“Yeah, for sure. He said ten people were in his yard singing nursery rhymes. Sounds like Luther to me. The lights were not a coincidence. That was enough time for those people to get out of there,” Michaels said.


“Yea, but we all know those weren’t people,” Thomas said.


“Fucking clones,” Somera shook his head.


“How would he have access to all of this? Hacking systems, TVs, radio signals, and access to clones. Civilians don’t even know about stuff like that,” Michaels asked.


“I think his dad or something. I’m honestly not sure. That’s well above my pay grade,” Somera shrugged.


Social Media Live Video.


Luther appeared in front of the camera in a dimly lit room. He was wearing a mask—not a donkey or elephant mask this time, but a demon-like, white Halloween mask.


“You see…..We are living in unfathomable times. But as crazy as things are, they will get far worse. Mark this day on your calendar, kids. In a decade, you’ll miss these times. Because in a decade, there will be no need for the eyes of the vultures to fly so high that it seems as though they are hiding. But now, I must go away for a while.  But before I do, I must tell you a story. You see, in this story, a young woman fell in love with a foolish, married man. He thought he had departed from his wife emotionally, but that was not the case.


“Once the young woman was pregnant with a child, he tried to leave her and go back to his wife, his kids, his life. Of course, this would leave the young woman distraught. I mean, who wouldn’t be? They get into an altercation, and he shoots her dead. Like an old dog in the backyard, she was taken out of her misery. There is one detail I left out: the baby was physically present at the scene. He took the baby and tossed it in a large body of water. The most evil thing a man can do in this world is harm a child. The innocence in their eyes and hearts cannot be undersold. So pure, only to be corrupted by those who see fit to raise them in your own tarnished images.”

Luther turned the camera to a man hanging with a rope tied around his neck. The camera couldn’t see, but he had a chair underneath him so he would not hang to death.


“Do you love your parents? If you do, hug them and kiss them. Tell them you love them. I never had that. My father THREW ME INTO A RIVER! And I….I survived, hahahahaha. He killed my mother because of his own mistakes of living a double life, but the time for crying is no more. Isn’t that right, daddy?” Luther turned and slapped the man hanging by the rope. He woke up and regained consciousness. 


“Ah, ah, ah. What the” he struggled to breathe.


Luther took the rope from around the man’s neck. The man struggled to regain his breath, grabbing at his neck. Luther kicked the chair from underneath him, making him fall to the ground.


“It’s me, Aaron! It’s your baby boy!” Luther said in a sarcastic, kid-like tone.


“What?” Aaron was shocked. “How?”


“I know, right? Who needs to know the details? That’s the boring stuff. The people want to see a show!” Luther exclaimed. His voice suddenly returned to that eerily calm tone he’s been known for. “And that’s exactly what they will get.”


“No, please,” Aaron begged.


“Oh, there’s no time for pleading now. It’ll all be over soon.” Luther pulled out a shotgun. He stepped on Aaron’s leg, placed the barrel of the shotgun against his knee, and pulled the trigger.


“Ahhhh arghhh!” Aaron screamed out in pain. 


The people watching the video could not believe their eyes.


Luther gave Aaron a front kick to the side of his head. He then tied the other end of the rope to a cinder block. 


“I hope you enjoyed the show. Now I must leave you. I’m going to lay my burdens downnnnn, down by the riverside. Down by the riverside,” Luther sang in a nonchalant tone. “Hahahaha. Follow the leader.”


The video ended.


Luther grabbed a lifeless Aaron and placed him in his car. Aaron was still alive but unconscious again. He put Aaron in the front seat and strapped him in with a seatbelt. “Safety first,” Luther told an unconscious Aaron. 


Luther got into the driver's side and drove off. He was headed towards the river. The same one that Aaron threw him in as a baby. As Luther approached the river, he sped up the car. He jumped out of the vehicle as the car was moving. The vehicle plummeted into the river and sank slowly. Aaron was strapped into his seatbelt and also had a cinder block tied to his neck. He regained consciousness once the car hit the water. Aaron struggled to get out of his seatbelt. He could not get his seat belt unbuckled. After struggling for a while, he was able to get the seat belt unbuckled but quickly realized that he was being held down by a cinder block tied to his neck. Already in deep waters with no escape, he could no longer fight, and he drowned to his death.


Luther sat there watching the car sink. He fell to his knees and cried. His crying turned into laughter. “For you, mother. Now, nothing is holding us back.”


White House.


“James.” The First Lady, Melanie King, approached her husband. “What the hell is Luther doing?”


“What do you mean?” President King asked.


“He’s on these people’s internet acting a damn fool and torturing his father. How the hell did he even find Aaron? I thought you said he’d never find out,” she said.


“Mr. President. First Lady. I’m sorry to interrupt. We have a lunatic problem,” an advisor walked up.


 The First Lady looked at the President with a snarky look. “So, we’ve heard.” She never took her eyes off of President King.


“What’s going on?” President King asked the advisor.


The advisor showed him a video of Luther.


“Good God. Thank you. I’ll see what we need to do about this. Give us a minute,” President King said.


“Yes, Mr. President.” The advisor walked off.


“If anyone finds out that is your nephew, it will not be good,” she said almost in a whisper. 


He took her by the hand and pulled her into the Oval Office.


“What do you want me to do? Aaron killed his mom and threw him in a goddamned river. A baby, Mel,” said the President.


“He’s turned into a maniac. He’s becoming too powerful and too hard to keep track of. How the hell is he as good as our best agents at hacking? The technology he has? Is there something you aren’t telling me?” The First Lady asked. 


“No. I’ll find out, though. I promise,” he assured her.