The Fifty State Nightmare

3

You groan softly when you wake up the next morning after you and Jim hung out, smiling when you find yourself in bed. He must have carried you in here. You slip out of your bed and head out to the kitchen, getting yourself a bowl of cereal and a couple Tylenol. Jim wasn't in the house so you figured he had to have gone back some time this morning. You would have been happy to make him breakfast but he must have gotten called out for something. No matter what he was doing that phone of his was on him twenty-four seven. You admired his dedication to his work but you'd rather have something that gave you the freedom to spend all day in bed if you wanted to. After breakfast you pack a bag of food and water before heading out on the game trail.

A few miles out you come across a camp, rooting through their coolers and tent to see if it was multiple people or just one. You're able to determine it was one, making note of where the camp lay before you go home to prepare. You slip on your black jeans, an all black hoodie and shirt, and finally your mask. You pull your knife from its safe as well, moving it so it glinted in the sunlight. You'd have to discard this one soon. Thank goodness you were in the middle of nowhere and could easily hide the evidence. You grab your backpack and head out once night descends on the cabin, going where you had found the camp. Fire illuminates the area of the camper's fire when you find him again. Your shadow dances against the trees as he turns around, his eyes widening with horror.

"No! Please! I have kids!" He cries, stumbling backwards as he holds up his hands. "Don't kill me."

"I don't care. You're here alone. Perfect bait for me," You chuckle, lunging forward and tackling him against the ground.

"Help! SOMEONE HELP!" He screams, gasping and choking when your knife slams through his neck.

His eyes stare at you wide as blood spills from his mouth, his hands clutching at the pouring wound before his body goes limp after you pull your knife from his neck. You watch as he bleeds out on the ground, wiping your knife off on his clothes and using your camera for a picture. You tuck the picture of your last victim under his hand and lay it across his chest. You smile in satisfaction and put the camera and picture of the two of you back in your bag. You grab the water jug by his tent and empty it out on his fire until there's nothing but small embers that would fade soon enough. You use the light of the stars to make your way back to your cabin, hiding your mask and knife away again.

Thankfully you got minimal blood on your clothes so there was no point burning them. You hadn't gotten particularly messy this time and the blood didn't really show up. Still, you stuff your clothes away in the safe as well along with your camera and new picture. You couldn't risk someone finding this stuff by accident. No one had the combination except for you and you intended to keep it that way. Once everything is safely away you head to bed, excited for the following week. You wouldn't be caught. You were too careful but you couldn't resist a good challenge. Jim thought he could find you in a week, well you'd find out if he could put his money where his mouth is.

In the morning you get ready and head into town, making a point to stop in at the ranger's station only to find lots of people and police cars. You compose yourself before getting out of the car and heading to the group of people, everyone talking about the murder in the woods. Your name is on everyone's lips as they chat, Jim coming out with several police officers.

"If anyone has any leads please let us know," One of the officer calls out.

"Is it the Fifty State Nightmare?!" Some people shout.

"We can't confirm anything yet. We believe it is but are doing further investigations," Another officer explains.

People shout out various questions that get answered, everyone dispersing once the police leave. You head into the ranger's station and head to Jim's office, giving him a gentle smile.

"Hey Y/N," He sighs softly.

"How'd you find him?" You asks curiously.

"Someone happened to stumble across him. I can't believe they've struck here," He explains with a frustrated sigh. "I don't know what to do."

"Leave it to the police?" You ask, resting a gentle hand on his.

"I want to but something tells me I need to figure this out. Maybe I could find something that would blow this whole thing open. It could have been you Y/N. The victim was only a few miles away," He points out. "What if they strike again?"

"Then we deal with it when it comes to it. I don't think they will though. They like to move after all," You point out.

"I know. That's why we need to figure this out fast. There must be something I missed. I'm going back out there," He declares, getting to his feet.

"Want some company?" You ask him.

"That would be great," He agrees. "Two eyes are better than one."

You follow him out to his truck and the two of you climb inside. He drives to where the victim had been found, police tape surrounding the area as a warning to other people. The two of you duck under it and walk to where the body had been found, the dirt still soaked in blood. Jim sighs softly as he looks around the small campsite. The police had already seized everything from the tent to the items inside. You two look around the area for any other signs, Jim sighing as the two of you come up empty handed. He curses and slams his fist against a tree, his teeth grit in frustration as tears stream down his cheeks. Guilt overtakes you as you walk over and envelope him in a hug.

"It'll be okay. I bet they're long gone. The police are bound to get them someday," You insist. "They're bound to slip up somewhere."

"And if they don't?! What then Y/N?' What if they never find them?!" He snarls out. "They've killed fifty one people and will probably kill dozens more!"

"I'm just trying to help!" You snap back in anger. "Tch, whatever. Take me back to the station. I want to go home."

"Fine," He hisses, the two of you steaming as you make your way back to the truck.

You both sit in silence the entire ride back and you waste no time getting out of it the second it's parked. You head to your car and drive back to the cabin, storming inside and slamming the door shut behind you. Tch, you were glad he wouldn't find out who was actually killing these people! Maybe you should have attacked him instead. Would have been fitting for him to be killed by his obsession. You weren't stupid. You knew he was tracking you down. He had a whole damn board in his office dedicated to it! He was waiting, waiting for you to slip up but it wouldn't happen. You were too careful for that. A dark smile comes to your lips as laughter leaves your chest, throwing your head back as you hold your stomach from laughing too hard. That's right, you were too careful.