Janus the Arrival (The Janus Trilogy Book 1) (11 page)

   
Everybody had been totally devastated when
the news of her father’s tragic death had been received over the police radio.
Some members of staff even believed it to be some kind of sick joke at first,
as they’d all assumed that Detective Inspector Dave Sorbus was totally
indestructible, especially as the man had been a living legend within the
force. He’d also served as one of the main inspirations for a large majority of
new starters, who always tended to arrive all fresh faced but undeniably
willing to learn, following so much time spent carrying out academic studies.
Yet right at that moment, a deathly silence hung over the place, as the full
realisation of the situation slowly began to hit home. As the day drew
endlessly on, the pressure in the office became almost unbearable.
Many left early as they really didn’t wish to be
trapped in such a depressing atmosphere, plus it was hard to concentrate
anyway. Dana was one of those who stayed, and then Caragh Elder, a woman PC and
close friend for many years, finally broke the spell. Cara managed to get he
attention and then promptly dragged her into an empty interview room for a
private conversation as she knew Dana was bottling her feelings up deep inside.

Although
she’d wanted to be there earlier, but had chosen to take the advice she’d been
offered back at the station, when Dana eventually arrived at the scene of the
accident the clean up had already been completed. The traffic in Putney was
slowly getting back to its normal crazy self and the ghoulish sightseers had
thankfully disappeared. Nevertheless, Dana still couldn’t quite escape the
stench of death that seemed to hang in the air, just as she’d discovered on a
few other occasions in the past. Moving up towards the bridge, she then spotted
a sergeant she recognised, who’d also studied at the police academy with her.
He was standing over in the distance, but seemed to notice her at almost
exactly the same time. Therefore, he quickly muttered something to the
colleague standing right beside him at the time, and then came running towards
her in a hurry.
  

   
Dana was momentarily embarrassed, because
she couldn’t instantly recall his name, which was partly due to all the
confusion going on inside her head at that moment. Then, just as he was about
to reach her, it suddenly came flooding back. In the same instant, she also
noticed he held something very firmly in his right hand.

   
‘I believe this belonged to your father!’
he stated between breaths. ‘I found it on the bridge lying on the ground just
over there. I’m so sorry about your father Dana. I really am.’

   
Dana thanked him as he handed her a small
diary, which she quickly shoved into her jacket pocket before walking over to
where he’d pointed. Once on the bridge, she leaned over the parapet and stared
all glassy eyed into the waters flowing below. Dana desperately struggled to
hold back the tears. There was no way she wanted to be seen crying in public.
It was not only embarrassing, but very unprofessional for someone of her
calibre.

   
Why?
She asked herself.
Why was it all so
bloody unfair?
First it had been her mum, and now her dad had gone too.
Dana had never felt so alone in her whole life.

Walking
through an old churchyard that had a large family mausoleum at its centre,
along with a mass grave containing the bodies of local people that had drowned
on a ship back in 1875; Janus glanced at the graves overgrown with weeds. These
were a complete blight to the volunteers who took it in turns to look after the
gardens, and these spread like wildfire among the sombre collection of
headstones. Humans certainly had strange ideas about death, because the
Dra-Na-Zee would never have contaminated Pagos in such a way.
Expired
Shells
as they were known were ejected into space. This was the most
obvious and natural graveyard in the solar system according to his folk, where
once released, they would finally escape from the planets gravitational pull
and gradually drift their way into oblivion. During the boating incident, Janus
had tuned into the dying man’s mind, just as he floundered in the water. As a
consequence, he’d witnessed the exact moment when the policeman’s soul had left
the damaged and dying body. Yet despite it having been destined to end that
way, Janus still felt a particular sense of loss. Dave Sorbus had proved
himself to be a great adversary, and in all honesty, he hadn’t been too bad for
a human, from what he could make out. Having such feelings worried Janus a
little, because according to the instruction he’d received from the Elders, any
human sentiments should have completely disappeared during the initiation
ceremony with Vicky. Yet, something wasn’t quite right according to him.
  

