Mindpirates E-Book

Hardy Richard

• Herausgeber: neobooks
• Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
• Serie: Mindpirates
• Sprache: Deutsch

Seitenzahl: 657

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Who hasn't felt the desire to be in someone else's body—to feel what it's like to live a different life? For Paul, this longing becomes reality. But what sounds like a dream quickly turns out to be a nightmare: he keeps waking up in strange bodies, forced to live their lives, make their decisions, and bear their burdens. He soon realizes that he is not alone with this gift. Others share his fate—some full of fear, others full of lust for power. Encounters with them give rise to hope for answers, but also open up new dangers. Who can Paul trust? And who is using him for their own purposes? With each transformation, the boundaries of his own identity become blurred. As he desperately searches for a way out, the danger grows that he will lose himself—and with him, the truth about the origin of his gift. Mindpirates In Foreigen Bodies, tells of longing and danger, of identity and seduction. A gripping novel that transforms the old fantasy of stepping into someone else's life into a suspenseful, multi-layered adventure.

Leseprobe

Mindpirates

Mindpirates

Part I: In Foreign Bodies

by Hardy Richard

Roman

Mindpirates – Part 1: In Foreign Bodies

© 2015 Hardy Richard

All rights reserved.

This work may not be reproduced or distributed in any

form, either in whole or in part, without the written

permission of the author.

Typesetting & layout: Hardy Richard

First published: December 12, 2015

Revised edition: 2025

Contents

Chapter 1 – Pain ............................................................................................. 9

Chapter 2 – The strange reflection ...................................................... 15

Chapter 3 – Trapped in a body swap .................................................. 18

Chapter 4 – The conductor without a ticket .................................... 22

Chapter 5 – Between School Desks and the Shadow World ...... 26

Chapter 6 – The Voices in the Dark ..................................................... 32

Chapter 7 – Friendship in the Shadow of Pain ................................ 41

Chapter 8 – The Actress in the Café ..................................................... 50

Chapter 9 – The Voices of Temptation ............................................... 53

Chapter 10 – The Drumming of the Hunters ................................... 61

Chapter 11 – Near-death experience .................................................. 66

Chapter 12 – Lost Homeland.................................................................. 72

Chapter 13 – Elli in the spotlight .......................................................... 76

Chapter 14 – Mrs. Fuchs – the right hand ......................................... 86

Chapter 15 – Mask Game ......................................................................... 96

Chapter 16 – Temptation and Betrayal ........................................... 107

Chapter 17 – The Black Figure ............................................................ 116

Chapter 18 – Dangerous Proximity .................................................. 122

Chapter 19 – Plaything of the Hunters ............................................ 129

Chapter 20 – Between two women ................................................... 134

Chapter 21 – The Masquerade of Truth .......................................... 137

Chapter 22 – The Last Look ................................................................. 142

Chapter 23 – The Stranger in Black .................................................. 146

Chapter 24 – Lena without a mask ................................................... 151

Chapter 25 – Saved and yet lost ......................................................... 155

Chapter 26 – Trapped in a strange body ........................................ 160

Chapter 27 – The Wheelchair Plan ................................................... 164

Chapter 28 – The Chase in the Hospital .......................................... 173

Chapter 29 – The Gasser Legacy ........................................................ 180

Chapter 30 – The Shadow on the Street .......................................... 190

Chapter 31 – Departure into the Unknown ................................... 196

Chapter 32 – Dangerous Legacy......................................................... 203

Chapter 33 – The circle of allies ......................................................... 210

Chapter 34 – Helmut's Last Breath ................................................... 226

Chapter 35 – The Test of Strength .................................................... 232

Chapter 36 – The notary's legacy ....................................................... 240

Chapter 37 – The Threads of Manipulation ................................... 245

Chapter 38 – Hidden Truths................................................................. 254

Chapter 39 – The Jump to Susanne.................................................... 261

Chapter 40 – The Night of Decision ................................................... 269

Chapter 41 – New paths, old guilt ...................................................... 279

Chapter 42 – The Library of Knowledge ......................................... 284

Chapter 43 – Prisoners of the Hunters ............................................ 298

Chapter 44 – The Path to Freedom .................................................... 302

Chapter 45 – Between doubt and trust ............................................ 310

Chapter 46 – The Hunt Begins Again ................................................ 317

Chapter 47 – The Storm in the Manor House ................................ 323

Chapter 48 – The Circle of the Chosen ............................................. 330

Chapter 49 – Blood and Oath ............................................................... 345

Chapter 50 – The Secret Betrayal ...................................................... 353

Chapter 51 – Dangerous Gang ............................................................. 357

Chapter 52 – The Red Moon ................................................................. 367

Chapter 53 – In the Shadow of the Wolves ..................................... 376

Chapter 54 – Blue Eyes .......................................................................... 389

Chapter 55 – Flattery Stone and Hope............................................. 399

Chapter 56 – The Meeting of the Chosen Ones ............................. 410

Chapter 57 – Between Love and Danger......................................... 421

Chapter 58 – Under the spell of fire ................................................. 439

Chapter 59 – The Test of Loyalty ....................................................... 445

Chapter 60 – Rowena's Secret ............................................................ 457

Chapter 61 – The Battle of Minds ...................................................... 465

Chapter 62 – The decision of the hearts ......................................... 483

Chapter 63 – The Final Betrayal ........................................................ 499

Chapter 64 – Death and Rebirth ........................................................ 510

Chapter 65 – In Strange Bodies .......................................................... 530

Chapter 1 – Pain

Paul saw two bright lights moving towards him at breakneck speed. Unable to move a muscle or even cry out for help, he opened his eyes in shock. He lay paralyzed on the road, suffering once again from that hammering, piercing headache. He could see his bicycle lying on the pavement not far away. And suddenly, everything around him seemed to change. Details that would otherwise have escaped him became clearer. Like the super slow motion in a documentary, where you can suddenly see a snake's teeth sinking into its victim. And as his surroundings became increasingly sluggish and slowly threatened to freeze, he felt as if he were leaving his own body and was no longer the boy lying bleeding and doubled over on the street but could see everything from a window of a nearby house. He saw himself lying on the street and, just a few meters away from him, a lorry racing towards him at an infinitely slow speed.

