Janus the Arrival: The Janus Trilogy, #1

By Stephen Harding

A gritty sci-fi thriller containing powerful scenes that grip the reader from the start. Who is Janus Storm? He's a very twisted character.

 

As the last hope for his race, he has no time for those who get in the way of his need for survival. 

 

Detective Sorbus is hard on the trail of a killer whose case is shrouded in so much mystery that even the FBI become involved. Who are the Elders and what are they trying to achieve? There seem to be unusual links to the Earth's past, especially to a hushed up UFO crash.

 

With so many twists and turns throughout, this story leads to an amazing climax that will keep you completely riveted to the end.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephen Harding
• Release date: Nov 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393689911

Stephen Harding

Bestselling, prize-winning author Stephen Harding has written some of the most exciting books you will ever read. Unique, stimulating, ingenious, dark, mind-blowing, spine-tingling, and twisted are words that would best be linked to his creations. In 2008 his short play 'My Bench' won third prize in the Kingston Readers Festival before being published. Inspired by Stephen King's 'On Writing', he decided to publish his first novel 'Janus the Arrival' in 2013, having cut out the filler that bores so many readers. The sequel 'Janus the Offspring' followed in 2014 with the third part of the trilogy 'Janus the Sandlings' coming later that same year. 'Driven to Revenge' a horror/fantasy was released in 2016 with a crime thriller 'Twice Bad' featuring Detective Liberty Rock in 2017 with the sequel 'ISO Killer' released in March 2019. 2020 included 'Driven to Revenge' becoming a fantasy trilogy with a message about saving our planet, with work on a prequel to the two Liberty Rock Thrillers now underway. A comedy about UK Telephone Engineers will eventually arrive, but this will need to be reviewed with past colleagues in an English pub, prior to release in 2021. Stephen dislikes stories where you can always guess what happens next, so he tends to twist the plot in order to shake up the reader by calling on his love of books, films to gain new ideas. Stephen currently lives in London with his wife and has drawn on good and bad encounters in the business world and life in general. He remains very passionate about encouraging others to read and write and hopes you enjoy his works as well as he enjoys creating them. For further information, please visit: Facebook: Novels by Stephen Harding https://twitter.com/LexxyJanus

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Janus – The Arrival

By Stephen Harding

JANUS – THE ARRIVAL

Copyright: Stephen Harding

Published: September 2013

Publisher: Stephen Harding

The right of Stephen Harding to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

This book is dedicated to my family and friends, especially my wife Celia and my son’s Ross and Peter along with anyone who has personally suffered from or has helped with infertility or brain injuries.

Special thanks to Noreen who has provided feedback for each chapter and kept me motivated with the editing, which I only attempted many years later having read Stephen King’s book - On Writing.

Last but not least, love to blues legend and friend of more than thirty years, Maggie Bell for allowing me to add a little tribute to her in the book.

Also, by the same author:

JANUS - The Offspring

Book 2 of the Trilogy

JANUS - The Sandlings

Book 3 of the Trilogy

Table of Contents

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER 1 – Hard Birth

CHAPTER 2 – Young Love

CHAPTER 3 – The Chosen One

CHAPTER 4 – Nectar of Acceptance

CHAPTER 5 – Origin Unknown

CHAPTER 6 - Meditation

CHAPTER 7 – Deposits

CHAPTER 8 – Ray Gun Killer

CHAPTER 9 – Mixed Conquests

CHAPTER 10 – A Dra-Na-Zee

CHAPTER 11 – The Clinic

CHAPTER 12 – Two Faces

CHAPTER 13 – Yellow Lights

CHAPTER 14 – A Truce

CHAPTER 15 – Floating Under Moonlight

CHAPTER 16 - Kidnap

CHAPTER 17 – The Lookout

CHAPTER 18 - Pagos

CHAPTER 19 – The Duke

CHAPTER 20 – Burning Barn

CHAPTER 21 – Newborns

CHAPTER 22 – Gang Life

CHAPTER 23 – Body Bag

CHAPTER 24 - Trapped

CHAPTER 25 - Escape

EPILOGUE

JANUS THE OFFSPRING - PROLOGUE

CHAPTER 1 – Dana’s Dreams

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PROLOGUE

There was extreme panic as the inhabitants of Pagos faced the reality of what was about to happen. Intense light caused instant blindness to those remaining on the planet’s surface. That was very short lived however, as they each experienced the contents of their bodies being sucked out by a high-pressured vacuum, just before their fleshy remains were literally turned inside out.

