Chapter 8: A Walk through the Graveyard
Everyone stared at Shaggy and Scooby with rather serious and astounded expressions. For a couple of seconds, no one spoke a word, unable to think what to say about the amazing statement they spouted nor whether they should believe it!
Finally, Velma broke the uncomfortable silence but her voice dripped scepticism, "A talking cat? Are you serious? You two sure you know what you just said?"
"Like, if there are two things that I and Scooby here know about, is food and ghosts, Velma… And if we say that like, we saw a talking ghost cat, then it's because we saw it," Shaggy swore adamantly, still nervous about the ghostly encounter.
"Reah! Re raw it! Scooby jumped in, waving his front paws excitedly.
Studying the pair for a moment longer, the group decided Shaggy and Scooby firmly believed they had indeed seen a ghost cat. When they were this rattled, it always meant they had encountered something that had terrified them and was possibly of a supernatural nature.
As Velma tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for what had happened to them, a voice was heard nearby.
"Are you talking about little old me?"
All heads jolted and looked around them quickly. In seconds, they zeroed in on the only other thing in the room, besides themselves, a white Persian cat which sat on top of one of the bookshelves staring down at them.
Seeing the talking cat again made Scooby jump into Shaggy's arms, while Zack jumped into Sebastian's arms, shivering with fear. Suddenly a burst of laughter filled the air… it was Mark. He was laughing so hard it seemed he was going to burst. The Hex Girls looked at each other in puzzled confusion trying to make sense of his inexplicable behaviour since none of this warranted humour.
"Oh, I forgot about you…come here, sweetie," Mark coaxed, still chuckling, as he reached out his arms to the white cat who leaped down into his arms. He petted her head then looked up at his friends.
"Guys, I want you all to meet C.A.N.D.Y."
"Candy?" Fred asked. "But if she's a cat, then, how is she able to talk?"
"Simple. She's not a cat…" Mark explained, puzzling his friends even more "… I mean… she's a cat but not a real cat… she's a robot."
"A robot? Really? She doesn't look like a robot…" Thorn murmured thoughtfully, as she studied the robot more closely, trying to find out if there was any detail that might indicate this was a construct and not the very real looking cat she appeared to be.
"Well, of course not! She was made to look real and her name, C.A.N.D.Y., is an acronym for Cybernetic And Nano-technological Device Y-version, or C.A.N.D.Y. for short," Mark continued, petting the little robot, making her purr. "C.A.N.D.Y., say hello to our guests!"
"Hello there, my name's C.A.N.D.Y., and it's a pleasure to meet you all," the robot said in a cute little voice.
"Oh, isn't she adorable?!" Daphne exclaimed, immediately smitten with the construct.
"She's the prototype from a project my father worked on a couple of years ago. He wanted to revolutionize the pet industry by creating robotic pets that mimicked the real animal through the use of a special A.I. chip. Unfortunately, the project didn't become a reality and only C.A.N.D.Y was ever made. I like her a lot and treat her as my house pet."
"Incredible…" Velma said in awe, moving nearer to Mark to take a closer look at the 'cat'. "I've read about this kind of technology when I was building Dogbot, but thought the scientific community were still light-years away from developing it."
"Aw, I doubt she's better than Scooby!" Shaggy scoffed. "Scoob is the world's smartest and most talented dog."
Scooby grabbed a few things that were near him and began juggling them, while at the same time he was balanced a statuette on top of his nose.
"I can believe that, but can he do this?" C.A.N.D.Y. asked as she disappeared from sight.
Nanoseconds later, the robotic cat reappeared still laying in Mark's arms. This action caused Scooby to lose his concentration making him drop everything he had been juggling, losing the statuette which managed to fall on tail. He howled in pain to the amusement of C.A.N.D.Y. and Mark.
"I forgot to mention that C.A.N.D.Y. can become invisible and has the ability to change the colour of her fur and eyes."
Just like magic, C.A.N.D.Y. changed the colour of her fur from white to black, then to orange, before turning back to a white once more. Her eyes had also changed, going from green to red then back to its original colour.
"You see what my dad was going for? He was trying to provide a pet that could do more than a real animal is able to and be personalized to an owner's tastes. He would have revolutionized pet ownership."
"He's a genius, no doubt about it," Zack agreed, amiably.
"Yeah, he really is… another reason why we have to find out what really happened to him and try to get him back," Sebastian declared loudly.
"Okay, getting back to the mystery… now that we have seen where Professor Milnor disappeared, maybe it's time we check out where you saw the ghost for the first time, Mark. Can you take us there?" Fred asked him.
"Sure. We just have to take a small tour through the graveyard. Follow me," Mark told them, as he headed for the door.
