I closed my eyes and saw my future unfolding before me in two different directions: one a long, straight road, even and safe; the other a short, craggy trail leading to nowhere. To even consider it was complete lunacy.
But it was a choice.
I pulled out my earpiece. It was the one thing that bound me to the System—to the geroi, the collective, the Contract. For an odd, disjointed moment, it seemed I was holding my very life in my hand, and I looked down at it in wonder.
Then I dropped the earpiece to the ground and crushed it beneath my heel.
“I choose freedom.”
THE END