The Recall Trials
Chapter 53: The Sky Wasn’t Supposed to Be Real

Chapter 53: The Sky Wasn’t Supposed to Be Real

"RUN," my mind screamed.

And I did.

I spun on my heel and bolted down the hallway, adrenaline slamming through my body like lightning. My boots echoed on the floor. The guards shouted behind me. More voices joined. Footsteps thundered.

They were chasing me. Fast. Trained.

I turned left, then right again, lungs burning, vision blurry from panic. I had no idea where I was going...just away.

Shouts behind me now. Radios crackling. Footsteps growing louder.

I was being hunted.

No more shadows to hide in. No more second chances.

But if I could just make it to the outer gates...if I could find whatever entrance the guards used maybe I’d have a shot.

Maybe.

But every time I turned a corner, I met another dead end. Another steel wall. Another locked door.

I doubled back.

Dove into a side room.

Slammed the door shut behind me.

Then...I saw it.

A steel pillar. Just wide enough to duck behind.

I slammed into it, breath ragged, and pressed my back against the wall, clutching the pistol.

Footsteps tore past me.

One.

Two.

Three.

They didn’t stop.

Didn’t even look.

I stayed frozen, heart in my throat, sweat dripping down my back.

They thought I’d kept running.

They didn’t know I was right here.

I bit my lip hard to keep from gasping.

"I knew the cameras were watching," I thought. "It’s just a matter of time before they track me down."

But for now, I had a second. Maybe two.

I wiped my forehead, adjusted the strap of the duffel, and exhaled shakily.

"I need to alert the others. I need to get them out. I need them to know what I found."

But how?

How the hell do I warn them without blowing everything?

I peeked from behind the pillar.

I waited.

Held my breath behind the cracked pillar.

Nothing. Just silence. Just darkness.

They were gone. They had to be.

This was supposed to be over.

The silence told me it was safe.

The silence lied.

I stepped out... just a foot. One breath. One second of hope.

And then...

"Gotcha."

Two men stepped out of the shadows like ghosts made of muscle and menace. One grabbed my wrist. The other yanked my shoulder.

"No..." I snapped, yanking my arm off. "Let go of me!"

The taller one laughed. My elbow cracked into his jaw .I heard the crunch of bone and the ugly grunt that followed.

The other tried to drag me back, I slammed my fist into his ribs. One, two, three times. He coughed blood on my boots.

I spun the first one was already up.

His gun flashed. My fingers moved faster.

I snatched his wrist, yanked him forward, and drove my knee up into his face with everything I had left. He went down like a sack of regret.

I didn’t wait to watch him bleed. I ran.

Footsteps thundered behind me. Shouts. Another squad coming fast. I didn’t dare look back. More men. How many? Five? Six? I couldn’t count. I didn’t care. I just knew if they caught me again, I was gone.

I slammed through a rusted gate.

And there they were. More men.

Four of them. Blocking the only way out.

"You’re not getting through," one said, cracking his knuckles like this was a warm-up.

Fine. Let’s warm up, then.

I ran at them.

I ducked the first punch, grabbed his arm, and used his own weight to slam him into the wall. The second one grabbed my shirt .. I turned, drove my fist into his gut, then a knee to his face. Something crunched.

But one of them clipped me across the jaw. I staggered. Blood dripped from my nose . It tasted like rage.

I fought like an animal. Like I had nothing to lose.

And then, I kept running.

My feet hit wet sand.

Wait sand?

I froze.

Above me... stars.

A real sky.

Tears slipped down my cheeks before I even knew they were coming.

"Am I dreaming?" I whispered, catching my breath like it didn’t trust the air.

In front of me, water. Endless. Open. It looked like an ocean. And sitting there, rocking gently as if waiting for me...was a boat.

I didn’t think. I just ran.

I threw myself onto the boat. They were on the shore now, the men. Just standing there. Watching. Like they weren’t allowed to cross this line. Like I had just stepped outside the rules of the game.

"I did it," I gasped, half-laughing, half-crying.

"I did it!"

But the wind whispered back:

Victory don’t like survivors.

She really thought she made it.

A voice I hadn’t heard in what felt like hours said out loud. The voice that came from the speakers. From them.

But this time... I swear it came from the sky.

I froze.

The boat stopped moving.

The waves were gone.

No wind. No sound. Just that voice.

My heart tripped started racing faster.

"What the hell..." I whispered.

And then .....everything shattered.

The ocean dissolved like smoke.

The boat beneath me vanished into the light.

The stars blinked out. The wind died. The night collapsed.

There was no sky.

No sea.

No escape.

Just blinding white lights.

What the fucking hell?

It was a simulation.

It had all been a fucking simulation.

A slow clap echoed through the speakers, that same terrifying voice.

"Welcome back, Jojo."

I spun around, but the whiteness stretched forever.

Figures emerged. Tall, masked men gliding toward me. I backed away, but they closed in fast.

They grabbed me on each arm. I screamed, kicked, cursed. They didn’t flinch.

Another figure approached, different from the others. He was a silver mask and a black ninja suit with a serpent logo on it.

"The Aetherios." I read the written word u see the logo.

Then, he reached out and ripped the mask from my face.

"That was brave of you," the voice said again. Not from a speaker. From them. From the figure in the silver mask.

"But you shouldn’t have."

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