Chapter Text
11:48pm
“You’ve got to be shitting me.” You grimaced upon entering your ‘cozy’ apartment.
“Oh, hey babe.” Simon, your boyfriend, responded through a mouthful of cheerios.
“You need to leave.” You folded your arms, refusing to make eye contact with Simon. If you did, he’d most likely end up in a hospital. Scrambling to his feet, he made a hasty exit, forgetting his jacket - and, conveniently enough, the atrocious mess he had made in the process. He knew how particular you were about keeping your space organized, OCD ROCKS, yet, his selfish personality completely disregarded that very pivotal fact.
Unfolding your arms, you paced over to your room door to let Bear out of your room. As soon as the door was open, there he was, whining and leaning onto you, desperate for any kind of attention that you had to offer. You stood at an average height of 5’6 and Bear, in his hulking form, was easily half your size. Due to Bear’s extreme dislike of Simon, he was usually kept in your room to prevent an accident. In fact, Bear was probably one of the most insightful German Shepherds you had ever seen. Sometimes, you were convinced that he was a human trapped in a dog’s body. Rubbing the gentle giant’s head, you grabbed his leash and headed out for a walk, it was the routine - and he greatly appreciated that. Besides, it’s not like anyone would ever dream of bugging you in his presence. Once he was clipped up, Bear nearly attached himself to your hip, rubbing some of his jet black coat onto your blue jeans. He was never more than a foot away from you when you two were together, you didn’t mind though. Breathing in the warm summer air, you grabbed your phone out of your back pocket to call, Maeve, your younger sister.
“Hey, not sure this trip is gonna workout.” You started when she answered, rounding a familiar corner with Bear in tow.
“Why the hell not?” She raised her voice.
“Sucky day at work, and Simon trashed my place. It’ll probably take a whole day to clean.” You explained.
“Oh hell no. I’ll just stay the night and help you clean up, what happened at work?”
“Remember Karen?” Your lip trembled. Your career as a psychologist for the government often led to a lot of emotional stress for you. In fact, that’s why you had adopted Bear. It was one of the worst days of your career, and you had, by chance, found a black furball huddled by your dumpster and you had decided to keep him, not knowing that he’d grow into a horse of a dog.
“Oh, that crazy blond chick?”
“Yeah, she killed herself this morning.” You sighed, plopping down onto the nearest bench.
“Damn, I’m sorry.. uh..” She started, Maeve was never the best at comforting people,
”Well cheer the fuck up because I’m on my way with wings and our camping supplies.” She blurted before hanging up.
She really wasn’t going to let you out of this trip.. Standing up and brushing some of Bear’s hair off of your pants, a pointless effort really, you finished your walk with Bear before heading home.
You and Maeve had been planning a camping trip up in Maine for the last six months, but due to some major crime occurring in that area, and your particularly shitty day, you weren’t feeling up to it at all. Actually, the shit that was going on in Maine had been heavily discussed at work for the past few days - your superior had even brought in someone to train up as a criminal negotiator. Apparently, there had been a massive string of disappearances and murders in the particular town that you had rented a log cabin in. Shuddering at the remembrance of the images your department had seen, you approached your apartment floor to be greeted by your only sibling. She was unusually mature for only being eighteen, and you were extremely thankful for that.
“Hey boo Bear.” She knelt to the ground smothering the massive animal with loads of attention, he responded with an agitated grumble. The pair definitely had a love-hate relationship.
“Thanks for dropping by.” You nodded to her, letting the three of you into the apartment.
“I don’t know why you’re still with that asshole.” She rolled her eyes after placing the tray of wings on the counter out of Bear’s reach.
“Not today.” You remarked sternly. Today was not the day for this conversation. Or probably ever.
“Go pack and I’ll take care of this.” She demanded, narrowing her eyes at the mess before her.
Cracking a smile at her determination, you did as she said and began to place the appropriate items into your bag neatly.
“You packing at all?” You shouted from your room.
“Yeah, I’ve got my glock on me, are you?” She replied, the sounds of shattering glass closely followed, earning a wince from you and a bark from Bear.
“I’m bringing my Taurus.” You hollered, carefully loading your handgun’s magazines. You two rarely went anywhere without carrying some kind of weapon. Although driving through Maryland would be a pain in the ass - they’re always such sticklers for firearms, even if you’re a government employee
“gayyyyyyy.” She never really approved of your Taurus, she though it was too small, but it did get the job done so you didn’t really care.
“We’ll roll out tomorrow at 3:30.” You informed her packing away the rest of your belongings.
“Sweet.” She nodded, appearing in your doorway.
“Finished already?” You eyed her skeptically.
“Don’t question my kick-ass cleaning methods.” She defended herself before making herself a cot on your living room couch. You cracked a smile at her odd dislike of sleeping in the same room as Bear before turning in for the night.
3:28 am
“Rise and shine.” You chucked a pillow at your sister’s sleeping form, her sandy blonde hair closely resembling a rat’s nest. You had already loaded up the jeep, so the only thing you were missing was Maeve.
“Shit right.” She bolted upright rubbing her eyes.
“I’ve got coffee and your shoes waiting for you.” You smiled before heading out to your car, you trusted Maeve to lock up just as good as you would.
“Out of my seat.” She ordered Bear, earning a scowl and a muffled growl. Bear was accustomed to riding shot-gun and did not appreciate being kicked out of his seat.
“Did you see the news article this morning?” She yawned examining whatever she had pulled up on her phone.
“No.” You raised a brow, pulling out of your neighborhood.
“Three more dead in Maine.” She sighed grimly.
“Same as the rest?”
“Yeah, they were all connected to some sort of gang or drug ring.” She confirmed.
“I bet dad is loving all of this.” You rolled your eyes at the thought of your fathers rants. He was particularly paranoid of the world around him, and his life goal was to keep his girls protected - which, often resulted in unnecessary tension, as he was a very overbearing man.
“He’s actually super pissed at me for even going on this trip…. so do you mind if I crash with you for a few days when we get back?” She pleaded.
“Yeah, of course.” You shrugged before settling into a comfortable silence.
The supposed murderer was The Punisher from Hell’s kitchen, but two of the most recent victims didn’t exactly fall in line with his MO, so you weren’t exactly sure of what was going on. It was half and half with most of the people that knew of him. Some were grateful to have those monsters of men eliminated and some were convinced that the Punisher himself should be put down. Although you agreed with his motives, you weren’t sure where you stood. Actually, in the more recent weeks, you and a few others in your department were responsible for studying and researching most interactions and the thought processes behind most killers and vigilantes. Even though the work and materials were interesting, the images and back stories were harrowing.
11:42pm
“We’re here.” You gently shook Madison awake. You had already picked up the key to your log cabin and checked in to the dismay of the ground’s tenants. The brief interaction you had with them was quite unsettling actually, but you had Bear and your trusty Taurus so you weren’t worried. Even without Bear they weren’t very intimidating. There was an old man named Paul that ran the grounds with his wife Dolly, and they didn’t at all seem thrilled about your stay here. If anything it seemed like they were desperately trying to warn you.
“Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?” She groaned, stretching her arms.
“Didn’t feel like it, we can just bring the stuff in tomorrow.” You yawned, the two of you making your way inside, Bear in tow, keeping a watchful eye out. You were already beginning to regret this trip.