Shaggy the Vampire

Chapter Ten – A Day Out…and Some Surprises

Daphne laughed. "Oh, that was a good one!" She, Shaggy and Scooby all continued to laugh at the joke Shag had just told them. They were currently sitting in the middle of a forest, enjoying a picnic and the sun. It was fairly weak through the trees so didn't bother the new vamp but the rays did have a strange effect on his skin, making it glow. None of them were paying much attention, though, as they were getting used to his new looks and were just enjoying their free time together.

Day by day, Shaggy was getting better and becoming more like his old, happy, carefree self. His self-control was improving by the day and he had now stopped worrying about suddenly losing control and attacking someone. He knew that he was still a danger to others as he was a powerful predator – but he was a predator who had decided to stop hunting and was sticking to it.

With that worry contained, he'd started to feel more relaxed and was enjoying life again. He'd even been enjoying his new powers: his speed and strength meant he could best his friends at everything (something he used to tease Daphne with) but they'd also proved useful in helping out (Daphne had taken him shopping several times and gotten him to carry immense loads without any effort on his part); his heightened senses meant he could spot things better than the others and could point them out (like shops or people Daphne was looking for or female dogs Scooby fancied); and his persuasion abilities meant he found it easy to charm people and get good deals or even free stuff (something Daphne wasn't entirely happy about until he managed to charm a free gift for her at her favourite store from a snobby clerk).

The trio hardly spent any time in the apartment now, either out shopping or eating or (in Daph's case) working and leaving the boys to bond on their own. Hunting regularly every night satisfied Shag's appetite and any cravings were topped up with meat from the butchers. His blog was doing well: he was earning a steady income from both sponsors and online companies, paying him to showcase their ads on his site. There was talk of trying to expand the blog and make it an interactive website with Skype chats on recipes and travel and such. There were days when he worked longer hours than Daphne did.

One of the trio's favourite places to go was the forest where they were now. It was several miles from home and relatively deserted, apart from the odd hiker. Shaggy enjoyed running there but Daphne and Scoob found the car preferable and so would meet him there (he always arrived first, free from roadways and speed limits). It was a place where he could completely relax and use his powers to the extreme without anybody seeing; it took a great deal of patience and restraint for him to act human, to think over every movement so as to perform it at an average pace when it was natural to move at light speed. Amongst the trees, he could let loose and just act naturally without worry. The other two were sometimes startled by his quick movements but were becoming more accustomed to it. It was nice to watch him become just a blur through the green or up into the tree-tops.

Lately, Daphne had noticed that her feelings towards Shag seemed to have changed. Now, she had always loved Shaggy: they'd been best friends for years and knew each other inside out; he'd always been cute and loveable, with a good sense of humour and a certain naivety that made you want to look after him. When he had disappeared, she had acted strong for the others and for Scooby – but inside, she'd been devastated at the loss of that wonderful man and it hurt that she'd never told him how much she cared. And then he'd returned! Giving her a second chance! But now things had changed. He was different. And though he acted like the same old Shaggy, there was something different about him. His 'aura' had changed. He seemed…sharper, if that could describe it. He had more confidence in himself and was much more aware of his surroundings than before. He now had an edge. His facial features had also sharpened and made him look like a model; he'd always been cute before but now, he was so very handsome. The more time she spent with him, the more Daphne found she couldn't stop thinking about him – and she realised that this 'fondness' wasn't exactly new. It had been there for a while now; it had just taken this whole vampire thing for her to pay attention and actually take notice…

The vamp could feel her staring again (she'd been doing it a lot lately). He wasn't unduly bothered by it as he knew that he looked different and they were all still getting used to him being…this way but when she stared, it was different. Having heightened senses allowed Shag to have a general idea of how those around him were feeling (well, they say animals can sense fear) and he could roughly guess someone's emotional state: fearful, stressed, happy… But Daph gave off none of those things. She seemed curious and dreamy, staring off into space, but it wasn't a negative emotion and this pleased him. The young man had always liked his redheaded friend, even way back when they'd first met, and actually before: he'd noticed her at school and thought her the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Of course, she was way out of his league but this didn't stop him admiring her – and despite being wealthy and pretty, a top student and cheerleader and all round popular girl, she was always kind and sincere and never seemed to think herself better than anyone. Upon becoming friends, they'd gotten pretty close and got along well throughout all their times together, often taking each other's side and sharing similar interests. But her on-off relationship with the ever-watchful Fred had stopped Shaggy from ever making a move and, while Daph certainly liked him as a friend, she'd never seemed interested in taking things further. So he'd moved on – but still, a small part of him never stopped hoping that she cared.