From the dark side of the planet a small life capsule was jettisoned. This occurred, just moments before the planet exploded into billions of tiny particles that scattered into the surrounding universe.

Destination..........Earth

Year................1978

On the outskirts of Clapham - Twenty years later

The moon was half full at its highest peak in the cloudless night sky. An unseen figure watched from the shadows of the dingy underpass as a woman attempted to walk past a gang of youths who’d been standing around annoying passers-by.

Insults were hurled in her direction, but she nervously tried to ignore them and continue on her way.

‘You ugly cow!’ chanted one of the girls.

‘Ugly cow, ugly cow!’ the others taunted in unison, as they gradually closed in on her.

‘I suggest you leave her alone!’ ordered the stranger, as he casually stepped from the shadows.

The woman gazed up in awe. His face appeared to be partially concealed by an expensive looking scarf, but his deep blue eyes were absolutely mesmerizing to look at. Yet, they also held an unmistakable cruelness that automatically sent a shiver racing right down her spine.

‘Go!’ he shouted, and she knew better than to stop and argue.

The gang consisted of four boys and two girls. They stepped forward as one, as the woman finally disappeared from view. She’d automatically headed towards the main road and hadn’t dared look back.

‘Who the fuck do you think you are?’ demanded the leader, as he reached in and pulled a knife from his jacket pocket.

‘Go home while you still have the chance.’ the man replied, showing no sign of fear.

Unperturbed, the leader advanced. He launched the blade directly towards the man’s face. The stranger quickly swayed to the right. He totally wrong footed the youth, while an arc of bright yellow light erupted from his eyes, wrenching the blade clear of his attacker’s hand. The youth screamed. He fell to his knees while the knife innocently clattered against the concrete pathway. His gang had already turned and fled in different directions, fearing for their own lives. They’d acted like chickens with their heads cut off and their leader realised just how selfish they were.

The boy happened to be extremely lucky on this occasion, as he rose to his feet and ran sobbing after his so-called friends.

In the meantime, the stranger had already slipped back into the darkness of the shadows.

CHAPTER 1 – Hard Birth

Having decided to give up on their chances of ever having children after years of professional counselling and guidance, John and Emma Storm were completely devastated. This followed a vicious miscarriage that had resulted in tubal damage and internal scarring to Emma’s body. A series of secondary tests had confirmed their worst fears; having been informed they would remain a childless couple. It had been a very difficult time for the pair of them, as their emotions had naturally been thrown into complete turmoil. Yet true to form, they’d fully supported each other through the darkest of times, which now appeared to lay behind them.

Emma sat up in bed and stretched, before attempting to bash a new lease of life into the hospital pillows. These had seemed to have plagued her from day one. The woman was seen as a truly remarkable woman by many, having stunned the local doctors, and eventually most of the medical profession who’d heard about it. This had been achieved by giving birth to a healthy baby boy on October 18th 1978 in Queen Mary’s Hospital, London, against all the odds.

It was an extremely emotional time for both her and her husband John, who stood beside her bedside in the peaceful surroundings of the private room. This had been set aside for them, on orders of the ward sister, due to all the attention they’d been getting, along with some of the disruption it had been causing. The room was also somewhat overflowing, with a rather large array of flowers, whose fragrances spilled out through the glass fronted door whenever it was opened.

Nothing had gone straightforward during the birth. This was mainly due to fact that the foetus had grown so large in size during the latter part of her pregnancy, which had also been picked up and recorded on the hospital scanner. What also didn’t help was the fact that the couple were becoming increasingly irritable, as they were hiding an extremely deep secret between themselves.

On the day of delivery everything appeared to be going according to plan, with a young trainee doctor named Dean, standing ready to help the midwife. This was to be his first hands-on delivery, which according to the older students, would be one of the most memorable moments of his life. 

Helping to deliver a baby was classed as a necessary part of his training to become a full-time doctor, even though his main ambition in life was to become a surgeon at a top London hospital. He was also fully aware of the special interest surrounding this rather unusual case. Therefore, it was fairly understandable why he felt so nervous, despite knowing that a full back-up team would be close at hand, should anything happen to go wrong.

