Chapter 1

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"Thank you for choosing Multiworks."

A heavy sigh involuntarily escaped from my lips as I placed the plastic bag filled with various PlayStation games on top of the counter.

"Geez, the least you could do is sound a bit more enthusiastic." The chubby teen, who just so happened to be the last customer of the day, scoffed as he chewed on a piece of a gum, annoyingly loud. He was a regular at the store, well known for being a loudmouth and a troublemaker.

"Take the bag before I whack you in the face with it." I replied, unamused. The adolescent rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath before snatching the bag filled with his items from on top of the counter and penguin-walking his way out of the store.

Another sigh found its way out of my body as I checked my wristwatch. I made my way towards the same door the boy had walked out of just a few seconds ago and pushed the little red button on its side, which was connected to the 'open' sign on the window.

The end of yet another boring day.

I went back to the cash register to make sure that I had closed it and turned all of the lights off before locking up for the day.

Multiworks was your average, cornershop for all things video game related. We sold games, repaired consoles and even ran an annual gaming competition, where teens who probably hadn't been out of their rooms for months competed for discounts on newly released games.

I'd been working there for a few years now. Was I happy with what I was doing? Not entirely. Then again, I made enough to pay the bills and eat, so who was I to be complaining? I always found myself thinking about my job and how miserable I was on my walk home after every shift. Wondering how different my life would have turned out to be if I had taken a different turn; a different path.

"No Honey, it fell on the floor. Don't put that back in your mouth." A woman I was walking past told her child as she took the polluted lollipop from his hand. I looked away from them and looked up at the sky, noticing a couple of big, grey clouds beginning to form, slowly blocking my view of the sun. Someone had to sprint walk if they wanted to make it home dry.

I picked up my pace and began walking faster, pulling the hood on my back over my head as a precaution. With my hands in my pockets, I kept my eyes on the ground as I walked faster.

"No Honey, it fell on the floor."

I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Don't put that back in your mouth." She said, before taking her child's lollipop.

It's happening again;

The Cascade.

As if on impulse, I frantically began looking at everyone and everything around me, in search for what looked wrong, misplaced, whatever it was that had triggered The Cascade.

I had no explanation for how it worked or how I developed it. I had gotten so used to it happening that I stopped questioning it all together. The one thing that I knew for certain was the fact that I would travel mere seconds or minutes back in time, always right before something bad was about to happen. Not to brag that I'm some type of superhero or anything but ever since I figured that part out, I made it my job to stop those bad things from happening.

My eyes darted from the toddler crying his eyes out over the loss of his lollipop to the taxi driver, smoking beside his vehicle to the old lady across the street, closely being followed by a rather sketchy looking fellow.

There.

I jogged accross the street just in time to see the young man snatch the elderly woman's purse and make a run for it. I began to run after him, cautiously avoiding the miniature puddles beginning to form on the floor beneath me. Maybe luck would be on my side for once and the rain would hinder him somehow and make him slip.

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