CHAPTER 36
He was proud of her? Was Velma hearing things?
Here she was: keeping their entire group functional and safe. Between the five of them, Velma took about sixty percent of the total sentry duty. She sacrificed her sleep to keep the others safe. She drew up plans to ration the food and make sure there would be enough water every day.
No one ever thanked her. Yet Daphne Blake – who was no longer sick, but had still been lying in her bed for the past two weeks – walks outside the barn and Fred says he's proud of her?
She felt a fiery rage wash over her. Maybe I should stop doing things for a day so they see how much I actually do around here, Velma thought bitterly. But even in her state of frustration, she was smart enough to realise that was a completely absurd and reckless idea. She couldn't afford to take risks like that in an unpredictable warzone. The wave of rage subsided just as quickly as it had come.
Velma had tried to understand Daphne; she really had. She'd never been very good with emotions, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what had been going through Daphne's head lately. At first it had worried Velma to see her usually bubbly and energetic friend so flat. But it wasn't as if Velma or the boys were feeling any different, because after all, they all went through the same terrible experience. Velma was feeling flat too, but she didn't lie around in bed all day. If she did, she felt that she might become consumed by her thoughts.
Over time, her worry for Daphne had been replaced in favour of a feeling of annoyance at her idleness.
Yet surprisingly, her frustration hadn't spilled over in the way Fred's had earlier that evening. She had never, ever seen Fred loose his temper properly with anyone, and she didn't think it would be with Daphne of all people! Daphne had always been strong and bloody-minded, and she was by far the more manipulative one in her relationship. The war had strengthened Fred's resolve: now, he was able to hold his own against Daphne. Standing up to someone doesn't mean your love towards them changes.
Velma rolled over as Daphne and Shaggy stumbled back into the sawmill. They mumbled a quick goodnight to each other before moving to their side of the room. Velma flipped over again and willed her exhausted body to try and go to sleep but she knew it wasn't going to happen. She still felt fired up about what Fred said. I'm proud of you. Ugh!
She straightened up and reached for her parka that lay at the base of her bed. She put her boots on and tied them roughly, then walked out of the sawmill and through the barn. She gasped in shock as a cold breeze hit her face as if someone slapped her. She walked around towards Fred, rubbing her arms for warmth.
'It's cold once the sun goes down, eh?' Fred remarked.
Velma's initial fury wavered at the sight of Fred wrapped up in blankets with a Crystal Cove football team pompom beanie on his head.
'I know what you're going to say,' he said suddenly.
'Yeah?'
'Velma, we both know we can't stay here forever. We need Daphne and Shaggy to be strong so we can at least get back to Headquarters.'
Velma sighed; she had a feeling she knew what he was going to say even before she even stepped outside to approach him. At heart, she knew it too.
'It's going to be one hell of a journey.'
'Right. I don't even know where we are. Velma, I'm just… I'm just trying to keep their morale up. I don't know what the heck's going on with Shaggy and Daphne at the moment. Scooby's just as baffled as us. What we need to do is get back to Headquarters so we can spend our time with them instead of…'
'Doing sentry and getting food.'
'Pretty much.'
'Do you think spending time with them is going to help?' Velma asked.
'I don't know if I can help Shaggy, but I want to be with Daphne.'
'Scooby will probably be best for Shaggy.'
'Scooby seems annoyed by Shaggy at the moment.'
'I suppose he is a little annoyed. It's strange how good Shaggy and Daphne have been for each other. Ever since Shaggy's woken up, there's been a huge improvement in Daphne. He's helping her get outside again and she's helping him by being his sounding board.'
Fred nodded thoughtfully. They both glanced up as thunder rumbled somewhere off in the distance over the mountains.
'Can't get a break from the rain,' Velma grunted.
'Is that thunder or someone taking the bins out?'
'Well, is it Monday night?' Velma replied sincerely.
'Ha ha.'
'Seriously though, it may be Monday night for all we know. I don't even know what month it is!'
'True.'
Enough small talk, Velma thought. There was something else on her mind that she had to ask Fred about, so she decided to bite the bullet and come straight out with it.
'Fred. You're not going to like this idea, but I've been checking this place out, and I've found some shotguns, rifles and handguns up the back of the shed. I don't think it's going to hurt to… take them.'
'I'll put it in my pack, but I'm not going to use it,' Fred said through gritted teeth.
'You've just got to be prepared.' She couldn't have been happier with his response.
~oO*Oo~
'Like, all packed?'