Sticking to her breathing routine, Emma felt the contractions coming on a more regular basis. An examination by the midwife had shown the dilation of the cervix to be at approximately ten centimetres. However, after suffering a certain degree of discomfort in her lower regions soon after, she was instantly supplied with regular doses of gas and air by Dean, who’s every move, was being overseen by the busy midwife.

At first everything appeared to be fine, until Emma began to scream with pain. The midwife looked increasingly concerned as she glanced over at the screen that monitored the baby’s heartbeat. She immediately realised that something was seriously wrong, especially when Emma let out the most inhumane scream, as she felt something rip open deep down inside. A hot searing sensation passed through her lower abdomen. Then large droplets of blood started to weep quite heavily from between her legs.

Paediatricians’ laden down with emergency equipment arrived within minutes of being alerted. They entered through the door in a well-controlled rush and instantly took control.  Emma, whose contractions were coming fast and furious, then felt her husband’s hand go slack. 

Turning to face him, she watched with great concern as he disappeared from view and fainted to the floor. It was so strange to witness a grown man collapse, which he later explained was because he thought he was about to lose both her and the baby. Yet, she’d simply gazed into his face and smiled at him, having realised, that had the roles been reversed, then she too would probably have done exactly the same thing.

Dean was suddenly tasked with the job of looking after John. He helped the man outside and sat him down on one of the plastic chairs located on a grassy area of the hospital gardens. Once this had been achieved, he then instructed him to take a few deep breaths, while placing his head down between his knees, just as he’d been taught a few weeks earlier.

‘Oh well!’ Dean exclaimed, ‘So much for my first delivery!’

Due to the baby being so big, and along with the amount of blood being lost from its mother, the doctors decided to opt for a forceps delivery. Every second lost was becoming more and more crucial.

Six minutes later a large slippery mass was successfully pulled from the opening and gathered up by the midwife, before eventually being placed into the resuscitation unit. Once the baby’s lungs had been effectively cleared of mucus, with the team standing by in the background, the Paediatrician stopped what he was doing and reached over to switch off the machine. He then turned, with a beaming smile across his face, and announced that she now had a healthy-looking baby boy. The man then handed him gently into Emma’s waiting arms before setting about dealing with the afterbirth.

With John having eventually returned to the room, having missed the birth but already briefed on the news, the elation on the proud parent’s faces had to be seen to be believed. Tears of joy flowed freely, just as expected from such an amazing event. Emma was then administered a quick dose of Pethidine. She waited patiently for the pain to subside, while the Paediatrician began the next task of cleaning her up and repairing the torn areas. Eventually, once he was more than happy that she appeared to be well, he peered over at Emma and stated.

‘In all the years I’ve been doing this. That was honestly the strangest delivery I’ve ever witnessed. It almost seemed as if the baby had caused the damage out of spite!’

The tired parents looked to each other in disbelief. It was all starting to come true, just as they’d been warned during that fateful night when they’d realised that things would never quite be the same again.

All of that had happened during a cold, rainy night back in January when Emma and John had been returning home and driving quite peacefully past Wimbledon Common. They had just enjoyed a night out at the cinema when something had suddenly thudded hard against the front section of their car. Emma had naturally assumed it had been an animal of some kind, as that was just the sort of thing you could expect to happen in this particular area. John un-strapped his seatbelt and climbed out of the car wondering what he’d find. He walked back along the road they’d just driven along, and was busy fiddling with the zipper on his jacket, when an unexpected movement up ahead suddenly caught his eye. He attempted to focus on what it could possibly be. At first he could just make out the spherical shape of a dark object through the rain, but as he drew closer, he noticed that it appeared to be hovering slightly above the ground. Standing rooted to the spot, and a little unsure about what to do next, John could only gaze in amazement as it gradually rose up to a height of approximately twenty feet. By now his eyesight had adjusted well enough for him to notice another, much larger object moving around in the background. Nothing happened for the next few seconds, although he sensed an incredibly eerie sort of silence surrounding him as he backed away somewhat cautiously. 

Unable to remove his gaze from the scene, much as anyone else would under such circumstances, he gradually retraced his steps until he was close enough to the side of the car to call for Emma to come and join him.

