Blood on the Water

Chapter VIII:

They pulled into the drive of Karen's mother's house. Audrey and Lollianna had been taken along when Officer Howard nearly collapsed of sleep exhaustion. Karen explained to her mother why they were there and they went up to Karen's old bedroom. It was very green with blue furniture and very many posters from the 1980's that featured bands like U2 and Blondie or movies like 16 Candles and St. Elmo's Fire. Karen went over to a bookshelf and opened the bottom cabinet and took out six VHS tapes and they hurried back over to Mystery Inc.'s Headquarters. She put the first movie mentioned, 'The Thief and the Cobbler' and Shaggy made them all popcorn and hot chocolate while the commercials played. Once everyone was settled they let the movie play.

It showed a young cobbler named Tack as he met a very unsuccessful thief; oddly neither spoke the entire film as it was narrated by both the cobbler's older self and the thief's present mind. They watched as Tack fell in love with the beautiful Princess Yum-Yum and as Tack and the Thief set out to destroy the evil sorcerer Zig-Zag. In all no one saw any specific meaning in the ninety-one minutes it ran. Karen put 'The Swan Princess' in next and they watched as first a young Prince and Princess were forced to visit one another as children in the hopes of their parents that they would fall in love and then as the evil Rothbart the Sorcerer came back from being banished and killed Princess Odette's father as they were riding home from Prince Derek's castle after Odette refused to marry him. Rothbart kidnapped Odette and charmed her to be a swan by day and a princess by night. When that film ended they put the next one in hoping that it would stick to the theme of evil sorcerers and princesses.

The only thing sticking to the theme with this one, 'The Princess and the Goblin,' was that there was a princess named Irenee, only this time the villains were goblins who planned to take over the mortal world above them by kidnapping the princess so that the king would give up his kingdom for her. The next film was for much younger children and it followed the story of a kind and gentle troll who loved to grow flowers and was banished from the troll world for being too nice. 'The Tangerine Bear' was a Christmas story about a teddy bear whose smile had been sewn on upside down and nobody had wanted to buy him so he was shipped to a second hand store where he was put in the shop window which caused his fur to go from brown to tangerine in color. The last movie was about a young girl on Christmas Eve who was very sick and whose parents were told she would most likely not make it through the night. Her brother in an attempt to cheer her and keep her will to live going told her a story about a place where only children lived and she wouldn't need a wheelchair anymore. The only adult was a magical snowman who became their best friend as they went on a journey together to save the princess's smile from a wicked sorcerer who wanted to enslave the children.

When all of the movies were over they talked for a few moments about what might have been special about them all. When nothing came to a conclusion they all got ready for bed, Shaggy and Scooby sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor, Fred in the armchair, Carlton on a couch and the girls on the other excluding Karen who took first watch with Officer Howard who was back on duty. The next morning a letter was left for them after Officer Howard had gone. Karen took it gingerly off of the porch and brought it in. They gathered around the dining room table as she read the note aloud. "Dearest players, have you not figured it out by now? Each of those ridiculous movies taught you a lesson one in the same. Look closer and you'll see the powers of the lesson that was taught and you'll know where to go. Hurry, hurry, time is wasting for your friends. I have three captives already. - Harley. P.S. Shame on me, that didn't rhyme."

"Like, what was the lesson?" Shaggy was still in his pajamas and eating a banana with very shaky hands.

"Why don't I take the kids down to the police station while you figure this out?" Officer Howard suggested as he gestured to the sleeping forms of Audrey and Lollianna on the sofa. Fred nodded and Officer Howard picked up Lollianna and gently shook Audrey awake to take them to his squad car. He drove away and the gang went back on topic with the detectives.

"Well let's review my notes," Velma said as she took a notepad out of the desk. "I took them last night in case we'd need them."

"Nice going, Velma." Fred said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Can you see a pattern anywhere?"

"Well, let's see." Velma began flipping through the pages and reading through the notes. She grabbed a pen and circled select notes here and there and when she was finished she capped the pen and tucked it behind her ear. "From what I gather the only connection that can really be made is that each movie ended with the clear message that friendship or love is enough to defeat the darkest of foes. If this is right then our next clue or the end to the task will be somewhere where that message rang true for one of us." Fred nodded slowly.

"There was already a clue at the tree house so I don't think there'll be one there," Daphne said thoughtfully, "and I doubt that there'll be one here either."

"Was there anyplace where something tragic may have happened to one of you?" Karen suggested. "A place where you were all together for it?" The gang thought for a moment through their pasts of broken bones and chasing monsters and getting sick. Shaggy came across a sudden thought, and an awkwardness came over him. He didn't really like to think about this, but it was tragic and they were all together for it when it had happened.

"Like, do you guys remember when we were six and it was it was one of the worst winters we'd ever had?" For a moment no one moved, but Fred nodded solemnly. "We wanted to, like, play outside even though our parents said it was too dangerous. We went out on Lake Erie and we didn't see the signs telling us that it was too thin for ice skaters but Scoob and I had run out there and Velma and Daph were yelling for us to stop but we already so far out. Fred came running after us to pull us back but the ice cracked and he slipped and crashed onto the snow bank and Scoob and I fell through into the lake and you couldn't get us out until my father showed up fifteen minutes later."

"And you and Scoob were unconscious." Fred continued for him. "Every time we tried to grab you guys you just slipped out from under our fingers and when we got you to Coolsville Medical you two were practically blue and you wouldn't move." Daphne shivered.

"You two didn't wake up for four weeks. They told us you were probably going to go to Heaven. It was the scariest moment of our lives." Daphne was chilled to the bone at the recount of that winter.

"And you guys didn't leave my side. When I woke up all of you were there around us. I think... I always thought it was your friendship that made me want to wake up... I still do." Shaggy had small tears coming down his cheeks and Scooby was whining as he pressed his nose against Shaggy's hand. Velma grabbed Shaggy's hand that was closest to her and gave it a gentle squeeze. Fred put a reassuring hand on Shaggy's shoulder and Daphne rubbed Scooby's ears affectionately. They could all tell that today's trip down memory lane wasn't going to be a very easy one if this first one turned out to be right.

Xx

Meanwhile the woman was brushing Maggie's hair roughly with a wooden brush in the basement. The child had tears streaming down her face at how much it hurt when the brush tore through her hair. The woman tossed the brush aside and began pulling the hair this way and that as she braided it. Grinning each time Margaret let out a small whimper of pain. When she was finished she twirled around to the front of the chair and cupped the child's face in her palms. "Such a pretty, pretty girl." She chimed in that satanic melody of a woman's voice. She slapped the child loud enough for the smack to ring out through the room. The child looked with terror at her captive and with shock as she saw an elderly man slumped over in the corner, tied to a pole. He hadn't been there the night before. The woman began refreshing Maggie's clown make-up ferociously and the child closed her eyes to prevent the make-up from stinging them. The middle-aged woman, had her own tears coming down as she watched the child being tortured by the maniacal woman.

When she was done with the make-up the woman took the syringe from the counter and injected it into Maggie's arm and then into Ms. Wilson's. She hoisted herself onto the counter and crossed her legs to sit in Indian position. She picked up her knife and began drawing small patterns of hearts into the skin of her knee, the blood trickling down her leg and onto the counter. She was humming again, as she so very often did. Tonight was going to be a good good night.