'Ret's go.'
After yet another quarrel, everyone, including Scooby, had some sort of gun in their pack. No one was overly happy with the idea, not least Shaggy and Scooby. But they did it because of Velma's berating insistence.
It was weird leaving the barn. Though they'd only been there for a couple of weeks, it felt like so much longer. They had come to know every inch of it so well, and it was not dissimilar to saying goodbye to a home.
Shaggy and Scooby were leading the way to the farmhouse with the vegetable garden. It was a dark night, with the seemingly ever-present storm clouds looming over them, but not a single drop of rain had been spilt. Velma had worked tirelessly to waterproof every single pack as best as she could just in case they got another downpour. She had explained to the others how going through the mountains in autumn was likely going to be a soggy experience.
They crouched in the bushes about a hundred metres away from the farmhouse and watched it for any signs of movement. Satisfied, they moved closer and entered through the back kitchen that Fred had found unlocked when he and Scooby had first discovered the house.
Predictably, Shaggy went straight to the kitchen, and Velma walked down the hall lecturing Fred and Daphne on how they had to stick strictly to the list she'd constructed.
'So I suppose I won't be needing a hair dryer then?' Daphne said.
Scooby heard Velma babbling some reply about electricity and Fred chuckling either at Daphne's joke or Velma's inability to realise it was a joke. Scooby breathed a sigh of relief. That was so something the usual Daphne would say. Not the one who swore at him. Scooby had been so confused about Daphne's behaviour lately. Ever since that incident happened, Shaggy seemed to be on her side and Scooby had no idea why. It caused a lot of friction between Shaggy and Scooby. Having seen how badly Fred, Daphne and Velma had fought amongst themselves over the course of the war, Scooby had done everything in his power to avoid a confrontation. Above all, he didn't want the tension to bubble over into a terrible argument.
'Like, coming Scoob?'
'Ri'll just re a roment!'
Scooby stayed outside and trotted over to his trusty vegetable patch. In the short couple of weeks where he had been tending this garden every day (or every night rather), he had learnt so much about gardening. He recognised how valuable it would be to start a garden down in Headquarters. It was damp down there – conditions that would suit many of the vegetables here in the garden. Scooby ventured to the garden shed to grab the seed packets he had found a couple of days before. He shuffled around a snazzy looking Land Rover parked in the shed and loaded his pack up with seeds for strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, squash and some herbs. As he walked back to the house, he found himself grinning at the thought of eating bush foods that had been finely seasoned with some lavish herbs and spices. You could even add in a bit of rock salt for extra flavour, Scooby thought. It was all about being creative.
'Raggy? Can Ri have some rontainers?'
'Containers?' Shaggy echoed, confused. He rummaged around in a cupboard below the sink. 'Like okay, how about these Chinese takeaway containers?'
'Rhanks!'
'Like what are you using it for, Scoob?'
'Food!'
'Works for me!'
'I'll be right back Scoob, I'm just like, going to look for some new shoes with Velma. Hers still smell so bad from the damp and like, mine are more holes than fabric.'
'Reeheehee! Rokay.'
Scooby ran back outside and pulled up as many carrots as he could out of the garden, taking care not to rip the roots out. He took cuttings of the tomatoes and capsicums, then threw in some more potatoes, swedes, sweet potatoes and pumpkin. Using the knowledge he had acquired from Velma about plants, he poured in a little water and put the lids on loosely to give the plants the best chance at survival. Scooby put them down the bottom of his pack and went to find Shaggy. When he went back inside the house, Shaggy was not in the kitchen.
Scooby put his nose to the ground and followed Shaggy's scent into the house's main bedroom. The others were in there too. Then Shaggy's feet were in his face, ushering him out of the bedroom. Shaggy stepped outside the room too and closed the door behind him. Scooby looked to him inquiringly.
'Believe me Scoob,' Shaggy whispered. 'You like, don't want to go in there.'
Scooby looked closer at Shaggy and noticed something he hadn't seen at first: he looked like he had just seen a ghost.
Fred, Daphne and Velma came out of the room too.
'Those were brave people. They put up a fight because they didn't want to leave their homes,' Velma was saying to them. 'I don't want to be in this house any longer.'
She stormed down the corridor, but Scooby hadn't missed the glimmer of a tear in her eye and the way she wiped it away as casually as she could.
Fred draped an arm around Daphne and pulled her close to him. 'See you out the back, Shag.'
'Like we'll be there in a moment.'
