It was 3:17 and I heard the end of the lecture again, really taking it in this time. "One can't expect a new result without changing their approach." I was changing my approach now, and I was hoping to get a new result. After I told Tyus my same lie as before, I thought of how I could physically stop the fortune teller from saying her death sentence. I supposed I could just cover up her mouth, and I could try again anyway.

After that I did my usual routine of visiting Lucia (this time making plans to meet up in the cafeteria for dinner), saving Effa, and calling in to cancel Denzel's and the suit. At the time I wasn't thinking about how much of a disconnect I felt. I walked down to Winning Wonder Fortune Telling on Mard Avenue. The fortune teller gave her usual greeting, and I talked to her about her work, along with other things, pretending to be interested.

"Are you okay with these wood chairs? They may feel a bit wacky," she said.

"Yeah, I love them," I said. I hated them.

"That's nice. Oh yes, would you like a banana?" She grabbed a bowl of them.

"No, I hate them." I loved them.

After some more of that, at 4:13 I stood up, wanting to be prepared. The clock up on her wall was precise down to the second.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

Then I realized that if I tried stopping her before she went into her trance, she would realize it and possibly report me. So I made up a lie.

"I think there might, just might, be some bad spirits coming. I have a bad feeling about it."

"Why, do you think they're close?

4:14

"Maybe, but I just think we should stay quiet," I said. "So don't talk, don't even think about it."

I put my hands over her mouth, trying to be firm (but not too much).

I just stood there in guilt, feeling like this was wrong, but it was for a much greater good. She stayed quiet though, seeming to believe me.

4:15

The prophecy still came loud and clear from her, though her mouth wasn't even moving. I tried stopping it but it was no use. That aura came too.

After she got out of her trance I backed up from her. I yelled, just a wordless shout of rage. To me this already marked the end of this "attempt."

"Have the spirits gotten into you? I'm no expert in the field of exorcising but I can try," the woman said, like she was ready to really do it.

"No, I'm just mad about...something else." I walked out, not bothering to apologize.

At 5:35 Lucia and I got dinner in Trayley's cafeteria. The food was good, but I couldn't enjoy it when I knew what was going to happen.

5:46

"Will," Lucia said. I looked over. "What's the matter?" she asked. "You don't have to pretend that you're okay if you're really not. I'm here for you."

I sighed. I knew that this Lucia would probably be gone anyway, but she might feel better if I told her the truth, even with what it meant.

"You're going to die at 6," I said, not looking her in the eye.

"What!?" There weren't many people in the cafeteria, but they looked over at us. "Wh-what do you mean, Will?"

"Exactly what I said, I'm sorry. A prophecy said so. I've kept time traveling back to try to prove it wrong, but it keeps coming true. No matter the place or the method, you keep dying." I looked at her, I had a small frown, her eyes were staring into my soul, with the rest of her face showing fear but some faith in me. "I'm sorry to lay this all on you, but it's the truth. I tried to stop the prophecy from being made this time, I thought that that might work, but it still got said. I'll put more effort into that next time. I guess you won't even remember me saying this though."

"You seem pretty confident that I'll die."

"It's hard for me not to be at this point. Maybe I'm jinxing this area though. We can go somewhere else. It's worth a shot."

Lucia reluctantly followed me. We walked through the downstairs hallway, not exactly keen on going to a particular place. It was getting close to 6:00 p.m.

"Will," Lucia asked, breaking our silence, "Do you know who the fortune teller was, her name or anything?"

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"No, but she was sure passionate about her work, a little eccentric too. She has a shop on Mard Avenue."

Lucia's eyes widened. I guessed she must have heard the big, metal ceiling panel loosening. In a fraction of a second the loosening finished and it and fell, specifically in her spot but missing me. After it toppled her to the ground, her left arm stuck out. No pulse in her wrist. I was expecting it.

In room 17 I told of her death, but not the full truth like last time. I didn't want to go through mutiny again. They let me put on the headset, they got the time machine running, and I went back.

After the lecture and my lie to Tyus, I thought of the possibility that maybe something happened to Lucia in the time that I didn't see her, something that triggered the prophecy and her death. I needed to make sure that didn't happen, just in case it had. But I also needed to stop the fortune teller. So I asked Tyus.

"Look, would you be able to come with me to meet Lucia in the courtyard? I know you gotta help with the time machine, but this is urgent. Remember the vows we made to each other?" I hoped that would convince him

"I'd never forget." I didn't realize how serious those were when we made them (they seemed positively corny to me), but Tyus was upholding his without hesitation. That was the sign of a good friend, though I didn't appreciate it at the time. We walked down to the courtyard, both in a serious manner. But I was mostly focused on Lucia, as always.

