Processing... Recalculating...

*analyzing path 547, finish* Grant stood on the white marble, half handcuffed, in a daze, wearing days-old clothes, and staring down the barrel of a revolver pointed right between his eyes. The slender man, wearing all black, muttered only two words: "kneel down". Grant obeyed and got on his knees, which were now quaking with fear. A woman came quickly to aid, gagging and tying up Grant. The man grabbed one singular bullet, put it in the barrel, and spun it around. The snap of the lock on the barrel made Grant jump and non-understandable pleads for his life began to moisten the gag. Teasing him, the man put the cold metal to his forehead.

"Why did you do it?" he asked, ungagging Grant.

"No... please! It... It wasn't me..." he begged.

CLICK

"Why did you do it?" the man asked again, this time angrier.

"It wasn't my fault!" Grant yelled. "Stupid Shawn... he went for it... and..."

CLICK

"ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!" the man screamed with all his might. Spit flew everywhere and Grant sobbed.

"I... already told you... IT WASN'T ME!" he choked between sobs. His plaid shirt was now soaked with sweat and his skinny jeans were ripped to shreds. He looked up at the perpetrator one last time. The man had taken his mask off, and it was none other than... oh God. Grant saw the man's scar on his forehead and began to shriek... but it was too late.

BANG.

~~~

*Error 1045: Lethal Pathway*

*Recalculating... Processing*

(Casualty identified: Kate's Cafe. Rerouting...)

Kate Larson owned a cute little coffee shop on the corner of 5th and Maple. It always attracted a crowd of caffeine addicts and students. The navy blue walls gave off a chill vibe and the beautiful oakwood contrasted it wonderfully. On one particular day, she saw a man. Couldn't have been more than 5' 9" maybe? She stared at him, disregarding the now annoyed customer at the counter. He was wearing a plaid shirt and skinny jeans, so he probably wasn't a student. His deep and thoughtful green eyes showed that he was a caring person. Kate had no idea how long she was analyzing, but it was long enough, for her father to come out to see what the matter was.

"Hey, Katie! Stop staring at that young man and serve Mrs. Bentley her biscuit please!" he called. Kate quickly moved out of her trance, embarrassed, and began to work again. After Mrs. Bentley left, the man followed her. Kate thought about striking a conversation with the guy, but apparently, the guy thought of it first because he stopped and turned to talk.

"Hey there," he said in a voice that was deeper than it probably was.

"Hey." she smiled sheepishly as her cheeks began to glow red. She began to twirl a hair strand.

But of course, her father had to make like a hawk and swoop in where he wasn't wanted.

"And what would be going on here?" her father asked ever so smoothly. He put an elbow on the counter and sized up the young man. He seemed to have good posture, and his fingernails were well-trimmed. Perhaps he shouldn't have interrupted.

"Daddy, stop! He was just talking to me." she laughed. The guy cracked a smile and began to walk away, but before he did, he noticed that her father had an odd scar across his forehead. It looked like a knife gash, or a... wait. Could he be a member of the Mockeye gang? They always hung out by the pillars of marble in Lower Dale.

*Change decision 10,927 to STAY*

The guy cracked a smile and responded, "I'm Grant. Grant Stevenson." He held out his hand for the father to shake.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Stevenson. I must ask, why is it you're talking to my daughter?" he cleverly responded.

"I couldn't help but notice a pretty woman in a coffee shop," he said.

"That she is." her father muttered, holding a stare at the man. Grant stood up and widened his shoulders to make him look intimidating. It seemed to work because the father broke his gaze and went into the back room. Kate just smiled under her hands, deep in humiliation. He tipped her and walked out, without a word.

*Path Analysis: fixed flaw*

(Analysing possible other flaws... BEEP)

*Flaw found in earlier day, leads to demise*

(Casualty Identified: Strahon Court, Lebusky, MI.)

A man in a plaid shirt approached three men playing pickup basketball inside the fenced court. They paused their game and looked up.

"Ay, boy, whatcha doing here, city boy?" the biggest one questioned.

"I'm in the next game, man. Whatchu expecting me to do?" he snarkily responded.

"Whatever, dawg. Get yo white ass off my court," he growled. Grant looked down and saw a wallet. It seemed to be one of theirs, so he picked it up and ran for his car. The three men ran after him, flipping him off as he sped away.

*Iteration of thought process deleted*

(Change decision 7,666 to RETURN)

Grant looked down and saw a wallet, probably one of theirs. He picked it up and called out to them.

"Hey, is this your wallet?" he asked. The small one looked at him.

"Appreciate it. Been looking for that for a bit now." he slurred. Grant gave the wallet back and left.

Karma: 2 Level Increase

*Processing thoughts for Path 547. Be sure to wake Grant up at 6:00*

(Just came into existence. I am assigned to the life of Grant Stevenson. Aware for .203 hours. 7 useless iterations deleted.)

*Starting Path 1*

(I thought I'd go interesting with this one and try out something new: Science Fiction. It is a very short but interesting take on this prompt and I'm pretty proud of it. This is relatively based on the Thunderhead in Neil Shusterman's Arc of a Scythe trilogy. Again, thanks for reading, and let me know if I should keep up this style or throw it away and either try a new thing or make another story mi estilo.)

-Ernie