Warning for some blood, but once again, it's not really that bad.
That night, Velma found she was somewhat correct. She didn't have that dream again, she had one more disturbing than before.
She was alone on a smoothly paved road. There were no sidewalks beside it, only tall trees, reaching with slender limbs toward the moon, which hung high in the sky.
She tried not to think about it too much as she stirred her coffee. At least this morning she woke up at a reasonable hour. She was still somewhat bleary, however, not having gotten the best sleep the past two nights.
"Velma..." a hushed voice danced under the trees with the wind, blowing all around her, pushing her hair in her face.
She shivered lightly under her sweater and wrapped her hands around the mug of coffee. Now really was not the time to think about it.
"Who's there?" She asked boldly, looking around for any signs of the person speaking. Nervousness pricked at her stomach but she pushed it aside.
..Yet, she couldn't seem to stop thinking about it. She noticed Fred and Daphne's concerned glances thrown her way and smiled to tell them she was okay. Neither seemed entirely convinced but said nothing.
"You know very well who's there," the voice responded, growing louder. She recognized the slight accent and turned to look at him, but couldn't find him.
"Hm, the trees are really turning," Fred remarked. "Despite what happened, Oakhaven really was beautiful last year." Daphne hummed in agreement.
"Where are you? How are you here, you're dead!" She found herself turning more frantically, trying to find the source so she could run.
"I was actually wondering if... Maybe we should go back to visit this year." Everyone gave him the same look, the look that meant are you crazy?! "Think about it. No ghosts, fake or real.. hopefully. No Ben. Just us and the fall color."
"I'm all around you, Velma. I never left this world." The voice seemed to grow louder in her ears. "In the air, on the ground, inside of the mist..."
"I don't know if that's the best idea, Fred," Velma said as her fingers curled more tightly around the mug. "It doesn't sound entirely appealing to me, at least, and I hope my reasons are both obvious and justified." She didn't feel like bringing her dreams up to them yet.
Fog began to roll in from one side of the street. It couldn't have been normal, it was too bright, too.. bluish. It had to have been him. She started to walk away from the fog but found it on the other side of the street, too.
"Right.. but after all of that I think it might be good for all of us, but you in particular." Velma gave him a funny look.
"Leave me alone!" She screamed as the fog neared her, then swirled around her. She caught the scent of something as it closed in around her. The smell of blood, she realized.
"Why me?" Fred looked as though he'd possibly said something wrong and was considering what he could say right instead.
"How could I leave you alone?" The fog closed around her, covering her and slowly increasing in density. Her glasses started catching the mist on her lenses, rendering them pretty much useless. The scent of blood was growing thicker and stronger, making her feel nauseated.
"Well... You know, after everything that happened. I feel like he tried to get close to you especially and it isn't easy, feeling like you've taken it personally. It was just a thought, about going to Oakhaven, but think about what I said?"
The fog darkened suddenly, and became so thick and dry it wasn't fog anymore, it had become smoke. She looked around frantically, unable to see even a few inches in front of her. She began to have difficulty breathing. She got down on her knees, trying to crawl in any direction and see or breathe more easily, but it proved futile.
Velma went silent and looked down at her coffee mug.
"How can I leave you alone when my blood is on your hands?" Something about his tone made it seem too literal. She disbelievingly looked at her hands, then gaped at the sight of the thick crimson on them and dripping off her fingertips, then it ran down her arms and started to stain her sweater.
"..You know what?" Velma started to ask. Fred looked at her, crossing his arms.
She heard footsteps approaching and lowered her hands, looking toward them, her breath catching on her lips. She heard the sound of a fire crackling slowly grow nearer to her. He stopped right in front of her. She looked at his face, which was contorted into an evil leer.
"What?"
"Burn with me, Velma!" Ben yelled as the fire she'd heard raced around her, closing them both in a circle that continuously grew smaller. The smoke grew thicker and hotter.
"You're right. And why should he ruin this for me? Why can't I still go see the fall color at Oakhaven? Sure, I'd like to go." She made a vow to herself that if these dreams weren't random, they would end and she'd be the one to put a stop to them. She knew the answer would lay in Oakhaven if there was an answer, somewhere she could put all of this to rest.
She found herself nearly completely unable to breathe except to choke out a strangled, "Help me!"
Fred looked surprised by her sudden change of heart. "Are you.. are you sure?"
As soon as the fire reached her, she woke up with her face half-buried into her pillow. She raised her head and gratefully breathed in air that seemed so wonderful to inhale.
"Like, yeah, Velma. Are you really sure?" Shaggy asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm really sure. Like I said, though, you do have a point, Fred."
"I'm.. I'm glad to hear it!" He smiled.
"It'll be so much fun this year now that we don't really have to worry about warlocks and the witch's ghost," Daphne remarked.
"Reah!" Scooby exclaimed, tail wagging.
"And then if they do have the witch's ghost, at least we'll know if the town is doing it based on how hokey it looks." Velma laughed a little at Fred's remark.
"And, like, maybe we won't ruin it for the town this year."
"As long as they're not throwing fire," Velma pointed out.
"Rue. Rhat ras rangerous rast rear."
"Well, we're planning for variables that may not even exist at this point, so let's ease up on it," Daphne reminded them jokingly. They all laughed.
"Sorry, Daph," Fred said a bit sheepishly, "guess we're still in that mystery solving mindset."
"Like, let's hope there's nothing that follows us there."
"Knowing us? Jinkies, I'd be surprised if that happened." All five laughed again, Velma a little less heartily than the others.
I hope this is only a coincidence, she thought.
But if it isn't...
Hi again Chapter updates are gonna be pretty sporadic but I'm trying to get some out before I lose interest (I'll try not to, though.). Sorry about the short chapter length, I'm trying to do better on that I'm sure they'll get longer, though.