The Recall Trials
Chapter 62: The First Scream

Chapter 62: The First Scream

Slash.

Her scream tore through the room like a fire alarm.

High-pitched. Raw. Real.

Blood sprayed against the cracked mirror.

Everyone in the trial hall heard it.

A scream that could only mean one thing.

The Hunter had made his first kill.

And I...

I didn’t blink. It felt sooo good.

I stood up, wiped the blade across my jumpsuit, and stepped into the next hallway.

"One down..."

"Five hours and fifty-two minutes to go."

The girl’s scream was still echoing in the pipes when I stepped out of the restroom.

Whistle.

Same two notes.

The room felt tighter than before. Dimmer. As if the building itself was afraid of what I’d become.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The tip of my blade dragged along the wall.

Paint peeled. My shadow stretched unnaturally across the flickering lights.

Then...

A sound.

A shuffle behind the lockers. Something not afraid.

I smiled.

"Someone’s feeling brave..."

I turned the corner...

And saw him.

Aaron.

He was tall, built like a boxer. Sweat glistened on his forehead. His fists were clenched. Blood on his knuckles already.

He didn’t flinch when he saw me.

No begging.

No sobbing.

Just heat in his eyes. Rage, not fear.

"I know you, Vincent," he growled, chest rising and falling.

"You were normal... you were one of us."

I tilted my head.

That word again. Us.

"There’s no ’us’ anymore," I said.

"Only prey. And predator."

He charged.

A fist to my face.

Crack.

The world tilted sideways. Blood filled my mouth. He hit hard. The mask clanged against my cheekbone.

Another hit.

I stumbled backward.

"Fight back, then!" he shouted.

"Come on, monster! Show me what’s behind that fucking mask!"

I looked up at him, panting.

Then I laughed.

I wiped the blood from neck, raised my blade and lunged.

We clashed like animals in a cage.

His fists met my steel. He dodged the first slice, kicked my chest.

I hit the wall, hard.

But I didn’t stop.

I never stopped.

He tried to run. I grabbed his collar. Spun him. Slammed him into the lockers.

"You should’ve begged," I whispered.

He spat in my face.

So I drove the knife deep into his side.

Once.

He groaned.

Twice.

He gasped.

He punched me again, but it was weak now.

Third time.

Right into his gut. The metal twisted. Warm blood rushed over my hand.

His breath hitched.

"I hope you rot," he hissed.

"I already have," I said, and watched the light leave his eyes.

Aaron slumped to the floor, back against the locker. His body twitched once. Then stopped.

For a second, I just stood there. Listening.

His blood made a soft, wet sound as it trickled onto the metal floor.

Then I looked at my blade.

Soaked. Again.

"Two down."

"The night’s still young."

The locker room was silent now.

Aaron’s blood still stained the steel floor behind me, streaks of crimson trailing after my boots. His body was still....his eyes were frozen wide open.

But I wasn’t looking at him anymore.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

My blade clicked against the lockers again.

I turned the corner.

And there she was.

Curled up behind an overturned bench, trembling. Her hands were pressed over her mouth. But her breaths were too loud. Panicked. Rushed.

I tilted my head. Like a predator spotting the twitch of a dying rabbit.

She hadn’t run far. She never had the speed. The fear made her clumsy.

"You should’ve picked a better hiding place."

She froze.

Slowly...like her body didn’t want to obey, she looked up.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her mouth parted as if to scream, but no sound came out.

"Vincent..." she whispered, her voice cracking.

"You don’t have to do this. I was your friend. I’m Asha."

I didn’t answer.

I just stepped forward.

She crawled back. Her hands scrambling against the floor. Her legs kicking.

"Please...Vincent. Please don’t....please..."

She sobbed now. Loud. The sound bounced off the walls.

"Remember me?"

I paused.

For a flicker of a second, something twitched behind my eyes.

But it didn’t stay.

I lifted the knife.

Asha screamed.

I lunged.

She raised her arm in defense

The blade tore through it. Straight into her shoulder. Blood sprayed the lockers.

"VINCENT, STOP...PLEASE."

Another stab.

Her knees collapsed.

"I don’t want to die...I don’t want to die!"

Straight through her back.

Her scream turned into a wet choke.

The only thing left after was the sound of her body hitting the floor.

Thunk..

And then

"NO!!"

A shout echoed across the hallway.

I turned, slowly.

Luca.

The curly-haired boy with nervous eyes and trembling hands. He stood in the archway, frozen. Watching the scene unfold.

His mouth opened, but no words came out.

I looked at him.

Blood on my hands. On the floor. On the blade.

"Run," I said calmly.

He bolted.

Shoes skidding. Arms pumping.

I didn’t chase.

Not yet.

I bent down. Wiped the blade on Asha’s jacket. Then stood tall.

The speakers buzzed above.

"Three down."

"Time left: 4 hours, 10 minutes."

I smirked under the mask.

"Who’s next?"

I left the locker room in silence.

The screams were still echoing faintly behind me...Asha’s final cries, like a song that couldn’t stop playing in the back of my mind.

Not that I cared.

The halls ahead stretched long and narrow.. The overhead lights flickered red every few seconds.

Whistling.

My boots echoed off the metal floors.

Step.

Whistle.

Step.

Whistle.

No masked men in sight.

Just me.

And the blade.

I scraped it along the wall as I walked, metal shrieking against metal.

The air was damp. Too quiet. I passed doors, some open, some not. I didn’t check them yet.

Let them panic. Let them think they were safe.

"Tick tock," I whispered beneath the mask.

"The night won’t last forever."

A long shadow moved at the end of the corridor.

I stopped.

Tilted my head.

Nothing.

Just the hallway.

I turned back.

Kept walking.

Whistle. Scratch. Step.

Then

THUD.

My vision jolted. Something slammed into the back of my head.

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