James Holgate

“Certainty's Deceptions” by James Holgate

Sunlight’s glare stood fiercely before Dario, awaiting his presence like some long forgotten creature in a nightmare, yet this nightmare was not merely a distinct dreamscape, but reality.  Staring defiantly at the sphere of infernos scorching his retinas, Dario inevitably questioned as to why he was still alive. Such drastic reasoning did unfortunately have validation due to Dario’s frequent convergences with death itself, yet it appeared time and time again that the hands of fate had clutched his life from the depths of hell and brou...

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“Endless Embers” by James Holgate

Submitted to Contest #99

The divide between the shadows of the night and the dazzle of daylight becomes truly apparent at the dawn of dark. ‘The dawn of dark’, some may call it sunset yet those of society who choose to live at such a time decide it’s true purpose. That of which being the time when words turn to whispers and abysmal horrors unfold. Duncan’s dreary head laid rest upon the begrimed bench, overlooking cliffs that competed with skyscrapers. As he calmly stared forward he couldn’t help but acknowledge the flames of a thousand infernos staring back at hi...

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“The Gateway Rattle” by James Holgate

Submitted to Contest #96

The clanging of metal and the blazing of fires erupted from the blacksmith as yet another day began. Houses of oaken materials stood solemnly within the shielded confines of the hamlet known to most as ‘Lindlow’. Such a hamlet had been laid down upon the restless earth for almost 500 years and in such time has had little advancements in technology. However one thing that the small village did have was a thriving community and a distinct lack of visitors. Nevertheless, tables can turn. Strolling past the well-crafted walls of the village, a...

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“Decision Devision” by James Holgate

Submitted to Contest #95

The strange thing about fate is that it always seems to present itself in the most inconvenient of times. Such as when I fell from great heights, both metaphorically and physically, and fate appeared before me dubbing me dead, yet I arose and overcame. Unfortunately I don’t believe this is a situation I can escape. It began 17 days ago when I woke up, began my pandiculation and immediately got shot with a dart and fell face first upon the oaken floorboards. Not a brilliant start to a Saturday. I awoke (yet again) that day to the solemn chi...

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“The Fragments of Freedom” by James Holgate

Submitted to Contest #89

Fate. A word that truly depicts the odyssey of life. Life remains a journey of integrity that each breathing person strives through, day after monotonous day. Yet moments of joy can be found even in the darkest of places, as long as one remembers to turn on the light. Unfortunately that was not always as easy as counting to 10. After stepping forth into the blinding daylight, one would expect the sign of a smile, though not for Franco, for his day was declining into the realm of pure madness. Running wild, running free, such ideologies wer...

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“The Sounds of Silence” by James Holgate

Submitted to Contest #86

As the sky turned ebony and the clouds loomed overhead, a disturbed grunt erupted from the floor. A quake in the ground and a crack in the dirt. A yell of triumph and a cry of agony. Ten timid twigs of the fleshy variety arose from the dirt, accompanied by a pale pair of arms and an overwhelmingly confused face. Soil is a surprisingly annoying material when one must claw through 6 feet worth of it with nothing but their bare hands… Oxygen never felt so good as Clay panted out of pure desperation, glaring daggers at the world that gave him ...

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“The Solemnity of Shadows” by James Holgate

Submitted to Contest #84

Clouds of ash erode the sky whilst society quivers at the cruel hands of fate. Fright strikes the mind like a dagger in the wind. The solitariness wasteland of what once may be considered home is now shattered in pieces after the world succumbed to the stabbing effects of a ‘mere virus’.  Those two words, mere virus, were the first instance of the plague’s reentry upon humanity. Words spoken by a news broadcaster that made some chuckle and some wince with the pain of their past; words that fell short of the truth, words that truly ...

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“Peregrination” by James Holgate

Submitted to Contest #83

The winds of the west prevail in the essence of twilight. The oceans of the earth lay omnidirectional, spreading like a virus across the crust. The many machinations of Knox’s mentality lay unprovoked upon the scorned terra firma of ‘The Isle of Helheim’, previously known as ‘The land of Jubilation’ until more recent times when an overwhelming gust of depression sliced at Knox’s mindscape. Contrary to popular belief, Knox’s elongated 7 years of pure isolation were self-implemented, for he required an escape from the mammonism of mankind. 7 y...

