. Our eyes dart nervously about the innocuously painted cinderblock room, borrowed for the evening like a casserole dish for a pot luck. But we know there’s powder in here, we taste hints of it in the air. We hold our breath. We don’t post flags. We don’t wear themed garments of war. We don’t line up behind our respective champions. We keep our sweaty palms stuffed in our pockets, out of reach of our neighbors; we refuse to harmonize. We reserve our smiles and nod instead for greeting to each other, ju...

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“A Murder at Sorrowfor Manor” by Loki Wilson

Submitted to Contest #241

Black clouds cried tears of rain and the wind howled miserably on a dreary night in the depths of October. A few hours earlier, the brilliant silver moon had been looking down upon the world, but now she hid shamefully behind those black clouds as the wrath of the heavens unleashed itself. I couldn’t really blame her as I stared at the corpse before me. It lay in its vast armchair like a puppet with the strings cut with its limbs dangling at odd angles and a ghastly red smile in its throat. Blood had run down its arm and was dripping from th...

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“The Hidden Treasure” by Stacey Cooper

Submitted to Contest #241

Two friends, Lilly and Brooke, have decided that they would like to go on a hiking trip for their next vacation. They conduct a search on the Internet and come across an advertisement for a modern-day treasure hunt. It says: “You could hike to the top of the mountain or you could hike to the top of the mountain and leave with a rare gemstone. The choice is yours.Come join us for a week-long adventure climbing to the top of Mount Jewel for a chance to win a precious gemstone by solving a series of clues provided at each passage...

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“Temptation” by Brittaney Gambrell

Submitted to Contest #241

Streams of crimson light swim off the cold, hard surface. Elizabeth runs her fingers through the red beams, staring at the precious stone. Even from two stories above, enveloped in a thick glass case, the ruby has always made its presence known. “You’re sure we won’t get caught?” “Aaron, stop being so paranoid. We’ve gone over every detail of the plan. Dad’s not here, and neither are we. You’re in Fiji and I’m in Greece. He’s made all the arrangements, including ample evidence on our social media accounts.” She moves the ladder to the ...

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“HUNTER'S REVENGE” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #241

Today is my birthday. As you can tell I'm so excited. I bought a new dress. New shoes and I had my hair done. My two best friends, my husband Cole and my sister Hailey have a special surprise for me. I arrive home early carrying my dress and shoes. This is going to be a day I will never forget. Cole's car is here. I guess he's home. I walk to the door unlock it and enter. I put my dress and shoes in the closet. I hear giggles coming from upstairs. I quietly walk up the stairs. The giggles are coming from my bedroom I share with Cole. I move ...

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“How It Feels To Want” by Amber Pritchard

Submitted to Contest #241

I’ll never be like her, I told myself as I threw my clothes into a garbage bag. I’ll never be like her, over and over, every step to the bus station. I’ll never be like her, as I bought a one-way ticket for a place a few towns over, because no child should ever be hungry, should ever want, should ever feel emptiness gnawing at them the way I had. We were never poor, but I was. My mom took the money she made from her job and spent it on herself. She bought nice clothes from the shops in the mall; I got clothes from the ...

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“Squash Soup” by Ken Damon

Submitted to Contest #241

Tears fill my eyes. I pause in dicing the onion and glance out into the hall. On the key hook, a pair of rusted keys sits restlessly, swaying side to side. Putting down the chef’s knife, I run to the front door and peer outside. Mum’s car is parked in the driveway. I must not have heard her come in. I’ve started making dinner more and more these days. Sometimes Mum works until 6 or 7 or sometimes later. Her boss says she has ‘extra business’ to do after hours, but it makes her smile when she comes home to see me cooking. I’ve become used to ...

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“Two Can Play The Game” by Mara Rouge

Submitted to Contest #241

The car idled at the stop sign, and the engine's low hum was a stark contrast to the silence that had settled between the two passengers. Vanessa disrupted the quiet moment with a sudden burst, out of nowhere, “Fire him. We should not renew his contract. You, WE, need another sitter. He is great, but... I think he will be best elsewhere, with another family, not with us.” “Wait. What? I don’t get it. Everybody loves him. The kids, me. I even thought you did too. Kids are happy. You are happy, at least up until now. I get more me time. What’s...

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“Cracks” by Renée Soediarto

Submitted to Contest #241

She was the girl most likely.The girl most dear.With a smile wider than a picture could capture-She was sure to never shrink or fade.“She’s leaving home…” the song says.She is going to make her own way.Down the track of no return,the cracks of wack or better yet-the breaches of the vaguely ventured,are the cracks of wack that will appear.“She’s leaving home…” the song wails. She is going to make her own way.Crack #1 A Pattern has formedThe crescendo is real at this hour of the morning. It starts out at sea like a buoy in a sha...

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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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