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Chapter Two

I was snapped out of a deep sleep by the sound of a familiar voice booming through the window. I shot up in bed, momentarily panicked, thinking I'd died or something. Then, I caught a glimpse of the cabin ceiling, and yesterday's events came flooding back.

"Good morning, Camp Little Moose!" Fred's voice was enhanced by a speaker. "This is your favorite camp counselor and mentor inviting you to rise and shine. It's a balmy 67 degrees with winds coming out of the northwest at eight miles per hour. We're expecting a high today in the upper eighties…"

I opened the door and stepped out, rubbing my sleep-crusted eyes and shielding them from the blinding morning sun with the palm of my hand.

"...so don't forget your sunscreen, SPF 45 recommended..."

Trudy, Deacon, and Luke stood gathered in the center of the yard next to Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby, who were equally annoyed at the sleep disruption.

Trudy glowered. "Is this guy for real?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

Velma smiled at her sympathetically. "I'm afraid so."

"...because today is Water Fun Day!"

I was so going to kill him for this later.

"So, let's meet down by the dock ASAP. Okay, Little Moosers?"

We begrudgingly obliged and met up with Fred, who was already clad in a swimsuit and gear, grinning and appearing way too cheerful for seven A.M. "Hey, campers," he greeted. "Who's ready to have fun?"

"Like, an extra hour of sleep sounds fun to us," Shaggy muttered, his eyes slowly closing, and Scooby nudged him, snapping him back to attention. "I'm up, I'm up!"

I came up behind Fred and slapped him upside the head.

"Ow!" He rubbed the back of his neck and stared at me with innocent puppy dog eyes.

I punched my other palm with my fisted hand. "That was for disturbing my beauty sleep."

Fred winced. "Okay, gang," he began meekly, still caught off guard, "here's the plan: an hour of canoeing, two hours of fishing, followed by an hour and a half of swimming."

Luke's eyes drifted to the murky, green water under the dock. "In there?" he asked apprehensively, scowling at the moss littering the water's surface.

"Yup." Fred didn't look the least bit bothered.

Luke perked up. "Hey, why don't we go up to Big Moose Lake?" he suggested, jerking a thumb in the direction of Camp Big Moose. "That lake is sweet."

"Oh, no." Fred shook his head slowly. "Not Big Moose Lake. We can't go up there."

Luke arched an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Fred turned serious. "Because," he said cryptically, pausing to allow the suspense to build up, "Big Moose Lake is haunted."

"I'm out!" Shaggy tried to take off running, but I picked him up by the back of his swimsuit and lowered him to the ground, glaring at him.

"Wait a minute," Velma interjected skeptically, her eyes narrowed behind her glasses. "How can a lake be haunted?"

Fred didn't waver as he continued somberly, "Many years ago, there was a camper named Neil Fisher." I glanced at Velma, who still appeared just as skeptical, but listened with more interest now. "The other kids picked on him all the time, so he spent most of his days swimming in Big Moose Lake. In fact, he spent so much time in the water, he grew fins and gills. He became the Fishman." Fred's solemn gaze scanned us all, eventually landing on Shaggy and Scooby, who were now whimpering. "And he haunts Big Moose Lake to this day."

I burst out laughing, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen among us. "Really, Freddie? That's the worst ruse I've ever heard."

Luke glanced at me, then at Velma warily. "Is that true?"

"Of course not." Velma frowned at Fred. "He just doesn't want us to go to Big Moose Lake."

Fred sighed. "Guys, we've got a perfectly good lake right here," he protested, gesturing to the said lake.

But the others were already beginning to leave, clearly opposing Fred's argument.

"We're going to Big Moose."

"We're going to Big Moose."

Fred looked at me for help, but I shook my head. "What they said," I told him, following the rest of the gang.

"Andy!" he called after me pleadingly. "You guys, wait up!" I turned around, waved at him, and continued walking.

He sighed again, looking chastened, and followed after us toward Big Moose Lake.

Fred leaned over the edge of the boat, fishing rod in hand. "Luke, the secret to catching fish is all about-"

Luke's rod twitched, and he yanked it out of the water. "I got one!" He proudly displayed the bass he'd caught in the air.

"Show me some skin." I held out my palm, and we high-fived, Luke grinning triumphantly. The kid's enthusiasm was contagious. The mood had lifted somewhat as we slowly but surely began to wake up and tune into the world again. The only one who seemed to be immune to Luke's positive attitude was Trudy.

Our boat suddenly rocked back and forth, nearly sending slamming us against the sides.

Fred sat up, rubbing his head. "Hey, slow it down!" he yelled, but his voice was drowned out by the din of what I assumed to be a Camp Big Moose speedboat.