Shaggy and Scooby watched as they too strode down the corridor, with Daphne tightly clutching the back of Fred's shirt.
Scooby put the pieces of the puzzle together pretty quickly. 'Rid you ree it?'
'Yeah. Velm and I came face to face with it when we were looking for shoes.'
'Rest in reace,' Scooby nodded at the closed door.
Shaggy and Scooby followed their lead and walked towards the kitchens, but much slower than the others. Scooby paused beside the fridge while he put on his pack and did the straps up. A small flashing object that was stuck onto the fridge caught his eye. It only stood out to him because it was the only working piece of technology he had seen since the war began. Scooby guessed it was probably battery operated. On the screen read:
1:07 am
Wednesday March 21
'Raggy.'
'Like, what is it, Scoob?'
'Rit's my rirthday today.'
Shaggy's eyes landed on the small electronic calendar. He was completely quiet for a moment.
Scooby guessed Shaggy was probably thinking the same thing as him. First of all, this calendar could've run out of charge weeks ago, meaning it was actually much later than the twenty-first of March. Or maybe it ran out of batteries on the twenty-first of March last year and the people who lived here hadn't been bothered to change it.
Yet there was a chance that it was correct. To Scooby, it felt right. They had left the sawmill just after midnight, so the time was pretty accurate. Scooby couldn't explain it, but today really did feel like it was his birthday.
'Aw. Happy birthday Scooby Doo.'
'Rhank rou.'
'I'm sorry I like didn't get you anything.'
'Rit's rokay!'
'And I'm also like, sorry for being such a jerk to you lately. I know I've probably been annoying you, pal. And like, I know I can't speak for Daph, but I know she really regrets what she said to you a few days ago. Like, she really, really does. She's so embarrassed about it.'
He padded over to Shaggy and the two best friends embraced. 'Oh! Rour rapology is my rirthday present, Raggy,' Scooby said happily.
'I'm glad I do have something to give you after all,' Shaggy said.
'Guys, come out here now!' Velma hissed.
'Oop, like time's up.'
As Scooby bounded out, all the containers in his pack tumbled around noisily.
'What's in your pack, Scooby?' Fred asked quietly.
'Ri'm going to start our rown regetable garden in Readquarters.'
Fred stroked him on the head. 'What an idea.'
'Rhank rou!'
'Just avoid the rattling sounds, won't you,' Fred said.
Scooby beamed at the praise, but then he noticed Shaggy wasn't beside him. 'Rhere did Raggy go?'
Scooby scanned the front of the house. Shaggy had come out of the house with him and had been standing beside him just moments earlier. 'Raggy?'
Fred nudged him and pointed to where Shaggy was crouched in front of a mint bush in a child-like position with his head in his hands.
'Rhat's wrong with Raggy?' Scooby asked.
Fred and Daphne looked at each other in concern.
'Ras he reen sick?' Scooby whispered.
'No,' Daphne replied softly.
Fred, Daphne and Scooby glanced over towards Velma, who was making a point of checking her watch every five seconds and peering through the darkness with an unnecessary keenness.
'Velma, you go ahead,' Daphne said.
Velma sighed. 'I'll go slowly.'
'What do you want to do about – ' Fred nodded in Shaggy's direction.
'We need to get him away from that bush. We do need to keep moving,' Daphne said.
'Rhat's happening to him!' Scooby asked frantically.
'Oh, Scooby.' Daphne pet his ears affectionately.
'Ri don't understand. Raggy was fine and rhen…'
'He wasn't. That just happens,' she said softly.
'Rou do it. Rou go rover to him.'
'Okay Scooby, I will. Freddie, you start walking with Scooby.'
Daphne squeezed Fred's hand then walked over to Shaggy and put an arm around him. Without a word, she gently hoisted him up and then guided him away from the bush. Daphne pulled the hood of Shaggy's parka up and followed the others slowly. They shivered as a cool gust of wind whooshed down from the treetops and flanked them.
'Keep going,' she whispered to him, giving his shoulders a squeeze.
'I'm sorry.'
'It's okay honey, please don't be sorry.'
They reached a small clearing in the trees where Fred, Velma and Scooby were waiting for them. Scooby smiled hopefully at Shaggy, who gave him a shaky smile in return.
'Come on!' Velma urged. 'We have to make it to the mountains by dawn.'
'Relma…'
'This is a thin section. Can we go single file?' Velma said.
Fred and Daphne exchanged a glance.
'No, it's fine,' Shaggy said suddenly. 'We can.'
