Janus the Arrival (The Janus Trilogy Book 1), page 3
‘You’re such a bastard Janus!’ she managed to say.
It was then that he looked over at her with great pity and she could see that he was quite clearly ashamed of what he’d just done.
‘Don’t look at me like that, you’re confusing me!’ She uttered feebly.
Then, catching her completely by surprise, Janus twisted, placed his arms around her and kissed her very tenderly on the lips.
‘Why did it have to be like that? I’ve waited for you to ask me out for so long, always hoping that you’d be the first!’
Janus lifted his head and looked down gazing directly into her eyes.
‘I’m so sorry Amanda. I honestly never realised! The other boy’s always said you really hated me.’
‘No Janus. That’s just not true. I don’t hate you and I never have. Maybe I did ask for it as far as some people are concerned, but…don’t you realise, I really fancy you!’
Janus cradled her in his arms feeling gutted at his stupidity, and once Amanda reached out and kissed him tenderly on the lips, they lay together under the stars making love. He found it extremely unbelievable that she could be so forgiving after what he’d just put her through. This said so much about the type of character she was, and made him realise that she would be a very special person in his life. Focusing back on the present, the lovemaking was carried out with much more passion, just as it should have been in the first place. Amanda clung to him and cried again, as he trust back and forth inside her, but this time they were tears of joy. Janus was the first, and setting aside what had taken place earlier, what she was experiencing right now was absolutely incredible. Making love had been far better than she’d ever imagined, and from that night on they became totally inseparable. What Janus had done to her was never raised again, it was, and would always remain their secret. Even though it should have been unforgivable, Amanda loved Janus with all her heart, while their friends simply nicknamed them ‘Red and Nuthead’ behind their backs.
Just as expected, Emma and John totally disapproved of this blossoming relationship and made it quite obvious to him that they were not exactly happy about the situation. What upset Janus the most was the fact that they both acted as though it wouldn’t last very long and that they already knew what the future seemed to have in store for him.
Amanda was waiting near the bench at the corner of his street one evening, and after a quick kiss they ambled off towards the clubhouse to watch an amazing young rock band called Street Preacher, who they’d taken to following around whenever they played local gigs. Janus had grown to appreciate many types of music over the years, but this very much depended on the type of mood he was in at the time. He wholly believed it to be an extremely powerful force, mainly due to the fact that it could strongly influence people’s emotions in so many ways.
Although they were officially too young to drink, everyone still brought soft drinks along with them, which were discretely topped up with spirits, because that was the only way to get illegal booze past the ever watchful eyes of the big bruiser of a doorman. Once the band had warmed up and played a few opening numbers, the whole place was soon heaving with bodies. Many of the youngsters played along on their air guitars, and before long the inevitable fight had broken out, much to the amusement of those stood around jeering as two of the bikers continued to kick the shit out of each other.
Janus put his mouth close to Amanda’s ear.
‘These gigs just wouldn’t be the same without a fight, would they?’
Amanda nodded her head in agreement as it was a complete waste of time trying to reply with all the noise going on. Not that she cared very much, as she and Janus had a whole lifetime to look forward to and could do as much talking as they wished, whenever it suited them. The chorus of chanting grew even louder in the area where the fighting was taking place, and this died out a few moments later as one of the bikers pushed through the onlookers and headed to the toilet with a pretty nasty looking blood splattered face. The atmosphere really was quite addictive and Janus hadn’t failed to notice how exited Amanda had become at the sight of the bleeding man. Women were very strange creatures indeed and Janus was certainly looking forward to studying this one even closer. As soon as the gig was over, and the place emptied out a little, Janus had already decided that he’d better get straight down to some proper business with his insatiable redhead.
Janus and Amanda had been together for four months. Amanda’s friends had informed her that she was already as good as married, but a large majority of the jealousy was mainly due to the fact that none of their relationships had ever lasted very long. Fortunately, she was made of much sterner stuff, and Amanda was not in the least bit worried. Yet when Janus discovered he’d been nicknamed Nuthead, he was furious at first. Amanda did her best to talk to him and simply ended up telling him to ignore it. Eventually he came around to her way of thinking and decided that it also acted as a sign that he was not to be messed with. It also helped keep people away from both him and his private life, which suited him perfectly.
In the meantime, Amanda was extremely proud of the relationship they had together and had decided to take him out for a meal. During her short time with him, she’d fully matured from a girl into a proper woman, and she felt that that certainly deserved some kind of celebration. Janus was so much wiser compared to any of the other boys they knew. He never spoke down to her and always treated her as an equal. All of which only added to one of the many reasons that she loved him all the more. The initial incident that had occurred when he’d forced himself on her, was now nothing more than a long distant memory that she’d put to the back of her mind. She knew that he still had a vicious streak buried somewhere deep inside him, but he also worshipped the very ground she stood on, and the feeling was mutual, as she loved Janus with all her heart.
