Chapter 7
"Jeepers, this, this is a-a…" Daphne remarked nervously before quickly retreating to behind Fred.
"Jinkies, it can't be, it just can't be" Velma commented, also nervously before she retreated to a position behind Shaggy.
"Like it would f-figure he would have something like this here" Shaggy added with a gulp.
"Reah, rit's rot rood at all" Scooby agreed.
"Man, he must have one of the largest torture chambers in the world" Fred remarked as he and the rest of the group looked around at all the various torture devices that were at the vampire's disposal.
"Yeah, like he may have one of the biggest torture chambers in the world, and I'll bet he intends to use every device at his disposal on us as well" Shaggy stated, which made his bespectacled girlfriend extremely nervous.
"Jinkies, you don't think he'll really use all those torture devices on us do you Shaggy?" Velma asked as she continued hanging onto Shaggy's arm.
"Reah, ri ron't rant to re rortured" Scooby replied while he whimpered a bit.
"Like I don't want to be tortured either Scoob, but unless we get out of this room, we're going to sliced, diced and cut like a pizza" Shaggy commented, although somewhat grimly.
"Shaggy's right gang, come on let's get out of here" Fred commented as he and the rest of the group of college students and Great Dane began walking through the sinister torture chamber; a few moments later while the detectives were still trying to figure out a way to escape, they noticed a mysterious figure hidden in the shadows in the room; Scooby and friends weren't sure what to make of this as they started to approach the figure who began speaking as soon as the Great Dane and his friends saw it.
"Hey, you guys, come here" the strange figure said in a somewhat creepy sounding voice.
"Like who us?" Shaggy asked.
"No, the other group that's standing in here with three kids, a werewolf and a dog, of course I mean you five!" the figure declared a bit annoyed with the team of sleuths.
"Jinkies, you don't have to be so grouchy" Velma replied.
"Sorry, it's just that I've been in this castle so long I think I'm starting to get a bit testy and I think I might be getting a bit stir crazy too" the figure remarked.
"That's another thing, who are you anyway?" Velma inquired.
"Like yeah and why do you want to help us?" Shaggy added.
"First off I want to help the five of you because this isn't the first time Dracula has tried something like this" the figure replied.
"Jeepers, you mean Count Dracula has tried to or done this with another mortal? Turning a mortal into a werewolf I mean?" Daphne inquired.
"Unfortunately yes" the figure replied.
"But like I don't understand, when did he pull that and why would he pull something like this twice?" Shaggy asked.
"Because he's an evil, manipulative, untrustworthy vampire; if he says something it probably isn't true or there's a major catch to it" the figure replied.
"But that still doesn't tell us who or what you are and why you know about all this" Fred remarked.
"It's simple, first you were right on the who part, I am a person; here, let me get out of the shadows so you can see me better" the figure replied; the shadowy figure then slowly began to walk out of the area that it was hiding in, in order to speak with the team of mystery solvers, who were very surprised to see who was coming towards them.
Once the figure moved completely out of the shadows, Scooby Doo and his friends could that standing in front of them was what seemed to be a young woman, possibly the same age as Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy; the woman had long blonde hair and blue eyes, she was also wearing what seemed to be an old fashioned red dress, along with simple dark green shoes, she had long black eyelashes and a partially cheerful, partially saddened look on her face as the gang got their first real good look at the woman.
"Wow, like you look very pretty miss" Shaggy commented.
"I agree Shaggy, ma'am if you don't mind me saying this: you look like a movie star" Fred added.
"Thank you young man, I'm glad some members of this generation are polite" the woman replied.
"Miss, why did you say young man and this generation?" Daphne asked.
"Yes, by your youthful appearance I would say you would be in your mid twenties right?" Velma asked.
"Well I'm very flattered that you complimented my appearance my dear, but you are incorrect on that assumption; I am not in my mid twenties, in fact I am over one hundred years old, 114 as a matter of fact" the woman explained, which naturally drew amazed and shocked whistles from the gang.
"114 years old? But miss that's impossible, that would mean that you were born in…" Fred commented as he attempted to figure out what the woman was telling them and if she was being truthful.