The pair of them stood huddled together outside, completely unsure of what it was that they were actually witnessing, when suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, the whole sky just lit up around them. Their immediate reactions were to put a hand up each, and shield the glare from their eyes. Yet after a few minutes they’d both adjusted well enough to see properly. They noticed both objects appeared to be communicating in some way, sending out strange strobe-like signals in what could only be described as a pulsating sequence. The speed at which this was occurring was almost too fast to keep up with, and it was quite concerting at first. John and Emma gazed ahead and were completely entranced, before realising their feet had somehow become firmly rooted to the ground. It was a strange sensation by all accounts, and feeling completely vulnerable as they both stood out in the open like lambs to the slaughter, the smaller object began to move towards them. It wasn’t too long until it was positioned directly overhead and suddenly it all felt very menacing.

The craft dwarfed the two humans. They stood staring upwards in all their innocence, when without any warning, a huge beam of light emanated from its vast undercarriage and began to pulsate in a range of colours they’d never imagined possible. This cast flickering shadows here and there, creating a wondrous illusion of exotic figures that danced about like a scene from a children’s fairy-tale. Emma was totally immersed in the whole amazing spectacle. She felt absolutely full of joy, with not a single care in the world on her mind. She was also very close to tears for some reason, and her deepest emotions soon began to well up deep inside her. These suddenly came flooding to the surface, leaving her totally out of control. 

Then the poor woman felt herself being forced to move closer and closer as something urged her on.

Unable to turn his head in any way, shape or form, John could only stand and watch what was going on from the corner of his eye. He then felt a slight trickle of liquid appear upon his face, before he realised that his nose had started to bleed. Unfortunately, he was also unable to reach for a handkerchief to stem the flow. Eventually, managing to cast his eyes back towards the figure of his wife, he could quite clearly hear her sobbing as her feet literally left the ground. It was all so surreal, and yet there she was being drawn up towards the light. John felt extremely frustrated that he was being forced to watch and yet could do nothing to help. He was wondering what on earth could possibly follow next, when he was suddenly caught by something very powerful and flung headlong towards the ground. A strong yellow beam had shot from the side of the spaceship and hit him full force in the chest. His whole body shook under the pressure. This appeared to increase with each passing moment, and he screamed in absolute agony. He was also fully aware that something was messing around with the inside of his head, which sought out, and with great skill, located the entire contents of his mind.

Emma could only gaze downwards and watch in stunned silence as her husband’s body thrashed about on the ground, before finally coming to a halt in a rather undignified heap against the far kerb. At first she thought he was possibly dead, but was extremely relieved to see a few faint signs of movement, before she eventually lost sight of him, and realised she was entering the inside of the spaceship.

The pain was undeniably excruciating at first. Emma was consciously aware that she was lying strapped to some sort of operating table with the coloured lights having been deployed to lull her into a false sense of security, prior to any of what was going on. She too had suffered the intrusive feeling of something probing around deep inside her head. She’d tried to scream at the top of her voice, but the effort was completely wasted. No sound could be heard at all. What appeared as a strange, empty void had opened up around her as soon as any noise had been detected. This had simply captured each of the sound waves, before floating into oblivion.

When she finally regained consciousness, amazed at the fact that she was still alive, and aware of what was going on around her, she found her eyelids stung quite irritatingly. Bright daylight flooded in through the car windows and it took a few moments for her to register exactly where she was. Emma then gazed over at the prone figure of her husband sitting beside her all hunched up, which looked very uncomfortable indeed. Having realised that he was not only breathing but also happened to be snoring slightly, she immediately leaned across and shook him awake. John came around pretty quickly, and he could tell from the sullen expression on Emma’s face, that it had not been the terrible dream that he’d hoped. Although he was elated with the fact that Emma was still alive and sitting right beside him, the short journey home proved to be a very odd one indeed. They were obviously both in a state of shock, and yet neither of them felt a single need to mutter any words whatsoever. Once indoors the two of them could only just manage to sit staring blankly across the kitchen table. They gazed out of the bay window that overlooked the rear garden, with cups of tea sitting totally untouched beside them.

Later, having recovered full control of their senses, they gradually regained the ability to speak to each other. This was where it became apparent that although they’d both been subjected to separate ordeals, their abductors had somehow managed to implant some form of information into their memories during that time. Everything they needed to know seemed to be right there for them to pick and choose as they wished.