It was like in a film, where the camera cut from one angle to another, changing the perspective. But the liberating, painless state did not last even a heartbeat, and immediately he felt the cold asphalt under his hands again and the rough gravel that had torn his cheek. The truck was now so close that he could clearly see the man in the cab. His eyes wide open, he sat behind the wheel and tried frantically to turn it. It all lasted only a fraction of a second, but to Paul it felt like an eternity.

Unable to change his situation, he lay on the road with a splitting headache and watched as one of the front tires, only a few centimeters from his head, came closer and closer. Then everything went black around him and with the light, the pain disappeared.

For as long as he could remember, Paul had suffered from these sharp, unbearable headaches. Not continuously, but repeatedly, and when they came, it was usually in the most inappropriate situations and without any warning. Some of his classmates also complained of headaches from time to time, and some of them even had migraines, but Paul knew that his case was different. He didn't know exactly what the difference was, and he didn't really care. He only knew that this pulling and throbbing in the back of his head would eventually kill him. And a few times, it had almost come to that. Like now. He had often fainted and had these unbearable pains again and again. But something always seemed to protect him at the last second.

In the small village just outside Munich where he lived, this kind of thing did not go unnoticed, of course. Everyone knew everyone else here, and naturally there was a lot of speculation about what might be wrong with Paul. People speculated about everything from epilepsy to drug abuse. But no one wanted to rack their brains about how to help the boy.

Paul lived with his father Hannes in a three-room flat on the third floor of a six-family house. Hannes Black had been a widower for ten years.

When Paul was just three years old, his mother Ines had been in a car accident in which she crashed head-on into a tree. The fire brigade arrived to find her dead in the wreckage. There was a lot of speculation about this too. Some neighbours thought she had tried to take her own life, others were sure that she had fallen asleep at the wheel, exhausted from her work as a nurse.

Paul's father never talked about it. It was difficult for him to show his feelings.

From that point on, he had to take care of little Paul on his own as best he could. And he did a really good job of it, as far as he was able. As a master locksmith, he earned a decent wage. This meant they could continue to afford the spacious flat they had shared with Paul's mother, as well as a car. They could even have gone on holiday, but Hannes Black had no desire to do so. So, they mostly stayed at home or went to the mountains together. But since Paul had almost crashed once when he had another pain attack, his father didn't want to do that anymore either.

Paul was confused. Was he dead now? Had his headaches won and finally done him in? But at least then they would finally be over. No more attacks. The thought wasn't so bad, and Paul grinned and tried to open his eyes very slowly and carefully. A glaring light blinded him, and he had to squint to see his surroundings carefully, as if through a veil. And as the haze slowly cleared from his eyes, he saw two huge blue eyes looking at him in amazement. That was the first thing he saw. So, he was in heaven after all! The lorry had run him over and now he was dead.

Paul thought about it. Did angels have blue eyes like that? He had seen it in many pictures. So yes, it was an angel. But as far as he could remember, they didn't have freckles or gaps in their teeth. Something wasn't right here.

With his eyes still half closed, Paul looked around and slowly realized where he was. He was lying in a hospital room. Next to his bed was a bedside table with flowers in a vase and a glass of water on it. The pillow he was lying on was stained with blood, and slowly the memory of what had happened came back to him. Now he also recognized who was looking at him so curiously. It was his neighbor’s daughter, Susanne. She was sitting on his bed, holding his hand. "I thought you were dead," the little girl whispered fearfully, but with an audible relief that one would otherwise only expect from adults.

Paul was simply too weak to answer. He just growled a little and then closed his eyes again.

He was immediately overcome by a deep sleep. He dreamed he was someone else entirely. He was sitting in a small room with only a bed, a table and a chair. On the table was a mug and a tin plate with a piece of bread, some sausage and cheese on it. Paul was just about to spread some butter on a slice of bread when he heard the crack of a lock and the squeak of a hinge. He turned around and saw that a thick iron door was indeed opening behind him. A man in uniform entered and looked at him. "What's wrong with you? Why don't you answer when I speak to you?" the uniformed man snapped at him. "I didn't hear anything," Paul replied. But it wasn't his own voice he heard. It sounded somehow strange and deep – masculine. "I asked you if you wanted something to read," said the man, a little kindlier. And suddenly it dawned on Paul. He was dreaming he was in prison. But how had he got here? What had he done? And somehow it felt very different from his previous dreams. Everything was suddenly very real to him. He felt the hard chair beneath him, even the pungent smell of sweat and urine was repulsively real. But before Paul could think any further about whether all these impressions would make him feel sick in this dream, a dark veil came over him, and he awoke from this strange dream. And again, the first thing he saw was Susanne, who was now lying next to him on his bed, asleep. He looked around the room and saw his father sitting on a chair in the corner, staring out of the window.

"Dad," Paul called softly. After all, he didn't want to risk Susanne waking up and talking his ear off again. Paul saw that his father reacted as if in a trance and slowly turned his head towards him. Paul flinched. His father must have been crying. In any case, his eyes were red and wet. He had never seen him like this before. "Paul," he sobbed. "Oh, my Paul. I thought I'd lost you too. What are you always doing?" "It was those terrible headaches again, Dad. I can hardly remember."