   
The woman still seemed to have maintained
some sort of hold over him. But that didn’t make any sense. How could she? She
was dead, and he’d killed her with his own bare hands, and yet it seemed as if
she still haunted his mind in some way. Janus had found it extremely hard to
concentrate over the last few weeks, and he knew he’d have to find a way of
exorcising her from his memory, once and for all.
   

As
soon as Janus entered the flat they shared together, Debbie went for him. She
jumped up and down screaming like a banshee and demanded some sort of
explanation, right there and then.

   
‘Who the hell was Rachel Moore? She
screeched. This was swiftly followed by another question.

   
‘Was this woman really carrying his baby?’
Janus simply walked past her and completely ignored her demands, as he entered
the main bedroom and slammed the door shut behind him. This gesture only
infuriated Debbie all the more. She then stood seething out in the hallway,
before summoning up enough courage to follow him into the bedroom, knowing full
well that she’d never won an argument with him so far. Initially there was a
lot of shouting, but that eventually subsided as he took control.

Debbie
woke the next morning feeling totally hung over. She was badly bruised and felt
as if she’d been completely used.
 
Once
all the shouting had eventually stopped, Janus had acted like a wild animal.
He’d been a totally different person from the man she loved, and this new
character scared the life out of her, if she was being honest. Pleased that
he’d left home early, she seriously wanted to have some time to collect her
thoughts together and be able to reflect upon the current situation she was in.
Debbie was completely shocked as she looked at her reflection. An almost
unrecognisable image gazed back at her from the bathroom mirror, and the
stranger certainly didn’t look that good. Her face was black and blue all over,
from where Janus had hit her repeatedly around the head. He’d also forced her
to perform oral sex on him against her will, and then raped her over and over,
again and again.

   
Debbie had never been a victim of such
violence before. She felt both sickened and drained as she climbed rather
shakily into the shower. As the hot water poured over her, she tried her best
to wash away the dirtiness that stained her. She very much felt that her
attempts were in vain. Tears streamed down her swollen cheeks as the reality of
the situation finally took hold. These were simply washed away, and the broken
woman collapsed to the floor and cried like a baby. Life with Janus had been so
perfect up until the night before, and now, within such a short space of time,
it had gone forever.

Marie
de Pre’ was a wealthy young woman. She was the daughter of Duke William de Pre’
whose ancestry dated back to the French ‘
People’s
King’
Louis’d Preleonne, whose regime originally began in 1833. Over the
years however, Louis had sadly managed to lose the respect of the working class
people and became heavily linked to the bourgeoisie. As a result, that led to
his eventual downfall and subsequent abdication during the French Revolution of
1848.
 

   
Having worked out a plan of action, the
subsequently renamed de Pre’ family finally moved lock, stock and barrel to
England in 1908. Having maintained a firm control of their riches, William’s
father had scoured the country for a while, trying to work out the best place
to live in, before finally setting up home in Findon Manor, West Sussex. Once
there, the family soon became the centre of attention. This was formed through
their constant involvement with fund raising along with the large amount of
charitable work they’d become associated with, especially as they were seen to
be quite influential in certain areas, not always accessible to some people.
Yet it was only after the death of his father that William took over his
commitments and started to maintain the title as Duke of Findon Manor. William
had always possessed a natural flair for Management Accountancy. He was also
known as a bit of a financial wizard, especially whenever it came to his
wheeling and dealings on the Stock Market. As a consequence of his actions and
subsequent investments during a fair amount of change in the world economy at
the time, the de Pre’ family gradually became multi millionaires. Following the
birth of their daughter Marie, a few years later, the Duke and Duchess of
Findon Manor were deemed to be one of the happiest couples alive.

Marie
was extremely fond of her current lover. They’d been seeing each other for well
over two months, following an impromptu meeting at a socialite evening that had
been held at Ascot racecourse. Therefore Marie had been completely shocked to
discover that she was a few months pregnant, especially as members of the
aristocracy only had babies once they had made plans to do so. She would
certainly sue those damned doctors, along with anyone else she could blame. It
was after all, their job to ensure that such accidents never happened, as far
as she was concerned. From her point of view, they were the one’s who’d
recommended her contraception in the first place, even though it was extremely
expensive. This was despite the fact that she also paid them a small fortune
for their so-called services, but this was the typical bloody minded attitude
that she often came across in most walks of life.

