Hard Reboot

They reached the server room at the end of the hall. Nora shoved Adrian inside and slammed the heavy door.

The Mimic heard that.

It shrieked and charged down the hallway, tearing up the carpet as it came.

"The Halon," Nora gasped, locking the door. "It's a biological hybrid. It needs oxygen to maintain the flesh suit, but it needs heat to run the processing."

Adrian wiped the blood from his eyes. He nodded, understanding immediately. "Manual override is on the far wall."

The door buckled. A fist of static and bone punched through the steel.

"Go," Adrian snarled. He stood up, shaking off the disorientation. "I'll buy you time."

Adrian threw himself at the door, bracing his undead strength against the abomination trying to break in.

Nora sprinted through the rows of humming server racks.

**[QUEST: INITIATE PURGE.]**

**[DISTANCE: 20 METERS.]**

The door ripped off its hinges. The Mimic poured into the room, a tsunami of glitching horror. It swatted Adrian aside like a ragdoll.

It surged toward Nora.

"DELETE," it screeched.

Nora reached the red panel. She didn't hesitate. She slammed her palm onto the button.

**[WARNING: FIRE SUPPRESSION IMMINENT.]**

* WHOOSH.*

The room was instantly filled with a deafening hiss. White gas exploded from the nozzles.

The cold was instantaneous.

The Mimic stopped mid-lunge. As the gas hit it, the "Martha" skin froze and cracked like porcelain. Underneath, the digital shadow slowed, the pixels freezing in place.

It let out a low, slowing groan. *D...e...l...e...*

It shattered.

The entity crumbled into a pile of frozen grey dust and static.

Nora slumped against the server rack, shivering uncontrollably. The Halon gas was safe for electronics, but she needed to get out before she suffocated.

A hand grabbed her shoulder. Adrian.

He was pale, his suit ruined, but he was alive. He pulled her up, and together they stumbled out of the server room into the hallway, collapsing on the cheap carpet of the corridor.