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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

“The Proditio” by Mariana Bonilla

Submitted to Contest #241

His breath fell heavy as he ran out the house, angry tears glistening in his eyes. “Michael! Come back!” His mom repeatedly exclaimed, but Michael continued to run down the street of the neighborhood he didn’t know. Michael didn’t recognize anything around him. Not the cars, not the houses, not the smell in the air, not even the people staring at him in disturbance. The neighborhood he had once grown up in was now more than four-hundred miles away from him. His teachers, friends, and even his dad, all taken from him.The tears threa...

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“Kissing Frogs” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #241

Warning: Olde Timey fairy tale Once upon a time in a land full of magic and mischief… A skinny peasant boy pitched up the grassy bank of a sunlit pond, a large green bullfrog’s legs dangled from his hands like overcooked asparagus spears. “Here m’lady! Here’s the finest one yet.” Princess Rose rolled her pretty brown eyes. Seth said that every time he caught another one. The frog squirmed, it was slimy, and she nearly dropped it as she took it from the lad. “Ugh.” Seth looked up expectantly. Rose raised the frog to eye level. It blinked its...

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“Necklace” by Aaliyah Martinez

Submitted to Contest #241

Walking the slim winding path between these dead vines with the snow quietly crushing beneath my feet, all alone, near sunset. I felt like the main character in a horror movie, like everyone was yelling at the screen, telling me not to go further. But when does the main character ever listen? So I walked on, cautious of my surroundings, to not get snagged on the vines. The snow was coming down on me, tumbling playfully in the air, coating all in a thick white blanket.I made my final turn on this god forsaken bath and stopped. Standing there ...

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“Cole's Girl” by Claire Marsh

Submitted to Contest #241

Cole held firm despite the throbbing old football injury, the dozens of strangers gawping. One knee numbing against damp pavement, both arms stretching an open ring box to grey sky. He waited.The laws of science had fled. Every second warped into hours and memories filled them. On the same patch of pavement outside Harlequin’s nightclub, Cole had gone outside for air when a fight spilled after him. Bouncers had hands on blokes still clambering to throw punches and insults, bolstered by their mates joining in. They’d trapped and dragged rando...

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“Fatal obsession ” by Sophie Irish

Submitted to Contest #241

*mental health, sexual and physical violence implied. swearing* KateComing back from a run I felt great, endorphins were flowing, and I had the usual satisfying ache over my limbs. I poured my coffee with pride and sat at my table in the kitchen, wondering what to do with the rest of my day. I had already showered, cleaned my flat and worked through my laundry. Having time off work was nice at first, but now a month in, I was bored. My psychiatrist told me I wasn’t ready to go back despite the fact I have more good days than bad now. Long st...

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“RAJ” by MIke JOHNSON

Submitted to Contest #241

Ruth knew there would be little sleep. It was too hot, and many unanswered questions clamoured for her attention on this breathless, Southern summer evening. She lay in the half-light as muted city background noise and subtle scents reached for her through the half-open window. It was not the whispered intrusive sounds that kept her from sleep, though. The heat pressing softly all around seemed to encourage an endless internal dialogue recirculating in her consciousness. She t...

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“Skins and Shirts” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #241

“Oh dear.” “Not again.” Ben and Thom exchanged a look that asked a rhetorical question. That question was really existential in nature, but mostly it was a contrary bugger intent on making their life as interesting as it possibly could. “You know,” said Ben, “this reminds me a of City game I went to. Or rather the end of the game, when I was leaving the ground with my ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend.” Thom utilised another look in his repertoire. This look edged towards a rolling of his eyes, but that rolling never actually transpired, instead it ...

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“Our Hill of Stars” by Amber Ystrevi

Submitted to Contest #241

“Maid,” Queen Victoria called from her side of the court, “We need a tiebreaker.” Aurelia glanced up from her tray of pastries, her green eyes glowing in the moonlight from the window as she subtly rubbed her hands on her white apron. The Queen and King sat on a raised platform, the royal advisors fanned around them in a semi-circle, split evenly in half. Aurelia scanned the room before her gaze landed on the Queen’s large brown eyes. Her long blond hair framed her beautiful face, and her dark brown eyes brought Aurelia back to simpler times...

