Novels by payal Veera

The medical bay smelled like antiseptic and blood.Sienna sat on the examination table while a doctor stitched her shoulder. She didn't flinch. Didn't make a sound. Just stared at the wall with dead eyes.The group gathered around. Elena watching the stitches. Jax by the door, arms crossed, scanning everyone who passed. Tyler and Daniel sat on chairs, exhausted.Kade stood near the window. Watching the arena below. More bodies being dragged away. More sand being raked clean. Preparing for the next round of death."You're lucky," the doctor said. Not looking up from his work. "The spear missed the artery by centimeters.""Lucky," Sienna repeated flatly. "Right.""You're also the first to defeat a Valkyrie." The doctor tied off the stitch. Started on the next one. "In twelve matches, no one's survived. You made history.""Great. Can I get that on a trophy?"The doctor almost smiled. "The Gauntlet has three phases. You completed Phase 1. Thirty players remain now.""What's Phase 2?" Kade

The Valkyrie rose from the dust cloud.Wings spread wide. Spears crackling with electricity. Red eyes locked onto Sienna like targeting lasers.It launched again. Aerial strike. Coming from above.Sienna dove behind a stone pillar. The spears struck. Stone exploded. Chunks flew everywhere."She's pinned down!" Tyler shouted from the stands.The Valkyrie didn't stop. Pulled the spears free. Swung them in wide arcs. Each strike destroyed more of the pillar.Sienna rolled out. Ran for the next cover. The creature was right behind her. Wings propelling it forward impossibly fast.A spear thrust caught her jacket. Tore through fabric. Missed skin by inches.She spun. Slashed with both swords. Hit the creature's arm. Sparks flew. No damage. The armor was too thick.The Valkyrie's wing blade came around. Horizontal sweep aimed at her neck.Sienna dropped flat. The blade whistled overhead. She scrambled away on hands and knees."She can't keep dodging!" Elena's voice was panicked."Come on, S

Kade stumbled back into the holding area.His hands wouldn't stop shaking. Blood and sand caked under his fingernails. Marcus's last expression burned into his memory. The fear. The resignation. The tears."Kade." Jax's voice cut through the fog. "Sit down."Kade sat. Didn't remember moving. Just found himself on the bench.Elena appeared with water. "Drink."He took it. I didn't taste it. Just felt the cold in his throat."You did what you had to," Jax said. Hard. Direct. "That's survival. Nothing more.""I murdered him.""The game murdered him. You were just the weapon they used." Jax crouched down. Met his eyes. "Don't carry that weight. It'll break you. And we need you sharp."Tyler sat nearby, pale. "How many more fights?""Too many," Daniel muttered.Sienna checked her device. "Twelve more matches to reach thirty players. Could be hours. Could be all day."The arena screen lit up above them."NEXT MATCH: PLAYER 28 VS PLAYER 33."Two players entered. Both were terrified. The figh

The light faded.Kade opened his eyes to roaring. Not wind. Not machines. Voices. Thousands of them. Screaming. Cheering. Hungry for blood.He pushed himself up. Sand beneath him. Hot. Coarse. Around him, massive stone walls rose fifty feet high. Ancient Colosseum. Roman style.The others appeared beside him. Jax. Elena. Daniel. Tyler. Sienna. All staring up in shock.Above them, in raised platforms circling the arena, sat hundreds of people. Rich clothes. Jewelry. Champagne. The sponsors. No longer watching through screens. Here in person."What is this?" Jax muttered.A massive screen flickered to life. Victor Kane's face appeared. Smiling. "WELCOME TO ZONE 5: THE GAUNTLET!"The crowd cheered."You've entertained us from far away. Now you'll entertain us up close. This zone is simple. You fight one on one. The winner moves forward. Loser dies.""Dies?" Daniel's voice cracked."Forty-five players entered Zone 5. Only Forty will leave. The Gauntlet decides who's worthy."Kade's stom

The five minutes stretched to ten.Everyone needed the rest. Wounds cleaned. Water rationed. Breathing steady again.Jax stood guard at the door. Eyes on Sienna more than the corridor.Elena sat beside Kade, checking his shoulder wound. "It's not deep, but it needs proper stitching.""Later.""You always say later." She wrapped it tighter. "One day later won't come.""Then I'll die with unstitched wounds." Kade almost smiled.Daniel sat against the wall, pale. The kid had seen too much death today. Tyler was already pestering Sienna with questions about her device."So the encryption uses a rotating cipher?" Tyler asked eagerly."Adaptive cipher. Changes every thirty seconds." Sienna answered without looking up. Still scanning for threats."That's brilliant. How did you—""Kid, I'm trying to make sure we don't die. Questions later."Tyler deflated but didn't stop staring at her tech.Jax walked over to Kade. Voice low. "We need to talk. About her.""Not now.""Yes, now." Jax's jaw was

The alarms shattered the silence.Loud and Piercing. Echoing through the sub-level like a death scream."UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED. SECURITY BREACH. HUNTER UNITS DEPLOYING."Sienna's device flashed red. "Shit. They found me.""How long?" Kade stood, hand on his knife."Minutes. Maybe less." She tapped frantically. "I triggered something when I showed you that video. The system flagged my access."The robotic voice continued. "SUB-LEVEL LOCKDOWN INITIATED. ALL EXITS SEALED."Metal doors slammed shut around them. The grinding of locks echoed.Kade scanned the chamber. One ledge. One corpse. Water everywhere. No visible exits."We're trapped.""No." Sienna's fingers flew across her device. "There's always a backdoor. The system needs maintenance access. I just need to find it!"A panel on the far wall flickered. Lights changed from red to green."Maintenance tunnel. Leads to upper levels." She looked at Kade. "Can you swim?""Can you fight?""We're about to find out."They dove into t