Markus Barnes

Markus, a character in Alpha, is a college student and your former dormitory neighbor. He is first seen in Chapter 1.

Appearance
Markus has short brown hair, brown eyes, and tanned skin. He wears glasses, and a green sweater with a white shirt.

Personality
Although Markus initially seems friendly enough, if a little overeager, he is willing to sacrifice his journalistic integrity for the sake of a story. This is demonstrated when he puts you in an uncomfortable position to provoke Channing, as well as his willingness to believe a drunken witness account that Channing grew fangs when angered.

Background
Markus is a journalism major who writes for the campus newspaper, The Woolsey Herald. He's been dying to write an exposé on the mysterious fraternity ΑΤΣ, which he characterizes as so secretive they're practically a cult.

Alpha

 * Chapter 1: Initiation
 * Chapter 2: Integration
 * Chapter 3: Assimilation
 * Chapter 6: Provocation
 * Chapter 7: Reputation
 * Chapter 8: Competition (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 9: Confrontation
 * Chapter 10: Reunion (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 16: Transformation
 * Chapter 17: Ascension

Your Character
Markus is your dormitory neighbor and one of the first friends you made after transferring to Woolsey. He seems to have a crush on you, which you're somewhat aware of but don't reciprocate. As soon as he learns you've become involved with ΑΤΣ, he begins urging you to help him discover their secrets. You're willing to snoop a little at first, but once you learn that ΑΤΣ is a werewolf pack, you resolve to protect their privacy. However, your efforts to deflect Markus's suspicions about the frat do not dissuade him. In Chapter 6, he attends the Alpha House party and attempts to pressure Channing into giving him an interview. At some point after Channing shuts him down, Markus tells notorious troublemaker Chad Vanderhoof that you're "up for grabs" (although he later claims he merely answered Chad's question about whether you were single). When Chad acts on this information to aggressively proposition you, Channing becomes so enraged that he/she nearly transforms into a werewolf in front of everyone.

Fueled by Chad's statement that Channing grew fangs during this incident, Markus becomes even more determined to dig up dirt on Alpha Tau. You continue trying to deflect by pointing out that Chad was drunk, but Markus is undeterred and warns that you'll regret protecting ΑΤΣ. Shortly afterwards, he publishes a hit article claiming the frat is a bloodthirsty cult. You immediately confront him, but he's patronizing about your anger while displaying anger of his own that you wouldn't help with his investigation and that you seem to have chosen Alpha Tau over him. He condescends that you're a victim of their cult indoctrination and hopes you'll get out before you're dragged down alongside them as he continues digging into their secrets. He also refers to them as "animals," which you hope is just a figure of speech.

You have the choice to use Romi and Sumera's social media savvy to hit back with a post calling him out for his low journalistic integrity, his obsession with Channing, or the fact that his article seems like retaliation against you for his unrequited romantic interest. Even if you choose to leave him alone, however, you consider your friendship with him permanently ended.

Trivia

 * He shares the same name as Markus von Groot from Red Carpet Diaries.
 * He shares the same last name as Curly Barnes from Big Sky Country, and Mr. Barnes from The Unexpected Heiress.