   
They
have the money so let them pay
. That seemed to be the general order of
play, but with that aside, what she feared the most, was what Mummy and Daddy
would say when they found out. Something like that would almost definitely ruin
their families’ reputation within the local community, and the damned
newspapers would have a bloody field day.
Marie
seriously hoped in all earnest, that Janus would contact her sooner rather than
later. He’d be the one who’d be able to supply the answers. She was sure of
that.

Janus
had spent all night by the bay window staring at the moon in all its natural
splendour. He’d sat right through to the break of day as it greeted and changed
shifts with the sun, as per their daily ritual. This rose high above a tall,
almost perfectly straight line of trees, when viewed from the occupied window.
Large beams of sunlight reflected off the surrounding buildings and this
bejewelled their stonewashed exteriors, which sent out a stunning illusion of
the paintwork having been painted in gold. The peace and tranquillity, often
associated with that time in the morning, gradually dispersed as members of the
human race woke up to the sounds of their alarm clocks. Some still lay sprawled
across their beds fast asleep having hit the snooze button and praying for it
to last longer than it would. Others, who’d maybe had a bit too much to drink
the night before, were entirely oblivious to the fact that another day had already
started.

   
Picking out an apple from the fruit bowl,
Janus promptly entered the kitchen, found a sharp knife and cut it into small
pieces. His mind was already busy thinking about the day ahead, before he
eventually gathered up a fresh towel, having decided that a good swim followed
by a nice relaxing sauna would be a great idea. Janus then looked in on Debbie,
who he found to still be fast asleep, as he completed packing his gear. He then
finally left the house as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake her up. The
last few days had been quite hectic. Debbie definitely hadn’t been acting
herself lately, and the atmosphere in the house had turned very sour. That had
been ever since the night he’d abused her, so he wasn’t entirely surprised.
Debbie was still her own person, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to stand for
any further abuse, either from him or anyone. Yet as she slept, she dreamt of
all the ways that she could possibly leave this strange man, who she still
loved so dearly, despite what had gone on. In some ways she was probably making
excuses and just trying to put off the inevitable, but Debbie also maintained a
great deal of common sense, which just needed to come to the surface.
Regardless of how the woman felt, this was something that needed to happen
sooner rather than later.

Having
pulled into a vacant parking space, as close to the building as he could get,
Janus suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to sleep. Therefore, he was very
deeply disturbed when he woke up forty minutes later, only to discover that
he’d fallen asleep outside the busy leisure complex. He’d dreamt of Pagos
during that time, and setting himself back up into a sitting position, he
immediately recalled the worst part of the dream. That had depicted the most
horrifying scenes of mutilated bodies having been strewn right across the land,
for as far as the eye could see. Whilst high above, a blood red sky hung like a
dreadfully bad omen. That was certainly not a sight for the feint-hearted, by
any means.

