The Recall Trials Chapter 23: A Isn’t for Angel

One more strike, and I’d be penalized. What does a penalty even an here? Death? Solitary confinent? A ga worse than the others? Whatever it was, it wasn’t worth it.

But still, if he touched her again, I wasn’t sure I’d care about the consequences.

Carter was sitting on his bed with his head down. His hands were shaking. He looked defeated, like the little bit of hope he’d built had just been smashed out of him.

I got up and walked toward him.

"Hey," I said, crouching beside his bed.

He didn’t look at at first. Just let out a breath. "I really thought we had a chance," he mumbled. "I thought... people would want freedom more than money."

"I thought so too," I replied.

"Thanks for standing up," he said. "I saw what you did. You didn’t have to."

I nodded. "I’m not going to sit back while soone lays their hands on her like that."

Carter smiled a little. "That girl’s got you hooked, huh?"

I smirked, looking back toward Zaara. "Yeah... I think she does."

We sat in silence for a bit, both of us just... breathing. Trying not to think about what might co next.

I looked over at Carter, watching him sit there with that faraway look in his eyes. "Your daughter’s gonna be so proud of you, you know," I said quietly.

He gave a tired chuckle, but there was sadness in it. "That’s if I ever get to see her again."

"You will," I told him. "We’ll figure this out. We’re getting out of here."

He glanced at , and for a mont.

"When we do," I added, "you’ve got to let et her. Promise?"

Carter’s lips lifted into a small smile. "Yeah," he said. "Of course. I’d like that."

A few minutes passed, and slowly, one by one, the people who had stood with us earlier, the few ones brave enough to speak up and say they wanted out, began walking back toward us. One by one.

"Carter," one of them said, resting a hand on Carter’s shoulder. It was a dark guy with cornrows— Aaron, I think. "It’s not your fault they didn’t stand with us. You did everything right."

"Yeah," another added. "You did the right thing, standing up. Doesn’t matter if the rest got scared."

Carter gave a small nod. I could tell he was taking it hard.

"I think so of them are just too far gone," soone else murmured. "Broken. Like Theo. We can’t expect soone like that to know what it ans to stand for sothing."

Zaara stepped forward. "Don’t bla Theo," she said. "Bla the people who made him that way. Bla the people who created this whole system. Bla the elites. Especially those from Sector A."

Her voice cracked slightly. I froze.

Sector A.

As soon as she said it, my stomach twisted.

She kept going. "They sit up there with their perfect lives and their empty hearts, and they steal from other sectors. Our land, our people. Our families. They turned us into slaves, then tossed us into this ga to die. And for what? Entertainnt. Blood money. Control."

Murmurs of agreent rippled through our small circle.

"That’s facts," said a girl with a buzzcut. "You all can call Jojo, by the way." She crossed her arms. "What Theo did earlier was straight-up bullshit. But you know what’s worse? Thinking any of this ends with a win. What guarantee do we even have that they’d let us out? These people, they know exactly what they’re doing."

The anger in her voice was the kind that had been brewing for years.

Everyone murmured in agreent.. We’d started forming sothing. Not just a group. A side.

From across the room, the others, the ones who’d sided with Theo, just stared at us from their bunks. Didn’t say a word. Maybe they felt guilty. Maybe they didn’t care. I couldn’t tell anymore.

"The elites are monsters," Aaron muttered bitterly.

I hesitated. I didn’t know what made speak, but I said it anyway.

"Well... maybe not all of them."

Heads turned. A beat of silence.

It was like I’d set off a bomb in the middle of the room. Everyone froze, staring at like I’d just said the sky was green or sothing.

Then they burst out laughing like I’d just told the dumbest joke of the century.

Jojo snorted. "You serious right now?"

"Spoken like soone who’s never watched their mother get dragged out of her house to work as a maid for people who treat her like she’s less than human," soone else said.

Zaara folded her arms. "Vincent. You can’t possibly be defending them right now."

I felt all their eyes on . Judging. Accusing. But I didn’t flinch.

"I’m not saying they’re saints," I said, trying to stay calm. "I’m not even saying they’re good. Most of them probably aren’t. I know what they’ve done. The system is rotten, I get it. The way they treat people from the lower sectors, it’s inhumane. It’s disgusting."

I took a breath.

"But not everyone from Sector A is like that. So of them were born into it, just like we were born into Sector C and D. So of them hate the system too.."

Jojo shook her head, smirking. "Spoken like soone who’s never lived in Sector C or D. Vincent, even if twenty percent of them had a conscience, the other eighty are doing enough damage for all of them."

"I’m not defending the system. Or the people who built it. I just... I don’t want to believe that everyone is evil. If we do that if we put everyone in the sa box, we beco the sa as them." I folded my arms.

I bit my tongue. She wasn’t wrong tho, but she wasn’t right either. But I know what it’s like to grow up surrounded by power and feel sick about it. I know what it’s like to look around and realize your family, your friends, the people you thought you admired, are part of the problem.

Jojo scoffed. "That’s so real Sector A optimism right there."

"Maybe," I said. "Or maybe it’s just trying not to drown in all this hatred."

Zaara didn’t say anything for a long mont. She just stared at , not angry anymore, but quiet. Probably thinking.

Then she looked smiled and whispered, "You’re complicated, Vincent."

I gave her a sad smile. "Yeah. I’ve been told."