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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0u6uEMYgRh
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 —38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpesTfx56LO
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbdccCqxyvG
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrxXMN4jmz
• Four types of rooms: Locked, Empty, Light, and Lucky.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2NCxuxDiaT
• Players cannot enter locked rooms.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOrcBzJ47x
• Empty rooms: Safe for only 3 minutes. Staying longer triggers an alarm.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9JBW6Nap4l
• Light rooms: Contain a key to the Lucky Room.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQuvfcAA0SK
• Lucky Room: Holds the compass.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV60Rg3YqsU
• 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:38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ247cb2VoN6
Hunt us.
And we had one goal:38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡET9IvBBUf2
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:38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRVHGWqCkB
“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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXbv35nfb6
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKb5r2HPwo
It wrapped around the killer and slowed him.
We used the time to search:
Locked door.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC316GhUQ0T
Empty door.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPrHNhwGmQ
Empty door.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcjWZ8xFlKH
Locked door.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2Nakl17Uj
No light room.
We reached the second floor.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuaBHl9HD3s
Still nothing.
Aswath rushed down to check the first-floor rooms again.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8HX5C1FZNA
Still no luck.
Jenny joined me to search faster.
The killer broke free and sprinted toward us.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7191IJwMBP
Aswath threw a smoke grenade and bought us a few seconds.
Then—
Kathir’s voice on the walkie:38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uukWcAJjz
“Found a light room! I got the key! There’s a clue inside… 22!”
That meant the compass was in Room 22.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpVNlU5NBt
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:38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPM0b861o2
“Go to the nearest Room 22. Check every lane.”
The killer closed in on me.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtJvlJITvf
I threw a petrol bomb grenade — flames exploded around him.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5LLwbowYF
He didn’t fall.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd5z5WznmeI
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqh1zsSecNd
He sprinted to Jenny’s lane.
The killer leaped from the first floor, rolled, and extinguished the flames.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKF4cDae91
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWkcLD6iEMg
He was seconds behind me.
I made a desperate move —38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSto468Y68
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,38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxG4dBvAFa
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.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcHdnfHg7T
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 —38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYicxoAdcs
But the killer threw his axe.
The blade stabbed Aswath’s shoulder.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQzqIzhHxe
He slipped and fell from the second floor.
The killer charged toward him.
I sprinted.
I reached Aswath just before the killer.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKu7sJmEbe
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…38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBHSs4yZew
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
ns216.73.216.33da2
and then Add to home screen.