Feeling
very proud with his physique, Janus stood tall. There was no denying that he
looked like a world-class athlete, just before he plunged headlong into the
water below. At first the water felt quite soothing against his body as he swam
towards the far end of the pool. Before long, as he glided through the water,
his body started to itch a little. He simply ignored this at first, but rather
annoyingly, it seemed to continue and grow even itchier. Eventually, it really
began to irritate him. It also affected his concentration and then started to
put him off his stroke, which annoyed him, even further. The need to scratch
his skin was becoming almost unbearable by then, and eventually, against his
wishes, he was forced to slow his pace and stop right in the middle of the
swimming lane. Just then, almost as soon as his feet had touched the bottom of
the pool, an intense pain suddenly spread right across the whole of his body.
It was absolutely excruciating. It felt as if millions of tiny needles were
being forced into his body, and this continued for a short while, until he
finally realised his skin was actually burning. Janus panicked at first. He
thrashed around in the water like a madman and gasped for air as he frantically
sought the edge of the pool with his outstretched hand. Eventually after what
seemed like hours, his hand finally made contact with the rail of one of the
ladders at the side, and he immediately heaved himself up and out of the
reddening water. The world around him appeared to be moving in some sort of
slow motion. People on the poolside just looked to be standing and staring
wildly in their swimming costumes, as he ploughed his way aimlessly through
them, and almost slipped over at one point. Fortunately, Janus managed to
maintain his balance somehow, but to them, the man looked as if he was in a
drug induced trance. It was only his incredible strength of body and mind that
enabled him to find his way back to the changing rooms. Once there, the clean
water from the shower slowly eased the pain, as it covered him from head to
toe. This also allowed Janus some much needed time to regain his composure,
before being confronted by a group of seriously concerned leisure centre staff.
Despite assuring them that he felt fine, they
still waited in the background just in case they were needed. He could sense
that they were not entirely convinced as they continued to chat amongst
themselves. In the meantime, Janus grabbed his belongings out of his locker
with the small key he’d attached to his swimming trunks. He also snatched up
his pound coin and then found an empty cubicle fairly close by. He dressed
quickly, despite the fact that he only aggravated his skin further by rushing
so fast. Under the present circumstances however, he just wanted to be free of
this god-forsaken place, especially as he’d never felt so vulnerable and
exposed before. It was not something he ever wanted to experience again, and
he’d have to find out what the hell had gone wrong.

Stretched
across the sofa idly watching daytime TV with a steaming cup of coffee close at
hand, Debbie immediately jumped up when Janus burst through the front door. In
doing so, she sent the remote control buttons flying to the floor. Seeing as
he’d headed straight to the bathroom without even looking at her or saying a
word, she knew that something must have been wrong. She’d certainly never seen
him in such a state of panic before. He was normally in full control of
everything.
 

   
Hearing the water start up, she automatically
followed him to the bathroom, but nothing could possibly have prepared her for
what she saw when she got there. Janus had ripped off his clothing, which lay
scattered on the floor, and he lay completely naked in the bath with his hands
over his eyes. Worst of all, was the fact that his body looked absolutely red
raw from top to bottom and extremely painful. It resembled that of a burns
victim from what she could make out. Taking a grip on herself, Debbie managed
to hold back her repulsion as she approached. She realised there and then, that
she’d never seen the man cry before. Janus both heard and felt her presence in
the room as he lay there feeling comfort from the water. Feeling irritated that
she was even there; he completely startled Debbie as he removed his hands from
his face and screamed at her.

   
‘Get out! Get out now and leave me alone!
I’m fed up with you pathetic little earth creatures. I’ve just about had enough
of the lot of you!’

   
At first, Debbie didn’t quite understand
what the hell he was ranting on about. She wondered if whatever had happened
had affected his mind in some way, but suddenly without any warning whatsoever,
he sat up and a bloody, blistered hand shot out of the bath incredibly fast. It
instantly gripped her tightly around the throat and caused her to struggle in
vain as it began pulling her down towards him.

   
‘Janus, you’re really hurting me!’ she
mumbled, with the strangled gurgling sound that escaped her lips. His grip
proved to be incredibly strong, but try as she might to free herself, her
strength was failing fast. Yet she almost fainted at what she saw next. His
eyes were no longer recognisable as those of the man she thought she knew quite
well. They reminded her of a snake, and yet these were far more terrifying,
especially as they appeared to have a sinister radiance about them. As they
seemed to draw her in closer and closer, in an almost mesmerising way, she
noticed an unusual glow that seemed very yellow in colour, moving around at the
back. Debbie was absolutely petrified. She would never forget the look in those
eyes for as long as she lived, but she also realised she was completely at his
mercy. It was possibly the worst ever moment of her life, although it made
absolutely no sense at all. However, having finally released his grip and
repeated for her to leave, Debbie had wasted no time in doing so. She’d packed
her belongings within a matter of minutes, and as soon as Janus heard the front
door slam shut behind her, he lay back in the bath and finally let out a deep
sigh of relief. The healing process then began to weave its magic as both his
mind and body began to relax and allow the repair work to take place.