Chapter 2 – The strange reflection

The hammering in this stupid tube annoyed him. So, Paul simply imagined that he was a guest at a techno concert. Even though he had never been to such an event at the age of 13, he at least imagined it in his mind. Alternating beats, from sonorous knocking to shrill hammering that drilled right into the roots of his teeth. He had been lying in the MRI scanner for about fifteen minutes now, and since then he had been bombarded with annoying noise. He didn't know what it was supposed to do, but if it could help his headaches, then it would be worth the effort. Finally, a gentle voice came from the loudspeaker in the machine, announcing that the examination was complete. Slowly, the machine's slide moved out again and the door to the control room opened. The friendly radiology assistant came over to Paul and helped him to his feet. "The doctor will speak to you and your father shortly. Please remain seated in the waiting room until then."

"We can't find anything organic, but there could well be other reasons for Paul's constant pain," the doctor said to Paul's father, speaking as if Paul weren't even there. And that was without even really looking at the images. Apparently, doctors today are so well trained that they can immediately recognize something as banal as a headache. As if there was something like a big red dot visible on the cryptic images. Paul felt his father slowly tense all his muscles. Was he thinking exactly the same thing as Paul? And then he thundered: "Perhaps you could take a little more time and look at the images properly. Do you perhaps think that my son is just imagining this pain? Have you seen him writhing in pain until he almost loses consciousness and can no longer respond?" The doctor looked at Paul's father over the top of his glasses, smiled briefly – a smile that reminded Paul of a film about the Spanish Inquisition – and then said calmly, "Mr. Black, you don't have to tell me how to do my job. Your son is organically fine. That means there is no evidence of tumors or inflammatory processes in his head. Perhaps you should seek psychological help. Aren't you a single father?"

Without a word, Hannes Black stood up, took Paul by the hand and started to leave the consulting room. But as he was leaving, he turned around once more, looked briefly at the doctor and asked him, "Do you have children?" "Yes," came the reply. "Then I hope that you and your children never need help from someone like you. Your profession should be carried out with dignity and decency. You, on the other hand, are a real disgrace to your colleagues." With these words, he left the consulting room, Paul by the hand. As they left, he slammed the door, and they walked through the rest of the practice without looking left or right. "You still need to take your doctor's letter with you," an assistant called after them. Paul had never seen his father so upset. No sooner had they got into the green Opel Astra estate car, which Mr. Black also used for work, and which therefore always smelled a bit of oil, then he asked his father, "Dad, isn't it good that there's nothing wrong with me? Maybe I really am not quite normal?!" His father, who was just about to drive off, slammed on the brakes, pressing them both into their seat belts. "Paul, you're not normal, you're great!" He looked at Paul seriously and spoke in a voice like a priest in a confessional. The two looked at each other for a moment and then began to laugh like they hadn't done in weeks. "I'm so tired," said Paul, "I'm going to sleep a little." Paul's father nodded and drove off. The journey would certainly take a while, so it was worth getting some sleep.

"Someday I'll get my revenge on that doctor," Paul grinned at his father. But his father was too busy with the traffic to respond. So, Paul closed his eyes.

Chapter 3 – Trapped in a body swap

Very slowly, like fog being blown away by the wind, Paul's feelings became more real again. A few seconds ago, he had felt as if he were wrapped in cotton wool. Everything was somehow muffled. The darkness around him seemed to slowly give way to daylight again, and his senses of smell and touch also began to function again. And although he now felt awake again, at least that's how he felt, he didn't know where he was. He was back in the doctor's office he had just left with his father, only now he was sitting in the chair of the radiologist who had treated them so arrogantly. Opposite him sat a woman who looked at him with frightened, wide eyes, and from far away Paul heard her call, "Doctor, are you all right? Are you feeling unwell? Shall I get help?" Paul shook himself. What kind of strange dream was this? Was it possible to be consciously aware when you were dreaming and thus be able to influence what was happening? But Paul liked the idea. Didn't everyone want to try sitting in someone else's chair at least once? But somehow everything around him felt strangely tangible. He had once heard that if you didn't know whether you were dreaming or not, you should just pinch yourself. Supposedly, you couldn't feel any pain in a dream. So, Paul pinched his arm. "Ouch," he heard a deep voice say, which obviously came from his mouth, but couldn't have been his. This had to be a pretty bizarre dream. The lady, who was still looking at him with concern, was now fanning him with an X-ray image. "Should I get help?" she repeated. "No, everything's fine," said Paul, startled again by the unfamiliar voice that seemed to be saying this. It had to be a dream, but a pretty crazy one! Maybe the doctor was right and Paul wasn't normal. Maybe that was why he had these strange dreams. Well, then he might as well enjoy it and shape his dream however he wanted. Immerse himself in his own world and leave normal life behind. "Good woman," he said. "Where were we?" "We were just talking about my application," the woman smiled at him. She grinned broadly and winked at Paul, or rather, the doctor.

