Subject 443
An Alternate History Origin Story
“Subject 443: Antony Vacek. Follow me.”
He had been one of them once. The thought drifted through his mind, an artifact of a foreign identity. Indeed it was. Betrayal was something his minister father would have condemned. Would have…
But betrayal was the least of his horrid crimes.
More were to follow.
He should be freezing, so far up in the Alps in the depths of winter, yet he did not feel that either.
He felt nothing as he walked beside the black-uniformed officer.
“A committed party member. Youth committee chairman. Knight’s Cross commendation for bravery during the Siege of London. You’ve served us well, Antony. I’m proud to see you’ve distanced yourself from the undesirables of your childhood,” the officer said, coldly flipping through a file.
“The Übermensch program requires dedication to the Fatherland, steadfast support for the Führer, and willingness to carry the Reich Eagle onto the American shores. Imbued with the power of Die Glocke, you are chosen to lead our great crusade.”
Antony was all of those things.
His twin brother Jacob was not.
And as he walked down the corridor, Jacob wondered what went through Antony’s mind as Jacob pressed the pistol into his brother’s skull.
Traitorous bastard.
They’d never find Antony’s body.
The officer halted beside a steel door.
“Do you accept?”
Jacob paused, remembering,
He remembered the twisted body of his father, hung from his own church’s steeple because he preached about ending the war.
Jacob remembered his sister as they dragged her naked through the streets as a Communist because her husband had a copy of Dostoevsky.
And he remembered feeding off rats in the depths of the sewers as they burned his home.
Jacob remembered all these things as he faced the SS officer and answered in Antony’s voice…
“I do.”
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A/N:
If you've enjoyed this, please leave a like and an insight below. If you really enjoyed this, tips to fuel my coffee addiction are always appreciated. All formatting is designed for desktops. All my works can be found below:
Written for the Epic Beginnings Challenge:
About the Creator
Matthew J. Fromm
Full-time nerd, history enthusiast, and proprietor of arcane knowledge.
Here there be dragons, knights, castles, and quests (plus the occasional dose of absurdity).
I can be reached at [email protected]
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Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
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Comments (10)
Very impressive piece, Matthew! Such an intriguing and well developed character!
Wow! I can see this as the premise for a screenplay. Crimes or no crimes, Jacob's motives are justifiable in my book.
Great twist, class
Aye, that would be a motivator.
'Super' beginnings tale! So well written and I loved the twist at the end!
Epic, indeed! Excellent, excellent work, my friend!
This is carefully crafted and compelling, especially because Nietzsche's work, grotesquely misconstrued by his Nazi admirers as it was, turns up as the source of the sinister program that spawned Jacob/Antony. You ought to be proud of this story!
I do hope this gets extended.one of the best developments of a character that I read about in a while. Great back history as well. Good luck in the challenge. ( I do not think you will need it though).
You story is powerful. The twist is woven in well and the writing is lovely. Well done, Matthew.
I see what you mean about "crawly" I love that we had sorta-similar-ballpark subjects for our stories. This was masterfully told, sir! Well done. Loved the twistiness despite the low word count!