The Presentation: Part 2.

As the two men, Peter Matthews and his brother Johnathan, glanced up at the old farmhouse, Peter noticed a difference in its presentation. All of the time's natural elements were frozen, silent, and ashamed to unveil their contents to the world and Heaven's divine eyes. In a state of pure chaos, the crime lab's crew ran in and out of the house, each member looking increasingly disturbed whenever they emerged into the warm sunlight. Their hollow voices were slowly drowned out by the hauntingly joyous sounds of classical music from the 1700s, a disturbing contrast that sent shivers down the readers' spines. Soon, even this out-of-place orchestra transformed into a faint whisper as a newly hysterical cry of a poor female consumed them with delicious results. Arriving on the porch, the two brothers felt a sense of anticipation. Of course, Peter was captivated by a fellow officer trying to grant any ounce of comfort that the distressed female would accept, but to no avail. Only then was Peter's attention taken over by witnessing a rookie cop bending over behind a patrol car and vomiting uncontrollably. 

" Have you been able to identify the victim?" Peter inquires, his voice betraying his nervous anticipation and the readers' growing curiosity about the victim's identity.

" Yeah, about that..." Johnathan's response was punctuated by a pregnant pause, adding to the suspense.

Johnathan still needs to finish.

The thin eyebrow curved upwards on Peter's face with great confusion. The increasing urge to see what this mysterious killer had left behind continued to fill unhealthy thoughts in the young male's mind. Overhead, the briefest sounds of a search helicopter roared above as it passed over the house. From the pilot's view, everything would seem like any other house if it weren't for the emergency vehicle; one would foolishly mistake it for a peaceful, innocent family gathering. A perfect piece to a devil's ever-passionate puzzle. Soon enough, the flying vehicle passed above the surrounding area before disappearing over a thousand blades of silent green glass, then retreated back to its base like a frightened angel running back to its heavenly father, only to have its wisdom blocked out by the light. The scene was set for a chilling revelation, and Peter's anticipation was palpable.

As the two brothers stepped inside the house, the wooden floorboards creaked and shrieked with each passing foot. Peter and Johnathan continued to move through the halls as the young reporter pushed open a door on his right side, and then the once-loud music finally fell silent. At first, nothing was out of the ordinary; it appeared to be any other living room, with about a dozen pictures of a young female couple hanging on the walls. Naturally, this photo captures any typical memory anyone loves to preserve - from vacations, holiday seasons, and dinner parties. That was until Peter noticed a picture resting comfortably in the metal place. It was a photograph of the two girls participating in a social and political movement, accompanied by a tagline above the top frame, which read "United We Stand."

" Oh, Jesus!!!" A frightened voice cried out for help.

Pushing the young reporter aside, the pathologist staggered back into the hall, gasping for air. Her attempt to speak was cut short as she collapsed, adding a dramatic twist to the scene as she wept, as the clean color of her face transformed into a sickly green. Peter tried to be helpful, stopped what he was doing, and placed his hand upon the pathologist's shoulder, an attempt to give her comfort, though it wouldn't last long, only to be quickly pulled back towards the kill's gift. Peter turns his attention away from the pathologist; he looks beyond the doorway from which she had emerged.

" Hey, kid!!!" Johnathan called out to his brother, " I'll have an officer take care of her... It's time you see what our friend left for the world."

Peter passed two other officers within the hall without paying attention to the rude words of the officers; it was as if they had never been there from the beginning. Correction, it was as if the world had stopped dead, leaving him in total macabre isolation within the killer's design - a twisted, macabre scene that seemed to mock the very concept of life. He was taunted by the ever-strong fusion of the unveiling of the gift. But before he entered, Peter stood in front of the tape line that separated Heaven's sight from Hell's stage - with a heavy sigh, Peter entered. Standing before him was a creation of twisted magnificence. Peter's body remained motionless for a time, with only the gears of his mind remaining alive.

