Bad Moon Rising

Sequel to Stranger Than Fiction (so you'll probably want to read that first)

Written for the Pyrrhic Victory Challenge

Genre: Supernatural/Horror

Rating: FR 15

Warnings: Violence, language, disturbing imagery

Characters: The team and a previously used OC (Wade) and some new OCs

Summary: AU. A series of strange attacks near Quantico prompts one of the team to call in an expert. Starts six months after the end of the previous story.

Don't go 'round tonight

It's bound to take your life

There's a bad moon on the rise

~ Creedence Clearwater Revival

Prologue

The blaring of the alarm clock pulled Tim McGee from his much needed slumber and he groaned. Another day, another chance to view some of the worst humanity had to offer. He had grown used to it over the years, but the potential was there, and it still gave him an uneasy feeling, the likes of which would probably never fade no matter how many cases he worked.

The MCRT was not currently working a case, but all of that could change, and very quickly, therefore it was imperative that he be on time to work. He pulled himself up off the bed, stretched, and stumbled into the bathroom.

Tim quickly performed his morning routine, nearly on autopilot. Routine was something he appreciated, especially since he knew what it was like to have his life turned upside down. He could barely believe it had only been a few months since the series of events that had changed his life had occurred. He had adjusted to his new reality better than he had expected, but there were still times when the fears surfaced, and he managed them the best he could.

Showered and dressed in his usual dark button down, jeans, and jacket, he decided to take one last look to ensure that he was presentable…no, normal. The last thing he needed was for Tony to find something amiss and mock him for it. He certainly wasn't in the mood for such things, not today.

He moved in front of the mirror and looked up at this reflection. The peace he had felt immediately vanished and what he saw in front of him suddenly made him feel as if ice water had been sent through his veins. The face he saw staring back at him was his own, but again not his own. It was smiling in a way he could never manage: cruel and full of malicious intent. The worst thing, however, was not the expression on that face, but the eyes staring back at him.

They were solid, glowing white…

Tim awoke with a gasp, his heart pounding in his chest, as he barely managed to hold back the scream that was trying to escape his throat. He jumped to his feet and staggered to the bathroom, where he leaned over the sink, eyes closed and fighting back the nausea that was forcing its way through his system. Finally he was able to open his eyes and look up at the mirror, dreading what he might see. He let out a soft sigh of relief when he saw his own wide green eyes staring back at him, and winced when he took in the rest of his appearance: he was paler than normal, with dark circles under his eyes and his face had the pinched look of someone recently very ill.

Six months…

The amount of time which had passed since his life was turned upside down, and he wasn't dealing with it, not at all. The memories of his abduction and imprisonment were still fresh in his mind, but those had probably been the easiest to understand, at least. It was the other things that occupied his mind and troubled his dreams: the fact that his abductor had been not a person, but a thing: a shapeshifter, a supernatural creature that took on his appearance and personality, for God only knows what ultimate end; the fact that such things even existed; the fact that this thing had taken his place and been killed, leading his team and his family to experience and mourn his passing; the fact that he would have died alone had it not been for someone who hunted such things, who had found him in his prison and had eventually revealed to him one horrifying truth.

There are a lot of good reasons to be afraid of the dark.

The evidence of that statement, the white-eyed image of his double that he had seen in the security videos, had haunted his dreams ever since.

While his team seemed to have accepted the truth and what had happened, he couldn't, and he really wished he knew why. It wasn't a subject he felt he could approach with any of them. He had tried, initially. Tony had just made a joke, as he always did with serious topics; Abby was firmly in denial, claiming that nothing like that could ever happen again; Ziva's only response was to tell him that if he found another one of those 'things' to let her know, and she would kick its ass; Ducky and Palmer seemed more interested in the medical aspect of what had happened and worried about his physical state; and Gibbs was…well, Gibbs. Finally he decided it wasn't fair to his team to bring up what had to be terrible memories, so he had remained silent.

The only other person with whom he could confide had vanished. Tim had a contact for the man, known to him only as "Wade", but when he had called the number he had only found a voice mail account, as untraceable and Wade had claimed when he gave Tim the number. He had thought about calling again, many times, but he figured Wade had more pressing concerns and Tim would just have to suck up and deal with it on his own, as he had almost any other time turmoil entered his life. After all, Abby was probably right: it was unlikely something like this would ever happen to him again. He just needed to learn how to move on.

Tim checked his watch and sighed. It was just after midnight, and if he expected to function at all at work later, he needed more than an hour of sleep. He stumbled back to bed, crawled back under the covers, and closed his eyes as he tried to relax enough to fall asleep.

It was quite a long time before he succeeded.

XXX

My dad is going to kill me…

Danny Smythe made his way as quickly as he could towards home, hoping that he would, by some miracle, be able to sneak in undetected. He was already out way past curfew and he didn't need another reason for his old man to punish him, especially since that punishment involved things his father had learned as a drill instructor in the Corps.

He paused at the edge of the athletic field to look around. The light from the full moon illuminated the grounds of the Marine base, providing enough light for Danny to survey his surroundings. The last thing he needed was for one of the officers to catch him out at this time of night, but when he saw the area was deserted he breathed a small sigh of relief. After a few more moments of listening for signs of company he headed into the stand of trees that separated the field from the housing area where he lived.

He had gone about 20 yards when he heard a twig snap.

Damn…busted.

He froze, waiting for the burst of light from a flashlight to hit him but the woods remained dark. He held his breath and listened but the sound did not return.

Maybe it was just an animal. Nothing to worry about, so get going before you do have something to worry about.

He started off again, only to be brought to a halt a few moments later when he heard the distinct sound of leaves being crunched underfoot, followed by a low growl. Danny spun around, searching for the source of the sound, but he was alone. There was no sign of any other living creature.

It's OK…just a dog. Someone's pet got loose. I'd hate to be them when the Provost's Office finds out.

Once again he set off towards home, traversing the last few yard of woods in peace. When he reached the tree line he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned just as a dark shape hurtled towards him. In one horrible instant he caught full sight of the creature. Before he could even draw a breath for a scream its claws reached him, violently cutting off his last terrified thoughts and sending him into the blackness.

TBC…