Paul liked the dream. After all, he was already in puberty and no longer found girls stupid, but quite interesting. Even if he would never admit it. But in dreams, anything was possible. From various television films, Paul knew that his dream was probably about a job interview. Once, when his father had fallen asleep in the dining room again and he had secretly zapped through all the channels looking for something exciting, he had seen a short excerpt from an erotic film in which a woman had applied for a job as a secretary. And he knew from his father that dreams are a way of processing the experiences of the day. So now the visit to the doctor was intersecting with the erotic film. "Cool," Paul grinned. "Excuse me?" said the young woman. "Then please stand up and let me take a look at you, young lady." The woman did as Paul asked and stood up, somewhat awkwardly. Paul was a little confused, as she was probably already in her mid-twenties and would never be a potential girlfriend. But he still liked her, standing there with her black hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a pretty summer dress with a floral pattern and high-heeled shoes. He had never been interested in such things before,

but now he found it very exciting. Paul suddenly felt quite old and grown-up. The young woman also seemed visibly irritated. But after all, it was his dream, and he was slowly starting to enjoy it. Maybe becoming a doctor wasn't so bad after all. "Have you seen my certificates?" asked the young woman. "Yes, of course," laughed Paul. "You could be a little better at math’s, though." "In math’s? I meant my license to practice medicine and my medical exam results." "Yes, yes, of course, it's just that your behavior wasn't quite so good. You're a bad girl," Paul teased her. "I don't quite understand," said the woman, turning her head questioningly to the side. But Paul liked his role and so he continued. After all, it was supposed to end like in that film. "Well then, show me what you've got on underneath," he ordered her, trying to appear cool. "Excuse me? I should do what?" "I just told you, take something off. After all, we both want you to get the job." And just as things were getting exciting, Paul felt that strange sensation again. And then darkness came over him again. He felt his ears start to buzz and suddenly it felt as if he were being sucked into a vortex. Everything was spinning around him. All he could see was the young woman gesticulating wildly as she approached him, and then the dream was over.

Chapter 4 – The conductor without a ticket

At the time, Paul was in Year 7 at the Erasmus Grasser Gymnasium in Munich. That meant getting up at 6 a.m. every day so he could get to school on time at 8 a.m. And although his father didn't have to get up until later, he sat with him at the breakfast table every day. Even though they spoke little or not at all, it was a ritual that was extremely important to both of them. That way, neither of them sat alone at breakfast, and they started the day together. It was just a small piece in the big puzzle of the relationship between father and son, but each of these pieces contributed to Paul having a wonderful childhood in a cozy atmosphere. Even though he kept thinking about his mother, whom he could hardly remember. He liked to take one of the photo albums that his father had created after his mother's death and leaf through it. Then he felt as if the family was complete again. His parents would have liked to have had a second child. But unfortunately, this was not to be.

And again, the old tin alarm clock on the bedside table rang at 6 o'clock sharp. Paul had slept poorly and spent the last few minutes, which seemed to drag on endlessly, waiting for the shrill alarm sound. He had tossed and turned all night and had been unable to get any proper sleep. Completely exhausted, he dragged himself into the bathroom, gave himself a quick wash – after all, he had showered two days ago – and got dressed. His father was waiting in the dining room again, sitting in front of an open newspaper with a cup of lemon tea and a slice of toast with honey. They exchanged a few words about Paul's headache. But it had remained quiet since the MRI scan a good week ago. Paul was familiar with such phases. It always seemed as if the pain had only receded to gather new strength and then, with renewed energy and vigour, race from deep starting blocks in Paul's head. Usually, the pain was even worse after a quiet phase. That's why Paul had long since stopped enjoying the pain-free intervals and was just waiting for a new agonizing period of pain.

Paul's father drove the boy to the station every day. Since he had started secondary school, there had not been a single day when Mr. Black had not driven him.

As every day, his mates, most of whom were in his class, were already waiting at the station. And as every day, they performed the usual greeting ceremony. Each member of his clique, which consisted of five people in total, was greeted with a handshake and a headbutt. No one knew anymore how this ritual had started or why they hadn't stopped doing it. But it had been going on since Year 5, and since it set them apart from the others, it persisted.

Then the S-Bahn pulled into the small provincial station and all the children and the people who, annoyed by the children's loud shouting, also had to use the train to get to work, poured into the train. As usual, the adolescents cheekily pushed their way to the front and usually got one of the coveted seats. So, the six of them sat in a four-seater compartment and talked about their homework. Paul looked out of the window and the landscape flew past him when he suddenly noticed that annoying buzzing in his ears again. All of a sudden, the world around him seemed to sink and it grew darker and darker until deep night descended in his head. When he cautiously tried to open his eyes, he seemed to be back in one of his crazy dreams. He looked down at himself to see who or what he might be this time. He was wearing a uniform, but he was neither a policeman nor a soldier. It was something else. Then he looked around and noticed that he was still on the S-Bahn. But he was no longer sitting. He was standing in the middle of the aisle, holding a strange device in his hand. Many pairs of eyes stared at him expectantly and held out their tickets. A young girl, about the same age as himself, sat in front of him with a bright red face and tears in her eyes. Slowly, the noises around him became clearer again and he heard the girl explain in a tearful voice: "I just forgot my ticket at home. But I assure you, I really do have one. Please believe me." Paul looked at the girl and immediately realised what this dream was about. He was a ticket inspector on the S-Bahn. He looked at the girl and heard a strange voice again, repeating the words in his head: "No problem – today, every journey is free. It's a service provided by the railway company." He grinned broadly and looked at the puzzled faces of the passengers, who looked at him as if the government had just announced that taxes were being abolished. Grinning, amid loud cheers from the young passengers who thought this service was great, he marched on down the aisle and shouted loudly, "No ticket inspection today – today every journey is free." Until he suddenly stopped in mid-sentence and stood there with his mouth open. He was standing in front of a four-seater compartment with six schoolchildren sitting in it. One of them seemed to be fast asleep, even though his eyes were open. But his eyes were strangely empty and looked almost dead. They were his own eyes.

Chapter 5 – Between School Desks and the

Shadow World

"Hey Paul, wake up, we have to get off," Finley's voice boomed in Paul's ears. Still dazed from the confusing dream, he let his mate, who was sitting next to him, pull him off the train. Like a cow being led to the slaughter, Fin pulled on Paul's jacket and finally led him through the crowd into the station building. "What's wrong with you, do you have that headache again?" Finley wanted to know. Paul just looked at his friend with wide eyes and shook his head. "I think I'm slowly going mad, Fin. I'm having such strange dreams." "I have them a lot too," Finley said dryly to Paul. "My father says it's normal at our age. It's probably related to puberty and hormones."

