Chapter 2: A Regular Freakshow

Kerr's Food and Fuel- roughly halfway between Blackwater and Mockingbird

There was a squeal of tires as Mystery Inc. pulled up to an old truck stop, the smell of alcohol fumes lingering around some of the gas pumps. A few dozen yards away sat a motel that had clearly seen far better days, the parking lot filled with a motley mix of cargo rigs, wannabe road warriors' heavily modified cars, some motorcycles, and a handful of good old-fashioned bicycles.

"Well, gang, it looks like this is where we'll be staying for the night. I'll go and get us some rooms and fuel, and the rest of you can take it easy for a while." Fred said as he undid his seatbelt.

"Guess we'll, like, go and see what they've got to eat around here." Shaggy said as he and Scooby exited the van.

Daphne let out a deep sigh.

"Well, Velma and I'll make sure they don't eat the owners out of house and home."


Like the diner it had once been before the bombs, the truck stop canteen wasn't much of a place. True, both the clientele and the menu were mostly the same as before the world had been engulfed in nuclear fire (with some substitutions on the latter), but going by the perpetually-scuffed tile floor, half-functioning light fixtures, and peeling vinyl on the benches and chairs, the canteen itself had clearly seen far better days.


"So, what can I do you for?" the woman behind the counter asked as Shaggy and company entered the canteen.

"Couple of goat burgers, baked potatoes, coffee if you've got it-" Shaggy replied.

"Only coffee we've got is the chicory type, hon."

"Sounds good to me."

"Anything else you want, sugar?"

"Desert salad."

"And your friends?"

"You got any beef burgers?" Daphne asked.

"Well, hello, Miss Fancypants!"

"Ma'am, you didn't answer my ques-"

"Yeah, we've got 'em- 'course, it'll cost ya a pretty penny."

Daphne winced as she dug through her hip bag and pulled out a bag of saltwater taffy, a mini bottle of chili sauce, a small box of teabags, and a bag of tomato jerky.

" Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit! That's quite the haul you've got there, missy!"

"Is this enough for a-"

"Pepper alone'll cover your burger, sugar."

The woman's eyes turned to Velma.

"And what can I get for you, my bespectacled friend?"

"Grilled rabbit and a desert salad."

And with that, the woman behind the corner dashed off to the kitchen.


"So, where ya headed, stranger?"

Fred looked up from the fuel pump and saw a ragged-looking man with wild eyes approach him.

"Mockingbird. Why do you ask?"

The man's eyes lit up.

"Now what's a good man like you doing going there? Don't ya know that town's a regular freakshow?"

"What do you mean by-"

"The people runnin' that town ain't natural, sonny boy! I've heard the stories from the drivers who've been there- like how the sheriff is a dead ringer for that Bride of Frankenstein from the old movies or how the mayor has it that the citizens pay some kinda tax in blood!"

"Probably just a bunch of tall tales."

"Tall tales, ya say? Sonny, I've been up that way before!"

"Try me."

"Last time I was in the general area of Mockingbird, I saw a road warrior's ride flying down the highway like the Devil hisself was after him! And behind him was another souped-up muscle car with its headlights glowing an otherworldly blue and an empty driver's seat!"

Looks like we've got another reason to check out that place. Fred thought as he turned back to the fuel pump.


AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Well, this should be an interesting development for our heroes, now shouldn't it? Also, three guesses as to who's running Mockingbird and the first two don't count.