"Whoa," Luke breathed, standing and leaning over the boat's side to get a closer look. "Sweet!"

"Not 'sweet'," Fred muttered, his expression darkening. "I can't stand those snobs from Big Moose, with their fancy speedboats and air-conditioned cabins and-"

I clapped my hands on both shoulders and turned him so he faced me. "Fred," I said firmly. "Breathe."

Fred nodded, his attention snapping back to the victim of his rant. "And hot counselors," he breathed, his eyes widening.

I retaliated my own gaze to where he was staring.

A brunette wearing a purple bikini stood in the speedboat, the wind toying with her mousy locks. "Sorry about that," she chirped, flashing a white-toothed (almost too white) smile, showing off perfect, I-had-braces-in-middle-school teeth.

Fred's face was bright red. "Oh, our fault," he stammered, scratching his neck sheepishly. "Totally our fault. No problem at all."

The brunette grinned at us and waved, the speedboat taking off and disappearing into the heat waves dancing over the water. Fred was still staring at the empty space where she once stood, his cheeks still flaming.

"Freddie, you're blushing," I teased, and he snapped out of it, embarrassment now replacing his daze. I glanced around, realizing that Fred, Luke, and I were the only ones on the lake. "Hey, where is everyone?" That same eerie atmosphere from when we arrived yesterday began to set back in. It was kind of spooky to be on a lake by yourselves, even in broad daylight. It might have been the ominous feeling of being out in the open, the vast emptiness of it all leaving you feeling vulnerable and helpless.

"Maybe they moved onto the next activity without us." Fred reached for the paddle, grunting from the effort, and began to paddle in the direction of the shore.

The sun was just beginning to tip to the middle of the sky when we finally made it back to shore. I stepped out of the boat and helped Fred pass out towels, drying my hair off and wrapping my towel around my waist.

Luke, Fred, and I trekked back toward the cabins, where the others, stood in their own towels, appearing disheveled and taken aback. Not to mention there was yet another police car parked next to them.

"Hey, guys," Fred said, although his greeting emitted concerned. "How was the canoeing?"

Burt was gesturing wildly as he reported the newest incident to the same handsome police man that had called Velma beautiful yesterday. "...Then, I saw 'em coming down that hill-" he gestured to the grassy hill angular to the cabins- "faster than a pack of buzzards on a bobsled."

"What's going on?" I asked as we came to the group's side.

Shaggy gazed over at me with wide, terrified eyes. "Like, we almost became Fishman food!" he reported, as if that cleared up everything.

"Come on, Shaggy." I sighed. "There's no 'Fishman.' Fred just made that up so we wouldn't go to Big Moose Lake."

Surprisingly, the police officer was nodding as if what Shaggy was saying was serious. "Can you describe this 'Fishman'?"

"Fins," Shaggy stated matter-of-factly, as Scooby mimed fins. "Huge teeth to about yay high." As Shaggy completed the latter sentence, Scooby spread his lips apart and gestured to his teeth.

"That's Neil Fisher to a T." The police officer sighed and pocketed his notepad. "First the Woodsman," he mused, more to himself than to us, "now the Fishman. All of Little Moose's campfire legends are coming to life." He took off his hat and studied the brim. "There really is no other explanation."

"How about, someone is using those monsters to scare us away?" Velma suggested bluntly, ever the realist.

The policeman flashed a toothy grin at her. "Why don't you just stick to bein' pretty?"

Velma was stunned. "Did he just say what I think he said?" she whispered to Daphne.

"Yeah." Daphne nodded, smiling giddly. "He thinks you're pretty!" she gushed.

I felt like I was in a real-life version of Mean Girls.

"Like, Scoob says he saw a building under the water," Shaggy added after recapping the experience to Fred and I.

"Underwater building." The police officer nodded and put his hat back on. "I'll put it in my report. If there really are monsters loose," he said as he tucked his pencil behind his ear, "you kids better head back to town. This camp is just too dangerous."

"Like, you heard the man." Shaggy started toward the van. "We're outta here, Scoob! Let's bounce."

"I'm with Shaggy and Scooby on this one," I agreed wholeheartedly. "I'd rather not spend my summer in the backwoods, anyway. I've seen Deliverance."

Fred's answer startled us. "We're not going anywhere."

"We're not?" Shaggy was incredulous.

"If someone's trying to scare us away, we need to find out why," Fred stated determinedly. "The next time they come into our camp, we're gonna be ready."

I knew Fred wasn't going to budge, but I didn't like this at all. The first time a campfire story came alive was one enough for me. I didn't want to stick around to experience another.

Next time, we might not be as ready as Fred claimed we would be.