A/N: This is my nearly-annual Halloween story. Now, I'm not going to get it all posted by Halloween because it took me longer than I expected to get it finished, but it should be okay. This story is set in early season 2, not long after Tim gets added to the team. (And if you haven't ever read "The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe, you absolutely should... and make sure you read it aloud. It's meant to be heard, not read silently.)

Disclaimer: As always, I make no claims to own NCIS. I haven't watched it in years, and the only characters I lay claim to are my OCs.

A Mad Expostulation
by Enthusiastic Fish

Too much horrified to speak,
They can only shriek, shriek,
Out of tune,
In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire,
In a mad expostulation with the deaf and frantic fire,
Leaping higher, higher, higher,
With a desperate desire,
And a resolute endeavor
Now—now to sit or never,
By the side of the pale-faced moon.
~ from "The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe

Chapter 1

Tony was sitting back on his couch, enjoying a relaxing end of a frustrating day. While he'd never admit it, he'd be glad when Tim was back to do the computer junk again. They had a case and Abby had a lot on her plate. They had tried to call Tim, but he hadn't answered his phone... something that might get him in trouble depending on where he was. He had refused to say where his first vacation since joining Gibbs' team was going to be. It was possible that he just wasn't reachable. That did violate one of Gibbs' rules, but in this case, Tim was on vacation and if he'd gone far, he couldn't get back here anyway. He might avoid Gibbs' ire.

Tony and Kate were doing their best, but even in the few months that Tim had been on the team, they had come to rely on his skills and without him there, they were definitely much slower. Gibbs was getting more irritated than usual and it had been a distinct relief to come home and get away from the frustration of work. The sun had set and it was almost dark. Tony didn't have any lights on. Instead, he was just enjoying the flickering light of his TV.

His phone rang and he groaned, thinking it was going to be Gibbs deciding that they had to work all night. He wished he dared ignore it, but he didn't. He looked and was surprised to see that it was not Gibbs. Tim was calling him.

"Hey, Probie. Finally deigning to acknowledge our existence after your vacation?" he asked. "If you don't get back soon, Gibbs may go and drag you back by your ear."

There was a long silence.

"McGee?" Tony asked.

"Tony, where am I?" Tim asked, sounding very strange. His voice was kind of muffled, but beyond that, the tone was just off.

"Uh... I don't know, McGee. You didn't tell us where your vacation was. Remember?"

"Do I?"

"Do you what?"

"Remember."

"McGee, you're weirding me out here. What's going on?"

"What is?"

"What?"

"Going on."

"I don't know. You called me. Why did you call me?"

"Why did I?"

"Okay, McGee. If this some kind of lame joke, I'm going to kill you."

"Are you?"

Tony had no idea how to deal with this. Tim wasn't making any sense, but he didn't sound scared or anything. But this was weird. He didn't know what to do about it.

"McGee, where are you?"

"Here."

Tony tried not to be frustrated.

"Where is here?"

"Where I am."

"Okay, McGee. Will you stay on the phone while I call Gibbs?"

"Should I?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

Good. An actual response. Tony put Tim on hold and called Gibbs.

"What is it, DiNozzo?"

"I've got McGee on my phone. He's acting really weird. He doesn't seem to know where he is and I can't get a straight answer out of him. I'm not sure what to do about it."

There was a sigh.

"Is he drunk?"

"I don't think so. He doesn't sound drunk. He sounds... really off."

"I'll call Abby to trace his phone. Stay on the line with him."

"Okay."

Gibbs hung up and Tony reluctantly went back to talking to Tim.

"Hey, McGee. I'm back."

"I don't see you."

"I'm not there. I'm just back on the phone with you."

"Oh. Tony?"

"What?"

"I don't like where I am."

"Where are you?" Tony asked, hoping for more information.

"Where I am."

Tony stifled a sigh. So much for that.

"Can you describe it?"

"A room."

"What's in the room?"

"Me."

"What else, Probie?"

"Broken things. Lots of broken things. Everywhere, it's broken."

"Is there a window?"

"I can't see it."

"Does that mean there is?"

"I can't see it."

"Probie, you're driving me nuts."

"Tony?"

"What?"

"I don't feel very good."

Maybe, he was on something.

"You going to be sick?"

"No."

Good. Another real answer. Maybe he was coming out of whatever it was.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of sound on the other end of the line and someone was screaming. Tony hadn't ever heard Tim scream, so he had no idea if it was Tim or not. Behind the screaming, it sounded like breaking glass and slamming doors.

"McGee! McGee!" Tony shouted.

Then, there was complete silence on the other end of the phone.

"McGee!"

"Tony?"

"Yeah. What happened?"

"Where am I?"

Tim's voice was exactly the same as it had been before.

"McGee, what happened?"

"When?"

"Just now. Were you screaming?"

"Breaking things. Lots of breaking things."

"Is someone else there?"

"I can't see him."

"So... there is someone else there?"

"I can't see him."

Of course. Just like before.

Finally, Gibbs was calling him back.

"Stay on the phone, McGee. I'll be right back."

"I can't see you."

"On the phone, McGee."

Tony quickly switched over to Gibbs.

"Yeah, Boss?"