"I was born in 1896 young man, which would make me 114 years old; now I would imagine this is a shock to all of you, meeting a woman who has lived for such a long time, but I promise you I am being truthful, for example: when I was a little girl I went with my parents to an appearance by Theodore Roosevelt, which was around a month before he became president of the United States, I assume that the five of you are from the US correct?" the woman asked.
"Yes that's correct, Ohio as a matter of fact" Fred explained.
"Wait a minute here, miss you said you were born in 1896, and you look around the same age as us correct?" Velma inquired.
"That's right; when I entered college Woodrow Wilson was president, that would have been around 1921 or so" the woman replied.
"Jeepers miss, that's remarkable; you must use a lot of moisturizers to make your skin look like that, considering you're 114 years old" Daphne remarked.
"Why that's very nice of you young lady, but I don't really use moisturizers or beauty products; or at least I haven't needed to use any of them since I was in my twenties, although I believe beauty products now are much different now they were in my day, correct?" the woman asked.
"That's right; although my friends and I would still like to know who you are and why you're here" Daphne replied.
"Well, I guess I should tell all of you who I am and why I need your help; first let me introduce myself: my name is Elizabeth Mitchell, I am or was a resident of Crystal Cove, California, it's a small seaside community in the Northern portion of the state, it's really a beautiful place and you should visit there, if it's still there, considering some time has passed since I arrived here" the woman explained.
"Like that's some story miss; well since we know who you are, I guess we can tell you who we are, I'm Norville Rogers, but my friends call me Shaggy, it's kind of a nickname; and this is Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, my Great Dane Scooby Doo and my girlfriend Velma Dinkley" Shaggy replied.
"Well it's very nice to meet you Shaggy, and it's nice to meet you as well Fred, Daphne, Velma and Scooby; frankly I'm glad you all showed up, I haven't had a visitor in I don't know how long, and it's so nice to talk to a fellow person, other then that Dracula and his monsters of course" Elizabeth said.
"Not a problem Miss Mitchell, we're glad to meet someone who's friendly around here" Shaggy replied.
"You can call me Elizabeth, Miss Mitchell is so formal" Elizabeth said.
"Okay Elizabeth, now why are you here and why did you say you know about Dracula doing this before?" Fred asked.
"I know because, because the person that Dracula turned into a werewolf the last time, is or was my boyfriend" Elizabeth said as her eyes began welling up with tears, she then began crying a bit as Daphne and Velma made their way over to her to try and calm her down.
"Jeepers, that's horrible!" Daphne exclaimed.
"Jinkies, why would Dracula do such a thing?" Velma inquired.
"Because that vampire, that manipulative evil monster needed a werewolf for some monster race that he was holding; and my boyfriend happened to fit some prophecy that was listed in some book that Dracula had" Elizabeth replied.
"Book? What book?" Velma asked.
"Some book that he had in his possession, I don't know what it was or what it was about, all I know is my William is now a werewolf, and that-that Dracula and all of his monsters are going to pay dearly for turning him into a fur covered beast" Elizabeth said as her hand formed into an angry fist.
"So William is, or was your boyfriend?" Daphne asked.
"That's right, his full name was William Armstrong and he was one of the most, if not the most wonderful guy in the world; we used to go everywhere together, the soda fountain, the movies, everywhere; but then one night we were on a date, we went for a nice moonlight drive to the outskirts of Crystal Cove and we spent some time together in the car just talking to each other, then the moon shone on William and he, he turned into a werewolf!" Elizabeth said as she began sobbing once again; Velma and Daphne then attempted to calm her down again, which seemed to work, as she seemed to be calming down.
"So what happened after that?" Velma inquired.
"Once William changed into a werewolf, I attempted to comfort him, I told him that he would be okay, that we would get this figured out and we would change him back to normal; unfortunately we didn't get that chance, because soon after I spoke to him that pair of monsters dropped some kind of powder on us, which knocked us out cold, the next thing we knew we were in Transylvania and at the mercy of dozens of horrible monsters" Elizabeth replied.
"So what happened after that Elizabeth?" Fred asked.
"After we got to Transylvania, Dracula told us what he wanted William for and we both agreed that he would never compete in such a stupid event; but Dracula said that if William won the race, he would change him back to normal and send us back home" Elizabeth replied.
"So did he win?" Velma asked.