Velma recovered from her surprise quickly and nodded. 'Alright. Good.'
'Thanks,' Shaggy whispered to Daphne.
He let go of her and walked ahead, just behind Scooby. Velma was leading by a good ten metres; clearly her impatience had got the better of her. The group was very spread out, as Daphne and Fred lagged at the rear end.
'What did you say to him?' Fred asked her.
'Hm?'
'To Shaggy. How did you get him going again?'
'I didn't say anything. Sometimes all you need is a bit of human contact,' she responded, wrapping her arms around Fred's torso in the process.
'I think Velma needs a lesson on that,' Fred said, returning her gesture warmly.
'Yeah, what's up her…'
'Daph,' Fred cut her off. 'Leave it. She's annoyed at you, you're annoyed at her. You're pretty much even at this point.'
'What's she annoyed at me for?'
Fred looked at her blankly. 'You're kidding me, right?'
Daphne sighed. 'Okay, I'm being dumb. But listen to me Freddie, I'm better now and I don't know why. But back at the sawmill, I literally felt like I was trapped within that depression or whatever it was. I didn't care what people thought and I was terrified out of my wits for no good reason.'
'There are plenty of reasons to be afraid,' Fred said kindly.
'I know, but it wasn't that. It felt different. I don't know, I can't explain it. I just hope it doesn't happen again.'
'If it does, it will be okay.'
'Aw thank you, Freddie,' she said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.
'Is that all you've got?' he teased. He pushed her up against the nearest tree and kissed her passionately.
She squealed quietly in delight and cupped his neck in her hands, while her tongue explored his mouth.
Then noticing how far ahead the others had gotten, she pulled away. 'That's not all I've got either,' she said, winking at him. 'I'm saving it for later.'
'Come on.' Fred smiled and grabbed her hand, and they quickly jogged up to meet the others.
Even in the darkness, they could just make out Velma's annoyed expression with her hands on her hips. 'What happened?'
'Sorry Velma, Daphne just fell over.'
'Shut up, I did not!' she whispered to him, laughing. 'Yeah, Danger Prone Daphne back at it again,' she said to Velma.
'Well keep it down! If there're soldiers in this area, they would've heard you!' Velma spun around and strode ahead again.
Daphne made a face and put her finger up in Velma's direction. Scooby pretended not to see, but Fred and Shaggy sniggered.
Daphne took Fred's hand again and pressed herself in beside him. 'Does this count as single file?'
'Sure Daph.'
'Like, no you guys. That's a crocodile line,' Shaggy suggested.
'Rait,' Scooby said from the front. 'Relma, down that ray is the camp.'
'Oh yeah,' Fred said. He walked past the others bringing Daphne with him and arrived at the front of the group.
'The camp is about five k's down that way,' Fred told Velma. 'But if we go down there, we won't make it to the mountains by dawn.'
Velma stayed silent, weighing up her options. 'What's the tree cover like down near the camp?'
'Pretty heavy. If we keep a couple of sentries posted throughout the day, we should be okay.'
'That's if everyone's willing to do their share of sentry duty,' Velma said.
'Everyone will do an equal share,' Fred assured her before Daphne cut in with an unkind remark. 'Okay, follow me.'
They veered off the main track they were on and went down an even thinner section. The further they walked, the spookier the bush began to look: the gums had ghostly white trunks with knarly branches that extended out like skeletal limbs. Wind whistled eerily through the unusual trees. Fred gripped Daphne's hand tighter. It was almost as if these trees were foreshadowing the awful sight Fred knew lay ahead.
'It's freezing,' Daphne said.
'It's going to be even colder when we go into the mountains.'
'Fred, Daphne, stop,' Velma said. Her tone was different. 'Look, I know you probably think of it as a joke. But I'm not telling you to be quiet for nothing,' she said resignedly. 'Having been in situations like Bunnings and places like the shop in Crystal Cove, I thought you would perhaps realise that by now. I know it's hard, but you can't let your guard down, even in the bush. We know for a fact that soldiers have been and are swarming through the bush. They could be anywhere. Especially right near a labour camp! It's more important than ever to stay quiet. Because we don't want to end up in a camp like that – or worse, dead.'
'You're right. Sorry,' Fred said.
'Me too.'
