The winner is Paddy O'Callaghan!
Excerpt – The Cult
of Me
Instantly I noticed
the contrast. The priest’s mind had been a storm of guilt and fear, this
guard’s only a serene calm. His name was David Hammond and I had guessed
correctly about him being ex-forces. From his memories I gleaned visions of his
combat tours with the Royal Marines in far flung desert places. He had seen
action and lots of it. As a sniper he dealt death from afar. The weirdest part
wasn’t that he knew that I was there. It was that he didn’t mind, he looked me
clean in the eye and invited me straight in.
His mind struck me
as unlike anything I previously experienced. I had encountered calm people
before, but usually there was an undercurrent, some inner turmoil that boiled
beneath their own understanding. Not this man though, on all levels he was at
peace with himself. No lingering doubts, no inner turmoil.
I don’t mind
admitting that I was shocked. I have been inside many minds and this knowing
acceptance was unlike anything... And there, in the centre I discovered it. I’m
not sure what is was, but it was there, a solid beacon, a rock of light that
anchored him.
I wanted to press
closer, to peel away at this mystery, but the crowd was growing restless. All
they could see was this guard, already a known entity within the prison, one of
the few officers that received their respect and me, staring at each other.
They could almost taste the atmosphere between us. There was a palpable tension
rising, so I calmly nodded at him in acknowledgement, winked at the priest and
settled back into my chair and watched him stutter his way through the service.
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Bio- Michael Brookes
By day I work as a
Producer for one of the leading UK independent game developers. Games along
with reading (and writing) are major passions in my life. I currently live in
probably the flattest place in the world in the east of England, although over
the years I have lived all over the country. I've always been interested in
writing it is only recently that I've really pushed myself to finish a complete
book. That effort has now seen the light of day and I'm looking forward to
starting the next book. I'm also an avid reader with Ian M Banks and Terry
Prachett being amongst my favourite modern authors. My favourite story of all
time is Paradise Lost, a hard read, but a sublime story.