"Sadly no, Dracula pulled every dirty trick in the book to stop William and as a result he lost, which meant that Dracula put him under his control; after that he placed some kind of spell on the both of us, giving us immortal life, although we did keep the appearances of twenty five year olds, which is when William was turned into a werewolf" Elizabeth explained.
"So like if you're immortal, then couldn't you just look for him and force Dracula to change him back and break the spell on both of you?" Shaggy inquired.
"Unfortunately no; as an effect of the spell, while William could roam the woods, the country side and was free, or as free as a werewolf could be, I was a prisoner, I couldn't leave the castle; of course Dracula explained that if I did leave the castle, I would die and I would never see William again" Elizabeth replied.
"Jeepers, then that must be why you wanted to help us, to avoid Shaggy suffering the same fate as William did?" Daphne inquired.
"Right Daphne, but since I'm stuck in the castle, I can't help you; but I can provide some assistance to escape from this terrible place, so you can find William, you see there is a hidden passageway located a few doors down from this room, go there and then you will be able to make your escape because it leads to the outside of the castle, then you can find your way through the countryside and locate William" Elizabeth replied.
"Sounds good, but one thing still puzzles me: like why did Dracula say the werewolf was retired, if he's somewhere in the countryside?" Shaggy asked.
"A ruse, plain and simple; I managed to send some letters to him and he told me that he informed Dracula that him going to Florida was just something to keep Dracula off the track, in truth he's probably looking for all of you right now" Elizabeth explained.
"Like if we do find him what does he look like?" Shaggy asked.
"He's about the same height as you Shaggy, only with dark brown hair; he's wearing black pants, a brown vest, white undershirt and black shoes, I just hope you five find him before it's too late" Elizabeth replied.
"Don't worry Elizabeth, we'll find William and get Dracula to change him back to normal" Fred stated.
"And I'll make sure and win this race too; maybe if I win the Monster Race, Dracula will change me back to normal and change William back to normal too, then you'll be able to do whatever you want to do" Shaggy replied.
"Good thinking Shaggy, maybe just maybe we can reach Dracula's soft spot, if he has one that is" Velma added.
"I doubt that, but it's a good idea nonetheless; now you five must get going before it's too late and good luck, because Dracula will stop at nothing to keep you from winning the race Shaggy, so you must be careful" Elizabeth explained.
"Don't worry, we will and it was nice to meet you Elizabeth" Shaggy replied.
"It was nice to meet you five as well, and I hope to see you again" Elizabeth remarked.
"Don't worry you will" Fred replied; with that the members of Mystery Inc. waved goodbye at least temporarily to their new found friend, the team of sleuths then walked through the strange torture chamber room past every sort of horrible device Dracula had in his arsenal and past several old paintings which were hanging in the room as well; soon the members of Mystery Inc. had escaped the torture chamber and had made their way into a rather simple looking room with a ceiling, two walls and a floor.
"I wonder where we are" Fred noted.
"Good question, but I just hope this isn't like that torture chamber room Dracula has" Daphne replied.
"Well there's only one sure way to find out" Fred remarked.
The blond unofficial leader of the group then located a small switch on the near wall of the somewhat ordinary room, although as Fred flipped the switch, it became apparent that it was not a regular room in a castle or house; once the room was illuminated two sets of sharp spikes on the walls started towards the members of Mystery Inc. which alarmed them greatly; Shaggy and Velma then held each other closely, while Fred and Daphne also held each other closely, the four sleuths and Scooby Doo watched as the spikes seemed to slowly approach the college aged sleuths.
"Jeepers!" Daphne exclaimed in horror.
"Jinkies!" Velma shrieked in terror.
"Zoinks!" Shaggy yelled in terror.
"Ripes!" Scooby exclaimed before whimpering.
"Creepers!" Fred yelled in terror.
"Like somehow I figured we would run into a dead end" Shaggy replied with a gulp.
"Jeepers, I really hope that's a figure of speech Shaggy" Daphne added.
"Me too; I don't want to end up a people kabob" Velma quipped, trying to bring light to a very dark situation.
Soon the gang was about to discover that they were not alone in the room, as the roof began sliding open to reveal Dracula and the Hunch Bunch watched the gang writhe in pain and agony, or at least watch in terror as the spikes seemed to get ever closer to the young investigators.
