Fifteen-year-old Adam stood amid the excited crowd occupying both sides of the street as they all awaited him — their charismatic leader. Soon, his motorcade would drive by, with him standing in the open-air touring car on his way to the command bunker, basking in the adulation.

Adam shivered despite his long coat — not his warmest, but with a large inner pocket. He checked the time using the fob watch given him by his beloved grandfather, beaten and left for dead merely for being different. Adam barely made it to his side in time to say goodbye.

The dying man had pressed the timepiece into Adam’s hands. “Keep this always! You may need it someday.”

Tears streaming down, Adam nodded. “I love you!”

“And I you. Adam, never forget, anyone can change the future!” Before he could elaborate, the old man died.

That dark moment had been so gut-wrenching, Adam didn’t realize he’d wet himself until later.

Now, months afterward, here he stood, trembling, fear escalating. Small for his age, he slipped through the crowd with ease to reach the street. His mixed ancestry meant he didn’t look like many of his kind, so no one paid him any attention. To them, he was just another young boy, eager for a closer look.

But also eager to change the future.

Cheering arose from down the street as the motorcade approached. Their leader stood in the third car.

A chill careened down Adam’s spine like a runaway bobsled.

Time slowed.

The lead car of the motorcade passed him.

He reached inside his coat and gripped the object there. His pulse pounded like drums in his ears, drowning out all other sounds.

The second car rolled by.

His heart hammered as if attempting to escape his chest.

Now!

He drew the object — a pistol, ran at the third vehicle, and fired. The man’s head exploded, brains hurtling everywhere. Success! Adam had changed the future.

Except … none of that happened.

Because before Adam could draw his gun, the man had looked in his direction with terrifying evil in his soulless blue eyes. Adam froze and wet himself again, startling himself just long enough for the car to pass unharmed.

The date: August 31, 1939. The place: Nazi Germany. One day before the invasion of Poland, marking the start of World War II, history’s bloodiest conflict.

In the decades that followed, Adam wept at the emergence of each new atrocity of the twentieth century. If only…

Ultimately, on his deathbed, toying with his grandfather’s pocket watch, he accidentally released a hidden lever.

Soon, a stranger materialized beside him, carrying a giftwrapped package.

Adam jolted with fear. “Who are you?”

“A time traveler. Your watch signaled me, finally allowing me to find you. I can return you to 1939 to try again. You’ll teleport back into your fifteen-year-old body.” He handed Adam the package. “This will travel back with you.”

“What is it? A weapon?”

“Pampers.”

Adam grinned. “Dead moustache walking!”

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