The Destruction of Sevyn (The Vengeance of Luther Book 1)

by Ember Michaels

  Just as I suspected, no one said a word. They only looked at each other, fear trembling their bodies. I shrugged. “I guess we’ll do this the old school way.”

  “What?” one of them asked, but I didn't look to see who said it. I walked over to end of the line where Sarah sat, putting the blade against her throat.

  “No! No! No! Please!” she sobbed.

  “Duck,” I said with a smirk before moving to Carrie, repeating the same action.

  “Please, I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  “Duck,” I said and moved on to Allison. Silent tears fell down her plump cheeks as she looked up at me, but she didn't say a word. “Duck.” I moved on to Crystal, who also said nothing as she cried silently. “Duck.”

  I went along the line, giving everyone else “duck” until I got to the end with Rebecca and smiled. “Goose.”

  “Luther, please!” she begged. “I swear to you that we were just fucking around—”

  “Shut up,” I interrupted, pressing the tip of the blade firmly against her throat. A small bead of blood appeared as she whimpered. As much as I wanted to slit her throat, I had bigger plans for her. “You're the lucky one who gets to choose who dies.”

  “W-what?!” Her eyes widened. “I-I can't do that!” She looked to her friends and then back at me and shook her head. “I can't choose that!”

  “Either you choose, or I'll just go ahead and kill you. Makes no difference to me, but someone’s dying today,” I said with a shrug. Tears welled in her eyes as her gaze drifted up to the high ceiling.

  “Carrie,” she finally whispered.

  “Carrie it is,” I exclaimed, excitement rushing through me. Carrie screamed and furiously shook her head.

  “What the fuck, Rebecca?!” she screamed. “How could you pick me?”

  “It's your fault we’re here in the first place,” Rebecca countered. I shook my head.

  “It's your own fault you're here. I would've gotten you all regardless,” I corrected.

  Carrie turned red with anger as she glared over at Rebecca. “Just so you know, you've always been a shit friend! And since we’re throwing people under the bus, let me mention that you're the reason Sarah and Jeffrey broke up because you were the whore he was caught getting a blow job from!”

  “What?!” Sarah screamed. I put my knife away and folded my arms across my chest. “You literally comforted me when I cried about him and told me he wasn't worth it! You were the redhead bitch people saw with him?!”

  “Definitely didn't plan on this becoming Jerry Springer, but I'll allow it,” I mused.

  “Well, none of it matters anymore because you aren't with him. Maybe if you weren't such a prude, he wouldn't have cheated in the first place,” Rebecca snapped. “And you can go to hell, Carrie. I'll enjoy watching you die, you snake!”

  I tsked and shook my head. “I can see why you and Sevyn are such good friends, Rebecca. You're both shitty people and will fuck over people you claim are your ’besties,’” I said.

  “You don’t even know me,” she ground out, which only made me chuckle.

  “I don’t have to know you. What kind of person goes around giving the boyfriend of her ‘bestie’ a blow job these days?” I looked to my friends. “Is that shit normal to you?”

  “Nope,” Tony said.

  I shook my head. “You bitches are weird,” I mumbled and settled my gaze on Carrie. Her earlier anger quickly morphed into fear again as she began babbling and pleading for her life.

  “Please, Luther, I’m sorry!” she sobbed. I frowned as she repeated what the others had already said, what the always said right before I killed them.

  That they made a mistake.

  That they were just stupid kids.

  That they weren’t the person they used to be.

  Pathetic excuses if you asked me.

  “I’m gracious enough to accept your apology on behalf of my family,” I said. I fought the urge to grin as relief flooded her eyes.

  “Oh my God, thank you so—”

  “Oh no, don’t get me wrong; you’re still dying,” I interrupted. “But now you can die knowing I forgave you.”

  “What do you want first?” Ryan asked me, his rifle still trained at the back of Carrie’s head. She looked back at him.

  “How could you do something like this to me? I thought I meant something to you,” she cried. Ryan rolled his eyes.

  “You were nothing but a warm body to fuck from time to time,” he admitted. “Besides, I was only with your clingy ass as a favor to Luther. My dick and I don’t do commitment.”

