Chapter 5: Unwelcome Advances

"They'll stone you when you're walking to your home…." Savage Jack sat on a tree stump, singing Bob Dylan's "Rainy Day Women 12 and 35." As usual, he was singing off-key, his musical sensibilities, if any, masked by the effect of the narcotic smoke that encircled him.

They'll stone you when you're all alone

Everybody must get stoned.

Jack stopped singing just long enough to take a puff on the marijuana joint that he held in his teeth. Turning to exhale the smoke, he spotted Shaggy walking past. Initially ignoring him, Jack returned to his guitar, repositioning his fingers on the instrument's neck.

Well, they'll stone you when you're… Jack stopped abruptly in the middle of a phrase as he caught sight of Velma. Truthfully, it was hard not to notice her, for her bright orange shirt made her stand out quite prominently from the earthen tones of the forest. Abandoning the guitar, Jack fixated his gaze on the woman, tracing over every curve in her body with his beady, bloodshot eyes. The longer he stared at her, the stronger his lust for her grew.

Aware that someone was watching her, Velma slowly turned her head, hoping to discover and to dissuade the admirer. Realizing that the woman was watching him, Savage Jack responded with kissing noises and puckered lips. Velma shot the older man a cold glare, frowning in disgust at his flirtatious gestures. Jinkies, she muttered to herself, I sure attract some strange characters. She shrugged off the man's amorous gestures, silently wondering what might have provoked them. Walking past one of the vans, she noticed very disconcerting in the side view mirror; a wave of self consciousness swept over her as she realized that she was not wearing her bulky, turtle neck sweater, but the low-cut, V-neck tee shirt that she found overly revealing. No wonder he's staring at me, she concluded, uneasily, I'm practically showing myself off in this get-up!

Jack could contain his lust for the girl no longer. Putting down his guitar, he staggered towards Velma, cooing in the suavest voice he could muster in his mind-altered state. "Hi'ya sweetie. What'cha doin?"

Velma ignored the man, folding her arms coldly across her chest and shooting him a disapproving glare. Instinctively, though, she knew that she had to be careful. With his mind altered by the narcotic smoke, there was no telling what the crazed hippie might do next.

Jack intensified his advances, his voice taking on a deeper, almost sinister tone. "I said, what'cha doin' girl? You deaf as well as blind?"

Recognizing the change in the man's voice, Velma stepped surreptitiously behind Shaggy. She did not want to present herself as a weak natured girl, but she knew that she could not face the other man alone.

"Answer me, goddamn you!"

The harshness of his words and the tone of his voice sent a shiver down Velma's spine. And although her stoic expression belied it, deep inside, she was frightened by the drug-influenced hippie's actions.

As if detecting her need for protection, Shaggy attempted to reason with the older man. "Woah, Jack, like chill out, man," he urged, "you're scaring her."

Savage Jack spun around and glared at the skinny hippie. "Back off, Shaggy!" he growled, "this is between me and that girl!"

He clenched his teeth together and began breathing heavily, gaze still fixating on Velma. The bespectacled girl too stepped backwards, stopping only when she felt the pressure of a branch against her back. She glanced furtively behind her and realized in horror that she could go no further, her path blocked by a large redwood tree.

Even in his mind altered state, Jack recognized an opportunity when he saw one. He closed in on Velma, his eyes fixating on her chest and breasts. Extending a bony, callused finger, he touched the underside of her chin. "You're a pretty one," he cooed, pressing his face closer to Velma's, "I like pretty girls like you."

The young woman recoiled in disgust at the scent of Jack's marijuana laced breath, rubbing up against the thick redwood tree trunk in an attempt to escape the drug crazed transient.

"I said leave her alone," persisted Shaggy, now fearful of her well being..

With a primal grunt, Jack lunged at Shaggy, cold cocking the lanky man squarely on the jaw. Stunned by the blow, the younger man dropped to the ground and lay motionless on a pie of pine branches.

