Paralysis Paradox (Time Travel Through Past Lives Adventure Series Book 1) by Stewart Sanders Page A

death?’ he asked, turning to me.
    I cleared my throat. ‘That’s a big topic. To be honest, I don’t tend to think about it much.’
    ‘Ah, but you should!’ said Uncle Josef. ‘Shouldn’t she, Milo?’ He turned to my father, who seemed to consider this for a moment.
    ‘She’s only sixteen, Josef. Sixteen year olds don’t think about dying.’
    ‘No,’ glowered Konrad, suddenly morose. ‘They consider themselves immortal.’
    Suddenly the trifles all jumped as Andreas thumped the table.
    ‘For fuck’s sake!’ he yelped before storming out.
    The conversation had been intense, but Andreas was so hot when he was angry that I was quite unable to finish my pudding. Thankfully Jane and Mrs Blake walked in with pots of tea and left with my half-eaten desert. I could not help but notice that Konrad looked quite shaken by Andreas’ outburst. I lent forward.
    ‘So I hear you are over here discussing smallpox?’
    ‘Josef is giving a paper outlining the benefits of keeping smallpox and similar diseases for our own protection,’ explained my father. ‘Konrad has simply accompanied him.’
    ‘But Josef does what you say, doesn’t he?’ I interjected, bored of these old men and their excuses. I stared into Konrad’s aged eyes. They looked half-dead already.
    ‘He listens to me, yes.’
    ‘Then tell him to destroy it. Wipe it out, it’s not right!’
    ‘I wish I thought the same,’ Konrad proclaimed.
    I rose from the table and left in silence, closing the door behind me with such relief. The hallway was always a little too dark, so it took a moment for my eyes to adjust as I spied Jane rummaging nervously with the coats. She looked straight at me, grinned and came over with my coat, opening it for me to put it on.
    ‘I’m not cold, you know,’ I said, frowning.
    ‘I know, Miss, it’s just that the young man, he went outside. Thought you might care to join him?’ Jane beamed in response.
    Unable to think of anything to say back, I let her help me with my coat and ran outside. I walked around the house, noticing that my phone felt nice and warm inside my pocket, until I spotted Andreas on a bench, looking out over the grounds. Taking a seat beside him, I took my phone out.
    ‘Impressive tech you have there,’ said Andreas, lighting at a cigarette.
    I looked at him curiously. ‘It’s a great hand warmer’ I said.
    ‘Well that is a seriously cool hand warmer,’ he said, shaking the match to extinguish it. ‘Who did you just call?’
    ‘No one, why?’
    He laughed. ‘You don’t have to tell me, I’m sure you have many boyfriends!’
    I shrugged my shoulders. ‘I really haven’t made a call.’
    ‘Well someone has, or you’ve been playing with it—look, all the buttons are lit. They stay on for five minutes, take a look at your call history?’
    He was right.
    ‘According to this I made a call four minutes ago...it must have been Jane.’
    ‘Let’s see.’ He took the phone from me and then went so deathly pale, that I thought he was going to expire right there, on that bench. No need for Afghanistan and a warzone! After pressing a few buttons, he handed it back. I looked down, fiddling with the buttons. Soft, transparent plastic, lit green from behind, with a firm click and a beep with each press. He was right: this was impressive tech.
    ‘I wonder who Jane was calling? I think you’ve deleted the number.’ The screen now reported that the last call was incoming and came from Deerden.
    ‘Oh, I’m sorry—I’m renowned for messing up computers !’ Andreas’ laugh was unusually high pitched, and I suddenly sensed he was trembling.
    ‘Remind me to never step into a helicopter with you, then.’
    ‘The engines don’t need computers, only the missiles and if we need those we’re having quite a ride...’
    There was an awkward silence. I said the first thing I could think of to break it.
    ‘So, are we really cousins?’ The train of my thoughts must have been so obvious, that I