"Ah, Sha-Gee and his friends, fancy running into you here; so are you having fun?" Dracula asked sounding if as he was enjoying Scooby and company getting ready to be skewered like kabobs.
"Are you kidding? Get us out of here!" Velma yelled.
"Why should I? I would have thought you five would enjoy my torture chamber" Dracula replied.
"How could anybody enjoy a torture chamber? On second thought, never mind" Daphne remarked.
"Hmm, I guess mortals have a different sense of humor then us monsters; but if you really want me to let you out, then I will: but only on one condition" Dracula replied.
"Anything, just like get us out of here!" Shaggy declared.
"Very well, the condition is that you Sha-Gee and your friends must stay here, and that you will race in the Monster Road Rally, now do you accept these terms? I would suggest that you do because those spikes are getting awfully close" Dracula quipped.
"Jinkies, I think we better do what he's asking Shaggy, besides we can help William and Elizabeth this way and Daphne and I will be here too to help out, okay?" Velma remarked.
"Well, like I really don't like being a werewolf, so okay I guess I accept the terms; Dracula, I'll stay here and race, now let us out of here!" Shaggy replied angrily.
"Very well" Dracula said in a somewhat unhappy tone of voice; suddenly the spikes began receding back into the walls, which made the group of sleuths very happy as it appeared that they were safe, for now.
"Phew, am I glad those spikes didn't like cut us into Swiss cheese" Shaggy remarked, wiping his brow as he spoke.
Dracula then opened the door of the room, and as he did he stood outside the doorway and watched Scooby and company relax at least for the moment; the vampire and the Hunch Bunch then walked inside and escorted the members of Mystery Inc. out of the room and upstairs towards a corridor with dozens of doors, which the gang guessed contained various bedrooms, storage rooms and other miscellaneous things; eventually the vampire led the gang to the middle of the hallway and stood in front of two bedrooms, pointing out that this was where the five investigators were to sleep for the duration of their stay in the castle.
"Here we are: this room shall be the gentlemen's room, while the room next door will be the young ladies room, here let me open the door for you Sha-Gee" Dracula explained; the vampire then opened the door and showed Shaggy, Fred and Scooby Doo inside the room, which looked to be a fairly ordinary bedroom, although decorated much differently and much scarier than a regular bedroom; the room had two beds, a dresser, a window which gave a fairly nice view of the lower levels of the castle including the moat, and several unusual paintings which made the gang feel altogether like they were in the Bates Motel as they stepped inside.
"Like this is an, um interesting room isn't it guys?" Shaggy asked.
"Yeah, it is; I just hope we don't meet anything that has fangs, wears a sheet, has fur, or has wings or anything like that while we're in here; no offense Shaggy and Scooby" Fred replied.
"None taken Fred, I understand; I'm hoping we don't find anything scary either" Shaggy remarked.
"Reah, rary" Scooby added.
Next door meanwhile, Dracula had opened the door to the bedroom where Daphne and Velma were to sleep, once the vampire showed the two girls their sleeping quarters Count Dracula took his leave and walked out of the room, back down the dark and dismal looking corridor.
With Dracula gone, the red head and the bespectacled girl browsed the strange bedroom and noticed that it looked somewhat frightening as well, the wallpaper of the room looked to be blood red in color and caused Daphne and Velma to gasp in fright and terror as they got a good look at the bedroom.
"Jeepers, Velma is it just me or does this place give you the creeps?" Daphne asked.
"It's not just you Daphne, it's me too; this place might be one of the scariest places I've ever been to or encountered, I wonder if Dracula's going to come in here while we sleep and attempt to drink our blood" Velma replied.
"Ooh, don't say that Velma; I wouldn't want to become some kind of undead zombie or undead monster later and have to end up as a servant to that creepy Dracula" Daphne remarked nervously.
"You and me both Daphne" Velma said as she walked over to one of the two queen size beds inside the room and prepared to sit down, that is before Daphne spoke out loud, which startled the intelligent college student a bit.
"Wait Velma!" Daphne declared.
"Huh? Wait for what Daphne?" Velma asked; the red head didn't respond to the bespectacled young woman's comment, she only walked over to the side of Velma's bed and motioned for her to take a few steps to the side, which confused her a little.
