Chapter 4
After spending the balance of Thursday in classes at Coolsville University, in addition to studying and doing chores since Daphne's parents were still out of town and would not be returning until the next week, Scooby Doo and friends headed to the local Coolsville Super Market after a filling dinner to do some shopping; the gang of course were all still completely unaware that Dracula's cronies the Hunch Bunch were trying to change Shaggy into a monster as the blond unofficial leader drove the crimson colored Mystery Machine into the parking lot of said grocery store.
Once the gang found a parking spot they made sure they had a list of items that they needed, while Fred closed the van doors and pocketed the keys to the vehicle; the four sleuths and their Great Dane then walked to the front of the store and grabbed a pair of carts before they entered the supermarket's automatic doors.
"Come on gang, let's go in" Fred remarked as the group of five walked into the market.
Normally grocery stores didn't let or don't let pets especially dogs into their establishments, however this market was different; ever since they were kids, and ever since they started solving mysteries Scooby Doo and his friends were a welcome and familiar sight in the grocery store, sometimes the gang did their shopping and they were recognized, which meant that they were asked for autographs and pictures by youngsters who had idolized them, not to mention parents who were happy that their children had chosen such great role models.
While Scooby Doo friends had solved hundreds of mysteries, they had never been in the detective business for the fame, they simply enjoyed solving cases and helping people in need, which made them the targets of great admiration by young and old alike; the only group that really ever were annoyed by the gang was law enforcement officials, who didn't like that a group of teenagers were solving cases that the police had been usually trying to solve for months or years, although when you got right down to it, the officers of various police departments that the gang had dealt with over the years were quite pleased that a group of young people were helping the law rather than being arrested by the law.
Once inside the supermarket the members of Mystery Inc. split up and started doing their shopping with Fred and Daphne taking care of the dinners, breakfasts and lunches while Shaggy, Scooby and Velma took care of vegetables, fruits, snacks and other items that they needed; meanwhile outside of the market the Hunch Bunch had parked the Bat Copter unseen by anyone and walked over to a nearby alley.
"Ah yes, here is the exact spot for the transformation; now, just let me mark it off with a marker and we're all set" Brunch said as he took out a red pen and marked off a large red X where he and Crunch were hoping Shaggy would be when the moon shone on him.
Once Brunch marked off the spot where the transformation was going to be enacted, he and Crunch headed into the store where they would hatch their evil plan to turn Shaggy into a werewolf and to bring him to Transylvania where he would compete in the Monster of the Year Rally; inside the Coolsville Grocery Store, Shaggy and Scooby were looking through the snack aisles and were picking out cakes, cookies, ice cream bars, and Scooby's favorite besides Scooby Snacks: Doggy Bon Bons.
However, the bespectacled member of the group was picking out some healthy snacks such as Wheat Thins, Rice Cakes and other items when she began to feel somewhat cold; even though she was wearing a sweater and jacket because the weather in Coolsville was getting somewhat chilly, Velma still couldn't help shake the feeling that she had in the living room of Daphne's house the previous night, that someone or something was going to involve the gang in another mystery and that something might happen to the gang, or one of the members of Mystery Inc., which made Velma not only shiver, but made her nervous as well, so after picking out some snacks for herself she decided to make her way back to Shaggy and Scooby's cart; once she found the duo she placed her items in the cart and began hanging onto the cowardly college student's arm which confused Shaggy a little, as he attempted to figure out why she was acting this way.
"Um Velma, what are you doing?" Shaggy inquired, while Scooby Doo was browsing another nearby aisle.
"I'm just keeping track of you, to make sure nothing happens to you; there's nothing wrong with that right?" Velma asked.
"Like I guess not, but why are you doing it?" Shaggy responded.
"Like I said, I just want to make sure you're okay" Velma replied.
"Are you sure Velma? Isn't there another reason why you're keeping watch on me?" Shaggy inquired as he raised an eyebrow.
"Well, there is another reason; it's that I was thinking about last night, I think someone or something is watching us in the store right now and that they may try and hurt you, or worse" Velma replied.
"Don't be silly Vel, what could happen in a well lit grocery store with all these people here?" Shaggy said, chuckling a little as he spoke.
"Don't laugh Shaggy, I'm being quite serious; I just know some one is here, and they'll try and do something horrible to you" Velma remarked.
"OK, like what? Do you have psychic powers that will tell us who's responsible, hey maybe it's the boogie man or a Frankenstein monster, honestly Velma I think you've been watching too much Sci-Fi Channel" Shaggy replied, chuckling a little; although he wasn't chuckling for long, once Velma smacked him in the shoulder.
"Oww! Velma, what did you do that for?" Shaggy asked, unhappy that he was now sore in his right arm.
"And what's wrong with watching the Sci-Fi Channel? I happen to like it, besides I can sense that someone is here in the grocery store, call it women's intuition" Velma replied.
"Okay, okay, let's say you're right and say there is someone after me; what should we do?" Shaggy asked.
"Well first off, I'm going to stick close to you and Scooby, just to make sure no creep gets his claws into you" Velma replied.
"Sounds fine to me, you can help me pick out some ingredients for a couple meals I'm going to try out in the kitchen at Daphne's house, I want to try them out on you guys before I fix them in my culinary arts class at school" Shaggy explained.
"OK, let's go and don't forget I'm keeping a close eye on you" Velma said.
"I know I know" Shaggy replied; a few moments later the two sleuths were in the spices aisle of the market, while Shaggy looked for some nutmeg and cinnamon, his bespectacled girlfriend watched intently for any signs of trouble, which they were about to receive because when Shaggy reached for a small container of cinnamon he was surprised to see that he was handed the container by a hand with long fingernails; he was a bit confused by this until he saw who the nails belonged to, naturally they belonged to the more intelligent member of the twosome Brunch, who pushed the cart into him, as a result of the collision Shaggy went speeding out of control down the aisles of the market with Brunch pushing him.