When they reached the classroom after about 10 minutes, Paul slowly came to his senses. Even though he tried to push the dream from the train out of his mind, the images would not disappear. Again and again, he saw his own eyes staring back at him, expressionless and empty. But then his thoughts were abruptly interrupted – Mrs. Newman, his worst nightmare, entered the classroom. She had been his English teacher for two years, and Paul had been getting stomach aches for days whenever he knew he was going to see her. Mrs. Newman was in her mid-40s, had medium-length brown hair and a hip injury. Paul wouldn't have noticed, and most of the other students certainly didn't care. But Mrs. Newman never missed an opportunity to punish students for making fun of what she called her flaw. Paul made the mistake of asking her if she was hurt and if he could help her. He meant exactly what he said. His father had taught him that if someone was obviously in trouble, you had to help. Mrs. Newman saw it differently – from that moment on, Paul was a red rag to her.

Paul was fortunate in that he was an exceptionally gifted pupil. He didn't have to work hard to get good grades. Most of it just came naturally to him. Many envied him for this, but since Paul was rather modest about his grades, the envy that some initially felt quickly faded. In any case, Mrs. Newman was unable to carry out her threat to fail Paul. But that only spurred the teacher on even more to make Paul's life difficult. As soon as she noticed that Paul was suffering from headaches again and was distracted, she questioned him. If he was a minute late to class, he was immediately given detention, which usually kept him busy for the rest of the day. Paul's father tried to talk to the teacher – unfortunately without success.

Paul's stomach cramped up. This day would certainly not go down as one of the "best days of his life". And as if on cue, Paul felt a new wave of headaches rolling in behind his forehead like an unstoppable freight train. Mrs. Newman would surely notice immediately and quiz him on his vocabulary. But Paul didn't care about that right now. He could think of nothing else but his headache and the terrible Mrs. Newman, whom he now wished would disappear to the moon. And then it happened – Paul was overcome by a deep black faintness like he had never experienced before. First, the pain shot through his temples like a bright flash, and then he heard his pulse roaring in his ears. At the same time, he had the feeling that someone had turned off all the lights around him and an icy cold forced his body into a frozen shell. And then he was pulled back into this vortex of light and shadow. Accompanied by a sonorous hum that increased with the speed of the emerging tunnel into which he was being pulled. Paul lost all sense of space and time. Until he slowly found his way back to life and his consciousness saw a bright light behind a thick veil of fog. He tried to approach this light and, like a swimmer seeking rescue from the high seas at a lighthouse, he found his way to the light. And when he slowly opened his eyes, expecting the headache to rob him of consciousness again, he was astonished to find that he felt no pain at all. At least not in his head. He felt a subtle, dull pain in his hip. Reflexively, he touched his leg to investigate the cause, only to discover with alarm that he was no longer wearing jeans, as he had been a moment before. He felt a piece of fabric on his thigh that did not belong there. So, he felt further down and noticed that the fabric ended just above his knee. He was wearing a skirt. What the hell was wrong with him now? Was he dreaming again? Mrs. Newman could give him a fail mark for all he cared. But he desperately wanted to escape from this nightmare. However, instead of ending, the dream became more and more real. He saw himself standing in front of his own class. His classmates took little notice of him as they were busy talking. Paul stood next to the sink in the classroom and looked shocked into the mirror hanging above it.

He was Mrs. Newman! That couldn't be, could it? Why was his brain conjuring up such dreams? He pinched his nose briefly and sure enough – he was his own teacher. Confused, he walked over to Finley and asked him, "Who am I?" "Er, Mrs. Newman? Our English teacher?" came the reply from Paul's friend. Paul looked at the seat next to Finley. And there he saw himself lying asleep, just as he had seen on the train. Again, with those open, cold eyes. Paul's knees went weak. Slowly, he realized he was feeling sick and tried to lean back to keep from falling over. He just managed to hold on to a bench, but in doing so, he clumsily knocked everything on it onto the floor. He staggered and fell on his bottom. Suddenly, the pain in his hip became more intense. So, this was how Mrs. Newman must have felt when her hip was bothering her. Paul had expected the whole class to burst out laughing, but the opposite was the case. All at once, it became so quiet that not a sound could be heard. Slowly, Paul regained his composure and stood up. He shook himself briefly and then looked around the class. Now he repeated his question from before. But this time to all his classmates. "Who am I?" and then he added, "What the hell is this fucking nightmare?" No one in the class answered him. So, Paul tried a different approach. "Where did we leave off in the last lesson?" He tried to ask the question in the same way that Mrs. Newman did at the beginning of every lesson. He pointed to Karin, one of Paul's classmates, who always raised her hand immediately, even before a question was asked. "We had started translating Huckleberry Finn." "Then let's do something completely different today," said Paul with a mischievous grin. "How about we watch MTV and then you tell me what the songs are about?" He picked up the remote control and turned on the classroom TV. Then he flipped through the channels until he found the music channel and turned up the volume. "Now you memorise the songs and the lyrics, and I'll go outside so you can work in peace." Paul looked at a herd of sheep that had only forgotten how to bleat. His classmates looked at him with wide, incredulous eyes. No one said a word. Then he left the classroom, went into the schoolyard and sat down on a bench. He closed his eyes and concentrated on being Paul again. He wanted to finally leave this dream and wake up. The more he focused on this thought, the more he realised that he was disappearing from Mrs. Newman again. As before, he was pulled back into the vortex until he finally felt the hard school bench under his right cheek. He opened his eyes and immediately closed them again. What he saw was even worse than his dream from earlier.