"Daphne, what are you doing?" Velma wondered; while the young brunette watched, her red haired colleague took a few minutes to examine the bed, the mattress and the bed frame; she then proceeded to look underneath it, pat the sheets and look underneath the mattress before stopping.
When Daphne finished her examination of the bed and its contents, she smiled and faced Velma, who was still greatly confused about what her friend was up to, and why she was smiling.
"Um Daphne, what's going on?" Velma asked.
"Well Velma, let me just say that even though I'm danger prone, I'm not dumb, come on I'll show you what I mean" Daphne replied; Velma then stuck close behind the red head as the wealthy college student took hold of one of the sheets and tossed it aside, leaving the two young women to gasp at what was really underneath the sheets.
"Jinkies, Daphne is that a bed of nails?" Velma asked fearfully.
"Right, that's exactly what it is" Daphne replied; while Velma wasn't expecting her bed to have such a sinister surprise in it, Daphne realized that there was a good chance that considering what the gang had gone through earlier that evening, Dracula might have purposefully her and Velma this room, so they wouldn't be able to sleep and would be too tired to help Shaggy out in the Monster Road Rally.
"I guess Count Dracula isn't going to give up trying to get rid of us, or trap us; I mean if he went as far as to make my bed one that's full of nails, there's no telling what else he might pull while we're here" Velma remarked.
"Yeah, just what I was thinking; but in the meantime, how are we going to get any sleep in this place?" Daphne asked.
"Sleep? Are you kidding, in Dracula's castle? I mean is such a thing possible?" Velma replied, while she fired off questions like a police officer would do with a potential suspect.
"I know, but we have to at least try and get some sleep while we're here; I mean the other monsters probably will try and get some sleep, right?" Daphne asked.
"I guess you're right Daphne; although I just wish I knew what else we were up against in this castle" Velma replied.
"Well let's not try and worry about it for now; although one thing puzzles me" Daphne remarked.
"What's that Daphne?" Velma inquired.
"If Dracula put a bed of nails in your bed, then do you think he put a bed of nails in my bed too?" Daphne wondered.
"Judging by the books and movies that he has been in and all the time I've spent with Shaggy and Scooby watching horror movie, I wouldn't put it past him" Velma replied.
"So I'm guessing we should probably take the sheets off the bed and put them on the ground and then we can sleep like that?" Daphne asked.
"Sounds good to me, just in case Dracula booby trapped that bed" Velma replied.
"Booby trapped the bed? Velma, do you really think he would stoop to that level?" Daphne asked.
"Like I said, considering we're dealing with Count Dracula, I would say yes" Velma replied.
"Well then I guess we better get the sheets off the bed and get some sleep" Daphne said as she walked over to her bed and began pulling the white sheets off of it, while Velma did the same with her bed.
"Daphne?" Velma asked as she dropped the sheets from the bed onto the stone floor of the room.
"What's up Velma?" Daphne inquired as she dropped her sheets onto the floor.
"I know Shaggy's a werewolf now, and I know he might have some animal instincts and there's a distinct possibility that he might want to bite me and turn me into a werewolf, or devour me, however…" Velma remarked.
"However?" Daphne asked.
"Even with all of that going on with him, do you think he still loves me?" Velma inquired.
"Velma, that's a silly question to ask; of course he still loves you, I mean even though he's now covered in fur and has messier hair, and has claws instead of finger nails and paws instead of hands and feet, it doesn't really matter, none of that matters; believe me, all the time Fred and I have been dating, I wish I wouldn't have to worry about looks so much, I mean I know Freddie would love me even if I was a monster" Daphne explained.
"Hmm… I don't know about that Daphne, I mean let's say Fred was a werewolf too, would you still be in love with him?" Velma asked.
"Are you kidding? Of course I would still be in love with Fred, he could have eight arms like an octopus or eight legs like a spider and it wouldn't matter, and I know he feels the same way about me" Daphne replied.
"You know Daphne I think so too; and you know, I think we have the most perfect boyfriends in the world, Fred is the perfect guy for you and Shaggy is the perfect boyfriend for me, we couldn't have picked two better guys to be in love with" Velma added.
"Right on Velma!" Daphne said as she high fived her bespectacled friend.
"Speaking of which, I wonder what Shaggy and Fred are doing right now?" Velma wondered.
