The Recall Trials
Chapter 56: Incase You’re Wondering If This is Hell

Chapter 56: Incase You’re Wondering If This is Hell

The room had emptied like someone pulled the plug. Everyone scattered to corners and bunks, avoiding eye contact with me like I was infected. They’d all seen enough. Believed enough.

No one said my name. No one looked directly at me.

The silence was worse than shouting.

I walked out slow, my legs stiff like they didn’t belong to me. My body was still buzzing from what had just happened...twenty minutes of chaos, whispers, and judgment. The wildcard. Me. The one they thought was playing them all.

I made it to the restroom and locked the door behind me.

The cracked mirror greeted me with a version of myself I barely recognized...flushed face, red eyes. My hands gripped the sink until my knuckles turned pale.

That face in the mirror wasn’t me.

That was the villain everyone had just decided I was.

A soft knock pulled me back to the moment.

I didn’t answer. Didn’t move.

But then

"I don’t believe them."

Zaara.

I blinked. Let the words soak in before turning and unlocking the door.

She stepped in and shut it behind her ,crossing her arms.

"I don’t care what the voice said," she said. "This place twists truth into whatever it wants. But I know you."

I looked away, ashamed of how much those words hit me.

"You really think I’d lie to you?" I asked.

She took a step closer. "No. That’s why I’m here."

I nodded slowly, trying to breathe through the lump in my throat. "I don’t know what the hell’s going on. I’m not working with them. I would never—" My voice cracked. "I would never do something that could get people hurt. That’s not me."

She didn’t hesitate. "I know. Whatever happens, I’ll always believe you."

That broke something in me.

I reached for her, pulled her into a hug, and she didn’t pull away. I held on like the room might dissolve if I let go.

We walked out together, side by side.

But the second we stepped into the hall...

BAM.

Two masked guards came out of nowhere, fast, like they were waiting for this moment.

"Contestant 001," one of them snapped. "Come with us."

Zaara instantly stepped in front of me, protective as hell. "Wait.....what the hell do you want with him now?!"

The taller one barely looked at her. "Orders."

That one word made my stomach drop.

The masked men never spoke. That’s how you knew it was serious.

"What is it this time?" I asked.

The taller guard glanced at the other before answering.

"Jojo," the taller one replied. "She’s missing. You know where she is."

My pulse jumped.

I didn’t move. I couldn’t speak.

Zaara’s hand reached for mine instinctively. "He hasn’t seen her. He doesn’t know anything."

But the guards weren’t listening. They moved in.

"Wait—" I started, but it was too late.

They grabbed my arms and began dragging me down the hall.

Zaara tried to pull me back. "Let him go! He didn’t do anything!"

I didn’t fight. I just gave Zaara a last look...one that said stay calm, even if I couldn’t feel calm myself.

They grabbed me by the arms, dragging me out into the corridor.

They threw me in the center of the main floor. The lights above flickered to life with a sharp electrical snap.

Everyone was staring.

They’d dragged them all out too.

Carter. Nomi. Dinesh. Theo. Even Luca and Asha. All ringed around me, tense, silent.

The voice returned this time from the walls themselves.

"Contestant 001 has been named the wildcard. But now, a greater threat looms. One of our guards is unconscious. One of our cameras is offline. And one contestant has disappeared."

Gasps broke out around the room.

"Jojo."

Carter swore under his breath. Nomi’s eyes darted.

"The question is... did she escape? Or was she helped?"

I clenched my jaw.

The voice continued:

"Vincent. You caused a disturbance last night. Created fog cover. Triggered Theo into action. A perfect diversion. Suspicious timing, wouldn’t you say?"

Theo immediately growled, "I knew that was sketchy."

"Shut it," Zaara snapped, stepping forward. "He didn’t do it alone, I was part of the distraction."

The voice paused. Then:

"Ah, loyalty. How... touching."

I could feel every pair of eyes digging into me. I was suffocating under it.

"Tell us where Jojo is, Vincent. Or we will be forced to consider the possibility that your wildcard role is more... active than accidental."

My chest was burning.

"I don’t know," I said. " I don’t know what you’re talking about."

The silence that followed was heavy. Thicker than air.

The voice let it hang. Then:

"Then you’ll join her."

What?

"You are to be extracted for questioning. A wildcard with missing knowledge is too dangerous to leave in the fold."

I took a step back. The guards closed in.

Zaara bolted forward. "No—no, no, no, wait—!"

One of the guards held out a hand, blocking her.

"No! Don’t touch him! You can’t just take him!" she screamed.

"I’ll come back," I said. I didn’t even know if it was true. But I had to say it. For her. "I’ll come back."

And then a sharp sting to my neck.

Something injected. Fast. Cold.

The floor tilted.

The last thing I saw was Zaara fighting her way toward me, yelling my name.

And then...blackness.

They say your whole life can change in a single moment.

But no one ever tells you how fast it can fall apart after that.

My head was heavy. My mouth dry. The lights above me buzzed faintly, flickering in that way that makes your brain feel like it’s glitching.

The chair I was in was cold, metal, and locked down. Straps pressed into my wrists.

I tried to sit up....but my arms were heavy. Numb. My body didn’t feel like mine.

Everything in me screamed wrong.

Then I heard it.

"Welcome, Vincent."

That voice.

"I’ve always wanted to meet you... alone."

I blinked hard. My heartbeat spiked.

It wasn’t a speaker overhead this time.

It was closer. Like right here in the room with me.

"Don’t worry. You’re not dead.....yet. Though I know you’re wondering if this is hell."

I tried to stand. But my hands were locked to the chair.