NCIS: Best Shots

Chapter Twenty: Thriller

The full moon floated over the forest. Its pale silver rays lit up a couple as they sprinted through the trees, trying to outrun the moonbeams. No such luck. Just as they reached an abandoned shack, the moonlight struck the young man. He backed up against the wall, gasping.

"Get away!" he managed to choke out to his girlfriend and friends who surrounded him. He wondered where they came from for a fleeting moment; then the change began. Screaming, his date and their friends hightailed it out of there.

Tony glued his eyes to the screen in the movie theater, munching on popcorn like his life depended on it.

"Come on, Tony," his date said. "Let's go."

"But I'm enjoying this!" he protested. Bad choice. Immediately, his partner grabbed his wrist and held it in a vice grip. "I said, I'm done here," she hissed.

"Okay, Ziva," he relented, rising from the seat and following her out into the night. "You're scared, aren't you?" he teased.

Ziva whirled around. "Of course not! If horror movies like that scare me, would I be a NCIS agent for long?" Without waiting for his answer, she continued walking down the street. Tony followed her to his car, climbed in, and turned on the radio. At that moment, "Thriller" by Michael Jackson began playing. Tony began singing along, scarily enough.

"It's close to midnightand something evil's lurking in the dark

Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart

You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it

You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes

You're paralyzed"

"Tony," Ziva started to say.

"Yes?"

"Why don't we get out and walk around for a while? It's Halloween, for sobbing out loud!"

"It's 'crying out loud,' Ziva, but you have a very good point," the senior field agent conceded, stopping the car and climbing out. Ziva followed suit.

"And Tony, I am not paralyzed!"

"Will you let me finish?"

"You can't sing to save your life!"

"Which is why I have this handy little device." DiNozzo grinned and pulled out his iPod. He quickly scrolled down his list of songs. "Ah, here we go," he remarked, putting the headphones in both their ears.

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night

And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike

You know its thriller, thriller night

You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight

"Not really," Ziva commented.

Tony put the song on pause and shot her an icy glare. "Don't kid about it. It is All Hallow's Eve, after all."

Ziva looked around at the trick-or-treaters crowding the nearby streets and sighed. "I suppose you're right."

Their path had taken them through a cemetery (though where they find a cemetery in the middle of D.C., I have no idea). Ziva heard the whisper of a cloak behind them. She whirled around, making sure Tony turned with her, ready to fight whatever was following them. It was, sadly, only a teenage girl dressed up as a vampire.

You hear the door slam, and you realize there's nowhere left to run

You feel the cold hand, and you wonder if you'll ever see the sun