Category: Janet

DS Stuart Carter exhaled deeply as he closed the door of the Chief Super’s office behind him, the tension of the months of deliberation that had led to this point slowly melting away.  He’d been expecting it, the boss had said, thirty-five years on the Force takes its toll, but he’ll be sorely missed. He thanked him for waiting for the dust to settle after the Parker case. A year’s notice was appreciated, plenty of time to recruit and settle in a replacement. and he reluctantly supported Stuart’s caveat as compensation for this.

As he entered the shiny lift on the top floor of the newly opened out-of-town investigative hub, the white and chrome a far cry from the tired, mildewy dilapidation of the old headquarters in the city centre, he hesitated. Should he go back to his desk and inform the team? No need, he thought, as soon as Carl, the Chief’s Assistant, had seen him go into his office with an official-looking brown envelope, the rumour mill would’ve gone into overdrive. He pressed the button for the basement.

Cassy looked at the pictures filling the screen, the latest celebrity couple smiling broadly, their white teeth gleaming as they presented their perfect new baby to the World. They’d used a surrogate, of course, why ruin your figure when somebody else would take one for the team, at a price.

She thought of that exchange between George Bernard Shaw and Isadora Duncan when she had apparently suggested to him that if they had children together, they would have the perfect combination of her beauty and his brains. The risk is that they get your brains and my beauty instead, my dear, he had countered, laughing. That was then and this is now, Cassy thought, there would have been no such chances taken with this baby.

By Janet

Cassy looked at the pictures filling the screen, the latest celebrity couple smiling broadly, their white teeth gleaming as they presented their stunningly beautiful new baby to the World. They’d used a surrogate, of course, why ruin your figure when somebody else would take one for the team, at a price.

George Bernard Shaw and Isadora Duncan came into her mind. Duncan had apparently suggested to him that if they had a child together, it would have the perfect combination of her beauty and his brains. He had countered this, however,  by saying that the opposite was also just as likely to happen, which would be far from ideal. There would have been no such chances taken with this baby, though, Cassy thought.

By Janet

Mars – Day 1

Hi Mum.

Greetings from Mars!

Yes, we’ve finally arrived and thank God for that. I don’t think I could’ve spent another minute on that shuttle, if you paid me. Two months with six of us cooped up in a space the size of our back bedroom and you can imagine that tempers frayed, not to mention the smell. No wonder they made us strip off and walk through a disinfection chamber on landing. Honestly, I don’t blame them as we stank to high heaven. It was quite embarrassing though but I don’t think Martians are as self-conscious as Humans. It’s interesting how much you learn about people when you can’t escape them. For example, Ginny talks in her sleep and Ryan snores like a warthog, two things I would rather have not known. They of course swore they didn’t, but a little secret recording settled that dispute. Food wasn’t too bad until a couple of weeks before we landed and there was no fresh food left. Dehydrated spag bol sounds OK but, trust me, it isn’t. Think very soft slimy tinned spaghetti strands interspersed with grit, and you get the picture.  The flight was so boring too. The trouble with space is that the view out of the window is quite samey, day after day, not like the journey from Swansea to Cardiff. Imagine month after month of mainly darkness. We managed to keep ourselves busy though. Joe ran a daily morning fitness class of squats, lunges, press ups, sit ups and the plank and Cary ended the day with a yoga class. As you know, I’m no fitness fanatic but I think it’s done me good. That, along with reading, puzzles, listening to music and the occasional makeshift karaoke, initiated by Rob, helped pass the time. I bet you didn’t know that Rob’s DJ’ed at Clwb Ifor Bach. Admit it, you don’t know where that is, but it’s a club in Cardiff so that’s really cool.

Anyway, enough for now. I’ve arrived safe and sound and I’ll message again when I’ve met my exchange family. Say hi to Dad and Jen for me and give Luna a big tummy tickle.

Cariad mawr,

Fi

xxxx

---

By Janet

The terrified girls clung to each other until the dazzling, bright light disappeared, and blackness surrounded them. As their eyes grew accustomed to the dark, they made out the shapes of stone structures emerging from a vast, open rocky landscape of dry scrub bushes and dusty, sandy soil. Overhead, the ink-black sky was filled with twinkling stars, and a white moon loomed large and round. All was quiet, apart from the occasional high-pitched howling sound of a wild animal in the distance and the rustling of insects, which unsettled them.

“Where are we?” Jess whispered panickily.

“I don’t know,” Hannah replied, trying to be calm, suppressing her own panic to reassure the younger girl, “but we need to find somewhere safe to wait until morning.”