They talked long into the middle of the next day, completely ignoring the phone whenever it rang in the distance. Eventually, they came to the conclusion that they’d obviously been selected by these creatures due to their history of infertility problems. This whole thing had been carried out in order for them to become parents to a being from another planet. As they spoke more openly about things, further details started coming through to them, and it was more than clear that Emma would soon be about to confirm she was pregnant. She and John would bring him up as a normal human baby. This would be managed without a word to anyone and further instructions implanted into their brains would appear in their thoughts, as and when required. They knew they both faced periods of good and bad times in the not too distant future, but Emma and John agreed that it would be well worth the sacrifice. Their need for a child had been so great, that they’d have gladly sold their souls to the devil to get what they’d wanted, regardless of what anyone else would have thought.

The usual comings and goings of the maternity ward continued, but Emma was far too busy gazing into the cot beside her to even notice. It was the baby’s eyes. She just couldn’t get over how fascinating they were. Although they looked all loving and innocent, there were definitely many instances when they appeared to dismiss her totally. This essentially left the new mother with a hurtful feeling of rejection.

The nurses, as with so many other hospitals, were completely rushed off their feet. Yet Emma was still on a high from it all, apart from having terrible trouble sleeping at night. This, combined with her hatred of hospital food, was causing her to become rather restless at times. Therefore, she was completely overjoyed, when the staff nurse appeared and informed her, that she’d been given the all clear to return home the next day, following a couple of minor checks that needed to be carried out as a precautionary measure.

The next morning John arrived at the door to the ward carrying a brand-new baby seat for the car. Once the last bits of paperwork had been done and the ward sister was wholly satisfied, the family bid farewell to the nurses who’d gathered round to take one last look at baby Janus. Twenty-five minutes later, and completely unable to take in the existence of the sleeping youngster, who graced the passenger seat during the journey, they eventually entered their Wimbledon home before passing a kiss to each other. 

‘At long last we’re finally the complete family we’d always hoped we’d be.’ Emma sighed with relief.

As requested, Harley Street doctors had been notified of the outcome by the hospital. On further investigation of the Storm’s scans and historical records however, they were more than amazed at the final results that appeared to be showing up. Any previous traces of the tubal damage had miraculously disappeared, and it was almost as if the original problem had never existed in the first place. The whole thing was deemed rather odd and held no rational explanation from a medical point of view. It was a total mystery to all concerned, and very soon this became what could only be prescribed as headline news in the papers, along with the latest editions of medical journals.

As anticipated, the Storms had been contacted, and once the required arrangements had been put in place, the doctors carried out a whole series of further checks. These seemed to drag on forever, but after a while, the media attention thankfully began to calm down. This made a lot of difference, and essentially allowed John and Emma to carry on leading what they hoped would turn out to be a fairly normal life with their new-born baby.                                                                      

The expected stream of visitors ensued, just as they’d been warned, and the majority commented on how advanced Janus seemed to be for his age. 

Another thing they never failed to mention was how captivating his eyes appeared to be. The deep blue gaze was extraordinarily mesmerising in all honesty, yet most of these people felt very unsettled, having felt as though the child somehow knew what they were thinking. It was almost as if he could read their minds at times. As time progressed however, this was exactly the sort of thing that would separate him from others throughout his life. His parents tried their hardest to treat Janus as a normal child as much as possible. Yet they looked to keep the truth to themselves, rarely discussing the events of that bizarre night earlier in the year.

CHAPTER 2 – Young Love

The first few years simply flew by, and before they even knew it, Janus had already reached his fifth year at the local primary school.

Gill Moxon absolutely adored the pupils she’d taken on that year, and they seemed to love her in return. However, it wasn’t too far into the first term that she started to worry about one of the boys called Janus Storm. He’d proved to be extremely receptive to her teachings, which was great news, but his level of intelligence appeared to be well above that of the other children in the class. 

Therefore, she automatically assumed that he’d inherited this brains from his mother and father, or at least that was the case up until the time she first met them face to face at a parents evening. This was where her suspicions were initially aroused. Emma and John seemed to be very polite, caring parents. However, there was something very unusual in the way they talked about their son, which didn’t quite add up to her way of thinking. Gill had always been a fairly good judge of character during such situations, and she’d therefore started to wonder if Janus could possibly have been adopted by the two of them. Therefore, in order to gain the answer, without trying to offend them in any way, she’d casually asked the couple some rather personal questions, whilst being very careful about not over stepping the mark. From the answers she’d received, and having fully analysed the questions she’d asked in the first place, Gill Moxon firmly concluded that the boy was certainly not their natural child.

