Time Maze

Siren of Doom

Following someone who clearly had sinister intentions wasn't something Tyson was keen on doing. However, he knew he had to play his cards right to get both himself and Marcus to safety.

If he knew anything about his foolish friend, it was that he would blindly follow a beautiful woman without ever thinking twice about it. If Tyson had refused to go with them, he wasn't sure if his friend would have been safely returned to him. This way, he could at least do everything in his power to help Marcus when the time came.

"Do you mind?" Sunshine asked Marcus sweetly as she linked her hand through his.

"No, not at all. It's nice," Marcus said, stumbling for words like a star-struck fan.

"It is nice. I can't say the same for your friend over there, though. Why don't we just ditch him, save my brother and have some fun afterward?" Sunshine said, whispering in his ear.

She proceeded to gently bite Marcus's ear, which got her a low whimper from her willing victim.

"We...can't...ditch him. He's my...friend. I'm sure he'll be...willing to give us...some privacy," Marcus said breathlessly.

Although he was clearly affected by Sunshine's charms, he still remained a loyal friend, which was always one of his biggest strengths.

"I hope you're right because I really want to thank you for everything once all of this is over," she whispered seductively.

Marcus shivered so much that even Tyson noticed from a few meters away. It was clear to him that Marcus was about to melt under Sunshine's feet.

"Where to from here?" Tyson asked to infuse some reason into the situation.

"Just a bit longer, that way," Sunshine said, pointing to their left.

She was smiling brightly at Tyson, but it was clear that she knew her tricks weren't working on him. Still, she chose to keep up the charade.

"What were you doing this far out, on the city periphery?" Tyson asked, not liking the secluded area they were entering.

"Just looking for a place to stay," she answered dismissively.

Finally, they reached a dingy-looking house that appeared to be barely standing.

The place was abandoned for a long time. Furthermore, Tyson didn't believe for a second that a well-groomed woman such as Sunshine would've been caught dead staying there, even if her life depended on it.

She would've been more likely to seek shelter from naïve men such as Marcus.

"This is the place?" Marcus asked, swallowing hard.

"Yes. I know it's not much, but we thought it would be safe enough," Sunshine said, adding an extra layer of sweetness to her words seeing how her game seemed eager to escape the lure.

Tyson wanted more than anything else to tell his friend that they should turn around and walk away. What stopped him was the knowledge of the effect it would have on Marcus.

It would make him eager to prove Tyson wrong and thus barge inside without any hesitation.

"It looks really haunted," Marcus said.

His words sparked hope in Tyson's heart that he would refuse to do it, that they would be saved from what was bound to be a grim fate.

"I can assure you that this house is just a regular abandoned house, nothing haunting about it," Sunshine said confidently.

"But," Marcus persisted, for the first time not falling for her tricks immediately.

"Oh, you are scared, aren't you?" Sunshine interrupted mockingly.