  “That was only funny the first time you said it,” Paul said, shaking his head.

  “How about you shut the hell up? I was telling that to this bimbo anyway, not to you,” he fired back.

  “Can you both shut up? You’re killing the mood of the room and I quite like all the terror rolling off these bitches,” Jake interrupted.

  “My bad, brothers. I’ll shut up before Luther kicks us all out,” Paul said, holding his free hand up in surrender before looking to Ryan. “The floor is yours.”

  Ryan blew out a breath and rolled his shoulders and narrowed his gaze at me. “As I said, which ‘thing’ do you want first?”

  My hand went up to stroke my beard, but I only felt my freshly shaven skin. Everything I’d planned over the last seven years all boiled down to this moment. I was lucky to have a group of friends like my guys, especially when one of them was willing to “date” one of the girls to build the trust I needed to have an “in” with them. Even after the trial, the rest of them followed Sevyn’s lead and got restraining orders and security for the first few years, which only left me with time to think, plan, and prepare. Every single instrument and contraption that would bring them to their death was built by my own hand, and I couldn’t wait to see my hard work pay off.

  After a moment, I finally grinned. “Get the box,” I said. Though the bottom half of his face was still covered by his red tactical skull mask, I could still see the mischief burning in his eyes. Before he moved, Crystal jerked in her chair as if the cuffs restraining her would unlock themselves.

  “You’re really going to murder us?” Crystal questioned. I looked to my guys, who shook their heads at the stupidity of her question.

  “Do you think I brought you guys here to have some extreme, kinky fun?” I questioned.

  “Well, I’m microchipped!” Allison blurted. “Someone will know something’s wrong and will—”

  “There’s a couple of things wrong with that,” I interrupted, wagging my finger at her. “For starters, microchips aren’t GPS systems, dog. No one knows where you are because microchips only work when you use a special scanner. The only time people will be able to find you is when I want them to, and they’ll be using that special scanner to identify your body.”

  The guys all snickered as Allison whimpered in defeat. Looking at her for a long moment, I smirked before I walked off. The house we were in was one that all the guys and I bought together once we’d graduated. We always came out here at least once a year to “blow off steam,” doing shit that usually ended up in the news. I couldn’t help but chuckle as I walked over to the closet near the front door to get what I needed. I almost couldn’t wait to see what they’d say when they started finding body parts of these women all over the city.

  I grabbed a collar and a leash from the top shelf usually reserved for Curtis’ beast of a pit bull whenever he brought him along, but I had another purpose for it now. When I reentered the living room, the guys looked at me, Curtis furrowing his brows.

  “Is that—”

  “Yep,” I said and walked over to Allison. “Since….what’s your name again, dog?” I knew what her name was; I knew all their names. I burned every last one of them into my mind as I sat through session after session of “not guilty” verdicts. But it was all a part of the plan, to fuck with their minds before I destroyed them all.

  The muscle in her jaw ticked as she glared at m
e. I smirked at her. It was rather comical seeing her trying to be a tough girl despite her eyes still welling with tears. Her eyes darted to the collar and leash in my hand before looking back to me.

  “He asked you for your name, bitch,” Curtis growled, pressing the muzzle of his rifle to the back of her head.

  “A-Allison,” she stammered.

  “Well, Allison, since you brought it to our attention that you’re microchipped like someone’s pet, let’s treat you like one,” I said as I lengthened the collar.

  “No, please!” she begged, but I ignored her as I moved to stand behind her. Curtis stepped aside as I fastened the nylon collar around her neck.

  “You’re lucky Beast is a huge dog with a thick neck,” I said as I secured it and retightened it a bit. “Otherwise you’d choke to death with a standard collar.”

  Her body trembled as silent sobs wracked her body. All the tears in the world wouldn’t stop what they all had coming to them. Curtis chuckled and shook his head.

  “To be honest, I don’t remember dogs sitting in chairs like this,” he said and shrugged.

  I looked at her for a moment and then grinned. “Right you are. Dogs like this belong on the floor,” I mused.