Velma stared in horror at the scene in front of her. "Shaggy!" she cried, both in horror and in shock, her cry, and Scooby's howls echoing throughout the campground.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Savage Jack stared at Shaggy's motionless form, taking a few moments to gloat over his work. Satisfied that he had put Shaggy out of commission, he turned his attention back to Velma, sidling up to her and running his hands along the contour of her body. "Now that I need not worry about him, it's just me…and you."

Velma squirmed in the older man's grip; the more she squirmed, the tighter his grip became. Jack pinned the girl's hands behind her back. "Why do you resist, doll?" he asked, "I know what you want, because I want it too." Savage Jack pressed his body against Velma's. "Tell me you can give me what I want," he moaned, putting his bony hand down the collar of her shirt and overtly caressing her breasts. A wave of horror swept over Velma as she realized what Savage Jack was about to do to her.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Raggy! Raggy, rake up!"

The skinny man slowly opened his eyes, holding a hand to his forehead in an attempt to stem the painful throbbing. "Oooh, man" he groaned, slowly hoisting himself back to a vertical position, "like that was totally ungroovy."

Scooby wasted no time in giving his owner the latest developments. "Raggy, relp! Relma's in rouble!"

"Velma?" Shaggy asked. The mention of the girl's name was enough to bring the man back to a fully conscious state. "Zoinks!" he shrieked as the caught sight of the struggle taking place only yards away from him. "Like, we gotta save her."

Coming up with a rescue plan was not one of Shaggy's strong suits; in truth, in all his years with Mystery Inc., he had never actually planned a rescue attempt; that duty always fell to Fred or Velma. But he knew now that he had little choice; Velma's well being, for that matter, her life, could depend on his course of action. "Okay, Scoob," he announced, his mind reeling, "like, let's get with it. I'll distract Jack, and you attack him."

"R'okay."

Shaggy pulled himself to a full, standing position, but the expended energy was too much for his weakened body. His head still pounding from Savage Jack's blow, he sat back down on the ground and held a hand to his pounding forehead. "Looks like it's up to you, buddy," he muttered, slightly in despair. Pointing in the direction of the fight, he ordered, "Go get 'im, Scooby, go save her!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the Great Dane shot forward, rushing to the aid of the girl.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Disguised as a pile of redwood branches, Scooby watched the struggle between Velma and the older hippie.

Jack restrained the younger girl, but not before she managed a kick to his shins. His eyes red with wanton craziness, he roared, "Now, you'll give me what I want, damn you, even if I have to force you to give it to me!"

Her spirit nearly broken, Velma closed her eyes and lay still, resigned to her fate.

"What the?…Holy Shit!!" Jack's cry of shock snapped Velma back to her senses. She looked up just in time to see a large brown and black form shoot out from behind a pile of tree branches and sink its teeth into the older man's groin. "Ow, damn it!" Overcome by the pain, Jack released Velma, concentrating his energies on dislodging the dog from his most sensitive area.

Velma Dinkley wasted no time in getting to her feet and regaining her composure. She glared at her former assailant, who was conspicuously trying to hide his discomfort after the attack. "I know what you want from me," she sneered, sarcastically, "but the only thing you are going to get is a Dinkley fist sandwich." Putting up her fists, she decked Savage Jack squarely in the jaw. With a meek groan, he doubled over in pain and passed out at her feet.

Satisfied with her work, Velma rubbed her hands together and grinned assertively. "That's what you get for trying to take advantage of Velma Dinkley!"

* * * * * * * * ** * * ** *

Velma walked over to Shaggy and knelt beside the older man. "You okay, Shaggy?" she asked, helping him to his feet.

Shaggy rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, like I'm okay." He turned in the direction of the fight. "Oh, man, like I didn't know you had it in you."

Velma grinned, wordlessly answering his question.

The skinny man took her hands, gratefully. "Come on, Vel," he said, "As Fred would say, 'let's get out of here.'"