Novels by Queena

The steel door groaned, a long, agonizing shriek of metal-on-metal that vibrated straight through the soles of Lorenzo’s boots. On the other side, the heavy, rhythmic pounding of the Mall Guard’s kinetic rams continued, each strike shaking the penthouse walls like a tectonic tremor."They're going to punch through the hinges in five seconds," Yara said, her voice a razor’s edge. She didn't look at him; her eyes were locked on the helipad doors, her rifle steadied against the frame. "Ren, if that pass-key doesn't override the external lockdown, we’re essentially locked in a glass coffin with a dozen pissed-off soldiers."Lorenzo didn't answer. He was already at the wall-mounted interface, his fingers moving in a blur. The interface was glowing a violent, pulsating amber, resisting his input with every line of code. He jammed the pass-key into the slot, his skin burning where the metal met the interface."Come on, you piece of junk," he hissed, his jaw clenched. "Open. Just open."Biome

"Just me and the desert," Daniel muttered, his voice raspy as the hot wind caught his words and carried them away into the empty waste. "Let's see what breaks first."He took a slow, heavy step forward, his boots sinking into the dry, shifting shale. The heat was a physical weight, pressing down on his shoulders and stinging his eyes. He looked back at the heavy steel hatch he had just sealed, his hand resting instinctively on the hilt of his relic blade."You'd better keep them safe down there, Sentinel," Daniel said to the silent metal door. "Don't let Kirill do anything stupid. And make sure Jaxon doesn't try to touch the core."He turned back to face the endless expanse of jagged red rocks and shimmering heat waves."Great. No plan, no map, and absolutely no water," Daniel said, letting out a dry, humorless laugh. "Bio-Mechanical Architect. Sounds like a title that should come with a personal transport and a cold drink, not a slow death in the sun."He checked his status out loud,

"Keep moving, Vance," Cooper grunted, shoving his rifle barrel hard into the small of Daniel’s back. "And keep your hands where I can see them. One twitch, and I’ll put a kinetic bolt through your knee.""I can walk perfectly fine without the threats, Cooper," Daniel said, his voice flat, his boots dragging slightly against the cold concrete. "And you might want to keep that rifle pointed away from me. If you accidentally discharge it in this corridor, the static feedback from the wall conduits will probably melt your armor’s battery.""Is that a threat, tech-boy?" Cooper sneered, stepping closer. "You think because you made some fancy armor for the boss, you’re untouchable?""It's not a threat. It’s basic electrical engineering," Daniel replied, not even turning his head. "But I don't expect a grunt who barely knows how to load a magazine to understand voltage thresholds.""Hey! Shut your mouth!" Cooper snarled, raising his hand to strike."Cooper, back off," Vora’s sharp voice cut t

The heavy, seamless stone wall that Daniel had just conjured began to ripple. With a soft wave of his hand, the three-foot-thick barrier of solid rock and metal parted down the center, sliding back into the surrounding concrete with a low, grinding sigh.Kirill stood on the other side of the threshold.His bio-suit hummed with an angry, volatile resonance, the blue veins on the dark plates pulsing with a jagged, orange-tinted glare. Behind him, the dark corridor was silent, but the sheer physical gravity of the commander’s presence seemed to suck the air right out of the sub-level chamber."Is this really how we do things now, Daniel?" Kirill asked, his voice a low, gravelly vibration that rattled the loose solder on the worktables."I had to secure the core, Kirill," Daniel said, keeping his hands at his sides. "The Academy sent in another stealth squad through the drainage pipes. If I hadn't sealed the corridor, the containment breach would have flooded the entire upper barracks wit

"Twenty-three hours, fifty-eight minutes," Jaxon muttered, his voice shaking as he stared at the glowing amber countdown on the terminal. "We are officially on a leash, Danny. Tell me you have a plan that doesn't involve us turning into a localized zero-sum event. Tell me we aren't about to become a crater.""I'm working on it, Jax," Daniel said, his fingers flying across the keys. "Just give me a second to clear the logs."Suddenly, the console didn't just flicker; it went entirely black. The ambient blue light of the chamber died, leaving them in a suffocating darkness. Then, a massive shockwave of golden-brown energy erupted from the terminal, throwing both of them back."Uh, is it supposed to do that?" Jaxon yelled, scrambling on his hands and knees as the floor beneath them began to vibrate."No, it's not," Daniel gasped, clutching his head. A sharp, blinding headache hit him, feeling like a hot iron was being driven directly into his skull. "The System... it's forcing an update.