Janus arrived at the agreed meeting place right on time. Amanda instantly kissed him, and then grabbing his hand, she led him into an Indian Restaurant, almost knocking over an exiting middle-aged couple in the process. She was incredibly excited about the whole thing, and it really showed.
Once inside they were quickly seated by one of the waiters, who Janus noticed all wore the obligatory white shirt with black trousers and a black tie along with really smiley faces, which always lit up when they were asked something. As expected, they were treated like royalty throughout the entire evening. Having ordered and gained advice from their waiter about various items on the menu, the food arrived shortly afterwards and they soon tucked in and finished off each dish as the evening rushed by. Totally immersed in each other’s conversation, people sitting at the other tables couldn’t fail to notice how much in love the young couple appeared to be. When it came to settling up at the end, Amanda was adamant and paid the bill, much to the protests of Janus who eventually conceded defeat, after she sweetly pleaded.
‘Listen! I’ve seriously been saving up for just such an occasion as this, so please don’t spoil it for me babe! It really is my treat.’
Janus flushed as he felt as if the customers were staring at him, and having thanked the restaurant staff for such a fantastic time, they finally set off into the fresh night air. It was far too early to go straight home. They also felt extremely full up and decided they needed to walk it off for a while. Therefore, they thought it best to take the path towards the railway embankment, where they eventually huddled together on the grass. They sat and stared at the world through rose coloured glasses, while making all sorts of plans for a future together and stopping to kiss every now and again. Amanda gradually started to get a little cold as the night began to draw in, and so they eventually stood up and took the short cut home across the tracks. It was something they’d done a good many times in the past and never really thought about the dangers involved. Janus naturally charged ahead, chatting away about how much he’d enjoyed the meal, but Amanda stopped halfway across to blow her nose for some strange reason, so she wasn’t really taking too much notice of her surroundings. Unaware that the set of points she stood between were about to change for an oncoming express train, she quickly realised her mistake by the distinct click of a trackside relay, which was immediately followed by the hiss of escaping air. This caused the heavy metalwork beneath her to shift sideways, and in doing so, it automatically clamped her foot tightly between its heavy jaws. The terrified young woman let out an awful scream as the pressure of the metal rails crushed her limb and emitted an awful sound of splintering bone. Amanda struggled with all her might, but the bleeding stump that had been her foot just a few seconds before, refused to come loose from the tangled remains of her shoe, which had stuck fast in the track below.
Hearing the scream, Janus instantly turned and thought she was messing around at first. He honestly thought that she was playing one of her silly jokes, but the look on her face told a completely different story before everything in his head became slightly dazed. It didn’t make any sense. He pictured the whole event happening in his mind just moments before it was literally about to occur. Janus ran back towards his girlfriend as fast as his legs would carry him, with tears streaming down his eyes as he shouted out her name. He’d already realised the speeding train would beat him to her and there was nothing that he could do to stop it.
In the instant before she died, the terrified young woman had still managed to observe a strange look in her boyfriend’s eye’s just as the train ripped into her body and tore her apart. Janus closed his eyes hoping to block out the whole thing, especially as he’d gotten so close. He felt extremely sick and was totally unable to breathe before collapsing to the ground, where his face became buried in the damp leaves as he cried out Amanda’s name again and again. How the hell would he be able to continue on without her?
Having finally found the strength to stand again, Janus noticed something white lying just beside the trackside. He immediately reached down to pick it up, and that was the moment when he swore that nothing so precious would be taken away from him ever again. The solemn figure left the scene firmly holding a silken handkerchief bearing the initials A.R. up against his face. This, along with all the loving memories he retained, was all that remained of their love; a love that had been doomed from day one according to his damned parents.
Misadventure was finally declared, following several weeks of intense police investigations. Both sets of parents had to shake off a whole deluge of reporters, which brought back many distant memories to Emma and John.
When things gradually began to settle back down his parents tried in vain to find a way of regaining their sons trust during his period of grief, especially as he’d made it perfectly clear that he blamed the two of them for what had happened. Following a good few months of silence between then, Janus eventually began to speak again. Neither Emma nor John had realised the true extent of his love until after Amanda’s death. Yet they’d both known that the accident was destined to happen, and unfortunately it was something that Janus had to suffer in order to prepare him for the future he was soon about to face.
Janus had not been troubled by any dreams during the whole time he’d been with Amanda, but one night they decided to return with a vengeance. At first he honestly believed he’d be able to cope all by himself. However, these were much, much worse than the ones he’d suffered previously. These were even more realistic and belonged in a different league altogether. Plus they’d also begun to keep him awake at night. He soon realised that unless he sought some kind of professional advice, things would only start to get worse.
CHAPTER 3 – The Chosen One
Vicky Newman was a stunning woman who turned heads wherever she went, without even trying. She was tall with long, straight black hair and carried a rather striking elegance about her. A fair number of the students at the university had jokingly called her Wonder Woman, after the comic strip heroine, and she was more than happy to play along with that on most occasions. She recalled one particular evening when a few of the students, having acted like a group of wild animals had been unable to hold their liquor and ended up suffering the consequences. A couple of the boys had even attempted to chat her up, with the main objective of being the first to get into her knickers.
