The hallway was dim and silent as you made your way toward Amir’s workstation. The team had set up in a different area of Höllvania this time, and while it seemed like a solid plan, you hadn’t anticipated how quickly the tech rot would spread. When the comms had cut out earlier, you were sent in to check on Amir. Your pulse quickened as you approached the door, your hand instinctively reaching for your weapon.

You pushed it open, and the sight before you stopped you cold.

Amir was hunched over the console, his fingers a blur on the keys. His eyes darted between the flickering screen and the tangled mess of wires, the tech rot oozing from the edges like some parasitic entity. He muttered under his breath, his words coming out in rapid bursts, too fast to make sense. His hands twitched erratically, almost as if he were struggling to keep up with his own thoughts, and his breath came in short, shallow gasps.

“I—gonna—fix—no, no, not enough time,” he mumbled, his voice a frantic jumble of sound. “It’s too much, too fast…just need—”

“Amir,” you said, your voice breaking through the chaos.

His head snapped up, eyes wide, panic evident. He froze for a split second before the words started tumbling out in a frantic mess.

“I-I can fix it—I just need to—rot, it’s spreading—I can’t—too much—” His stammering grew faster, his words blending together in a rush.

You could see it then—his body was moving in overdrive, pushing itself to an extreme. His mind was racing, but his hands were fumbling, unable to keep up with the speed at which he was trying to think and act. The urgency was consuming him, but you could tell—he just needed to calm down. The situation was dire, yes, but if he didn’t slow down, he wasn’t going to get anywhere.