Players with only one lifeline followed us to the game arena. The arena was a huge building with a lift and a glowing sign:
“3rd Floor – Strikeworld.”
But what shocked us the most was the second sign:
“Only 10 players allowed per game.”
We froze. This changed everything.
Siddhu, Harshath, Jenny, Aswath, Badrul, Inspector Shariff, Kathir, the couple, and I decided to enter first. We asked the others to join different game arenas to extend their lifelines. They agreed, leaving everything to us.
It was now up to the ten of us to win Strikeworld.
We stepped into the lift and reached the 3rd floor. There were three doors waiting for us.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2fC632o50C
Each door had a requirement:
Door 1: 3 players
Door 2: 4 players
Door 3: 3 players
The game forced us to split up — not what we planned, but unavoidable.
Door 1: Siddhu, Inspector Shariff, Badrul
Door 2: Jenny, Kathir, Aswath, and I
Door 3: Harshath and the couple
We kept our walkie-talkies ready, promising to stay connected no matter what.
Inside the Arena
The moment we entered our section, we saw it —156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXCihpEjle
a massive hall with three floors filled with dozens of doors.
And standing in the center of the ground floor was the killer, holding an axe.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2earS9E0MT
Through the radios, Siddhu and Harshath confirmed the same — their killers held a spear and a long knife.
A screen beside the killer lit up. A robotic voice began reading the rules:
• Game time: 30 minutes.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6BGYRhqU2
• Four types of rooms: Locked, Empty, Light, and Lucky.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqk5As6Yes
• Players cannot enter locked rooms.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgy6RRxqoE0
• Empty rooms: Safe for only 3 minutes. Staying longer triggers an alarm.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAE6BHJivTz
• Light rooms: Contain a key to the Lucky Room.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrf5xP8osg
• Lucky Room: Holds the compass.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtpvV6TKUi
• Even if the compass is found early, players must survive until the timer ends.
The arena had three floors, each with ten rooms on three sides — left, right, and opposite.
The killers had one job:156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKqUBgVQWv
Hunt us.
And we had one goal:156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpYiGQMIR3
Find the light room → get the key → unlock the lucky room → survive 30 minutes.
Splitting the Lanes
Our plan went into motion:
Jenny → Left lane
Me → Right lane
Kathir → Opposite lane
Aswath → Full-time distraction
For the groups of three players, two searched the lanes while one played distraction the whole time.
Each of us carried chalk pieces to mark rooms:
X = Empty room
Leave door open = Empty room discovered
Light room = Grab key, announce room code
We reminded everyone:156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigTVn3WMqR
“Don’t fight the killers. Our mission is the compass and survival.”
The buzzer sounded — the game began.
The Hunt Starts
The axe killer sprinted straight to Jenny’s lane.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoo5MVUpjIi
Aswath charged behind him.
Kathir and I ran to the right lane. But before I even reached my row, the killer was already on the second floor of the left lane.
He was much faster than we expected.
Aswath threw a sticky grenade tied with a bolas trap — one of Kathir’s inventions.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZiF94oznv
It wrapped around the killer and slowed him.
We used the time to search:
Locked door.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiPAMNslePp
Empty door.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsvtmrKugmY
Empty door.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GzM5ZTlYS
Locked door.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUVTd0NgxE
No light room.
We reached the second floor.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecpbreAg8P
Still nothing.
Aswath rushed down to check the first-floor rooms again.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTRSWrNqCy
Still no luck.
Jenny joined me to search faster.
The killer broke free and sprinted toward us.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchxEOgedSv
Aswath threw a smoke grenade and bought us a few seconds.
Then—
Kathir’s voice on the walkie:156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaw68T3u0Ka
“Found a light room! I got the key! There’s a clue inside… 22!”
That meant the compass was in Room 22.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdZYx4bhIJ
But each lane had a Room 22 — three possibilities.
The killer detected Kathir and charged toward him.
“RUN!” we yelled.
Kathir dashed into an empty room.
I ordered Jenny and Aswath:156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoH4aZXtJA3
“Go to the nearest Room 22. Check every lane.”
The killer closed in on me.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdensSuSzKK
I threw a petrol bomb grenade — flames exploded around him.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzw08AyPema
He didn’t fall.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBaIjdTzxa
Instead, he hurled his axe at me.
I barely dodged and grabbed the axe before running toward the starting area.
He chased me like a monster.
Kathir reached his Room 22 — empty.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMRna5joCE
He sprinted to Jenny’s lane.
The killer leaped from the first floor, rolled, and extinguished the flames.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvKTlisC3ta
He wanted his axe — and I was holding it.
Jenny and Kathir reached the second Room 22 — also wrong.
That meant the last Room 22, in Aswath’s zone, was the one.
The killer chased me relentlessly. My legs burned. My throat dried.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCzHMBAke2
He was seconds behind me.
I made a desperate move —156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMoSFbIkYg5
I threw his axe to the ground floor.
The killer stopped instantly and rushed to retrieve it.
I hid in an empty room.
Meanwhile, Jenny, Kathir, and Aswath unlocked the Lucky Room.
They found the compass.
But the timer still had 10 minutes left.
The killer roared with fury.
Final 10 Minutes
He rushed toward my lane to finish me first.
Others escaped to the right lane — it had more empty rooms.
Aswath and Kathir positioned themselves on each side of the third floor, preparing a trap.
When the killer stepped onto the third floor,156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxcf6yJWSv
I swung down using a grappling rope.
The killer reached the edge — perfectly in the kill zone.
“Aswath, now!”
He threw a bolas wrapped in petrol.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPfDYR1B9c
Kathir launched the petrol bomb.
The killer caught fire, wrapped tightly, and fell from the third floor to the ground.
We ran.
The killer stood again.
Still alive.
Still hunting.
4 minutes left.
We regrouped on the third floor.
Holding hands, breathing heavily, we prepared for the final stand.
The killer broke free and sprinted toward us.
We scattered into empty rooms — but there were only three.
Aswath used the rope and attempted to swing down —156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEM7Slvh0a
But the killer threw his axe.
The blade stabbed Aswath’s shoulder.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3NH4HeCVu
He slipped and fell from the second floor.
The killer charged toward him.
I sprinted.
I reached Aswath just before the killer.156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1GJhWV9SE
Smoke grenades filled the lane — mine, Jenny’s, Kathir’s.
I pulled Aswath to a corner and faced the killer.
Jenny and Kathir shot their taser guns.
The killer slowed.
I raised the axe and slammed it into his head.
He knelt.
He didn’t die.
He pulled the axe out — ready to attack again.
And then—
The timer hit 00:00.
The killer’s head exploded.
Strikeworld ended.
Victory
We rushed to Aswath. He was bleeding heavily, but conscious.
We carried him and the compass toward the blinking exit door.
We had won.
For the first time…156Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykV1SPLbNG
We survived a game meant to kill us.
Inside my heart, I prayed that every other team in the arena had made it out alive too
ns216.73.216.67da2
and then Add to home screen.