The electric hum from the drainage grate was still fading, leaving a thick, ozone-heavy silence in the tunnel. Daniel stood over the twitching infiltrator, the relic blade in his hand glowing with a faint, judgmental silver. His heart felt like it was trying to punch its way out of his ribs."Daniel, seriously, you’re scaring the hell out of me," Jaxon whispered, his voice echoing off the damp, moss-slicked walls. "What do you mean, a resurrection? What did that guy say?"Daniel didn't answer immediately. He knelt down, his eyes fixed on the insignia etched into the soldier's matte-black chest plate. It was the same symbol he’d found on his father’s old toolkit—the cracked gear framed by a dying sun."He said I’m doing exactly what was predicted," Daniel muttered, his voice sounding like it belonged to someone else. "He said this base isn't a home. It’s a target."The infiltrator let out a wet, gurgling wheeze. He fumbled with the latch of his visor, his fingers trembling with the las

Sparks cascaded like weeping willow branches over Vance’s face, illuminating the panic twisting his features before the main breaker tripped with a deafening thud. Total, suffocating blackness swallowed the subterranean facility. Alarms cut out mid-wail, replaced instantly by the low, pulsing groan of the emergency generators kicking in. Across the ceiling, recessed strips of emergency backup lights slowly flickered to life, bathing the holding room in deep, crimson shadows that made every corner bleed an unnatural scarlet.Diego slumped against the shattered glass partition, his knees buckling as Kali retreated back beneath the surface of his consciousness, leaving his muscles shaking and weak."Diego!" Nadiya’s voice cut through the hum of the red emergency beacons. She scrambled in the dark, her hands slapping desperately against the floor until she found his shoulders. "Diego, look at me. Are you okay? What just happened?!""I... I'm okay," Diego gasped, coughing weakly as the met

A dull, heavy vibration rattled through the soles of Diego's sneakers as the massive steel locks turned with the sound of grinding teeth. He reached out blindly, grabbing Nadiya's forearm to anchor himself as the echoes of the closing blast doors died away against the damp, curved walls of the underground platform."Hey! You can't just lock us in here!" Nadiya shouted, spinning around to face the two tactical guards who had already stepped up to block their path. Her voice bounced sharply off the concrete. "Open those doors right now!"Vance didn't even flinch. He walked past them with unhurried strides, his polished leather shoes clicking against the industrial decking. He tapped a small keypad on the wall, and a pair of sliding mesh-reinforced doors hissed open to their left, revealing a harshly lit, sterile holding room barely larger than a prison cell."No one is locking you in a tomb, Miss Vance. We are simply ensuring a controlled environment," Vance said smoothly, gesturing wit

"We don't have a choice, do we?" Diego muttered, his voice trembling as the heavy reality of their situation crashed down on his shoulders."Smart kid," Vance replied, his expression hardening as he gestured sharply toward the back of the transport.Without waiting for another invitation, the heavy side door slid open wider, revealing a sterile, softly lit interior lined with medical monitoring gear and reinforced seating. Diego didn't dare look back at the empty alley or the campus they had just fled. He climbed inside the vehicle first, his movements stiff and awkward as he tried desperately to keep the extra limbs beneath his oversized hoodie from knocking against the metal walls. Nadiya slipped in right behind him, her eyes darting across the high-tech instrument panels and digital screens before she took a seat directly beside him on the narrow metal bench.The door slammed shut with a heavy, pressurized thunk that cut off the ambient sounds of the city, plunging them into a quie

The low, rhythmic thrum of the engine vibrated straight through Diego’s sneakers, rattling the loose gravel at his feet. His breath hitched in his throat, a sharp spike of pure terror cutting through the fog of exhaustion as his eyes locked onto the unmarked vehicle."Nadiya," Diego choked out, his fingers twitching wildly inside the pockets of his oversized hoodie as the extra limbs beneath the fabric thrashed against his spine like trapped serpents. "Nadiya, stop. Look."Nadiya froze mid-step, her hand still clutched tightly against her ribs from her theatrical asthma performance. Her sharp eyes darted from the towering brick walls to the glossy, pitch-black flanks of the van blocking their only escape route to the street. There were no decals, no agency insignias, and most alarmingly, no license plates where steel brackets had been cleanly sheared off."That's not campus security," Nadiya whispered, her voice dropping an octave as she instinctively stepped closer to Diego, her shou

The noise hit them like a wall of wet cement.Strobe lights from corridor security panels flashed erratic crimson and amber across the peeling paint of the west wing. Frantic students streamed past in a disorganized panic, some clutching backpacks to their chests like shields, others openly weeping as campus enforcement officers in high-visibility vests barked orders through heavy-duty megaphones."Keep moving! Do not congregate in the halls! South and East exits are closed for evaluation!" an enforcement guard roared, his face purpling as he grabbed a terrified sophomore by the shoulder and shoved him toward the gymnasium corridor.Diego flinched, instinctively ducking his head and pulling the heavy cotton drawstrings of his oversized black hoodie tighter around his chin. Beneath the fabric, the extra limbs shifted with a sudden, agitated twitch, a low-frequency hum vibrating against his shoulder blades as adrenaline spiked his system. He could feel the cool, razor-sharp tips of the

The shadow cast by the concrete stairwell was deep, smelling of ozone and damp earth. Diego leaned against the cool brick, his heart drumming against his ribs like a panicked prisoner. The sirens in the distance were growing louder, a discordant symphony of encroaching authority.Nadiya stood before him, her chest heaving, her eyes locked onto his with a terrifying intensity. She didn’t look like she was about to run. She looked like she was waiting for a confession."I said show me," Nadiya whispered, her voice steady despite the chaos unfolding just a few hundred yards away. "We’re out of time, Diego. Halloway is going to be breathing down our necks in minutes. If you’re going to run, you need to be able to move. And you can’t move if you’re trying to hide half of yourself."Diego wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. "You don't understand, Nadiya. It’s not just a 'thing.' It’s... it’s a violation. It’s disgusting.""That’s not for you to decide," she snapped, tak