  “Make her kneel on rice while you’re at it,” Victor suggested.

  I snapped my fingers and pointed at him. “Even fucking better,” I said and looked to Curtis. “Mind getting some?”

  “With fucking pleasure,” he said and left the room.

  “Please don’t, Luther,” she begged. “I swear I won’t say another word—”

  “I know you won’t. Dogs don’t talk,” I interrupted. “They bark. So, bark…dog.”

  “What?” she asked, her eyes widening.

  I moved to stand in front of her and grabbed her by the throat, grinning when her face turned red. “Bark,” I repeated again, my voice firm.

  I loosen my grip on her neck as she gasped for air. She panted for a few moments before swallowing hard, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

  “Arf,” she said, so quiet I barely even heard her.

  “What was that?” I asked, cupping my hand to my ear. Her eyes darted around to her friends, who all looked at her with wet eyes. She trembled under my touch, refusing to look at me.

  “Arf,” she said a little louder. I smirked at her.

  “I know you can be a little louder than that,” I said. “You were loud when you announced you were chipped in the first place. So, let’s hear that voice, dog.”

  “Please,” she whispered as she shook her head, fat tears rolling down her cheeks.

  “Bark,” I ground out. “And you better be loud enough, or I’ll go ahead and crush your trachea and end you.”

  “Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf!” she barked, her eyes glassy with tears. I chuckled and let her go.

  “Fucking idiot,” I mumbled and nodded to Curtis, who’d just returned from the kitchen. “Put her on the floor.”

  Allison sobbed as Curtis spread white rice on the floor before releasing her restraints and pulling her from the chair. With a rough grip on her shoulder, he forced her onto her knees. She wailed as the white granules dug into her skin. Tony pulled the chair out of the way as Curtis tightened his hand around the leash that was now connected to Allison’s collar.

  “Good dog,” he mused, the rest of the men chuckling.

  I looked to Carrie, who had this look of devastation on her face as she kept her eyes trained on her lap. I couldn’t blame her; I’d probably look that way too if I knew I was about to die.

  “Are we doing this now or are you going to wait on her?” Victor asked, nodding toward Sevyn.

  “I’m about to wake her up. I want her to see each of these bitches die one by one before I deal with her,” I said. “Get the box, Ryan.”

  He nodded and propped his rifle up against the wall away from the women and disappeared from the room.

  “What you’re doing is bullshit, Luther,” Rebecca suddenly snapped. “You’re not all that innocent either.”

  “Oh?” I turned to face her, folding my arms across my chest. “I don’t remember being the one sending my sister texts, or uploading her sex tape, or telling her to kill herself. But I remember seeing your name. In fact, I saw her name…” I pointed at Crystal, “And her name…” I pointed at Allison, “Her name…” I pointed at Jamie, “Her name…” I pointed at Sarah, “And last but not least, her name,” I concluded, finally pointing at Carrie.

  Rebecca glared at me. “Killing us won’t bring your sister back. You’ll just end up in jail.”

  “Only idiots who get caught end up in jail,” I said with a shrug. “I mean let’s look at this logically. The police don’t have a single lead on all the three murders I’ve already committed, and it’s been three weeks. And when they find your bodies, my guys and I will get away with it again and we’ll go back to our regular tech lives as if none of this even happened.”

  “Great, we’re going to be murdered by a bunch of fucking nerds,” Sarah mumbled under her breath.

  “But nerds are the scariest type,” I mentioned. “We can hack shit, build shit, and cover up shit. You whores don’t stand a chance.”

  All conversation ceased when Ryan returned back to the living room, rolling a glass box on a hand truck. Sarah had no idea how right she was when she called us a bunch of nerds; she’d soon learn how much of a nerd I was when she saw all the deadly contraptions for every single one of their demises except Sevyn. No, I wanted to end her with my bare hands.

  “What the fuck is that?” Carrie asked, panic in her voice.

  “Unless you’re blind, it’s a glass box,” Ryan stated, his tone flat as he unloaded the box in the middle of the semi-circle the women sat in. In retrospect, the box wasn’t very scary. It simply looked like a glass box with a small hole in the top, perfectly sized for the hose that would be attached to it.

