Part 6

Fred and Velma drove in silence down the road in Fred's blue car. They had gotten Daphne's phone before heading straight out of Shaggy's house and were on their way towards their destination. Velma had the phone clutched tightly in her hands watching the little blue dot move on the map. She was worried and scared, not only was her love and friend just found dead but now her best friend has been kidnapped by the madman who committed the crime and he won't keep her alive for very long. Velma's heart was being torn into pieces all in a matter of a couple of hours.

She turned her gaze towards Fred, who was looking intensely at the road but not really paying attention to what he was doing or where he was going. Velma had been trying to talk to him the whole time they have been in the car but he wasn't willing to talk back. Only when he needed a direction he would talk to her but even then he wouldn't face her when he spoke. Fred was in no mood to converse with the girl, he was too busy thinking about Daphne and getting to her in time. She was the last person he wanted to be in danger at the moment and couldn't help but be furious with himself for it was all his fault. He told them to split up, he should have listened to her when she said that it was too dangerous for them to be separated since the killer might still be in the house…how could he have been so stupid? He has always listened to her before, what made this time any different? What made his mind want to ignore her this time while still listening perfectly to everything that Velma was saying? Why did he send her upstairs alone instead of having her downstairs where Velma wouldn't be too far away? He should have been the one to go upstairs not her…it was all his fault why she was gone and in danger now.

"Freddie…" Velma's voice was soft as she spoke but Fred didn't seem to hear her.

"Fred, please talk to me," Velma looked desperately towards her friend wanting so badly for him to say something.

"There is nothing to talk about Velma," Fred's voice was low and full of pain and rage; he didn't bother looking in her direction.

"Yes there is Fred; we have to talk about what we are going to do when we get there. We need a plan and we –"

"What do you mean a plan? We find Daphne that's the plan!" Fred spat in fury.

"We can't just go in there blindly Fred! We need to think this through or we might get ourselves killed! Since when have you ever gone into something without a plan?!" Velma shouted.

"Since the one person that I care more about than anything in the world could be dead at any moment if I don't hurry up and find her! If you hadn't noticed Velma, we are a major time crunch and we don't have time to sit and waste on stupid things like a plan!" Fred yelled cringing back as he felt a tear form in his eye. "I don't want to lose her Velma, I don't know what I would do if I did…"

"I know you don't Fred," Velma put her hand on his shoulder , "I know what is feels like to lose the person you care most about and trust me I would not want that pain to be put on you. I have gotten mad at myself all night tonight thinking about what I could have done to make it to where Shaggy was still alive and with us right now. That if I had only shown up sooner than I could have called for help before he passed. Losing Shaggy is the hardest thing I ever had to go through and Daphne is my best friend, I want to do whatever I can to make sure that she comes out of this alive but that doesn't mean that I'm going to just throw myself into the line of fire and maybe kill myself too. You have got to think Fred!"

"Don't touch me!" Fred jerked his shoulder away from her grip.

"Fred you can't just ignore me!" Velma raised her voice.

"Why not? I can do what I want Velma and right now I don't want you touching me or talking to me!" Fred shouted. "Look, it's not like I haven't been thinking about what to do when we get there, my mind is just too preoccupied right now that I really don't want to be thinking about it. And just for the record, it's not like you were the only one who lost Shaggy, Velma, I did too. He was one of my best friends and having to except the fact that he is gone is absolutely heart breaking! So don't even try to talk to me about Daphne when you have been nothing but Shaggy all night! You are not the only one going through the loss so shut up and quit acting like you are!"

Velma looked stunned and lost for words, "That is not true Fred and you know it! I have not been acting like that!"

"Don't act like you haven't been Velma!" Fred harshly said. "All it has been about since we found Shaggy is woe is me and how you two never actually got together and how you never got to say how you felt about him! You act like you are the only one who is sad that he is dead and you don't care about mine or Daphne's feelings about him! And now Daphne could be dead for all we know and you don't even care about it!"

"Why would you even say something like that?!" Velma shouted hurt by his words.

"Because it's the truth! You don't care about anyone other than yourself! Don't even try to say otherwise Velma!" Fred was enraged and he could feel his hands tighten around the steering wheel.

"I can't believe you Fred! Why do you feel like hurting me is the best thing to do!?" Velma shouted tears in her eyes.

Fred bit his lip and sighed, "I'm sorry, you just…you just understand what I am feeling right now."

"Don't understand?!" Velma was taken back. "How could you think that I don't understand?! Like you said with Shaggy, he was your best friend too not just mine and that's how it is with Daphne! She is my best friend too Fred, not just yours and I want to help her just as much as you do now."

"It's…it's different," Fred's fury was almost to the top of its peak to the point of becoming violent.

"It's different? How is it different?" Velma asked and Fred ignored her looking solely at the road not wanting to respond. Velma slumped back in her seat and groaned very aggravated and mad at the guy next to her.

"You're so hypocritical," Velma groaned looking out the passenger side window.

"Just stop talking to me Velma, just stop!" Fred spat still not facing her.

"Fine!" Velma spat back.

"Good!" Fred stayed with his head facing the road. Velma didn't look at him after the comment but just stared out the window teary-eyed. Fred's comments had hurt her deep. She knows that he is very emotional at the moment and his anger is boiling but she still takes his words to heart. Maybe he will return to normal once this is all over and they find Daphne and put the killer behind bars for his crimes. Maybe then Fred will begin again to be his friendly self…Velma could only hope. She is not very fond of the Fred that is sitting beside her and she hopes that he will not stay like this for very long.

Fred stared intensely into the road, his mind racing through the thoughts at dangerous speeds. So much of his thoughts are wanting his attention and now after the fight he just had with Velma he can't think clearly. He probably shouldn't have said some of the things he had said but there is no taking it back now. Besides, Velma is one of his best friends and even though he felt strongly about some of the things he said to her, he still shouldn't have been that harsh. He felt bad but he was more worried about Daphne than he was about her. Just the thought of her being in the hands of that madman who could do god knows what to her makes his blood boil with fury. He clutched the steering wheel tighter until his knuckles were now a complete white. It was roughly 2 in the morning and he was exhausted. The night has been long and full of emotion and stress and it was all becoming too much for Fred. All he wants is to go back in time before all of this happened, before Shaggy and Scooby were killed, before Daphne was kidnapped, and they were just one big happy mystery solving family. Now two of them were dead, one is about to be dead, and the other two have been arguing so much that the tension is thick. Fred didn't want this, he didn't want this to happen to them but all he can do is to stay alive and try to keep everything going.

Fred turned down a number of neighborhood streets glancing at the GPS on Daphne's phone every now and then to make sure they were headed in the right direction. They were getting closer to the house and Fred's heart was beating fast. He took in a deep breath and turned his head to look at Velma who was slumped down in the passenger's seat. A frown formed on his face for he felt bad about what he said and maybe after this is all over he could make amends with her and apologize. For now though, he needs to watch the road and watch the time for they have turned onto the street where the killer is and Fred needs to pay attention very carefully to the house numbers.