PROLOGUE

Every ending gives way to a new beginning – a new start, a chance at something more.

I stared down at my wrist, my fingers running over the lines of the barcode, and lowered my head. I’d lost so much, and for what? A chance to reclaim a life that’d already been stolen from me?

There was no reclaiming my past. I knew that. But I had been so desperate, so eager for another shot that I ignored every rational thought in my mind.

No matter how human I might’ve felt, I was still a Program.

Which was why I needed to do this.

All I ever wanted was to give you a second chance at life. I hadn’t stopped to realize how many lives that I would be altering in the process.

The words kept replaying in my thoughts like a haunting reminder of my past mistakes.

It was my choice how this would end, and I was fully aware of the consequence of my impending decision. I’d accepted my ending. I’d come to terms with my choice, because it was the only choice worth making; the only choice that wouldn’t destroy any more lives.

I took one final look at the heartbroken boy behind me, and I walked confidently into the storm.

I had made my choice.