He saw some of his classmates staring at the television and trying to write down some lyrics. The others were talking loudly. They were talking about Mrs. Newman, who had obviously lost her mind. Paul looked at Finley. "Fin, what's going on here?" "You've missed everything again, Paul. Mrs. Newman first sat down on her bum and then she completely lost it and is making us watch MTV." Paul felt sick.

Chapter 6 – The Voices in the Dark

Paul stood in front of the bathroom mirror, freshly showered and shaved, leaning against the marble sink and examining himself. He knew he looked good. His bright green eyes and contrasting dark hair made it easy for him to attract women. He slowly ran his fingers through his tousled hair and shook his head. Susanne was still in bed, asleep. He had known Susanne for as long as he could remember. At 22, she was five years younger than him, but she had always been the more sensible one, the one who kept him grounded. She had been by his side since childhood. When his friends turned their backs on him and he was called a freak everywhere he went, she didn't abandon him. She was always his best friend, his buddy, his confidante. Susanne was the constant in his life. Even though his father always tried to be there for him, Susanne was closer to him. However, as often happens in life, they lost touch at some point. It started when Paul began to take an interest in the opposite sex. Little Susanne was still the nice neighbor’s daughter, but if he wanted to impress girls his own age, he couldn't hang out with the little girl anymore. But Susanne was persistent. Again and again, she stood in front of the Black family's front door, tilted her head to one side, winked at Paul with her bright blue eyes and asked if he wanted to play with her. Paul would usually look around first to make sure no one was watching him. And often he would give in and play Lego or Monopoly with Susanne. But slowly Susanne also lost interest in these games and in Paul.

Paul had a few girlfriends and slowly began to have his first experiences. During this time, he learned to use and control his gift. He slowly began to enjoy what he called "logging into other people's heads". The incident with his teacher, Mrs. Newman, showed him what he was capable of. But it was only after visiting the doctor that he truly realised the power he now had, which he could even use to influence other people's destinies.

It was about a week after the MRI scan. As so often, Paul was sitting with his father at breakfast. While Paul nibbled on his toast, his father glanced through the daily newspaper. And when someone is reading a newspaper and you are sitting opposite them, you automatically read it too, whether you want to or not. That's how it was for Paul. Lost in thought, he read the open page until his gaze lingered on a headline: "Doctor reported for sexual assault". Paul paused – then read on: "A well-known radiologist from Munich has been reported for sexual assault by the daughter of star lawyer Heiner Hold. During a job interview at Dr. W.'s practice, he wanted to make the young doctor's employment dependent on how permissive she was. In doing so, he gave her explicit instructions on what to do. Among other things, she was to show him what underwear she was wearing. The police have now launched an investigation." Paul suddenly felt sick.

So, he could enter other people's minds and take control of their bodies. That was why he had these headaches and crazy dreams. All he had to do was learn how to deal with it. He tried to talk to his father and a few friends about it, but no one believed him. Most of them just smiled pityingly and patted him on the shoulder. They thought he had somehow learned a cool hypnosis trick. Maybe they were just afraid of him. Paul never found out. In any case, he stopped talking about it and tried to get everything under control. But the more he resisted his talent, the more often the headaches came. And they usually resulted in him ending up in someone else's head. Sometimes he enjoyed experiencing things as a stranger that would otherwise have been denied to him. He could watch films at the cinema without having to buy a ticket. From then on, he no longer had to pay admission. There were also no more age restrictions for him. At first, he ended up in people he had no connection to. It just happened. Over time, however, he learned to control it. And if he concentrated hard enough, he no longer felt any pain.

One day, shortly before graduating from university, Paul was with a few friends at a trendy disco in the center of Munich. They were regulars there and always partied long and hard at the bar and on the dance floor. Paul was busy inviting a pretty blonde for a drink when he saw Susanne. She was dancing exuberantly with a friend and seemed to have forgotten everything around her. Paul couldn't take his eyes off her. Offended, the blonde beauty left with her drink – Paul was no longer responsive and had forgotten her. He sat on his stool at the bar, holding his cola in his hand, fascinated by what had become of the little girl next door. Now she was an attractive, seductive woman. She was wearing a short black dress that clung to her slim body like a second skin. As she danced, she tossed her long red hair wildly back and forth to the beat of the music. Unlike most of the other guests on the dance floor, Susanne didn't care whether she looked cool. She was just having fun moving to the music, and you could see that. Paul couldn't help himself; he had to talk to her. And even though they had known each other forever and Paul had said hello to her thousands of times, he was somehow nervous now. Suddenly everything seemed different. His stomach cramped up, and his hands became uncomfortably clammy. What was wrong with him? He was usually the cool guy who had everything under control and had women falling at his feet. And now, when he just wanted to quickly say hello to an old friend, he was getting nervous? Paul was confused and excited at the same time. So, he put his glass down on the bar and slowly made his way to the dance floor, never taking his eyes off Susanne. He stood behind Susanne, nodded to her friend, whom Paul didn't know yet, and tapped Susanne on the shoulder. As if in slow motion, she turned to him. And there she stood in front of him, looking into his eyes for what seemed like an eternity. At that moment, the world seemed to stand still for the two of them. They stood facing each other and fell into each other's arms without saying a word. Everything around them seemed to sink into nothingness. There was no loud music, no people. Paul felt Susanne's exciting body. She was definitely not a girl anymore. Her feminine, gentle curves and the beguiling scent of her perfume almost robbed him of his senses. Then, after another eternity, Susanne took him by the hand and pulled him off the dance floor and outside. At least here they could talk. "Paul," she whispered, "how nice to see you here. You look well." Paul felt a little embarrassed, shifted from one foot to the other and stared at the floor. "What have you been up to? We haven't seen each other for years," Susanne continued, taking his head in her hands so she could look him in the eyes. "I'm still studying and just wanted to hang out with a few mates," Paul stammered. Susanne beamed at him and hugged him so tightly that Paul almost lost consciousness. Then, with Paul completely overwhelmed, she looked deep into his eyes and said in an almost pouting voice, "I missed you so much. Why didn't you get in touch?" "I don't know – I didn't know..." Paul faltered. "What?" Susanne grinned, tilting her head playfully to one side. "That you're so..." "Come on, Paul, you have to finish your sentences, otherwise we'll never get married," Susanne said with a smirk, grinning broadly at Paul. Her smile almost made Paul lose his mind. Her bright blue eyes, her freckles, he had known all of this since he was a child. But now it was no longer the girl with the gap in her teeth standing in front of him, but the woman of his dreams. He couldn't help himself; he gently took her head in his hands and kissed her softly on her velvety soft lips. Susanne smiled, stroked his hair gently and whispered "finally" in his ear. Paul took her by the hand and simply said, "Let's get out of here." Susanne nodded wordlessly.

