The tensed air tightened with the dreading silence that drew longer, muting the surrounding noises round there — the strained thread locked between their unwavering gaze stretched.
Without sparing a glance at the offending object positioned between them, Drogo’s crystalline blue orbs narrowed on hers.
“So what next?” He crooked his head. “Shoot me?”
“That won’t be an intelligent move, would it?” She grinned.
With the crease above his brows deepening, Drogo stayed still in close proximity to her and the gun — anticipating the next direction of her movement.
Her lips pulled wider to reveal her canines. “What’s wrong, Doc?… Worried?”
He didn’t respond, feeling his fingers twitch at his side.
He should just swipe the gun before she gets the chance to—
Karen took a step back.
Feeling the thoughts of confusion curl within his head, he watched her brown eyes glint lightly as her irky smile stretched higher.
She pressed the barrel against her opposite forearm.
Before his senses could assimilate her actions, the loud blast of the gunshot bounced off the wooden walls.
Drogo’s eyes peeled wide.
Staggering back with a guttural growl, Karen’s left arm dangled lifelessly as a stream of blood gushed from the hole burrowed in her arm.
Drogo stepped back.
Feeling the swirling confusion in his mind, his eyes then caught sight of what looked like a grin stretched on her lips.
She chuckled.
“W- Wha— wha—”
“Now about my job application…”
Drogo felt the circuits in his head pause.
What?
His eyelids fluttered a few times before he could gape his lips to speak. “J- Job?”
Did she just ask about her job application?… Job application?! This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
Drawing in a long breath through clenched teeth, Karen finally raised her head to lock eyes with him. “Are you ready to consider?”
He forgot to blink. “Ms. Ben—” he couldn’t even complete her name, watching the blood soak the fabric of her coat sleeve. “Are you out of your mind?! Why would y—”
“GIVE ME THE DAMN JOB!”
Drogo’s shoulders flinched. A cold chill ran down.
His muscles tensed as the silence stretched again, like the room itself was holding its breath. Karen’s ragged breaths punctuated the quiet, her blood seeping slowly down her sleeve, painting the floor.
“Wait… ar- are you really—” he started, voice tight, confusion knitting his brow, “doing all of this—for a job?”
Her lips pulled higher — a smile — psychotic and sharp. She lifted the gun again, pointing at another segment of her already bleeding arm, the motion deliberate, as she pressed it against her skin. “Would you give me the job,” she snarled, “or do you need to pull a corpse out of your house first?”
Drogo’s knees threatened to buckle.
His fingers twitched, unable to settle. “O-okay, okay… fine, fine. You have the—Jesus Christ, woman—” He swallowed hard, caught between disbelief and panic, voice breaking on the edge of sanity.
Karen cocked the gun.
“Fine! Fine! You have the job! Oh God… You have the job!”
Karen’s eyes flickered.
The gun dropped from her hands like it had never mattered, the weight of it hitting the floor with a muted thud.
The manic gleam in her eyes vanished in an instant — replaced by a calm that was almost eerie in its suddenness.
Her shoulders relaxed.
As her smile softened, without a trace of its former insanity, she carefully leaned down to pick up the gun, returning it into her coat.
“See you at work tomorrow, Doc,” she said softly, her voice steady, almost sweet.
“I’ll resume at eight.”
And with that, she walked out.
Blood dripped from her sleeve, leaving a dark trail across the floor, but she moved with a measured calm that made the chaos of the last few minutes feel like a fevered dream.
Drogo backed away without realizing it, until his spine hit the wall behind him. He slumped against it, knees weak, eyes fixed on the streak of red disappearing into the porch.
His fingers found their way through his disheveled silver strands.
“What the hell is wrong with that woman…” he muttered, the words barely audible and swallowed by the room’s oppressive silence.
He sank to the floor, his eyes still locked on the ceiling, questioning; still trying to reconcile the impossible puzzle scheme he had just witnessed. You are reading on novelping(.)com, the official source.
“Blood of Christ…” he clutched onto his rosary.
The next morning arrived in contrast — clear skies with sunlight spilling over the city, vehicles buzzing along the roads as the day stirred awake.
Inside Drogo’s small mental clinic, the calm of the morning felt almost sacred.
Karen stood beside him, steady and poised, with the arm she had shot yesterday now wrapped carefully in a bandage, supported by a sling.
Drogo, regaining some composure with the masked confusion and distress in him, introduced her to his old lady secretary.
His voice was calm but almost controlled.
“Ms. Mary… This is Ms. Benjamin.”
Old Lady Mary had forgotten to hide her disapproving grimace.
Drogo continued, “She’ll be working with us from now on… As my assistant.” The words almost took along the contents of his stomach. “Please. Treat her nicely.”
The secretary’s gaze lingered on Karen, clear with suspicion and caution. Karen only smiled.
A soft, quiet smile, entirely without the edge of yesterday’s chaos. “Nice to properly meet you. I look forward to working with you.”
Silence… was the only answer she could get.
No other words. No explanation. Just an unwavering smile on Karen’s face before Drogo cleared his throat to loosen the tension.
“Shall we?” He motioned her to his office.
They walked into the office together, the city hum of the morning routine surrounding them.
Drogo stole a glance at her as she moved with unnatural calm, and he felt the same knot of unease tighten in his chest.
What sort of mind is in that sick brain of hers… he thought, already pulling at the threads of her behavior. The psychiatrist in him, always watching.
And she, he must say, is a case worth studying…
They carefully sat at the table opposite each other as Drogo’s eyes remained plainly on her. Karen smiled back.
And somehow, despite the sunlight and the mundane normalcy of the morning, the memory of yesterday’s gore and intent refused to leave his mind.
And most especially, that grin she had on all through…
Only God knew what he was in for, hiring this girl…