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“Ernest And Nesta” by Christine LW

Submitted to Contest #241

ERNEST AND NESTA. Ernest and Nesta King were your ideal young couple they had vowed to love and cherish each other for the rest of their days. Ernest was a worried man during their ten years of living together as husband and wife, he had kept the truth from Nesta. His dear sweet angel, did not know that he was at fault and that was why she could not conceive. &...

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“The Claddagh” by Penn Namé

Submitted to Contest #241

“I know you took it” I screamed at my mother.“Oh Bullshit, I didn’t take your stupid ring” she screamed back.“How could you do this?” I cried.“If you don’t shut the fuck up, right now, I’ll slit your God damn throat” she hissed.It actually wasn’t my ring. It belonged to my best friend Chrissy. It was a beautiful, gold, Claddagh ring. A Claddagh is recognizable by its two hands, holding a heart, the heart has a crown sitting on top. The hands symbolize friendship, the heart, love, and the crown symbolizes loyalty.Chrissy’s grandmother had gif...

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“The Ick Effect” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #241

What I am about to tell you must be held in strict confidence, because I hold a secret that will put me in peril. While it would serve me better to keep this to myself, I feel that I need to tell someone, a living human being, this deplorable secret or curse as I have come to know it. A betrayal of the unnatural order. Let’s start with my given name, Ichabod Soletelk. You probably have never heard the name before , but I fear you will since my name will become notorious in a short time. Bartender, can you get me and m...

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“The Ragnarök File” by Alejandro Gonzalez

Submitted to Contest #241

The nineteen corpses told a tale Tessira hadn’t wanted to hear. Men and women she’d spent the better part of an eighteen-year deployment with had seen their last sunrise. It would’ve made a horrific enough nightmare, but the wound in her side made it real. The jagged piece of laminated ship hull sticking out of her torso screamed its silent tale of hopelessness, as it was all that was left of her only way off this planet. Worse, the enemy certainly heard the explosion that told of her team’s betrayal. When the ship went up in smoke, the on...

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“Fire and Shadow” by Michael Maceira

Submitted to Contest #241

The drums of revolution echo beneath Shadow’s feet. No, not a revolution. His revolution.Beneath a sickle moon and her attending stars, Shadow stands on the edge of the city of Montauvers’ grandest cathedral. Spread out on the roof before him are men Shadow would’ve gladly died for, men who share his island skin and exotic, emerald eyes, now pointing crossbows at his heart. At their center, Cassia stands with red curls whipping in the evening breeze, her crossbow pointed at her husband’s face with a steady grip; Hoa ...

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“The Knife” by L.B. Goldman

Submitted to Contest #241

Avery approaches with a kitchen knife in her right hand, wielded like a sword. Kate’s back is turned to her; she is browsing through the contents of the refrigerator. In one hand is a jar of strawberry jelly, in the other is a jar of strawberry jelly. Why two? Kate briefly wonders before plunging the knife into Kate’s back. Avery doesn’t drop the knife after she’s done this. For some reason it doesn’t occur to her that she should. Instead she remains very still, staring at the incision (which is much deeper than she imagined it would be...

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“Not The Girl From Kansas Anymore ” by Lo Lace

Submitted to Contest #241

My mind drifted in that in between dream space. The past and my present coiling about; spring loaded, imitating a trigger. Nightmare and reality. Which was better? More reliable? More certain?I woke up with a start as my cat pounced on my bed. The summer night breeze blowing my sheer blue curtains about. “Apollo!” I said annoyed; he meowed rather apologetically. His orange gold, reflective gaze, round and loving, gave me a slow wink. I sighed, easily forgiving and petting him. He was just adorable and not many animals got along well with me....

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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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