Keeping close, the girls moved slowly and quietly towards the skeleton of a house, careful not to draw attention to themselves; they didn’t know what was out there watching them.

“We’ll shelter here until light,” Hannah said, “hopefully, we’ll be able to get a better idea of where we are by then.”  

Inside the derelict structure, crouched into a sheltered corner, they huddled together, wrapping their waterproofs around them to keep out the cold. Like this, they slept fitfully until the first rays of sunshine penetrated through the open roof of the house, gradually warming them.

**********************************************************************************

Sarah sipped her strong, black coffee and stared out of the kitchen window at the mizzle shrouding the garden. She hadn’t slept well, the black crows nesting in the large fir trees, waking her from her dark, fitful dreams in the early hours with their hoarse coos, caws, rattles and clicks. She’d always been suspicious of crows ever since her grandmother had told her that they were bringers of bad luck and death, shooing them away from her small cottage garden at every opportunity. A dark despair crept over her, reflecting the greyness of the clouds and the symbolism of the crows. She didn’t notice the police car at first until a slight movement caught her eye. She watched as a tall, black-suited man, followed by a young, immaculately uniformed female police officer, opened the gate and made their way to the front door, their faces serious with the news they were about to deliver. Finally, this must be it, Sarah thought to herself, the moment she had been dreading and anticipating in equal measure for the last five years. She hesitated at the sound of the doorbell, its cheery chime so inappropriate at that moment. Time slowed as she went to open the door, her legs dragging as if she was walking through quicksand.

Trekking deeper and deeper into Myanmar’s Northern Forest Complex, Ellie couldn’t believe her luck at being one of two student botanists chosen to join an expedition to explore a region previously unexplored by man. It’s amazing to think that there are still some places on Earth that we know less about than space, she had told her friend, Jess, when the letter had arrived confirming her place. The mother of all hangovers the next day was worth it, though, she thought, as she took in the vibrant colours and cacophony of sounds of the forest.

The expedition was coming to its mid-point, miles from the last mountain village, and everyone was tired from the physical effort of cutting through the dense green vegetation day after day. Spirits were still high though as they made camp, the prospect of a couple of days to rest and take in their surroundings the reward for the effort of the last few days, before turning back, not to mention a few treats they’d packed for the rest days.

A long time ago,

in a galaxy

far, far away ….

The unmistakable sound of Slade’s “Merry Xmas Everybody” reverberates around the walls of the Skywalker’s Tatooine home.

“Don’t you just love classical music at this time of year?” Luke says, embarrassingly dad-dancing along to the music.

“I prefer the more melodic harmonies of Mariah Carey myself,” Han Solo replies, sprawled in one of the two comfy armchairs in front of the open fire, occasionally lifting his legs for a couple of playful Ewoks in Santa hats to crawl underneath.

“Very high brow,” Luke mocks, raising his eyebrows, “my sister’s airy-fairy ways are well and truly rubbing off on you, my friend. Eggnog?”

Scene 5a – Part of Lucy’s backstory

It had been Richard’s idea to hire a Winnebago and take a trip into the Outback. Why would he want to put them all in danger like that, the snakes, spiders, dingoes, isolation and relentless heat? Rachel thought, but she’d seen the excitement of the adventure on Lucy’s face and had to agree, against her better judgement. She didn’t want to be the one who deprived her daughter of this experience and hated for it. That didn’t mean that she wasn’t worried, fussing about everything and preparing for the trip like it was a military operation. She let as many people as she could think of know their itinerary, stacked the van with enough food and water to keep an army alive for a month, far more than was needed for the week they planned, not to mention the mini hospital first aid kit and the litres of sunscreen.

“Where the hell are my keys,” Rhys says to himself, hunting around his flat.

He’d chosen a modern apartment block with a video door entry system, an open-plan kitchen-living room, two ensuite bedrooms, a large terrace, and underground parking, easy to live in but soulless. Rifling through the piles of papers covering most surfaces, he searches in the vain hope that he might catch a glimpse of his car keys, at some point soon, he’s already running late. A scratching noise from the kitchen disturbs his search.

“Oh God, sorry, Rufus,” he says, looking at a white rat with pink eyes staring at him from its elaborate cage, a labyrinth of tunnels and wheels, “I nearly forgot you.”  

Reaching into the cage, he removes the food bowls, ensuring that Rufus doesn’t escape, and fills them with special nutty-smelling rat nuggets from a bag found under the sink and clean water. As he puts the bowls back, he spots his keys lying beside the cage.

“Rufus, you’re a lifesaver,” he says, grabbing his keys and smiling and waving at the rat as he hurries out of the apartment. Distracted by his food, the rat isn’t interested in Rhys’ departure.