Dualism

[Liddo-kun]

I nod in reply to the woman and head towards the indicated door, though I wear an odd frown.

I could've sworn I heard some say "Matsuda"....

I walk slowly, wondering if the stress of the job was already getting to me or....  I wasn't quite sure how to take "or" as a possibility.  Actual voices in my head was a sign of... well, bad things probably.

[Carthrat]

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"...run!" (percussive noise) "He'll-(shhhhhhhh)"

When you open the door to Kyle's room, it's like stepping into another world. The solid, bland sitting-room behind you blazes into colour; the walls are red, the ground is blue, the roof is blonde (blonde? Yellow, surely), and the office in front of you.. looks like it could have something to do with advertising. The walls have pictures of all and sundry; from sports to porn to portraits to war. The back of the room is actually a window, gazing out onto the city beyond. Not as nice a view as you get from your apartment, though.

A high-backed chair faces the window, so you can't see the figure sitting in it.

"Ah. Ms. Matsuda," says a slow, cultured voice. "How good of you to come."

[Liddo-kun]

Run?  From what?  He'll?  Who?  Do what?

This has to be the worst case of nerves I've ever heard of, and I'm the sufferer.  Joy.

I enter then approach the man stiffly, but hopefully in a friendly enough manner.  Extending a hand, "It's a pleasure, mister..." I trail off, allowing him to fill in the blank there in regards to his name.

[Carthrat]

"There's no need for the pretense," the voice says, in some surprise. "You're in safe hands, here."

His chair swivels around, revealing a middle-aged man (or at least he looks that way) with short black hair and a very aquiline face. When he's facing you, he has a smile on his face that some might call cruel, but you somehow know is his natural smile.

It quickly morphs into a look of shock.

"Who are you?!" he exclaims, starting.

[Liddo-kun]

"Huh?" I begin, taken aback by his outburst.  "I'm Seina Matsuda.  I had an appointment to see someone named 'Kyle' regarding my new position?  The woman outside seemed to recognize my name...."  I added that last part helpfully in the hope that some corroborating evidence would erase his confusion or somehow lessen mine.

[Carthrat]

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"...no time! Run!"

"You're not Seina!" shrieks the man, reaching into a drawer. "You're one of those... incarnas! Aren't you?!"

'Kyle' pulls out a gun from the drawer. It's big, black, and shiny. He fumbles to chamber a round, giving you a few seconds to act.

[Liddo-kun]

I thank my lucky stars that "Kyle" didn't have the foresight to keep his firearm loaded as I beat a quick retreat.  I make sure to slam the door shut on the way out so that he doesn't have a clear view of my back to shoot.

I didn't have the foggiest idea as to what an "incarna" was, but education through expiration had no appeal in the least bit.  I was determined to get the hell out of the building, job interview or not.

[Carthrat]

A shot rings out, but it blasts through the doorframe and misses you by inches, followed by a muffled curse, and the sounds of footsteps.

The secretary looks up, serene; she smiles at you, and says, "My, that was a short meeting."

[Liddo-kun]

If I wasn't running for my life, I'm sure I would've enjoyed sharing a chuckle with the oh so charming and witty receptionist.  At the moment though, throwing a stapler through her smiling face was the only thoughtful response my mind could come up with.

"I'm not interested in the position!!" I call out over my shoulder as I head for the elevator.

I press the button for down about 9 or 12 times (it's so hard to keep track when you just want to breakdown and cry) since the notion of "the more times you press the faster it comes" made so much irrational sense at the time.

I keep a wary eye open for Dirty Harry, intent on diving through a stairwell or fire escape should he make a sudden guest appearance with itchy trigger fingers.

[Carthrat]

"Not to worry," says the secretary, behind you. You hear her slow, measured pace behind you, and oddly, note that she's wearing heels. The little click they make each time they impact the ground echoes through the room.

Meanwhile, the elevator certainly takes it's sweet time reaching you. Strangely, though, you don't hear Kyle (or was it Karl?) at all.

Well, he did look rather terrified.

[Liddo-kun]

I whip my eyes over to the secretary, wondering what she's doing or planning.  My inner spastic and squirrly nature is coming out strong today, though I guess being shot at by your boss helps in that regard.

[Carthrat]

She's... filing her nails?

"The position is still interested in you," she smiles, cricking her fingers.

Ding! The elevator doors start to slowly open behind you. You can just about fit through them. Good thing, too, because the secretary is almost upon you. If she'd been running, you'd have had no chance...

[Liddo-kun]

"That's... um, nice," I tell her, while edging back towards the elevator.  "But the position seems to be far too demanding, so while I appreciate the kind words, I really should be going now."

With that said, I quickly duck into the elevator and press the button to get to the first floor, then hammer away at the "Close Door" button like a video game champion.

"Wanna go home... wanna go home... wanna go home..." I whimper soft, yet nervously, under my breath.

[Carthrat]

With agonizing slowness, the elevator doors begin to close, whilst the secretary approaches closer, closer, closer...

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"...like a cornered tiger..."

With a sudden shriek of metal-on-metal, the secretary lunges out and grabs the sides of the elevator doors, just as they were about the close! With a twising, grinding sound, she starts to pull them open.

But not with her hands. Like talons, her nails grip rend at the doors, carving slices through them even as they are driven back!

[Liddo-kun]

I fight down the panic that's at my throat to pull out a stylized pen, which I had hopes of using to sign my first contract, and jam the exposed tip into the woman.