Seth

With a roar, Gustavo hurled forward, winning back an inch of lost space. Seth’s teeth bared, and a low, barely audible growl broke from his throat. His neck corded, muscles bulged, and even the veins under his eyes strained with pressure. Gustavo thought that any moment now, his eyeballs would pop out of their sockets. He shook his head, unable to believe how someone like Seth could possess such strength. Gustavo was taller, bulkier, had more mass, but still, inch by inch, his back bent over the rim of the charger. His skin felt like it would start sizzling at any moment; hot sweat rolled down his temples and spine.

“I warned you it’s not a blade that kills but arrogance,” Seth rustled.

The edge of the furnace scraped the small of Gustavo’s back. Seth’s face inched closer, and his right hand abandoned Gustavo’s chest to grab the side of the shutter before he thrust himself forward. The tiny blood vessels in his right eye burst, staining the sclera red.

Does he hate me this much? Gustavo thought, stunned.

“I do enjoy this intimacy, but you are aware that in this position, it’s nearly impossible to throw me down without falling with me, right? Not that I mind. It would be sort of romantic. And they died on the same day, just like Romeo and Juliet.”

Seth laughed; his left palm slapped against the inner wall of the furnace, giving him a fulcrum. “We shall see about that.”

He shoved forward with renewed force. The stench of burned meat filled Gustavo’s lungs. He looked at Seth’s hand and the steam rising from it. “What the fuck are you doing? Are you insane?”

“Insanity is a tasteless word humanity forever uses to taint what they can’t understand.” Seth stared at Gustavo with the unblinking eyes of a snake. His expression didn’t display any pain or discomfort.

Gustavo should have struggled for his life; he knew it. Instead, he grabbed Seth’s wrist and yanked it away from the scorching metal. “You are insane if you think killing me is worth mutilating your hand. How are you going to work with such burns?”

Seth froze. Confusion pooled behind his dilated pupils. He looked at Gustavo as if seeing him for the first time. His onslaught weakened.

It was a perfect moment to pull the gun, but the expression of ultimate loneliness, bleeding through Seth’s unsettled emotions, overruled Gustavo’s sanity. The sole of his foot found the wall behind him; he thrust his chest forward and brushed his lips against Seth’s mouth, pushing him away from the scorching heat.