I Was Maxwell Russel

My Great Grandfather died in World War II, leaving his wife, the matriarch of my family alone with three children to raise on her own.

The day that I believed caused my family’s ruin was June 6, 1944. D-Day. That day, on the beach at Normandy, Private Samuel Kelly, my great grandfather, was struck down along with many of his fellow allied soldiers.

Even though I wasn’t there, not even close to being born yet, that one moment in time destroyed my life. Of that, I was certain.

In the summer of 1943, even though the Second World War had already begun, Samuel and Virginia Kelly, my great grandparents, were happy. They ran a nice little grocery store in Alexandria, Virginia, on the corner of King Street and North Lee. Their three children, Jacob, Harmon, and Ophilia, my grandmother, were all under 5 years old at the time, and seemed to be happy, healthy, and well-mannered children. I know that for a fact because I went to see them for myself.

That being said, I worked hard to pull myself out of the poverty that had plagued my family ever since Virginia Kelly was forced to become Virginia Russel in order to provide for her children. And ever since her new husband, James Russel, taught his step children that they were nothing other than workers to be exploited for his benefit at the local tavern. A legacy that bore its way to my father and tried to take me as well.

For better or worse, I couldn’t live like that, so I chose to break the cycle. I made my way through school, working full-time while emersed in my studies, ultimately to become the man I am today. The first man to use quantum mechanics, and my version of string theory, to build and use the first working time machine. A secret that I have kept until today.

All along, while forsaking friendships for solitude, I diligently worked to change the course that history had put me on. Although, I’m not yet certain if this new path is any better.

But I digress!

I decided that there were too many factors that led to World War II and D-day, instead I needed to stop, or at best delay World War I. To do that I just had to stop the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

The year was 2023, and all of my plans were made. I would go back to July 27, 1914, find Gavrilo Prinzip and his companion, Nedeljo Gabrinovics, then I would kill them both before either had a chance to kill the Archduke.

I had tested my time machine multiple times on hops as far back as the Revolutionary War. Even making a pit stop to meet my great grandparents and peruse their tiny grocery store. I knew the machine was safe and would take me to any time I punched into the computer. I knew I could do this and live to tell the tale.

What I didn’t know was that some changes could, and would, change everything.

I arrived here in Sarajevo three days ago. It’s currently July 30, 1914. I found my targets within hours the evening of the 27th in a small café on the corner of Rudolf Strasse and Franz Josef Strasse. The very same corner that Prinzip would have killed the Archduke and Dutchess on if he had been given the chance. Needless to say, he didn’t get the chance.

To my small fortune, it appears that Prinzip and Gabrinovics were members of a group call The Serbian Black Hand, so while their bodies have been found already, the authorities don’t seem to be concerned with finding a killer. Which is good for me.

See, I had planned to go back to my time as soon as I knew that the Archduke would be safe, but that part of my plan has left me. As in, my time machine has left me, and without the technology of 2023 I have no way to build a replacement.

I’m stuck here with no idea of what tomorrow will bring. I only know that it’s not the tomorrow I would have learned about in history class.

I was Maxwell Russel, now I don’t know who I am, only that I must make a life here in 1914 and hope that the Maxwell of 2023 is living his best life.