Fortunately, Vicky had caught wind of their plan a few weeks earlier and therefore, utilizing her skills, with a little bit of cunning, she successfully managed to come through relatively unscathed.
It was two weeks later at one of the student disco’s when one of the other students, who went by the name Robert Hart, who she’d noticed looking at her earlier in the evening, finally decided to approach her. He was extremely handsome, tall, and blonde, built like a gladiator and held a long running reputation as being the campus stud, along with being a much admired sportsperson in a variety of events. Vicky acted quite evasive at first, but she soon realised that they had far more in common than she’d first thought. Although everyone else had pretty much viewed them as a perfect match right from the start.
Robert was more than happy to play the waiting game to start with. He was fairly content with the way things were progressing, until one evening, during a heavy petting session in the back of his car; Vicky finally gave way to his charms. Unknown to him she’d already decided it was the perfect time to give up her virginity, while Robert, who was almost coming in his pants, fumbled around with the zip on his trousers and couldn’t quite believe his luck. He could already feel her nipples standing fully erect and begging for attention through her thin blouse, and it wasn’t long before they were feasting hungrily on each other and doing what came naturally to youngsters like them.
The next few years came and went, with several boyfriends in situ along the way. Robert had inevitably moved on to other conquests, which hadn’t been too unexpected, especially as they’d been drifting apart for a while, once he’d got what he was after. Some people just seemed to go through life enjoying the chase and initial benefits of a new relationship, rather than committing to anything, although it was hoped that they’d finally grow up and see some of the hurt they may have caused, in the end. After all the hard work and finally graduating with a full honour’s degree in Psychology, Vicky decided she wanted to travel the world, and really enjoyed a vast majority of the time that she spent abroad.
On her return to England however, having finally run out of money, she was sadly forced to join the daily rat race. As a consequence, Vicky soon came back to earth with a big reality check, much like many others had had to do in the past. Her immediate and most obvious plan was to use her degree in some way. As luck would have it, a friend of a friend, just happened to know of a clinic that was due to open quite locally in Surbiton, which was situated very close to Kingston on Thames in the county of Surrey.
Having been formally introduced, and following an interview with a wonderful Norwegian lady named Leila, Vicky successfully landed the job just two weeks later. Then, within a fairly short space of time, she’d already installed herself in a plush new office, where they even allowed her to choose the decor before it was fully refurbished from top to bottom. Eight months later, Vicky Newman BSc (Hons) Psych. was seen as a very valued part of the establishment having built up an impressive list of clientele along the way.
A young man called Janus Storm was her latest client, and although she maintained very strict rules about becoming too familiar with her customers, something seemed to develop between them from the very first moment the two of them met.
During their initial meeting, Vicky had chosen to wear a long white dress to work on that particular day. It was very fetching, highlighted her figure, and had remained one of her favourites from the instant she’d purchased it, from one of the stylish boutiques close to where she lived. Although it was the first time he’d met her, and hoping that he didn’t come across as being too presumptuous, Janus had commented on how angelic she looked. The fact that her voice was very softly spoken at times, also helped to relax him quite a bit. Then, over the next couple of weeks that followed, she eventually became the first person that he’d ever shown any feelings for, ever since Amanda’s tragic death. Therefore, Janus was a little more than surprised when just a few sessions later, Vicky acted very nervously during one of his visits, before turning to him and providing him with a very unexpected explanation for her strange behaviour.
‘The time has come for me to tell you that you’re suffering with memories of a previous life and you needn’t worry any longer, as you’ll soon outgrow the dreams you’ve been having.’ She then looked him directly in the eyes and concluded with the words. ‘You no longer need any further treatment from me, I’m happy to say.’ before getting to her feet and dismissing him rather abruptly. Janus was a little bit confused and found this sudden change completely out of character for the woman. Yet, after expressing his concern to her, he was ushered from the room almost immediately. Judging from the serious expression she’d had on her face at the time, he knew that all was not well. He also suspected it was something that concerned him, but she hadn’t really given him that much to go on.
It was during a rain sodden evening, three weeks after his eighteenth birthday when Janus suffered his worst ever dream. He sat bolt upright in his bed, shaking and absolutely dripping with sweat. The letters BNS, which usually frequented his dreams in one form or another, were so much clearer than before. On this occasion, they also exhibited much stranger markings than they usually did. Sitting still at the end of his bed, concentrating on his breathing and focusing his mind, Janus suddenly noticed a slight difference from before. This time around they seemed to be appearing as the letters DNZ. Then, as if suffering some kind of premonition, the young man felt there was a certain familiarity about them, that he just simply couldn’t place anywhere at all. They’d always seemed to have the ability to draw him in deeper and deeper, each time he visualized them in the past. Yet, somewhere deep down inside him, he knew that sooner, rather than later, his whole life would definitely be about to change. For better, or for worse? Was the question that jumped to the forefront of his reasoning right now, but nothing made sense… Nothing at all.