"How did you get here?" he asked. "By taxi." "Do you want to come back to my place?" Paul heard himself say. How stupid, he thought to himself, it couldn't be any more clumsy than that. But this time, too, Susanne nodded again without saying anything. It seemed to Paul as if they had never lost sight of each other. There had never been anyone else in his life who was so close to him. And now, this feeling of deep friendship was accompanied by a large amount of testosterone, which quickly made him forget all his doubts. He wanted this amazing woman now, to smell her, feel her arousal and explore her wonderful body. "My car is parked over there, shall we go?" Susanne was no longer smiling, she looked at Paul with a deep, passionate gaze and said in a soft, erotic voice, "Yes, Paul, I'd very much like that."

Paul's flat was maybe 10 minutes away from the disco. But that short time seemed like an eternity to him. Susanne had made herself comfortable in the SUV Porsche and, as she sat down, she pushed her short dress up a little so that Paul could see that she was wearing hold-up stockings. "Not bad, this car," Susanne grinned and tilted her head back. Paul couldn't help himself; he had to stroke her thigh. Susanne slid even deeper into the leather seat and opened her legs slightly, almost imperceptibly, without looking at Paul. Paul swallowed. He felt his hormone levels rise.

"But concentrate on driving for now," Susanne chuckled, knowing exactly how she affected the young man. "We'll have plenty of time for the rest later."

From that day on, Paul and Susanne were an inseparable couple. And although they spent every free minute together and the nights without each other were dull and empty, Susanne did not want to move in with Paul completely. "Only when you're really living your life," was always her answer when Paul tried to convince her that sharing a flat would be much nicer and cheaper. He would always ask her what she meant by that. After all, he had been living his life for a long time. He had moved out of his parents' house at the age of 18, studied successfully and achieved much more than most boys his age. But Susanne said nothing more and immediately changed the subject.

Now Paul was 27 and had pretty much everything one could wish for. He owned a spacious 5-room flat in the center of Munich, in a prime location near the English Garden. His Porsche Cayenne was parked in the double garage, and when Susanne was with him, so was her VW Polo. Paul had often wanted to buy her something more stylish, but Susanne always refused. Paul had since graduated with a degree in media studies and was working as a Executive Director at a private TV station. Susanne had a small rented flat in Schwabing, perhaps a quarter of an hour away from Paul's flat. She hardly lived there anymore, but she didn't want to give up the flat as long as Paul wasn't living his life. She enjoyed her work as a doctor's assistant, but unfortunately the pay wasn't exactly thrilling. And in order to be able to live in a city like Munich, she looked for a part-time job as a sales assistant in a sports shop. She worked there occasionally on Saturdays so that she could afford a little more.

Now Paul was standing in his luxurious bathroom and somehow he didn't feel comfortable about the situation. Shouldn't he tell Susanne? How long did he want to keep playing this game and how long could he stand leading such a double life? He shook his head again. He couldn't tell her. Susanne would surely leave him immediately.

Chapter 7 – Friendship in the Shadow of Pain

He walked out of the bathroom into the adjoining bedroom, leaned over Susanne and kissed her tenderly on the mouth. Susanne smiled with her eyes closed and croaked in a sleepy voice, "Do you really have to go already? Let's just cuddle a little longer." Paul would have loved to comply with this request, but he couldn't right now. After all, he had a plan, and it started early in the morning. So he kissed her again and replied "Unfortunately, I have to go to work. We have a lot of meetings today and I still have a lot to prepare. Stay in bed. I've made you a coffee and there are fresh rolls on the dining table. See you tonight." "What a shame, see you tonight, darling," replied Susanne, pouting.

Then Paul got into his sports car and drove off. He went over everything again in his mind. But why shouldn't it work this time? He had pulled off similar coups so many times before and nothing had ever happened. After all, he had become very cautious since he had almost been caught once. He would rather have abandoned his plan than take that risk again. At the time, a surveillance camera had recorded him and the police had asked him some uncomfortable questions. But when they couldn't prove anything, he was released. At the time, he was only 17 years old and still far too immature.

After the incident, Paul decided to move out of his father's flat. Hannes Black became very suspicious and kept asking Paul where he got the money for all the things he could afford as a teenager. Paul didn't want to lie to his father all the time, nor did he want to involve him in his schemes. So he decided to start living his own independent life. At first, Paul's father was strictly against this plan. How could Paul afford it? His own flat – and as a schoolboy, no less. Such a thing was unthinkable. But Paul explained to him that he would work alongside school and earn it himself. Finally, with a heavy heart, Paul's father agreed. But only on the condition that he would not move too far away and would have to visit his father at least once a week. Paul promised him and kept his promise. At least for the first year.