Trooping after Mark, they followed him through a bunch of old, dark and spooky corridors until they finally stopped in front of a door. He opened the door to reveal a magnificent dark granite balcony. There was a staircase which led to a huge garden that was incredible, making them wonder just how big it truly was. There were trees as far as the eye could see and the ones that were nearer the gang had branches that looked like claws that appeared to be reaching out to them as they descended the balcony stairs.
Shaggy, Zack, and Scooby-Doo kept as close to wall as they could to keep away from the scary branches. At the bottom of the stairs, they reached the garden and continued walking. Wind began to sigh around them, adding an even creepier element to the atmosphere that was creepy enough already.
After walking for almost 20 minutes, they found themselves at the entrance of a cemetery. The iron gate leading into it was colossal and it looked like it would be difficult to move due to its weight.
Mark walked up to it and attempted to try and push it open but he couldn't budge it. The rest of the group came to his aid and combined their strength to finally push one of the gates open. It screeched horribly as it moved reluctantly open, the sound was ear-piercing and resembled the sound of a wolf howling.
Entering the cemetery, they felt air get colder suddenly leaving them all shivering as they pushed on. The graves around them, some very old covered with moss while others looked brand new. Their path took them toward an area filled with magnificent mausoleums made out of a black stone they could not identify.
Their footsteps were muffled due to the thick moss, grass, and leaves that littered the grounds. Shaggy, Zack and Scooby shivered with each step they took, because they feared they were being watched by someone or something.
"You know, Scoob, this place looks like Spook Central to me," Shaggy shakily, eyes looking everywhere.
"Reah, Spook Rentral," Scooby agreed, nervously.
"Will you two stop with that? This is a graveyard, nothing more, nothing less," Luna scolded, walking behind the cowardly duo. "Do you really think a monster or a ghost will appear out of nowhere and grab the two of you?"
"Yeah!" Both of them exclaimed in chorus. "Like, it's the usual, a monster appears out of nowhere, growls at us, and we run for our lives until we're absolutely sure that we lost him, or we bump against something that makes us stop."
"You two are even bigger scaredy cats than my brother; you know that, don't you?" Sebastian snorted, making everyone laugh.
At last, Mark stopped in front of a huge spooky grave. There were statues of demons and other devilish creatures surrounding it, all covered in moss and blackened by the years. But the most curious element of the grave was a magnificent but incredibly spooky statue of a creature that resembled a vampire biting a young damsel in her neck. They recognized a few elements of the graveyard surrounding the grave from the photo that Mark had sent the Milnor brothers with the Creeper in it. This must have been the place where he had photographed it.
"This is where I first saw the monster which you guys called the Creeper; right over there," Mark said pointing to the place.
Velma, who had the photo with her, pulled it out and stared at it then looked around, verifying it was the right place, after a few minutes study.
"Where did it go after you were able to photograph it?" Fred asked him, as he looked around.
"It walked over that path over there." Mark pointed to a paved pathway that existed between some graves. "He tried to follow it but it literally disappeared."
"Did you check the place for any clues?" Daphne asked.
"No, at least not then… I was too terrified. The next morning I came back here looking for something that could tell me if I was day-dreaming or hallucinating, but I couldn't find anything."
"Well, then we better start searching for something that can point a way for us to investigate further." Fred said thoughtfully.
As Fred finished speaking, Luna thought she saw something. She turned her head to the right to see what it was, but saw nothing. Thorn and Dusk noticed her actions and asked her what was going on.
"What's the matter, girl?" Dusk asked her.
"I thought I saw something," Luna responded, still looking around, which alerted the others something was up.
"What did you see?" Sebastian asked next, his brother began shaking as he looked around frantically for whatever Luna thought she saw.
"I don't know… it was some sort of flash, but I'm not entirely sure," Luna answered irritably, annoyed everyone was riding her about this.
"Maybe it was just your imagination," Thorn suggested.
Luna sighed and shook her head, "no, it wasn't my imagination… I really saw something… its just I don't know what it was for sure."
As they continued trying to find whatever it was Luna had seen, the wind picked up speed and began to resemble a mini twister. Leaves flew through the air causing them to close their eyes from the swirling dust.
Suddenly, a sinister and guttural laugh filled the air making Scooby jump into Shaggy's arms and C.A.N.D.Y. hiss at whatever was making that noise. The laugh went on for what felt like hours but was really only a few minutes, then the wind stopped as suddenly as it started.
Surprised, they looked around then spotted what was making that sinister laugh. Sitting on top of one of the graves was a tall, dark figure which they all assumed was the one responsible for the disappearance of Professor Milnor, the Ghost of Robert Spearitt. His glowing red eyes looked at the gang standing before him.
"I thought I told you I didn't want to see you on my property again, kid!" Spearitt snarled loudly at Mark.