"Hey Will! Hey Tyus!" she said when she arrived.

"Hi," I said. "Look, this is gonna be out of the blue, but I have to cancel our date at Denzel's." (That time I told the truth about how I was the one canceling it, but only because they probably would have caught on to it anyway that time.) "It's better if I don't say what it is, but I'm trying to look out for you from something. So I'm asking if you can call off working on that medical project today. Tyus is gonna stay with you for the next couple hours."

"Wait, so that's what this is?" he asked with surprise. "This doesn't have to do with that project, right?"

Then Effa came running. I ran over and grabbed her. Mary thanked me. Lucia and Tyus praised me. But I got back on my topic.

"I know I might sound insane, but you guys trust me, right?"

"Absolutely, especially after that," said Lucia. She looked over at Mary walking away with a smile.

"I do too," said Tyus.

"Good, then can you guys just stick together for a little while? And avoid the members of that medical group, Lucia, just in case. Also don't go to the room where you were going to work on it, for good measure. Could you call and tell me if anything strange happens to you at 4:15?"

"Uh, sure," she replied. "You sure you okay, Will?"

"Of course I AM! Never better!" I added some forced joy to that. "Anyway, could we all meet up here at about 5:50?"

"Sure, but where are you going to go in the meantime?" Tyus asked.

"Somewhere to...to stop what, well, what might happen."

"Give me a sign if this is a hostage crisis," he said.

"I won't need to, it's not."

"Alright, but what should we do while you're off on your thing? We could help."

"No thanks! You guys can just hang out, go places, but stick together. Anyway, I gotta go to that thing."

"Okay."

I ran away to my dorm to prepare. I had a plan to stop the prophecy this time, an illegal one. But it wouldn't cause permanent harm. I put a pair of black latex gloves on, not wanting to get too much DNA on things. I emptied a small backpack I had, and put a roll of duct tape in it. I changed into a different outfit, (including a hoodie and a pair of sunglasses) making sure to conceal all of myself, except for the bottom of my face. I put an old ski mask in my backpack. It would look too suspicious if I wore that publicly on my walk to Mard Avenue.

I jogged to that street, and then walked behind a building on the side that Winning Wonder Fortune Telling was on. From behind them there was a small forest stretching for over half a mile (almost a kilometer). No one saw me put my mask on. Now I was fully hiding my body, just like my thoughts. I quietly stepped over to behind the fortune telling shop. It had a back door, which I had never known about before. That was lucky for me, so I picked the lock with (what seemed to be) a small sewing needle that I found on the ground.

Inside was a small storage room, complete with crystal balls, shelves of cards, and cobwebs. It had an empty door frame leading to the main room, what would've been the back left of it from the front perspective. As I walked into the room, the fortune teller turned to me.

"Why, hello, what made you set foot in here from the storage room?" she asked, nervous, but still trying to keep that confident eccentricity. I didn't respond. That would reveal my voice and no good would come from it. I hadn't practiced this next part, so here goes nothing, I thought.

I quickly walked up, made my right hand into a fist, and punched her in the jaw as hard as I could. She instantly got knocked out and fell toward the floor. I decided to catch her. I dragged her to the storage room and put 3 layers of duck tape over her mouth, but leaving her nose open to breathe.

Then I waited. It was 4:10 at that point, and I was desperately hoping that no voice would come from the fortune teller, and that nothing would happen to Lucia. I felt the fortune teller's wrist to make sure it still had a pulse. It did, which was good. I would've time traveled back if it didn't.

Then at 4:15, with her body still unconscious, the aura came. It was like the sound came out of her whole body.

Will Korda, your lover is destined to meet her end 6 hours past the turn of this afternoon. Our fate has that fact so. For as long as this prophecy comes alive, she will die. Life force of this vessel is all that is needed to make that true.

I did a double take. That last part was new. But most of all, my strategy failed. The prophecy came to life again.

Then I got a call from Lucia. I immediately answered it.

"Hi Will, just here to say that nothing weird has happened. Is your thing going well?"

"Not exactly."

"I hope it gets better. Will you ever be able to explain what all this is?"

"Not exactly, but what are you and Tyus up to right now?"

"We're in the gym shooting hoops."

"Well, I hope it's fun. I gotta...get back to my thing. Goodbye."

"Greatbye."

I was being fake to her, but I thought that would still be best in the moment. The fortune teller was still knocked out, and if I ripped the duck tape off that would wake her up, so I decided to leave her. I left the shop through the back, took my mask off, and went back on my path to my dorm room. I walked there quite slowly, thinking about the prophecy's new sentence. Life force of this vessel is all that is needed to make that true. There might be a way to save Lucia, but only one way.