His first flat was not far from his father's, as he had promised him. In the meantime, however, Paul had moved again, and now the distance was at least great enough that Paul could plan his projects in peace and without a guilty conscience.

Susanne was still asleep when Paul set off. It took him about half an hour to reach Fürstenfeldbruck, a town west of Munich. This was his destination. He parked his car in a small side street, as he didn't want to attract attention. Everything had to be done very discreetly. That was the only way to ensure he would remain undetected. No one should remember him later. Paul had deliberately dressed in inconspicuous dark clothing. He avoided wearing a noticeable perfume or looking particularly well-groomed. He wore inconspicuous, tinted glasses that would fit perfectly in any Fielmann advertisement. He carried a black, discreet suitcase with him. He walked purposefully to the BMW dealership in the nearby industrial park. That was his destination today. He entered the car dealership and glanced around briefly. He avoided eye contact with the employees. No one should notice him or even speak to him. He discreetly placed the briefcase behind an advertisement for the latest 7 Series. Then he quickly left the shop. About 50 meters in front of the car dealership, he stopped and discreetly observed who was coming and going. Then he sat down in a bus shelter directly on the street in front of the shop. Beforehand, he checked the timetable to make sure that no bus would arrive here in the next half hour. Otherwise, he would run the risk of someone trying to wake the sleeping man so that he wouldn't miss his bus. He pulled up the collar of his jacket and leaned back comfortably on the bench. The rest was routine for him by now.

Paul concentrated briefly and then the familiar vortex sucked him out of his body. A moment later, he found himself back at the car dealership. He looked down at himself and was pleased to see that he was wearing a dress with a large floral print. He was sitting in a new car. Next to him, in the passenger seat, sat a friendly young man who was busy explaining the car's features to him. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He apologized to the salesman, saying he needed to use the bathroom for a moment but would be right back. He got out of the car, went to the customer toilet and looked in the mirror. There he saw a well-groomed woman in her late 50s who had applied a little too much make-up. Otherwise, everything was quite tastefully styled. The lady certainly had enough money to afford a larger saloon car. But Paul already knew all that. After all, he had done his homework and researched everything in advance. Over time, he visited various shops in different areas and professionally and persistently sought out his new victims. A week ago, he overheard the lady whose body he was now in talking to a friendly salesman at the car dealership about buying a fully equipped BMW X6. Today was the day the car was to be handed over. The lady wanted to pay the amount in cash. That way, she would get another good discount.

From the bus stop, Paul had waited until the customer had handed the sales assistant a money bag before logging into the lady's account. The sales assistant went to the safe with a secretary and together they locked the bag away. So now there was at least £120,000 in the safe. Paul, who was now logged into the customer's body, looked around briefly and checked the situation. Everything was going according to plan. He sat back down in the lady's new car and made himself comfortable in the seat. She wasn't supposed to notice that she had been 'taken over' for a short time. He asked the salesman to continue with the explanation. Then Paul released the body so he could immediately switch to the secretary. Feeling a little dazed, he found himself sitting in an office swivel chair. However, a sales department employee immediately noticed that something was wrong with her colleague.

She went over to her and put her hand on her shoulder. "Are you all, right?" she asked sympathetically. "Yes, I just have a bit of a headache today," replied Paul as the secretary. "It must be the weather," said the friendly colleague and went back to her desk.

Paul took a deep breath. He hated situations like this. It was easy to give himself away. No one would suspect that he had taken over this body, but it was still risky for him. And finally, everything had to happen very quickly. He had little time, otherwise his plan would not work. He knew from his previous visit that the safe would not be locked again until the evening, as it could only be opened with two keys – those of the managing director and the secretary together. This was impractical in everyday life, so it became customary for it to be closed but not locked. This was not noticeable to the untrained eye. But Paul had specialized in this very area for several years. He immediately recognized that the locking mechanism had not engaged.

He knew exactly that as soon as he had left a body and the original owner's consciousness returned, the body would initially resist and react with circulatory problems and nausea. Of course, the salesperson who had shown her around noticed that the customer was not feeling well in her new vehicle. Paul saw that the lady was sitting in the car looking dazed and could barely respond. The salesperson called for help and, naturally, was soon surrounded by all the employees who were present in the salesroom. Paul had been waiting for this moment. He walked slowly and inconspicuously to the safe, opened it and took out the money bag. He took it and put it in the suitcase provided. Then he quickly fetched a glass of water from the nearby water dispenser and joined his slightly panicked colleagues at the customer's X6. He left the body of the secretary, who then collapsed. Now the excitement in the car dealership grew even greater. First the customer had become ill, and now the secretary had collapsed as well. Paul immediately took over the body of the warehouse manager, who was standing behind his counter, engrossed in leafing through a brochure. He left the counter, took the suitcase and marched slowly and deliberately out of the car dealership. He did not cross the large square in front of the car dealership but moved skillfully between the parked cars directly towards the bus stop. He made sure that no one saw him, placed the suitcase behind the bus shelter and immediately returned to his counter, picked up the brochure he had been reading and sat down so that it looked as if he had fallen asleep. Then he left this body too and finally ended up back as Paul on the bench at the bus stop. He immediately set off, picked up the suitcase and went straight back to his car without detouring. He threw the suitcase into the boot, got behind the wheel and drove off. Paul grinned at himself in the rear-view mirror. Not bad, he thought to himself. Earning 120,000 euros in less than half an hour is always worth it. Then he stepped on the gas and made his way to the radio station.