Scooby's barking tore the two out of their daydreams to realise they had been staring at each other absentmindedly for several minutes. They quickly pulled themselves together and paid attention to Scooby, who appeared to be on the hunt of some animal nearby and had raced off. "What on earth is he after?" asked Daphne.

"Rabbit, I think. I can smell it," answered Shaggy. "Though, like, I think it's kinda far away. Scoob won't be back anytime soon."

The two smiled at each other, knowing Scooby could be quite a bloodhound when he wanted to and stuck to a trail for as long as it took. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Shaggy spoke. "Do you miss solving mysteries? I mean, like, we all started working different jobs and kinda went our separate ways so haven't done any sleuthing recently."

"Um," Daphne slowly answered, "Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I liked us all hanging out together and being part of a team but it was also quite fun, being all smart and solving things the police couldn't and…all the exploring and seeing new places and doing new things and it was so adventurous. I loved the thrill!"

"Really? Does that include being kidnapped and in danger?" Shaggy teased.

"Well, no, the kidnapping thing was annoying. It was the chasing and the adrenaline and doing something cool. Like when I was a child and rode motorbikes. It was so exciting and free! I like that kind of thing."

"Oh," replied Shaggy. He looked up at the canopy above. All the trees were so high here – he knew as he'd climbed to the top like a monkey and had stood on the topmost branches about 100ft off the ground, admiring the view. A smile suddenly graced his lips as an idea came to him and he looked over at Daphne, who was also looking up and admiring the pretty view the sun's rays made through the trees.

"What a beautiful view," commented Daphne before he could speak.

"It is, isn't it? Than you might like my idea."

"What idea?"

"Well, you say you like adventure and exploring – and you like the view – so how would you like to see it from the top of the trees?"

Daphne smiled. "That would be cool but we'd probably need a helicopter or something. I bet it's pretty up there, though. Hey, you've just climbed up there. What's it like?"

"Well, that's what I'm saying. I could take you up there. If you'd like."

Daphne stared at him, taking in the idea. "Really? You could get me up there?"

"Like, sure, I could. I'll give you a piggy-back ride – just hold on tight. I won't let you fall," he added, as a wave of doubt appeared on her face. "And it truly is a beautiful view. And it would be an adventure! I mean, most people would need, like, a helicopter or something – but you'd be standing on the actual branches of the tallest trees around."

The doubtful looked changed into one of nervous excitement and she bit her lip. "…Okay. I'd like to see the top."

"Great!" cried Shaggy. They stood up and he helped her climb onto his back. "You all right?"

"Yeah. I trust you," she replied, clinging on tightly. Shaggy paused a little at this, surprised yet very pleased, before running at one of the trees and jumping several feet into the air to cling onto the trunk; he then started racing up it on all fours as if he were on flat ground, rather than going vertically against gravity. To be honest, Daphne found the ride a bit uncomfortable. The fast movement meant she was shaken back and forth constantly and she began to understand how a boat's motion on the waves could upset people and make them ill. Yet she knew if she relaxed her grip, there was a very long drop below her and – though she trusted Shaggy would catch her – she didn't like the idea of falling even a short distance. But she tried to ignore all this as her friend was trying to do something nice for her so she held on and waited. Shaggy quickly made it to the top and helped her slide off his back onto one of the sturdy branches, making sure there were plenty of higher branches to hold onto and thus feel secure. "So, what do you think?" he asked.

Daphne gasped as she looked around. At that height, they could see for miles around (Shaggy, of course, could see much farther). The forest was near the coast so: on the one side, there were miles upon miles of deep blue ocean and bright blue sky; and on the other was the mainland, with miles of green acres and a square of buildings which showed where their home city was; and far in the distance were grey, snow-capped hills that overlooked the surrounding area. And above all that, the sun shone down on everything and made it glow golden. "It's beautiful."

Shaggy looked down at her and noted the wind blowing her hair around her face, how the sun's rays made her skin glow and the whiteness of her teeth when she smiled and how her blue eyes shone. He smiled fondly at her. "Yeah… Very."

