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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

“Kate and Me” by Linda Kenah

Submitted to Contest #241

I screamed. With every ounce of my soul. It was the scream of someone being murdered. It was spine tingling and shook me to the core. But the scream was captured and hung in my throat. No one else heard a sound. But I swear. I was screaming. “Now, Catherine, dear, are you cold?” she asked. “My goodness, you are shaking. Here’s a little shawl. Put this around your shoulders.” She can’t fool me. Pretending to care. They are all alike. Well, I know how to play the game. I fake a shy smile as a way to...

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“Anniversary from Hell” by Lynette J.

Submitted to Contest #241

The tables were beautifully decorated. The smell of fresh flowers filled the air. Waiters walked around gracefully to each guest attending to their every need. This party was surely the event of the season. Ted and Marcy were known for their great parties. Everyone who was anyone was there. Rich classical sounds coming from the band made everyone want to dance. Champagne flowed like liquid gold. Kelly was thrilled to be apart of such an event as this. After all, it was Ted and Marcy’s fifteenth wedding anniversary. Kelly made her way around ...

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“Just When You Think You Know Her” by Jeremy Stevens

Submitted to Contest #241

I was always the first to bed. I would ask if she’d like to join, but she’d always have late night things to take care of, things she couldn’t get done during her busy day. Tabitha had a tough job, and I often commended her on how well she was able to balance work and home. I knew she loved me. It was our mutual respect for each other’s space that had kept us so close, for so many years.Or, so I thought.We met at the fundraiser. She was part of the production, and I was, well, a benefactor. Don’t get me wrong here: it wasn’t a black-tie affa...

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“Assassin's (Cursed) Creed” by Dr. Stephen A Salaka

Submitted to Contest #241

The scent of freshly cut grass tickled her nose as Kaira touched down, the damp earth yielding slightly beneath her boots. A soft breeze danced across her skin, carrying whispers of honeysuckle from a flowering bush nearby. Kaira felt a familiar twinge of envy. The targets always got the nicest houses — quaint little affairs with sprawling yards and cozy nooks screaming of domestic tranquility. It was enough to make an eternally nomadic assassin crave roots... roots she was unlikely to ever have. Drawing on skills honed through many bot...

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“A Beautiful Day” by Toby Babcock

Submitted to Contest #241

Dusty was worn out. He hadn’t worked this many days in a row since he couldn’t remember when. He shut down his excavator for the day and walked back to his truck. He kicked his boots against the running board to knock some mud off. Didn’t work too well. As he climbed in, his foot slid out from under him and he smacked his side on the running board and fell into the mud. When he got home he noticed Chad’s truck parked on the street out front. Chad drove semi-truck sometimes, fixed up cars sometimes, cut down and trimmed trees sometimes. ...

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“To Hell & Back” by Martha Kowalski

Submitted to Contest #241

The angels are at war. Some angels protect; others demolish. Wings of doves and wings of crows flutter and fight across the heavens as the fallen angels once cast out of the heavens have returned. Against the eerie red glow of the sun, a flock of black wings cuts through the sky, descending onto the Higher Realms. Dark magic – forbidden in the pearly and golden Higher Realms – crackles through the air like a live wire, snapping and singeing all that touches it. Each angel is particularly careful to avoid the licking flames that gre...

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“The time will pass anyways” by Nick Blakley

Submitted to Contest #241

The bright light of the television screen fills the dimly lit living room. I’m watching Cartoon Network, and my mom is sitting 6 feet away from me. I’m perfectly still; she doesn’t know it’s past my bedtime. I’m hoping I can get the most out of this moment, I hate sleeping. My mom looks up from her phone, she looks at the TV, then the clock. Damnit.“Alright honey it’s time for bed, come give me a hug and don’t forget to take your medicine.” My mom says softly. I love my mom, I definitely don’t love my medicine though. She slowly gets up and ...