   
Later, as Janus lay back looking at the
full moon through the skylight above, he realised he’d actually felt frightened
for a while, which was strangely out of character for a Dra-Na-Zee. Yet so many
strange things had happened just recently, yet even he could not understand all
of them, and he still had much to learn. Soon, all of the pain he’d been
suffering had passed. Thankfully, his senses had finally begun to assert
themselves once more and Janus could feel his confidence returning as his body
continued to heal at a fairly fast rate.

When
the morning arrived, Janus could be found standing naked in the bedroom staring
at his reflection in the full length mirror. He noted that his skin had almost
returned to normal, but sadly his human eye-coverings seemed to have been
damaged way beyond repair. Having dressed in blue denim jeans, a black top and
leather jacket, Janus walked to the closet and located an old pair of
sunglasses stuffed at the back of the shelf. After cleaning the lenses on a
piece of tissue paper, he looked in the mirror and found a version of the
Terminator character, that he’d seen on TV quite recently, staring back at him.
Pleased with the temporary fix, Janus recalled seeing an advert for contact
lenses in a magazine a few days ago, and he made a mental note to purchase some
as soon as possible.

   
Having returned home later that evening,
Janus relaxed in the bath with a row of candles casting ghostly shadows around
the room, which had started to become quite steamy. Once he’d regulated his
breathing, Janus then began his regular routine of summoning up an image of the
Stones. The usual sequence of events began to unfold at first, and then it took
a short while before he located exactly what he required from the
ever-informative Dra-Na-Zee database. How could he have been so stupid?
Chlorine,
the water in the pool had
contained Chlorine, which was used to keep it free of any bacteria deemed
hazardous to humans. Since his Initiation Ceremony with Vicky, he’d only been
swimming twice, and both of those had been in the sea, where the salt water was
fine. Further information held on the Stones, detailed the full history of how
The Dra-Na-Zee had developed lethal weaponry during the Shaadra Wars on Pagos.
One of these was known to be a nerve gas whose main chemical element had been
produced from a substance known as DonoZome. This was very similar to Chlorine
apart from a few minor differences that had proved fatal to the Dra-Na-Zee when
coming into contact with the body. Since its invention, it had also been the
cause of a great number of slow and painful deaths amongst his people.

Having
finished in the bathroom and dressed in a white bathrobe, Janus entered the
kitchen and poured a fresh orange juice. Having drunk that quite quickly before
pouring another one, he searched through the telephone directory and eventually
found the number he sought. He then phoned Debbie’s parents where the call was
promptly answered by an elderly gentleman who Janus recognised as Debbie’s
father. He swiftly explained that Debbie wasn’t available, and it was blatantly
obvious that he’d been briefed to say what he had. Then Mr Green went quiet for
a moment, just before his voice returned to explain that Debbie had not really
told him the reason for their bust-up. Given time however, he felt sure that it
would all eventually blow over and that they’d soon be back together. Janus
politely thanked the man and hung up. This suited him just fine for now, plus
it also confirmed her whereabouts. Janus drained the remaining contents in the
glass and pondered over some of the more recent problems he’d experienced.
Things hadn’t quite been going according to plan just lately, and more
importantly, he needed to understand the reasons why? He hadn’t felt altogether
alone in his thoughts as of late, and this had really begun to bother him.
There was something strange going on that he couldn’t quite put his finger on,
but Janus had already reached a decision to move on to pastures new. There was
certainly no time to waste, and when he moved, he moved pretty damned fast.

   
‘Good morning Mr Dayne.’ That was exactly
how the greedy estate agent had greeted him, once he’d made his presence known.
He’d already decided to drop the surname of Storm, due to recent events and
opting for an alias, which he deemed much more sensible. Following a quick scan
of the man’s thought waves and confirming his hunger for money, Janus swiftly
fluttered a fistful of twenty pound notes in his direction. He then promptly
negotiated a quick deal that included avoiding the usual paperwork formalities,
which may have caused a few problems for him, but now gave him the added option
of covering his tracks at any time.