The gift was posed with great purpose and shown in full view. Standing precisely in the center of the room, the two deceased victims were on display in the sick recreation of Cupid and Psyche/The Forbidden Love. Both individuals had their eyes removed from their sockets, and all their hair and flesh had been skillfully stripped from the bones, exposing the tormented muscles, which were preserved with a light layer of wax. The victim in the role of Cupid had her back violently ripped open from the base of the skull down to her hips. With her back muscles pulled out and upheld like a pair of wings, the victim's inner organs were removed from the corpse and spread over the exposed bones like macabre feathers. Moving closer toward this twisted work of art, Peter looked down upon the victim cast as Psyche. A single chopper locket rested comfortably on the gentle, clean, purple silk covering the skinless corpse. Feeling a slight sensation of terror, Peter bent forward and retrieved the locket.

" Pete!!!" His brother firmly yelled, " What The Hell Are You Doing?!"

Johnathan firmly grabbed and pulled his younger brother away from the twisted, macabre construction.

Peter's breathing remained emphysematous. Johnathan tried to comprehend what possessed his sibling. Then, he noticed the chopper locket that rested within Peter's right hand. Shifting his body to the left, Peter's shoulders jerked upwards, and his head bowed in the opposite direction.

" Pete? What is it?!" Johnathan inquires again.

Once more, Peter remained coldly silent with his body for another moment. Straightening up, he pushed past his brother and the other analysts as he returned to the front porch. Two officers were standing guard, who naturally questioned Peter as he exited with the locket. Before they could seize the young reporter, Johnathan arrived and ordered the two to give him a minute. Peter looked out over the grassed yard with disturbed eyes and, strangely enough, a profound fear in his doubtful heart. Of course, this fear was not of who these poor girls were, nor the motivation of the mysterious killer, but instead, it was the idea that his creep might know who he was; it was the idea that his creep might know who he is. Sliding a fresh cigarette into his mouth with unstable hands, Peter reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a stainless steel Zeppo lighter. He ignites the opposite end. Johnathan grabs a faded green lawn chair from the corner, settles it back down in the center of the porch, and rests upon it with a heavy sigh. At that moment, the two men waited silently before Johnathan broke the awkward stillness.

"Are you going to level with me, Kid?" Johnathan's voice seemed unsure of how else to approach his younger brother.

A small grey cloud of smoke blew out from Peter's stubborn lips, his back still fixed away from his brother. His ego wouldn't let him hear what his brother felt. He finally answers.

" On what?!" Peter lied with a hollow chuckle. He finally turned towards his brother. "Just what's expecting this to be so artistic..."

Jonathan nervously pulled back his silver and black hair with a sense of disappointment as he exhaled with steadiness.

Flicking off his freshly finished cigarette, Peter leaned against the porch's framework. Silence returned for the briefest of moments.

" Then, I trust you won't be needing that locket?" Johnathan asked.

" Oh, shit." Peter nervously smiled with his eyes down; he sounded like a little child caught peeking at his Christmas presents. " I didn't even realize I took it."

Choosing not to make a petty scene, Johnathan rose to his feet and took the locket from his brother. 

" Go get some rest. It's better not to let the Mrs. know you couldn't handle it," Johanthan joked, jabbing Peter on the shoulder.

Peter nods in agreement, shakes his brother's hand, and heads back towards his ride. But as he walked along the hardened dirt road, a faint and unfamiliar voice whispered into the tunnels of his ears. Attempting to ignore it, Peter continues to move forward. Until he caught sight of a patrol car on his left side. Sitting inside the back passenger side was the troubled female witness - her traumatized eyes held their horrific gaze on the young male. Her blood-stained fingers tapped in rhythm as her dried lips mouthed a single repeated word at Peter as she began to drift away from the house. Though the car's window denied Peter's ears a chance to hear what she was saying, his soul was granted the whole experience as her chant pounds Peter's essence with " Cuckoo...Cuckoo...Cuckoo...Cuckoo...Cuckoo"