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“A Scission in the System” by James Holgate

Submitted to Contest #82

The sky stood bleak, yet tranquil. The hours flew by like the fish in the rivers; now grey as the pollution of humanity has corrupted all, from the heights of the Himalayas to the depths of Tartarus. Axel stood solemnly as his mind traversed the vacant field of 1’s and 0’s up until the point where only a void could be found, henceforth he moved northbound towards the ever-ungrateful city of Scalstead. A city of smog surrounded by the sickening sense of society, a horrid place well-known for its distaste in morality; perfect for an individual...

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“The Extinction of Materiality” by James Holgate

Submitted to Contest #80

Today was yet another day filled with the monotony that is life. Awakening to the everlasting cawing of the crows outside his house, Wyatt arose from his elongated slumber to the stabbing light reflecting inwards from his window, immediately going over to shut the blinds, avoiding contact with the outside world at all costs, due to the distinct lack of anything it had given him throughout his depressing monologue of life for 24 years. Expecting nothing but despondency, he began his daily doomscrolling through the news, upon performing this r...

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“The Perplexity of Kinsfolk” by James Holgate

Submitted to Contest #79

Conflict and conquest. A life of atrocity and intermission. Orson stepped forth after his father fell to the hands of his foes, and took the rightful place of kingship, being the soul heir to the throne of the hollowed kingdom. A once greyscale palace stood before his very visage in the form of a glamorous kingdom, illuminated with the light of a thousand suns since the early modern period of England. Whilst most palaces lay above the ground on the elevated terra firma, the hollowed kingdom lay in sanctitude below the surface near enough to ...

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“A False Sense of Serenity” by James Holgate

Submitted to Contest #78

Today was yet another day containing an ongoing hebetude aroma throughout the continuous bunkum of the office. Felix inverted this sense via his pure existence, as he transformed the dull depressive sense into an ambrosial scent of jubilation and appraisal. Felix strode into the incongruous greyscale office building with an everlasting look of beneficence plastered upon his visage. Dirty blond hair and viridescent pupils truly sparked his imagery as well as the obvious gleeful smile implanted upon his face; these facial features were in addi...

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“A Sub-Zero Conquest” by James Holgate

Submitted to Contest #77

A simple glance, a simple smirk and two feet joined the earth as Fabio’s visage lit up with glee as the desert of ice appeared before his very eyes. A humble lodge of mahogany and a view of the lifetime was all he needed as a wake-up call, whilst his life of adventure awaited him in the form of the perilous ski slopes beneath his cabin. At the age of 24 he lived a perfect life: his own house, his own lifestyle, and a job that brought jubilation to all around. As the owner of the ski slopes in the surrounding land, he allowed anyone and every...

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“Echoes of Emptiness ” by James Holgate

Submitted to Contest #75

The grey-scale pavement reflected an unwelcome and gloomy face back at Carlos as he stared down at his feet in dismay. 18 years ago an unfortunate event occurred, an unfortunate event that shunned the cerebellum of Carlos’ temple. For 18 years now he was sauntered the streets in curiosity and neglect. Despite his lack of memory he remembers that the unwelcome event was not something for the light-hearted. Henceforth he refuses to look back to his past and instead perseveres with the present to manufacture the future. A harsh blizzard sl...

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“Desolate Days” by James Holgate

Submitted to Contest #74

10 Days left and a journey to complete. His life was a game of cat and mouse and his bittersweet lifestyle was coming to an end. The faint pitter patter of the rain on the roof of his trailer fell like a dagger upon his mentality; small noises like this drove him closer and closer to insanity however he focused his mind-set on his conquest and persevered throughout the deprived landscape. Elijah set forth northbound towards the congruous structure settled skywards. His previously mentioned quest was a journey of willingness and integrity; de...

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