Next door, in the room that Fred, Shaggy and Scooby Doo were sharing, the blond college student and the now cowardly werewolf's Great Dane sat on the two King size beds in the room, scanning the various furniture and their surroundings; for the two of them, they were doing more investigating, albeit unofficially, then resting on the beds, while the werewolf Shaggy sat in a chair near the door and watched the two sleuths, although as he watched he bit his now black claws and found himself shaking like a gelatin dessert.
"L-like what are you guys doing?" Shaggy asked, as he wrung his hands.
"What does it look like Shaggy, we're looking around the room for any secret passageways, secret rooms, secret switches, or any way out of this place; and if we can't find any of those, then we'll look for booby traps, or anything that Dracula might have put in here to keep us in here" Fred replied.
"Like do you really think Dracula would try and do something like that? I mean he did say if I competed in the monster race and won he would change me back to normal and we could go home" Shaggy remarked.
"I don't know about that Shaggy, frankly considering what we've seen and found so far, I wouldn't trust Dracula at all; he reminds me of someone who thinks they're being honest, but has their fingers crossed all the time, which means they're being untruthful inside" Fred replied.
"Like yeah, now that I think of it he did try and shish kabob us in that one room, and who knows if he's planning more surprises" Shaggy commented.
"Exactly, so we should be eagle eyed and vigilant, in case that vampire is planning something; only one problem with that though" Fred replied.
"Like what's that Fred?" Shaggy asked as he noticed that the blond college student and the Great Dane sat back on the two beds.
"If Dracula does have any secret passages in this room or any traps hidden, he's sure doing a good job of keeping them a secret, because I can't find any booby traps or secret switches, or anything even close to either of those things in here, well other than some very eerie décor" Fred replied.
"Like maybe that's a blessing in disguise Fred; maybe not finding any traps means that Dracula will leave us alone for a while" Shaggy remarked.
"True, but not finding any secret passages means that Dracula might be keeping us prisoner here, at least until the Monster Road Rally" Fred replied.
"Seems like it to me; hey Fred?" Shaggy asked.
"Yeah Shaggy?" Fred inquired.
"Do you really think I'll win the race? I mean what if my werewolf form tries to attack the other racers, or what if I try and bite one of you guys; I mean there's a ton of things that could go wrong, and Velma…." Shaggy replied.
"What about her Shaggy?" Fred asked.
"Well like she's probably disgusted with me, I mean I'm a hideous monster after all; plus if Velma and Daphne weren't here, and I was dating another girl, she would run in terror away from me, I would be stuck, with no friends to help me in this, this nightmare!" Shaggy replied, having formed his right hand, or rather paw into a fist and looking clearly angry.
"Shaggy, forget about what another girl would think of you and forget about all that stuff; you're a part of Mystery Inc. and that means that we help each other out, it doesn't matter if you're a werewolf, vampire or sea monster, or yourself, we like you the way you are, and Scooby likes you just the way you are too right Scooby?" Fred remarked, placing a hand on Shaggy's shoulder in a gesture of friendship.
"Reah, rou're rour reind Rhaggy, re rove rou, rand it roesn't ratter rho rou are or rhat rou are" Scooby added as he placed a paw on Shaggy's shoulder in friendship; the blond college student and the Great Dane then proceeded to hug the cowardly werewolf, while attempting to reassure that everything would turn out the right way.
"Like you know, maybe you guys are right, maybe I have nothing to worry about; like thanks guys, you really are the two best friends a guy, or werewolf ever had" Shaggy replied.
"No problem Shaggy; now, what do you say we go get the girls and see if we can find a way out of this creepy place" Fred remarked.
"Like now that's more like it, come on Scoob" Shaggy declared.
"Rou retcha, Rooby Roo!" Scooby added; with that Shaggy, Scooby and Fred walked to the door of the bedroom and prepared to enter into the hallway where they would pick up their friends, and resume their search throughout Dracula's castle, hoping that there was someway to escape the sinister vampire's house of horrors before it was too late.
Author's Notes: I decided to add the story about the other werewolf and his girlfriend, kind of in honor of the actual movie Scooby Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, but partly because I figured it would make for a nice plot twist and an interesting plot twist at that, hopefully everybody likes that and likes reading my stories as usual and I also threw in a reference to the setting of the current Scooby Doo series for good measure as well.