Shaggy the Vampire

Chapter 4 – Discovery

Daphne whirled round but the stranger was gone. "Wait!" she cried out, knowing it was probably useless as he was nowhere in sight. But she tried anyway. "Please! I…I just wanted to thank you for, for saving me." She stared round, waiting for him to appear but nobody came.

"You're welcome," came a voice from behind her. She gasped and turned to face him.

The stranger was there, the top half of his face still hidden, but she could see his mouth and it was now free of blood. She smiled at him. "Hello." He didn't answer. "Th-Thank you…for saving me. It was really kind of you."

"Well, like I said, you're welcome." He went to turn away but Daphne put a hand on his shoulder. "No, wait! Ah…" Although Daphne had a sense of unease around him as if she were in danger, for some reason she also felt safe – there was something familiar about this character and she wanted to know more about him. "Who are you?"

"You said you wanted to thank me and you have done. Now I must go."

"But who are you?" asked Daphne again. "What were you doing here? How did you know I was in danger? How did you do all that? Why… I have so many questions."

"You always were nosy," the stranger muttered and looked like he instantly regretted it.

"What?" She grabbed his arm to stop him leaving. "You know me? How? Do I know you?"

"…Yes, I know you. We used to be very close – but now that's over."

Daphne looked at him curiously. An idea was starting to form in her mind. "I think…I know who you are." She reached up to move his hood but he grabbed her wrists and stopped her. "…Are you a vampire?"

"What?"

"Well, after what's just happened, you can't be human," reasoned Daphne. "My friends and I often used to go ghost hunting and, whilst many of them were fakes, we still did research on different creatures – and from what I've seen, I'd say you were a vampire. The speed; the strength; the pale, hard, cold skin; the fangs; and you seemed to be biting that guy's neck, and you had blood on your teeth after. And everyone knows that vampires drink blood." She was babbling now, her words tripping over each other in her hurry to get them out, desperate to get answers and not let her mystery saver go.

The pale lips rose into a smile. "You always were clever." He stepped back a little. "You're right. I am a vampire. And yes, we do know each other. But we can't anymore – it's too dangerous."

"I don't care," replied Daphne, firmly. "I'm sure I know who you are and what must have happened to you… Please show me who you are. Even if I'm wrong and I've got the wrong person, I'd still like to know who saved me."

The figure frowned but, to her surprise, slowly did what she asked. He pulled back the hood and she gasped. "Why, it is you!..."

Meanwhile, where was Scooby? He'd waited a few moments after Daph had gone before following her out. He'd made sure to keep a good deal behind her whilst following to make sure she didn't see him. Unfortunately, though, he'd lost her when he was distracted by a group of people coming out of a pub. It was a hen party. They were all singing and dancing and just generally acting drunk. They headed off in the same direction as the alley; not wanting to be spotted, Scooby had to hang back impatiently as they drunkenly stumbled along the path.

When they got near the alley, however, one of the girls let out a scream. Scooby, who was some distance behind, forgot about staying hidden and ran up to see what was wrong. What he saw was a man sitting on the ground, holding onto his neck and looking like he was in great pain. There was blood all around his neck and spreading through his shirt. One of the women pulled out a phone and started asking for an ambulance. All of the hens were so shocked that none of them noticed the Great Dane nearby.

Scooby was shocked, too, but he was also conscious of the smell. Not just the blood – there was another, horrible smell. Like something had gone stale…or died. He could also smell traces of Daphne's scent. He carried on to the alley and both her scent and the stale smell increased.

He turned the corner and tiptoed down the alley. And froze to a stop. There were all kinds of scents here: humans who'd passed by, old food and junk rotting, and Daphne's scent was very strong – she was actually just a few feet away, her back to him – but the strongest was the stale smell that seemed to be coming from the hooded figure Daphne was facing. It was almost overpowering.

Scooby crept forward and hid behind an old pile of boxes, scrunching up his nose. He watched carefully and heard Daphne ask the figure to remove his hood as she wanted to know who had saved her. Saved her? What had he missed? But his attention was on the stranger again who had finally removed the hood. He froze in shock. No – it couldn't be!

From several feet away, he heard Daphne gasp and whisper," Why, it is you! Oh, Shaggy…!"

Notes: This chapter probably seems a little rushed and you're right. I was writing this at night and I just wanted to get finished and post it. The next chapter should be slightly slower.

And I've a question for the person who left a review saying Chapter 3 was intense? What exactly did you mean? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?