Fate isn't binary.
But maybe we tend to think of it that way when the stakes are high. If some mad scientist locks you in a cage with a man-eating tiger, in the moment your brain goes "Okay, escape or get eaten" but of course there are a number of other possible outcomes you're not considering in the moment. Maybe the tiger just eats your leg. Maybe the tiger helps you escape and you both eat the mad scientist. Maybe it turns out that (oh damn!) you're the tiger and Rod Serling pops in and says some cool stuff about society or whatever.