Thank you to all who are reading this story! I'm enjoying writing it, so I hope you all are enjoying reading it! ^^ (I always love hearing your thoughts!)

A special shout out to justdreaming-83, who gave me two wonderful reviews! Thank you so much for the support! It means a lot! (And I'll admit to you publicly that I did read your review last night when I should have been studying. ^^ My excuse is simply that there is only so much Algebra one's mind can take at a time)

A second special shout out to KA Tesla and Mutantxjulie who (along with justdreaming-83) signed up for Alerts. Thanks guys!

And thank you all for reading!

Chapter 3

Sam hadn't wanted to leave G behind, especially after his partner had been unceremoniously mowed down by the SUV. One look at the driver and Sam knew the poor girl hadn't meant anything malicious. The redhead was ghostly white in fright, her large bright green eyes staring in fear at Callen as he slowly got back to his feet. It was as if she thought he was some kind of horror movie zombie rising up from the dead.

That small thought lightened the situation for Sam slightly, bringing a flicker of a smile to the large agents lips.

G had told him to go on and so Sam obeyed reluctantly, dashing after their fleeing suspect alone. The former Navy SEAL hated when his partner, or any of his team for that matter, were injured and silently cursed the redhead for driving around in the back roads causing the incident. Mal intent or not it still ended up injuring Callen, which pissed Sam off.

Picking up his speed Sam managed to close the majority of the gap between him and the suspect. The man glanced over his shoulder and Sam could tell the man knew he wasn't going to outrun the determined agent. Even at a distance Sam could see a new plan being calculated in the perp's eyes. Only slowing his steps slightly, the man ducked into what appeared to be a small hotel still being built. Thankfully none of the construction workers seemed to be around, so the probability for a hostage situation to unfold was low. A small favor Sam could be thankful for.

Sam's thoughts were still on his partner as he pulled out his gun and entered the half constructed building, pushing the plastic sheet acting as the front door aside roughly as he scanned the unfamiliar and dimly lit space around him. Gun out and ready in front of him he made his way inside, heading towards the stairs as he had heard the heavy sound of footfall on the wooden steps.

"Federal Agent, I just want to talk." Sam called out, in case the man hadn't heard him earlier when the chase began. There was no immediate response.

The man's voice did sound when Sam arrived on the second floor, it came from the floor above him. "Isn't it amazing?" The voice was gravely, but light. The sound was loud enough to carry easily through the air, echoing around through the darkened building. Sam noticed there was no strain from the chase, no concern or overlaying worry hinted in the tone. As if the man had missed the memo that he was totally screwed.

"What's amazing?" Sam humored him as he entered the maze of fog colored plastic sheets. It was dark, no sunlight to shine through the sheeting to give any indication of where the suspect might be hiding. Sam needed to keep the guy talking, the man's voice would give away his position.

"Fear," There was a cracking sound of a shot fired and Sam swatted at his shoulder, a sharp prickling pain vibrated through Sam. Immediately the agent knew he was in some deep shit as his hand came across the small dart embedded in his skin.

Panic surged through Sam, not just because of the drug, although he knew it was fast acting. Now that the drug was pulsing through his veins, Sam wasn't sure how he'd react, losing control was terrifying for the strong and composed agent.

"What do you fear?" The man asked lightly, voice floating to Sam whose mind was already starting to recognize the changes the drug was afflicting. Sam's gun shook in his hands and the full panic of the situation and what he might do under the influence took over the agent's mind. The fast acting panic surged in his heart. Paranoia came next, what would he see? What enemies would his mind create?

Unnatural movement surrounded Sam and the shadows and plastic sheeting seemed to come alive. Sam flinched at each shape as they formed into faces of old and new enemies. The agent was not sure of what was truly real, where the real enemy had hidden himself.

A sharp noise over by the stairway caught his attention and fear pulled the trigger. The shot was a bit wild, not as calculated as Sam normally would normally shoot. When his brain was calm, not out of control because of a drug, Sam would have hit his target easily. His hands shook harder and Sam tried his hardest to focus, he needed to shoot straight. There was a strong possibility the man in the room with him could take advantage if Sam didn't calm down.

His name was called, echoing around him. Sam's eyes narrowed, how did the man know his name? Or were there more now? The voice had sounded different, though heavily distorted through the drug-induced filter over his mind.

Spinning around Sam wished Callen was there with him watching his back, the large man felt exposed in the open. His heart thudded harshly in his chest as he flinched at the movement towards the wall to his left. A man, no more like a monster emerged from behind a plastic sheet. Sam's eyes widened as they took in the way the creature's skin appeared to be pealing from his bones, the blood dripping down his arm and staining his left leg. It was a foggy, double image and Sam reacted with his gun, squeezing off a shot.

The rational part of Sam's mind worked only slightly, enough to tell Sam firmly that this 'creature' was probably another suspect in costume. Still, the danger was enough to send Sam over the edge. Now he was outnumbered.

The thing grunted, falling to the ground before vanishing. His name was called again and Sam fired his gun in that direction. The voice was silenced, but the lack of a thud registered to Sam as a bad sign. There were still two men out there, waiting to strike.

"Show yourself you coward!" Sam yelled, voice booming, echoing around the space.

There was sinister laughter behind him causing the large man to fire off another round randomly in that general direction. Heavy steps sounded behind him, Sam moved to slowly to turn and defend himself. Something crashed into him solidly, but the smaller man didn't succeed in flooring the larger man.

Wildly Sam grabbed the man's small neck, pulling him away and slamming him into a pillar nearby. The Zombie grunted, the sound painful. Sam didn't care, his mind only focused on accomplishing what the enemy had started.

"Sam, God Damn it!" The stranger hissed, "It's me!"

All Sam saw was the enemy as he raised his gun to the creature's head.

I will hopefully have another chapter up tonight, I plan to at least have this story completed by Friday. (It ended up being a bit longer than originally planned!)

Reviews are Love! (And I love Reviewers!)

- Strawberrywaltz

Oh, and FYI, I rocked my test this morning! ^^