"We're on our way to you. Be ready."

"Where is he?"

"Fredericksburg, Virginia. We'll be at your place in a few minutes. Keep him on the line."

"Okay. Boss, something weird is going on there. He started screaming and there was a lot of noise, but then... then, it was just quiet and he seemed the same as before."

"Keep talking to him."

"Okay."

Even more reluctantly than before, Tony switched back to talking to Tim.

"McGee?"

"Tony?"

"Yeah. I'm still here. We're coming to you."

"Where am I?"

"Virginia."

"What does that mean?"

"Uh... Virginia is a state."

"What does that mean?"

Tony didn't know Tim especially well at this point, but one thing he did know and had known since first meeting the guy was that Tim was really, really smart. He knew what states were. Something was seriously wrong if Tim sounded dumb.

"That's where you are."

"Where am I?"

"In Virginia."

There was a knock at his door. Tony gladly went and answered it. Kate was there.

"Let's go, Tony," she said.

"Here, Miss Profiler. You talk to him," Tony said, holding out the phone. "Figure out what's wrong."

She raised an eyebrow, but took the phone as they went down to get into the car. Kate got into the front and Tony took the back without griping.

"Hi, Tim. It's Kate."

Her brow furrowed and she looked back at Tony. Then, she put the phone on speaker.

"Tim, are you all right?"

"Am I?" Tim asked in that same odd voice.

"That's what he was doing to me!" Tony said.

Kate looked back at him again, her expression one of concern.

"Tim, are you injured?"

"What does that mean?"

"Do you have any pain?"

"It's dark."

An odd nonsequitur.

"Tim, are you hurt?" Kate asked.

"It's really dark. ...but there are lights. How did that happen?"

Gibbs looked over for a moment and then his speed increased. No matter what else, something was definitely wrong with Tim.

It took about 45 minutes to get to the location where Abby had traced Tim's phone. Tim never made any sense in all that time. He would respond... sort of. He would talk, but most of what he said didn't really seem to fit with what was being asked.

Finally, they reached the turn off just east of Fredericksburg.

At what looked like a bunch of trees. Gibbs stopped the car and pulled out his phone.

"Abby, are you sure this is it?" he listened silently. Then, he hung up and started driving into the trees.

"What is this place?" Kate asked.

"Abandoned Renaissance fair site," Gibbs said. "Been empty for a few years."

"And this is where McGee is?" Tony asked. "I never pegged him as a Ren faire kind of guy. He's too techy."

"He does have a typewriter," Kate said.

"That's not Renaissance."

"Shut up," Gibbs said.

They drove further into the trees and a number of dilapidated buildings loomed over them, looking like they came out of medieval England.

Gibbs stopped the car and they all got out, guns at the ready.

"Tim, can you make some noise?" Kate asked. "We're trying to find you."

"Where am I?" Tim asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Kate said.

"Yell, McGee," Tony said.

There was only silence.

"Come on, Probie. Do something!" Tony said.

They all stood there, waiting to see if Tim would actually respond. Then, Gibbs started to walk forward. They followed, Kate still holding Tony's phone in one hand and her gun in the other.

Then, suddenly, there was a shriek over the phone and the sound of glass breaking. Across the clearing the windows in one of the buildings shattered, shards of glass flying out as if a bomb had gone off. However, there was no sign of fire or smoke. Just the flying glass.

They looked at each other and started for the building. It was a three-story Tudor-style structure. All the windows were shattered. Some still had pieces of glass hanging on, but there wasn't an intact window in the entire building. They went inside and walked carefully on stairs and floors that had been exposed to the elements for years. It was dark inside and Tony turned on a flashlight so that they could see. Graffiti could be seen on many of the walls. They cleared every room, and when they got to the top, there was a single closed door. Carefully, they walked over to it.

Gibbs looked at them and then held up one hand and silently counted down. At one, he yanked open the door, Tony and Kate rushing into the room with guns drawn.

What they saw was... odd. Somehow disturbing.

The room was a shambles. Furniture was strewn across the room, all in varying states of destruction. Shards of broken glass, broken plates, broken glasses littered the floor as if someone had come with the intent of leaving nothing whole.

And in the midst of all that, on the floor in the corner was Tim.

His knees were drawn up to his chest and his head was cradled in his arms. He was missing a shoe and, overall, looked rather disheveled. His phone looked like it was in his lap. The faint glow of the screen visible in the dim light. He wasn't relaxed at all. In fact, he seemed to be trembling with tension. The only sound in the room was his irregular breathing. It was eerily silent otherwise.

"Tim!"

No response.

"Tim, it's Kate. We're here."

No response.

Kate holstered her weapon, handed Tony his phone, and ran over to Tim.

"Tim, are you all right?' she asked.

There was still no response. She knelt down beside him and touched his arm. It was as if that touch had been a switch turning him off. His feet slid out from under his arms which fell to the floor and he slumped over onto Kate, eyes closed. His phone fell from his lap to the floor. Tony shone the flashlight onto his face and Kate gasped.

Tim's face was scratched and bruised. Kate picked up one of his hands and Tony moved the light to shine on it. The tips of his fingers were cracked and bloody as were his knuckles.

"What happened here?" Kate whispered.