Noticing the serious tone, she looked up to find him smiling at her; there was nothing new about that but this was the most tender and serious expression that she'd ever seen him wear. He quickly turned away to gaze across the ocean and seemed to swallow nervously. Daphne never knew what made her do it. Whether it was the romantic setting or the slow realisation of how she truly felt or the soft expression she'd just seen on Shaggy's face… Whatever it was, it made her reach up to pull Shaggy's face closer and put her lips to his. After a moment or so, when she wondered if she'd made a mistake, she felt him slowly kiss back and smiled into the kiss, knowing this was right…

Meanwhile, down below, completely oblivious to what was going on with his friends, Scooby continued to follow the trail he'd found. It was a rabbit trail – a recent one, judging by the strong scent. He'd been following it for some time and had suddenly realised just how far he'd wandered from the others when he came across the rabbit's warren. Seeing as they all appeared to be safely underground, the hound was about to turn back when he caught another scent. But this one alarmed him, rather than interested him. Blood…

Nervously following the scent, wondering if someone was hurt and needed help, he came into a clearing where the scent ended. And he could quite clearly see why. For there in the clearing lay the body of a man, very much alive but his clothes were spattered with blood, especially around the collar. He seemed alright, physically, but was clearly much shaken. He looked surprised and somewhat worried at the dog's appearance but not unduly upset. "Hello, boy," he whispered. "You're a handsome lad, aren't you? You know, you should get out of here before my girlfriend comes back. She…she might eat you."

Confused and alarmed at this, Scooby suddenly realised that he knew this man. It was the red-haired joker who'd been in the café when Shag had run out after a child cut itself. The man had made a comment to Scoob and Daph as they ran after their friend. A quiet mousy-haired girl had shared his table (probably his girlfriend). "I rnow rou. Rou were in that rafé. A rhild got rurt and my friend ran out." (Translation: I know you. You were in that café. A child got hurt and my friend ran out.)

Recognition appeared on the man's face. "Oh, yes. You pale friend who disappeared when the child…" A shocked expression suddenly overcame the recognition. "Oh, my God! You could help! He's the one, the last one. Where's your friend?"

Just as Scooby was about to answer, he heard movement nearby and smelt death – it was exactly how Shaggy now smelt. A second later, the little mousy-haired girl appeared in the clearing. Only now was she deathly pale with blood red eyes and reeked of death, with blood covering her mouth and splattered across her clothes. Her focus had been entirely on the man lying there, a look of great concern on her features; however, her attention quickly turned to the Great Dane stood there and smiled at the fresh meal she saw. Scoob backed away in fear but didn't get far before she launched at him as her red-haired boyfriend cried out, "No…!"

Several miles away, at the trio's apartment, a stranger completely covered in dark clothing stood at their front door. Ensuring that nobody had noticed him, he picked the lock and quietly entered, glancing around the empty room. Methodically, he went through the place room by room, searching various corners and sniffing different items. A framed photograph in one of the bedrooms showed a tall, thin young man with messy caramel-coloured hair standing in between a pretty red-haired girl and a large Great Dane; all three were laughing with their arms around each other's shoulders.

Smiling, the figure pulled the photo from its frame and pocketed it. Having another look around, he also took an item of clothing that belonged to each occupant, ensuring they had strong scents of their owners. Deciding he had enough, he set about leaving when he heard a car pull up outside and looked out the window. A dirty and rather dilapidated old truck had just pulled up and a harassed-looking girl with bobbed brown hair and thick glasses jumped out; she ran all the way to the apartment and repeatedly pressed the bell before knocking heavily several times. Realising nobody was in, she sighed. "Fine. I'll wait until they get back." She took out a key-ring that was heavily laden with about twenty keys and finally pulled out a plain, silver one. Stepping inside and shutting the door behind her, the girl glanced round the empty living-room before settling on the couch and prepared to wait…

Notes: In Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur, it was revealed that Daphne rode motorbikes when she was five (not knowing it was illegal as she was only five). Oh, and the tree-climbing is based on the scene from the Twilight movie. It's my favourite scene of the whole movie as the views are spectacular. I hope it didn't sound too cheesy or over-romantic – or rushed. I want it to be natural.

Hope you all enjoyed the twists at the end.