If this wasn't the one, then Dallas didn't know what in the hell she was going to do.
There had been a time when the Texas native thought her life was going to be nice and straightforward. Join the Army, travel the world, get them to pay for her to go to college, earn some fancy-ass officer's commission, retire to make bank in the private sector. Same thing her dad had done, and his dad before her, and she wasn't going to let a silly thing like being a girl get in the way of carrying on the family legacy. No, what got in the way was her goddamn temper.
Turns out getting dishonorably discharged for assaulting an officer didn't exactly do wonders for your civilian life. Kind of repulsive, in fact, to being hired by pretty much anyone. Throw in a hardass family that saw you as a disgrace, and you got Dallas McCallister: nearly thirty, constantly angry at the world, and on the absolute last step before rock bottom. Not even a change in scenery to Chicago had helped much, and in a few days, she'd be homeless, her landlord's patience having worn through.
Brushing a hand through her shaved-on-the-sides blonde hair, its locks constantly stirred up by the wind, Georgia held out few hopes for her final interview of the week. She'd gotten this far before, even had interviews that seemed to go well - but then the background check came, and suddenly, they wouldn't dare return her calls. The ex-solider fully expected this to turn out the same way, and for her failure, when she inevitably stumbled home drunk, to drive her into putting another hole in the wall.
God knows the location didn't give her much confidence. In her ever-increasing apathy, she hadn't bothered to look up the location of her posting: it was a home, rather than a business. A large, fairly expensive-looking house, more akin to a manor, in one of the nicest parts of the city. Way too fancy for some dropout loser like her. Still, she trudged up the winding walkway and staircase, knocking on the door a few times before backing up.
There was a whole lot of shuffling and footsteps on the other side, like someone running around in a hurry, before the door flew open. Greeting her was a woman who looked to be just a few years older than Georgia, dark-skinned - Indian descent, if she had to guess - with a body a bit curvier than her own flat, athletic build. Long, wavy black hair framed a pretty face, thick-rimmed glasses perched on her nose, behind which were a pair of eyes that lit up with excitement. "Hi there! I uh, I'm a bit busy unfortunately, do you think you could come back later?" Her tone was sweet, albeit panicked, and she could tell that the woman was out of breath. The rather nice suit she wore, complete with a tweed jacket and tie tucked under her vest, seemed a bit ruffled as well.
Well, it was interesting if nothing else. "Uhhhhh..." Georgia stammered for a bit in her southern drawl, "I was supposed to see one of y'all 'bout a job here... security, or somethin'?"
"OH! Oh yes! Oh my yes you couldn't have come at a better time! Please, enter, enter!" She moved and waved for the blonde to step inside, quickly taking the woman's coat as she looked over the expansive hallway and entry room. It had looked big from the outside, but in here, it seemed absolutely massive, more like stepping into a cavern than a house. Lavishly decorated like something out of an 1800s period piece, all sorts of classical, fancy architecture, decorations, a grand staircase - and that was to say nothing of all the strange paintings and trophies hanging on the wall. Landscapes, bizarre abstract pieces, countless animal heads, what looked like ancient artifacts - it was less home and more museum.
She already had questions, but the woman who'd let her was already hurrying her down one of several hallways. "Oh, where are my manners - Doctor Olivia Darzi, proprietor of this fine home!" She was excited, her voice full of energy. "I do apologize for the change of plans, but I ah... I'm having a bit of a situation, you see, and I really could use your help!"
"Uh.... okay....?" Somehow, Goergia felt like she was being roped into doing free work... but if it helped get her a job, then fuck it. "What, you need me to kick a bum out or something?"
"Nothing of quite that nature, I'm afraid!" They rounded a corner to a grand double door, and Olivia quickly moved to open up a large cabinet next to it. The blonde's eyes grew wide as the smaller indian woman retrieved a pair of double-barreled shotguns, tossing one to her along with a small satchel of shells.
Just as she was about to ask what the fuck this was for, Olivia gave her an answer. "I'm afraid a were-beast managed to sneak in! Not to worry, as long as you don't get scratched, a few shells will put them down long enough to be banished back to where they came from!"
With that, she burst through the door into a sprawling recreation of a nature preserve, a massive room whose size seemed to exceed that of the house outside. Georgia's jaw dropped as she slowly staggered in, gripping her new weapon and turning her head towards every sound of movement nearby.
"....what the fuck?!" She was so busy standing there, astounded and struggling to figure out what in the world was going on, that she didn't notice the rustling of something sneaking up on her through the nearby underbrush...