The Recall Trials Chapter 54: The Ones We Chose to Burn

Vincent’s POV

The Next Morning.

I didn’t sleep.

Not really.

Every ti I closed my eyes, I saw Jojo’s face disappearing into the dark. I kept listening for a scream, an alarm, footsteps anything.

But the night passed with nothing but the low hum of the lights and the breathing of the others.

Then ca the sound.

Heavy boots.

Thudding down the corridor. It was Getting louder.

A second later, the lights snapped on. I flinched and sat up. The others were stirring around , confused, groggy. So were rubbing their eyes, others already on high alert.

The door slamd open.

Three masked guards in full black stord into the room. One of them hit the wall

"Get up. Now."

No explanation. No questions allowed.

I felt Zaara shift behind . I turned slightly. We both knew what this was about.

Jojo.

Had she made it back?

They forced us into a line.

They marched us down a hallway we’d never used before.. The further we walked, the more claustrophobic it got.

They stopped at a strange black door one I’d never noticed before. One by one, they took us in.

I was fifth.

The door sealed behind , locking into a small, tallic chamber.

It was square. No windows. No caras I could see. Just a chair in the center.

Suddenly, a voice cracked from above.

The voice that had been puppeteering us since day one.

"Vincent Aston."

My spine stiffened.

"This is the final phase of the Wildcard Ga."

From a panel in the wall, a touchscreen slid out smoothly, glowing faint blue.

"In front of you is a digital ballot. You will see the nas of every remaining contestant. You are to choose one na. The person you believe is the Wildcard...the insider planted by us to manipulate the ga."

My breath caught. My stomach tightened.

"You have sixty seconds to decide. Failure to vote will result in disqualification."

The screen ca to life. A list of nas appeared:

Zaara

Theo

Carter

Nomi

Asha

Luca

Marla

Jojo

All of them.

Every single na I’d sat with, fought beside, suffered with.

"Fifty seconds remaining."

The room felt smaller. Tighter. Like the walls were closing in.

This wasn’t just a ga anymore. This was them turning us into weapons. Pointing us at each other. Making us second-guess every conversation, every alliance.

I stared at the list, then at the door. I could still turn around. Refuse.

But I knew what "disqualification" ant in this place.

"Thirty seconds remaining."

My heart raced. I didn’t want to vote. I didn’t want to na soone who might be innocent. But if Jojo had failed last night... if she hadn’t made it back in ti...

This vote could be used against her.

"Twenty seconds."

My thumb hovered over the nas.

Zaara? No. Never.

Carter? No. He was too nice to be part of their system.

Theo? Maybe. He was a pain, aggressive but not manipulative enough.

Marla? Maybe. She was strange. But she did say stuffs that made a lot of sense.

Jojo...

My thumb twitched.

"Ten seconds."

I made my choice.

A na lit up on the screen.

Beep.

The screen went dark. The panel slid back into the wall.

The door hissed open again.

Back in the Hall

I stepped back into the corridor.

Everyone who’d already gone was standing around silently. No one spoke. No one made eye contact..

Nomi stood in the corner, chewing on her thumb. Theo paced like a caged animal. Asha sat cross-legged on the floor, expression blank.

Zaara was leaning against the wall. The second she saw , her body tensed like she’d been holding her breath. I gave her a small nod.

She nodded back.

We didn’t say a word.

When the last person was called in and finally returned, the guards herded us all back to the main chamber.

The familiar room felt... different.. People stood in corners, distant. Suspicion sat heavy on everyone’s shoulders.

I looked around.

Jojo still wasn’t here.

And that ant either she hadn’t made it back... or sothing worse.

We were all just standing there, waiting for an announcent, for a consequence, for the axe to fall. Waiting for the voice to say sothing.

"Congratulations, contestants, for making it to this phase."

It echoed overhead, bouncing off the steel walls. Like we hadn’t just spent the last 72 hours questioning each other’s loyalty, sanity, and souls.

"The votes have been counted and compiled. You have each cast your suspicion. And now..."

"Let’s begin with the nas...from the lowest number of accusations to the highest."

The tension in the room was suffocating.

"Out of the remaining eighty-six contestants, we have identified the top seven individuals who received the highest number of votes."

Another pause.

I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until my chest started to ache.

"First...Vincent. Two votes."

My na rang out. I blinked.

Two?

My gut knotted. Who the hell voted for ?

I caught a glance from Theo. Smirking. Smug. It could’ve been him..

"Next...Zaara. Six votes."

I felt her flinch.

My head whipped to the side. She didn’t move, but her face went pale. Her arms slowly dropped to her sides.

Six?

Six people thought she was the wildcard.

I wanted to grab her hand right there and say sothing...anything but I didn’t.

"Carter. Nine votes."

Carter’s eyebrows shot up. "What?" he muttered under his breath.

He shook his head in disbelief. "You’ve gotta be kidding ." He scanned the room like he was looking for soone to bla like the betrayal was still in the air.

"Dinesh. Eleven votes."

Dinesh clenched his jaw and gave a humorless laugh.. He didn’t even try to hide his bitterness.

"Aaron. Fourteen votes."

Aaron exhaled loudly and rubbed his forehead and did the unthinkable. He bowed to everyone and said, "I’m glad I made the list."

"Theo. Sixteen votes.".

Theo’s smirked.

His brows furrowed.. "Of course," he muttered. "Always the scapegoat. He looked around. "I actually expected over twenty."

Nobody answered him. No one needed to.

"And finally...with a total of twenty-seven votes...."