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“Not Even His Shadow” by C.N. Jung

Submitted to Contest #241

Once upon a time, there existed a land where the woods stood tall and whispering, rivers wound like silver serpents through verdant meadows, and the earth itself seemed to sing with life. In this mystic realm, there lived a powerful king. The king’s name was King Soul. He reigned over a vast kingdom known as Wolffrin. Soul commanded an army of over ten hundred warriors and lorded over more than a hundred thousand civilians. King Soul was a jaded man. Even in the tender years of his boyhood, he was distrustful and suspicious of everyone...

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“Hello mother. Hi dad.” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #241

I grew up with a single mother. On Christmas Eve, when I was one year old, my mum packed a little suitcase, held me in her arms, and we left the house where we lived with my father, never to return. As expected, I don't remember it, but I've listened to that story so many times that I can even feel the snow falling that day whenever I think about it. I don't remember either many of my father's visits when I was a child, the time he tried to gift me a puppy, or the occasion when he tried to take me out of the country and my mother had to call...

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“Vile and Vicious ” by Cici Jang

Submitted to Contest #241

To normal people, going down the darkest alley in the city of Morzova was probably not the best idea. I felt the eyes of pickpockets in the shadows. One thing I learned as a smuggler and a bounty hunter was that the night was perfect for making illegal deals and steal a little cash from people walking to pubs. The dim hanging lights flickered as I passed by. The wind carried fallen newspapers through the alley. I stepped on one to see what it said. “Swarvas governments attack Morvindas brutally. Swarvas hired a minor last week. They refuse t...

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“Coffee Stained. ” by Will T

Submitted to Contest #241

“Control yourself.” Bells rung outside, the church’s procession beginning amidst the graveyard, “Myself? What about all of you? You said you loved me. You promised.” “Of course I love you! You believe your own mother and father don’t love you? You’re nothing but selfish! We love you; we do not love this ‘problem-child’ you’re choosing to be.” “You love an idealised version!” His hand struck out and caught the cup on the table, smashing the coffee against the wall. His father’s eyes flickered with anger, but Martin’s ...

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“How She Died ” by Anahi Davalos

Submitted to Contest #241

We sat, each to a chair, fighting against our own hands, our backs, our bodies as they cowered under the Inspector. Were we tied? Or were the black almond eyes of the Inspector seemingly wanting to lunge down our throats and take from us everything, anything, keeping us there, leaning back past each of our own undulate spines? I see them all, looking at me, looking at her, begging me not to look at her. Because if I did, would she be able to pull my soul out of my body and brandish it before us all, and with that cadaver of all I’m made of h...

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“Rather You...” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #241

“In here!” Chelle pushed the dark, metal door open and urged me through it. I crashed through the gap. The adrenaline coursing through my body fighting with a terror that threatened to tear me apart. I could barely see through my eyes, they vibrated with fear and a roiling river of tears pushed at the weakening dam, almost undoing me. Holding it together was a full-time job I just wasn’t qualified for. My bladder vied for my attention and somehow shouted more loudly than almost everything else assailing my beleaguered senses. I was a wreck o...

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“Seventeen Years ” by Renee Yancey

Submitted to Contest #241

It started with an accident. A loose hubcap hit her tire causing the car to go out of control. She hit a street sign, flipping it and pinning her. It caused her spleen to rupture not that she knew it then, just that she was hurt. The whirl of the ambulance is barely heard as she is almost out by that time it arrives just ten minutes after the accident. She doesn't know it yet, but the accident is the least of her problems. The jaws of life free her. Strong capable hands lift her. She is stabilized and rushed to the hospital. Her parent...

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“Wedding Bells” by Angelica Sophia

Submitted to Contest #241

“I see your order information,” said the woman on the phone. “Not to worry, the two bridesmaid dresses were successfully returned this morning. The wedding dress is still on its way and should arrive by the end of the week. We’ll give you a call when it gets here.”My head tilted slightly; did I miss something? Why were my sisters’ dresses returned? It made no sense.“I’m sorry,” I said, trying desperately to come off as unconcerned by the earthshattering update she had just given me. “To confirm, you said the dresses were returned today?...

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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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