"Zoinks! Velma, Scooby, Fred, Daphne, somebody, anybody do something!" Shaggy yelled as the cart careened out of control towards the doors of the market; however while Shaggy was being pushed towards the door Velma was a little preoccupied as the other member of the Hunch Bunch jumped out of the opposite shelf and was chasing Velma through the store in the opposite direction.
"Jinkies, somebody, anybody help! Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, Scooby do something!" Velma yelled as she was being chased through the aisles; luckily Fred and Daphne heard the commotion, found Scooby Doo and saw what was happening, which was a good thing because Crunch eventually stopped chasing Velma and quickly rejoined his comrade.
The two of them continued to push Shaggy through the store and out the automatic doors towards the alley where the X was located, while Fred, Daphne, Velma and Scooby Doo followed closely in pursuit.
"Hurry Crunch old boy, the moon is coming through the clouds now; we must turn Shaggy into a werewolf!" Brunch called to his fellow monster; Crunch by this time had rejoined his comrade as their plan was coming to fruition, however as the moon was shining through the clouds a watermelon truck drove right onto the X, which the two monsters were hoping wouldn't deter their plan; the pair then pushed Shaggy's cart towards the truck where it landed right into a large number of watermelons; naturally because of the force of the collision the moon did not shine on Shaggy as he stayed human for now.
"Oh bother, not again! Come Crunch, let's get back to the copter and regroup" Brunch said.
Crunch followed his comrade's command and the two of them ran out of sight and back to the bat copter, where they attempted to figure out what to do next, after taking off that is; normally the gang would be ready to track down the two monsters, but for the moment their concern was Shaggy who was covered in watermelons; once the rest of Mystery Inc. got to their friend he was pleased to see them, but was annoyed with Velma to no end.
"Shaggy, boy are we glad you're okay!" Fred declared.
"Yeah, what happened to you anyway?" Daphne added.
"Yes, one minute you and I were looking at spices and the next moment you were being pushed out here, what happened?" Velma asked.
"I would be happy to tell you, but first: Velma would you come here for a moment dear?" Shaggy inquired.
"Certainly Shaggy" Velma replied; moments later she joined Shaggy in the truck, she was curious as to why he wanted to speak with her so she asked him about it.
"Well Shaggy, here I am, what did you want to say?" Velma queried, smiling as she spoke; as Velma smiled Shaggy took a watermelon off his head and placed it on Velma's, messing up her hair and infuriating her just a little.
"Shaggy Rogers, what in the world was that for? Velma asked with watermelon dripping off her hair.
"Velma, the next time your women's intuition tells you something, do me a favor and don't listen" Shaggy bemoaned; although instead of responding to Shaggy's statement Velma began flinging pieces of watermelon onto him, which resulted in a full on watermelon fight a few moments later.
Once the gang paid for the watermelons and their groceries, Scooby Doo and company headed home with Shaggy and Velma still covered in fruit and still confused as to just what had happened to them earlier in the evening; after all the groceries were put away and the pair cleaned all the watermelon off themselves, the gang regrouped in the living room of the Blakes' mansion to try and solve this mini mystery.
"Like I still can't understand what all that was about at the grocery store tonight; oh, by the way Velma I'm sorry about the whole watermelon thing" Shaggy remarked.
"That's okay Shaggy, I forgive you too, even though it was funny to see you covered in fruit" Velma replied, laughing a little as she spoke.
"Yeah, like it was wasn't it" Shaggy said, also chuckling a little.
"I still wouldn't mind figuring out what happened myself, and what was with those two creatures that chased me and pushed you into the cart and watermelons Shaggy?" Velma asked.
"Like that's a good question Velma, I just wish I knew the answer" Shaggy replied.
"Well it seems to me that the last two nights something or someone has tried to get to Shaggy, which is exactly what I was fearing when we were talking on Wednesday; which means that if whoever or whatever is responsible for all this sticks to their schedule, then they'll certainly try again tomorrow night" Velma said.
"Right Velma; and it's up to us to stop whoever or whatever is trying to get Shaggy" Fred commented.
"Sounds like a plan to me Freddie, there's one thing though: tomorrow night is our double date, remember?" Daphne responded.
"Oh yeah, that's right; you and I were going to go to the drive in with Shaggy and Velma" Fred replied.
"Like that's not a problem Fred; you and I can sit towards the front of the Mystery Machine and then Daphne and Velma can sit in the back with the screen pulled down on the way there" Shaggy explained.
"I get it and then Daphne and I can sit in one part of the van to watch the movie, while you and Velma are in the other part of the van watching the film, we can even pull the screen down to talk privately if you want" Fred replied.
"Sounds good to me, that way we'll be able to go about our business like normal watching the movie and then if we see anything suspicious we'll go into action; of course by normal that means us the two of us protecting our girlfriends and acting like we're on a date, as opposed to acting like detectives" Shaggy commented.
"Believe me, I have no problem with that right Daphne?" Velma said as she hugged Shaggy.
"Me too, I could stand being like that all the time," Daphne added as she hugged Fred.
"Thanks girls" Shaggy remarked.
"Now that we've got that settled, let's get to bed; after all we've got college classes tomorrow before our double date" Fred commented.
"Right Fred, besides I'm getting a bit sleepy" Shaggy replied.
"Me too, I could use some beauty sleep before going after some nut job" Daphne added.
So with that Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, Fred and Scooby all headed upstairs and got ready to go to sleep in their respective bedrooms, once each member of the group got to sleep they all thought about what the next day and night had in store for them and what adventure they were getting themselves into.