Velma nodded and they all continued moving. It was an awkward and tense silence as they moved through dense bush in near darkness. Though they had to go single file, not once did Daphne let go of Fred's hand. Straps from their backpacks and clothing frequently got caught on spiny bushes. They had to take great care to not leave any trace that they had been in the area. By the end of the journey, their pockets were filled with various threads and scraps of clothing. The first aid kit had to make an appearance twice. There were these particularly sharp spines that cut the skin shallowly, but caused a lot of blood flow. And the funny thing was, it didn't hurt, so you didn't notice you'd been cut until you felt a trail of liquid running down your limb.
Five tough kilometres later, they reached a clearing in the trees which had originally been cleared for farming. Now however, a labour camp lay in its place. Velma gasped and made her way to the front of the group. They were on a crest, overlooking a large homestead on a flat paddock that was once an innocent farming house. Velma thought it was familiar…
'Oh my god. This is Drinkwater!'
'Rhat's Rinkwater?'
'Drinkwater is a large farming estate. In the 1800s, it was established by a squatter who used shearers as a cheap source of labour. Old Drinkwater became very wealthy from it. Then a young woman called Matilda took over and turned it into a cattle and sheep farm. I think her descendants live there and continue her work.
'Like, thanks for the history lesson, Velma,' Shaggy said.
'Nothing wrong with a bit of context,' Velma said.
The homestead was pristine white and it was enormous, with grand architectural designs and a flourishing flower garden. A fountain bubbled at the end of the cobbled driveway, leading up to a beautiful arched doorway. She found herself thinking about just how beautiful that house would've been before the war. It had private little areas in amongst perfectly trimmed bushes with love seats and tyre swings. It came as a shock after the wild and untamed bush they had lived in for the past three months.
She pointed to the big house. 'I bet that's where the soldiers running the camp have taken up residence.' The thought of the soldiers lounging around in the old homestead made her blood boil.
'Do you think those huts are where the prisoners are?' Daphne asked, pointing to a cluster of small buildings on the other side of the paddocks.
'Those are the shearers' quarters. I'm sure they're in there.'
'Rhy don't rhey rescape?' Scooby asked.
It seemed like a silly question at first, but Velma found she didn't actually have a straight answer. Why didn't they escape? There was only barbed wire around the perimeter. There weren't even any guard towers, so the prisoners could easily escape by climbing over it. Plus, the soldiers' headquarters (the homestead) were over an acre away from the shearers' quarters, so the prisoners wouldn't even be seen if they did try to escape.
'I don't know, Scooby.'
'Let's get a closer look,' Fred, always the action man said.
'What's there to see? It looks like they only work during the day,' Velma said.
'Maybe we'll just watch from a distance during the day. Then if anything needs to be done under the cover of darkness, we can do it tomorrow night,' Daphne said.
'Anything like what?' Velma asked.
'Dunno. I guess we'll see.'
'Daph. We're not bailing the prisoners out of the camp.'
'Why not? You're always the one saying we need to do something to help the war effort. This is something good and it wouldn't involve killing people. And look how easy it would be!'
'Exactly. Look how easy it is. It's too easy. If they could escape, I bet they would've done it by now. Something's stopping them. I think they're being blackmailed in some way.'
'Okay, fine,' Daphne sighed. 'Maybe we can talk to them or something, I don't know.'
'Maybe. We'll figure it out after we gather some more information during the day. Dawn is breaking soon.'
'The prisoners will probably be woken up at dawn,' Fred added.
'I'll do sentry,' Daphne volunteered. 'I think I have a bit of making up to do.'
'Thanks, Daphne. Appreciate it. Can you wake me up when the prisoners come out?' Velma asked.
'And me!' Fred said.
Shaggy and Scooby voiced their agreement too.
Daphne promised them all she would. They gathered behind some large shrubs that obscured them from the ground, but gave them enough vision over the camp if they peered through the bushes. Daphne watched them all figure out some form of a makeshift bed. Shaggy lay on Scooby and Scooby rested his head on Shaggy's hoodie. Velma bundled herself up tightly in her parka and used her pack as a pillow.
She watched Fred mimic Velma's movements, but gave him a better offer – 'Do you need a pillow?' she asked, patting her lap.
Fred grinned and rested his head on her lap. Daphne leant back against a rock and rubbed his shoulder and stroked his cheek as he fell asleep. Oddly enough, even with all the walking they'd done, she didn't feel tired at all. Maybe she was getting used to this lifestyle. Or more likely, she'd done so much sleeping lately that she needed to expend some energy. It was like she'd been saving up her sleep – was that even how it worked? Daphne had no idea, but she didn't dwell on it. She had an important task at hand.