During the next day few days, Gill studied Janus even closer than would usually be necessary and she even watched him out of the window as he played outside during break times. The teacher realised that this could easily be deemed as unprofessional conduct for a person in such a trusted position, so in the end, she decided she’d be much better off talking to Janus in private.

The following Wednesday morning, as the class stepped out into the playground, Gill called the young lad aside and sat him down at her table before asking,

‘Janus, do you remember anything from around about the time when you were born?’

The youngster simply lifted his head and looked all innocently into her eyes. She’d always been amazed at how blue his eyes had been, but this was the first time that she’d been so close, and been able to study them in any great depth.

A weird sensation came over the woman all of a sudden. The deeper she looked, the more they seemed to be able to hold her in their heavy, hypnotic yet wondrous gaze. Something very much out of the ordinary was somehow occurring, and Gill began to feel quite scared, as she realised there was something extremely unnatural and threatening about them. Strange flame-like flecks appeared to be floating around in the background. These seemed to reach out towards her, almost as if they were searching for her soul. But as hard as she tried, the teacher found it totally impossible to turn away, as Janus looked on and probed around inside her mind.

Gill sat absolutely paralysed. She’d never experienced anything like it before, and she fought very hard to keep her wits about her. In an extreme moment of panic, she let out a loud scream that echoed around the whole classroom. She felt as though she was losing complete control of her senses, and became very giddy as the room started to swim around her. Pressure then began to build up inside her. It pushed against her lungs causing her to find it very difficult to breathe normally, with the lack of oxygen starting to cause her mind to play, what she would have classed as silly little games. She imagined herself being gradually crushed to death in the menacing grip of a giant Boa-constrictor. Its body slowly coiled around her, cloying at her body in the process. The whole thing was completely gross, but this soon turned to reality, as in her attempt to head for the door, a sharp pain suddenly shot across her chest. This emitted a strange popping noise just before she fell quite heavily to the floor. The cries of a young child caught the attention of another teacher working fairly close by. He immediately knew that something was wrong, stopped what he was doing, and ran as fast as he could in the direction the noise had come from.

Eric Jacobs was unequivocally shocked to discover Gill’s body lying sprawled across the floor. At first he just stood staring from the doorway and couldn’t quite take in what he was seeing. He noticed one of the five-year olds from her class crouched in the far corner with tears streaming down the sides of his face. Eric spotted the caretaker just about to turn into the corridor and immediately shouted for him to call for an ambulance. He also realised that it would probably be a little late for Gill, as there didn’t seem to be any sign of her breathing at all. Eric walked across to her body and quickly checked for a pulse. There was nothing, much as he’d expected. He then adjusted her skirt in order to cover her modesty as best he could, before approaching Janus. 

That was the episode that his parents blamed for setting off the bad dreams their son happened to suffer from that day on.

Over the coming years, the death of Gill Moxon became a distant memory, although the school still maintained a bench within its grounds in her honour. Janus had grown much stronger over that period of time and he’d settled in pretty well during the transition from primary to secondary school. 

Due to his agility and his keenness on sport, he’d automatically been drafted into the school football team, which was a no-brainer for the coach. Sadly, it was when he excelled beyond the normal expectations of a child of his age that his parents suddenly stepped in. After putting quite a bit of pressure on the school, and using what had happened in the past, they soon put a stop to any progress in that direction, much to the frustration of the school’s sports master and his football coach. Yet, however hard Janus tried to understand why his parents were constantly so protective about him; he always felt they didn’t want him to grow up. It was almost to the extent that he felt they were trying to hold him back for some obscure reason, best known to themselves. 

Consequently, a huge divide soon started to appear. The tension in the house was gradually becoming unbearable until it all came to a head one evening, when at nine years old, Janus innocently invited a girlfriend to come home for tea. Emma immediately exploded into a frightful rage and frog marched the poor girl up the hallway and straight out of the house. Janus was fuming and he never really forgave his mother from that day on. The atmosphere became pretty intense whenever they clashed, although both tried their best to avoid any such unpleasantness. Any further escapades he wished to hide from his parents were much more carefully planned from that moment on. However, the one incident that did come to his mother’s attention happened during a lunch break at school, when the head of year reported that one of the older pupils had been rushed to hospital following a violent incident with her son.