The Glitch

The shadow retreated, sucking itself back into the ventilation system.

Adrian stood panting, the burns on his hand knitting together before Nora’s eyes. He straightened his suit jacket.

"We have a problem," he said calmly.

"A problem?" Nora stood up, her legs shaking. "I'm cursed?"

"Infected," Adrian corrected. "The Mimic is a digital-biological hybrid. It infects the prey with a UI to monitor their vitals. It likes its meat seasoned with cortisol. It’s been fattening you up with stress all week."

Nora looked at the blue box in her vision. **[STATUS: DETECTED. PREPARING FOR CONSUMPTION.]**

"Oh god," she whispered.

"I'm an Auditor," Adrian said. "I work for the... let's call it the supernatural compliance department. I was sent here to delete the Mimic. But it's smarter than the usual bugs."

"Who is it?" Nora asked. "If it's a shapeshifter, it could be anyone."

"It has to be someone central," Adrian said. "Someone who sees everyone coming and going. Someone innocuous."

Nora froze.

**[MARTHA - LVL 2 HUMAN]**

"The receptionist," Nora breathed. "Martha."

As if summoned, the intercom on Adrian’s desk clicked on.

"Mr. Thorne?" Martha’s voice came through. It sounded sweet, but underneath, there was a static distortion. "Are you in there? I have some papers for you."

The door didn't open. It dissolved.

The wood melted into a grey sludge, and standing in the hallway wasn't the sweet old lady. It was a towering, shifting mass of pixels and flesh, wearing Martha’s cardigan like a stretched skin.

**[ENTITY ID: THE GLITCH]**

**[LEVEL: 99]**

**[IMMUNITY: PHYSICAL DAMAGE]**

"Time to file the quarterly reports," the thing gurgled.

It raised a hand, and the air around Nora warped. Her System interface turned blood red.

**[SYSTEM HACKED.]**

**[ERROR. ERROR. ERROR.]**

Pop-ups exploded in her vision. **[BUY NOW!] [DEATH IMMINENT!] [404 NOT FOUND!]**

Nora screamed, clutching her head. She was blind, drowning in spam data.

Adrian lunged at the creature. He moved faster than sound, slamming into the Mimic. But as he made contact, the Mimic let out a sonic shriek—a high-frequency blast that shattered the glass walls of the office.

Adrian collapsed, clutching his ears, blood pouring from his nose. Vampires. High sensitivity to acoustics.

"Adrian!" Nora cried out.

The Mimic stepped over the fallen vampire. It turned its eyeless face toward Nora.

**[TARGET ACQUIRED: NORA VANCE.]**