The Taste of Seduction

They had to work together and think quickly. They knew that failure was not an option.

The clock was ticking and Marcus didn\'t know what to do as he was told to be in place before the situation worsens.

Just as Austin was busy doing the puzzle, the voice from earlier on echoed in the room again, further pressuring them and distracting them as it repeated on and on while they were struggling.

"The traitor is acting quickly; think now and reflect. A jealous heart is dangerous and not one to be trampled with."

Austin\'s quick thinking saved them from failing the challenge. He was able to identify the solution to the puzzle, and they managed to solve it just in time. He solved it in under a minute, and with that, a loud thud in the room was heard.

"The traitor is acting quickly; think now and reflect. A jealous heart is dangerous and not one to be trampled with."

The words of the mysterious voice resounded repeatedly in the room. As they solved the puzzle, the loud thud they heard indicated that the traps were all disabled. As the open ground where Atlas fell started to close, Meredith looked at Marcus, begging for help.

"Marcus, please!! Now!"

The vampire now ran without hesitation as they are assured that there are no more traps. As he helped grab Atlas up the ground now completely sealed up, the lava no longer present.

Just as Atlas was now safe, he regained his balance and immediately stood up. The moment he did, he shoved Marcus as hard as he could, surprising Meredith as she didn\'t expect him to do so. He fell to the ground, the vampire surprised at what he did as well.

"Atlas! Why did you—"

"You fucker!" Atlas exclaimed, interrupting her as he was accusing Marcus. "How could you do that?!"

"What?" Marcus scoffed as he stood up quickly, facing Atlas head on. "You fucking think that I did that on purpose?!"

"How else could it happen, huh?" Atlas retorted; annoyance laced in the tone of his voice. "\'The traitor is acting quickly; think now and reflect. A jealous heart is dangerous and not one to be trampled with.\' That\'s the statement that kept repeating as we struggled! What else could it be?"

"Atlas…" Marcus let out a frustrated sigh as he was being accused. "I implore you to think with reason."

"Oh, there is no more time to think," Atlas replied with a scoff, shaking his head as he was disappointed with him. "You\'re jealous that I\'m with Meredith and she chose me. You think I was not awake that night to witness your cute little speech along with the kiss?"

By this time, Austin already came to the picture. With him hearing their conversation, he calmly tried his best to calm them down.

"Atlas, Marcus… save this conversation for later. We—"

"Atlas," Marcus interrupted, talking to him as if Meredith and Austin weren\'t around. "If I were jealous, why would I rush to save you?"

"Dimwit," Atlas commented, sarcasm etched in his voice. "Because you love Meredith so much that you\'d do anything she asks you to. You promised to come to this journey. We\'re just a responsibility, right?"

"Atlas…" Meredith intervened, holding his chest to calm him down. "From the looks of it, Marcus had just triggered a trap and—"

"That\'s right," Atlas interrupted, looking at her. "He took this as an opportunity to get rid of me so he can be with you."

"Atlas, no," Austin chimed in, shaking his head to disagree. "This time, I say that it was my fault. I thought that the traps were already gone by the time the two of us arrived, but seemed that there was more," he added, explaining Marcus\' side. "He was even worried about you two and—"

"Then what\'s up with the mysterious guy\'s statement? The traitor acted quickly, Marcus triggered the trap. He loves Meredith and she chose me… doesn\'t that come with jealousy? He made us argue before we even went back to earth!"

"Atlas… enough," Meredith said, her eyes now filled with worry. "He\'s quiet. He obviously didn\'t mean to risk your life. He—"

"He\'s the traitor!"

Atlas spoke with conviction before Meredith could finish her statement. With him grabbing her arm, he spoke to Marcus with warning.

"Stay away from us… or else, I\'ll kill you."

"Atlas—"

"I trusted you," Atlas interrupted harshly, not wanting to listen to him. "And you broke that trust with your fucking selfish desires."

He gave Marcus no chance to defend and explain himself. He grabbed Meredith by the arm, walking away with her having no choice but to follow him.

As he walked far away from them, Marcus felt wronged with doing something he didn\'t even thought and felt of doing.

As he watched their retreating figure, he felt heavy in his heart that he was accused of something he would never dare do even though he was indeed jealous that she chose Atlas instead of him.

He respected her decision and he respected Atlas as a man, too. Why on earth would he do something stupid like that?

He wanted so much to explain his side but seeing as to how he is angry, Marcus knew that he couldn\'t do anything about it for now.

"Marcus… I\'m sorry."

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Austin talk to him, feeling a tap on his shoulder as he comforted him.

"This unfortunate incident led us to questioning each other. You were just concerned and you trusted my judgment when I thought I was right. I—"

"Austin, there\'s nothing to apologize for," Marcus interrupted, giving him a small smile. "No matter what, I will still join you guys and see this through even though he no longer trusts me."

With that, he started walking, following the couple in an acceptable distance so as to not provoke Atlas further. Austin then followed them with a sigh, walking alongside Marcus as they continued onward.