  “We’re not using this box just yet though,” I said. “Sevyn isn’t awake yet and considering the truth bomb that you just dropped, I’m kind of curious as to what other secrets you all are keeping.” No one said anything. “Oh? Cat got everyone’s tongue?”

  “I don’t even know why we’re all here. This was all Sevyn and Rebecca’s idea,” Allison said from the floor.

  “I swear you all are just backstabbing bitches,” Rebecca mumbled under her breath, shaking her head.

  “Like you have room to talk,” Paul scoffed.

  “Shut up, asshole,” she snapped.

  “It's not like he’s wrong,” Sarah growled. “Or did you already forget about the time you gave my boyfriend a blow job?”

  “Oh, fuck you, Sarah. You act like you're so righteous and good when you were the one who convinced Hunter to upload the video in the first place,” Rebecca stated and looked to me. “You wanna know secrets? Sarah was the one who uploaded the video that got Logan expelled.”

  “No, I fucking didn't!” Sarah exclaimed.

  “I mean…you did kind of push him to do it,” Jamie said sheepishly.

  “Well, this is interesting,” I mused, leaning against the heavy glass box. “Why would you even do something like that? Had your parents not gotten you off, you would be in jail for child pornography.”

  “I didn't fucking upload it!” she screamed. “I didn’t have control over Hunter; he could've always said no. You're acting like I held a gun to his head and made him do it.”

  “Doesn't matter in the end, does it? Hunter’s dead now, so it's not like I can ask him about it,” I said and shrugged. “Anyone else wanna say anything?”

  “If I'm going to die, I really want to lay into Rebeca before I do,” Carrie ground out.

  Rebecca giggled. “You're so weak. You cry when someone yells at you,” she said and rolled her eyes.

  Carrie turned red as she leaned forward in her chair and glared at her. “No one even likes you. We only put up with you because you were friends with Sevyn.”

  “Oh, boo hoo. I'm going to cry because you don't like
me,” Rebecca drawled sarcastically. “All of you can kiss my ass quite frankly.”

  “So, you'd hit her if given the chance?” I asked with a grin. Girl fights weren't a part of the plan, but what the hell; why not? After all, I was a slightly merciful man to grant the unfortunate their final wish and final meal.

  “Yes. I've wanted to do it for years,” she answered.

  Rebecca scoffed. “Then why haven't you done it?”

  “Let her loose,” I said, nodding to Ryan. He raised an eyebrow at me but unlocked the restraints on her wrists and ankles, quickly training his rifle on her. Carrie wasted no time moving to the end of the line of women and pummeling Rebecca’s head with punches. They were weak at best; if anything, it looked as if it amused Rebecca instead of hurt her.

  “Knock it off, you crazy bitch,” Rebecca finally said after a while. With her hands still cuffed to the chair, she couldn't block Carrie’s attack. Carrie cocked her arm back and swung as hard as she could, hitting Rebecca square in the mouth. Rebecca gasped, her bottom lip dripping blood as she shook her hair from her face.

  “It serves you right, asshole,” Carrie panted, drawing back again and hitting Rebecca in the stomach.

  Amusement coursed through my veins as I watched them, a smirk on my lips. It was always interesting to see how potential danger could change the dynamics of friendships. Maybe they weren’t as close as they were back in high school, but I never thought it was this bad. In all honesty, it was probably Sevyn and the secrets they all kept that glued them together. Considering the way Carrie pummeled into Rebecca and the other women never encouraged her to stop?

  That glue holding them together was probably completely dissolved now.

  “Fucking get her away from me!” Rebecca screamed.

  I shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. You did choose for her to die first.”

  “Because it’s her fucking fault we’re here!” she snapped. “Had we not agreed to meet you fucks—”

  “You must be really hard of hearing, because we’ve discussed this situation already,” I said with a sigh. “What part of ‘you’re here for your own actions and I would’ve gotten you all eventually’ didn’t you hear the first time I said it? Not to mention, we already knew where you were headed, so we would’ve been there whether she invited us or not.”