The Recall Trials
Chapter 96: The Ultimate Search

Chapter 96: The Ultimate Search

"Starvation reveals more truth than silence ever will."

The next morning felt hollow.

No screams. No alarms. Just... silence.

I sat up slowly. My body felt like it had been rolled down a mountain. Bruises, cuts, salt-sore skin. Everyone around me looked the same...battered, sunken-eyed, half-alive.

Zaara was curled on her side, still asleep, her lips were dry and cracked. Carter leaned against the wall.

Even Nomi, usually the first to pace or complain, sat hunched over with her knees to her chest.

We were still grieving for jojo.

The breakfast cart rolled.

One of the masked guards dropped trays of food on the floor and whispered, "Eat. You’ll need it. The tenth trial begins in one hour."

Nobody moved for a few seconds. Then, slowly, people started crawling toward the food like insects chasing crumbs.

I forced myself up and walked over. Eggs. Bread. Water. It was the most we’d gotten in a while, but it didn’t feel like a gift. It felt like bait.

Zaara sat beside me in silence, barely picking at her bread. Her hand trembled as she lifted her water.

A buzzer rang overhead, followed by the familiar mechanical voice:

"Welcome to the Tenth Trial.....The Ultimate Search.

In this trial, survival is the prize.

You will be released into Sector V.....a natural terrain replica of the pre-dystopian wilderness.

20 rare artifacts are hidden throughout the sector. You are to locate one. Only one per contestant.

If you return without an artifact...

You will be eliminated.

There will be no food. No water. No shelter.

You will have 48 hours. The hunt begins... now."

The floor beneath us groaned.

A rumbling shook the chamber. And then suddenly, the back wall opened.

Sunlight.

Real sunlight.

Or maybe artificial...who cared?

We were herded out like cattle, pushed through a tunnel and out into an open arena that stretched for miles. Jagged rocks. Dead trees. Sandy patches. Shallow water. Steep hills in the distance.

It looked like Earth... if Earth had gone to hell.

The door slammed shut behind us.

The heat slapped me first. Like a furnace. Sweat pooled at the base of my neck within seconds. Zaara shielded her eyes, blinking hard. Carter muttered something under his breath. Nomi rolled her neck, scanning the terrain like a predator.

Zaara swallowed, her voice hoarse. "Forty-eight hours... without water?"

Nomi slammed her tray down. "They’re trying to thin the herd. That’s all this is."

And then we scattered.

Contestants bolted in every direction. Leaves exploded around us as people sprinted, desperate to find their artifact before dehydration or exhaustion took them down.

Zaara, Nomi, and I stuck together, ducking under low branches and pushing through vines.

My throat was already dry. The air was humid. Every breath felt like inhaling boiling water.

We kept moving, searching, circling tree trunks, turning over mossy stones. Time crawled by.

An hour passed. Then two.

Suddenly, somewhere to our left, a man let out a joyous yell. "I FOUND IT!"

He held a small, golden statue shaped like an eagle, glinting in the shafts of sunlight.

"Contestant 027... safe. Return to main room."

He was led away through the trees.

Then another girl shrieked happily. She waved something emerald-green.

"Contestant 014... safe."

And another...someone found a crimson amulet shaped like a sun.

"Contestant 063... safe."

One by one, four contestants disappeared back to safety. The rest of us staggered on, sweat-soaked and trembling.

Still no artifact.

Dinesh ran past, waving frantically. "Don’t waste time near the entrance! They’ll hide the good stuff deep!"

A girl with freckles knelt beside a tree, fingers digging through dirt. "Come on, come on, where is it..."

I had covered at least four hills, crossed a stretch of sharp rock that tore through my boots, and combed through dead bushes that left cuts on my forearms.

I was drenched in sweat. My lips were cracked. I hadn’t spoken a word in hours.

I stood at the top of a ridge, panting, my hands on my knees. My vision blurred. Every inch of my body screamed.

It was midday when Zaara suddenly staggered away from the tree where we rested.

"Zaara?" I called.

Behind me, in the far-off distance, I heard someone screaming. I didn’t know if it was pain or joy.

Zaara.

Where was she?

I saw her wave from behind me, clamped a hand over her mouth. "Gonna be sick—"

She bent behind a massive rock, retching violently. The sound echoed under the trees.

Then she froze, her eyes locked on something in the dirt.

"What... is this...?"

She reached beneath the rock and pulled out a small, glittering object. It was shaped like a delicate, crystalline feather. Hues of sapphire and violet shimmered in the light.

"Congratulations, Contestant 040. You have found the Aether Feather artifact."

Zaara’s eyes filled with tears. She staggered back to me, clutching the feather like it might shatter.

"I... I can’t leave you," she whispered, sobbing. "Vincent—"

"You have to," I said firmly. "You made it. Go. Please.."

She hugged me so tightly it hurt. Her face pressed to my shoulder.

"Promise me you’ll survive," she whispered.

I nodded. "I promise."

She turned to Nomi, wiping her eyes.

"You better make it too," Zaara said, her voice breaking. "Because if you don’t... I’ll have no one to fight with anymore."

Nomi smirked weakly, though her eyes were glassy. "Bitch, you’re stuck with me. Now go."

Zaara gave one final, trembling smile. Then the guard approached, guiding her away. She glanced back at us over her shoulder, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Nomi and I watched until she vanished into the trees.

Nearby, a fight broke out. A burly man tackled another contestant, wrestling him for a small canvas satchel. The satchel tore open, spilling medical supplies across the mud.

Few Hours Later.

The sun was starting to set.

I collapsed against a boulder, breathing like I had been running for days. My throat felt like sandpaper. Every time I blinked, my eyes stung.

I wasn’t going to survive another night like this.

I stood again, staggering toward another cluster of rocks...just to try. My legs felt like jelly. Then I dropped again to my knees.

That’s when I heard it.

Footsteps.

Behind me.

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