C.A.N.D.Y. kept hissing at the mysterious and scary creature that turned his attention to the others with Mark and said, sneeringly, "Oh, I see you brought company with you. The infamous Mystery Inc., the world's most renowned group of detectives, as well as the Hex Girls, and your cousins Sebastian and Zack."
"How do you know who we are?!" Daphne asked the ghost.
"I know who you are because I can see into the past, present and future! And I can see your future is doomed if you continue to try and help your friend search for his father!" The ghost intoned solemnly, making a mysterious red glowing orb appear before him, just as Mark had described. "I already told him his father is gone! His soul belongs to me and if you know what's good for you, you'll get off my property and never come back!"
"We're not going anywhere until we find Mark's dad!" Fred said firmly.
"D-Don't be s-s-so sure about t-t-t-that, Freddy," Shaggy stuttered as he trembled in place while Scooby ran to the nearest bush to hide.
"If you don't get out, I'll be forced to bring forth the rest of the enemies that you faced over the years!" The Ghost of Robert Spearitt threatened, furious.
"Do whatever you want, they're not real, and neither are you! You're just another creep in a rubber mask and suit!" Sebastian shouted, pulling his Desert Eagle from the holster in his jacket, and targeting the ghost's left shoulder. "Now, get your hands up in the air, or I swear I'll make a hole in your shoulder!"
"Go ahead, shoot me; you can't kill me, because I'm already dead!" Spearitt laughed.
Annoyed with its laughter, Sebastian shot him in the right shoulder. Everyone stared in shock as the ghost made no attempt to avoid being shot and seconds later the bullet passed right through him.
As they all gasped the ghost laughed maniacally and jeered, "See?! I told you that you could not hurt me… but I on the other hand, can certainly hurt you!"
The orb that was flying around him was caught by his right hand then started to glow intensely. Without any kind of warning, it started to throw balls of fire that nearly hit them. But the worst was still to come. The orb glowed once again and some kind of living shadow jumped out of it, landing on the ground, where it started to assume the form of a man with dark greenish clothes and a huge cape, black boots, mounted on a white horse. But its most distinctive feature was its head was a pumpkin!
"ZOINKS!!! It's the Headless Horseman!!!" Shaggy screamed, crawling behind a tombstone, shaking in fear.
"I want a head!!!" The ghostly Headless Horseman bellowed.
The gang noticed something odd about this horseman. He was slightly different than the one they faced at Beth Crane's Halloween Party, but it still resembled it. For one thing, he was bigger and so was the horse, furthermore, the pumpkin on its shoulders had an eerie light coming from it caused by flames burning from its interior.
"If you want my head, come and get it, you freak!" Sebastian yelled at him, as he emptied his weapon into monster, hitting him a couple of times, but seemingly not hurting him. It looked like the monster didn't even feel the bullets.
"I'll have your head for this!" The Headless Horseman yelled again.
"Looks like bullets don't stop him." Dusk said, voice trembling.
Without any kind of warning, the Headless Horseman started to create balls of fire with his hands, firing them at the whole gang, who tried their best to avoid being hit by them. Velma almost got hit in the head by one, but fortunately, she managed to jump out of the way in the nick of time.
"I don't remember the Headless Horseman being able to do that the first time we met him!" Velma shouted to the others, as she checked to see if she'd been hit.
"Does anyone have a plan?!" Mark yelled as he grabbed C.A.N.D.Y., who almost got barbecued by one of the fire balls.
"Yeah, I've got one, like, run everybody!" Shaggy shouted, doing what he suggested.
"Reah, run!" –Scooby agreed, turning tail and running like made after Shaggy who had a good lead already.
"For once, I think Shaggy and Scooby are right. Everybody, run!" Fred barked, fleeing as well.
"I'm not going anywhere! I'll fight this guy with my bare hands, if I have to!" Sebastian shouted angrily, until someone grabbed his left arm and forced him to retreat.
Though just as scared as Shaggy, Zack still remained behind to save his brother.
"Let me go, Zack!" Sebastian yelled, trying to dig his heels in but fear gave Zack a lot of strength and he continued to yank his brother along in his wake as he fled the area.
"Stop thinking you can do anything! Run now; beat up the bad guy, later!" Zack exclaimed, breathlessly.
The Headless Horseman charged after the group, who split up to try and make it harder for their pursuer to get any of them. They used the many tombstones and trees to avoid being hit by the fire balls as they ran. They couldn't stop to look behind them but they could still here the horse's hoof as it pounded after them, getting closer and closer.
"Run away, Mystery Inc., run away! You made your choice by defying me! You can run, but you can't hide! I'll make sure you will regret the moment you and your friends decided to come here!" The Ghost of Robert Spearitt exclaimed, as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Scooby and the rest of the gang to the Headless Horseman