Despite being back in his own bed instead of Velma's uncomfortable floor, Shaggy still slept quite fitfully. The thought of The Freak marauding around the school in the middle of the night caused him a great deal of discomfort, so much so in fact that his subconscious managed to work The Freak into his dreams. He dreamed of being chased around the football field, The Freak popping up dressed as a cook when he went to get food in the dining hall, and most frightening of all, The Freak breaking into their room in the middle of the night. He had to remind himself these were all just dreams, though. Thankfully, none of them had any basis in reality.
"Good morning." Fred said with a yawn, as he came back into the bedroom. From the towel he was carrying next to him, Shaggy figured Fred had just come back from taking a shower. "Sleep well?"
"Like, not really." Shaggy sighed.
"Oh. Why's that?" Fred inquired.
"Headmistress Quinlan's story about Marcie, like, shook me up last night." Shaggy admitted. "It didn't make you nervous?"
"It did, but I believe her that The Freak can't get in our rooms, so we're safe as long as we're in here." Fred admitted.
"Like, how can you be so calm at a time like this?" Shaggy asked in a panicked voice.
"There's just nothing I'm going to get from worrying." Fred shrugged. "It's a scary situation, and I'm worried too, but it's not like there's anything I'm gaining from staying up all night worrying about it."
"Like, I wish I felt that way." Shaggy sighed.
"There's no shame in being an anxious person, Shaggy." Fred answered. "Who knows, maybe I'm being too calm about all of this. Your anxiety is very justified given we're quite literally in a murder mystery situation, like in the movies."
Shaggy breathed a slight sigh of relief. It felt good to have somebody validate his feelings for once. Usually, people just said he was overthinking stuff or reacting too emotionally to things. He'd always had a problem with anxiety since he was a kid, so this wasn't new to him. Even social situations and making decisions made him a little bit nervous.
"Well, if you're ready, I'm going to go get some breakfast." Fred informed.
"Like, you needn't say another word to quench my anxiety!" Shaggy said with a sly smirk, as he quickly rushed to follow Fred.
Shaggy shuddered a little bit as they left the room and headed for the elevator. What if The Freak was still hanging around and tried to kill them? He remembered the story Quinlan had shared yesterday about Marcie's near death experience stepping out of her room, so he hoped to god that didn't happen to them, too.
"What do you want to do today?" Fred asked.
"Like, I'm not sure. Take a walk? Watch a movie?" Shaggy suggested.
"Um, that's fine. Maybe we could ask the girls." Fred shrugged. Shaggy could kind of tell that Fred was looking for something more to do, rather than something so simple. Shaggy didn't mind; he knew he was terrible at coming up with ideas of things to do. He'd barely had any previous experience being somebody's friend, so his knowledge of what friends typically did together on a lazy Sunday was very limited.
The two roommates scurried up to the breakfast line as soon as they got to the dining hall. Everybody must have slept in today given it was the weekend, as there were just a few people ahead of them, rather than the overly lengthy line they usually had to deal with.
"What are you going to get this morning, Shaggy?" Fred asked.
"Like, I was thinking of some scrambled eggs with cheese and salsa, a waffle, cereal, grapes, and maybe a glass of milk to wash it all down." Shaggy informed.
"Wow, that sounds more like a feast than a breakfast!" Fred chuckled. "I was just going to get eggs and coffee."
"Hey! Good morning, guys! How'd you sleep?" Daphne exclaimed. Shaggy noticed Luna and Dusk were right behind her.
"Pretty good, but I don't think Shaggy slept too well." Fred informed.
"Like, I didn't. I kept worrying about that Freak all night!" Shaggy gulped.
"Admittedly, the feeling's mutual." Luna chimed in. "Headmistress Quinlan's story gave me the heebie jeebies."
"What are we going to do about that Freak?" Dusk inquired.
"I don't know if there's anything we can do." Fred somberly stated. "We've looked for clues and come up empty."
"You know who might know, though? Marcie. We've got History with her tomorrow, why don't we just ask her after class?" Daphne suggested.
At that moment, Velma entered the dining hall, with Thorn by her side. She must have overheard Daphne, given she chimed into the conversation right away. "That's a really good suggestion! Marcie may have seen something, or noticed something that we haven't. Good morning, by the way."
"Morning." Thorn chimed in sleepily.
"So, what did we want to do today?" Dusk inquired.
"Shaggy and I were just talking about that." Fred chimed in.
"I think it'd be good to look for more clues." Velma said. "There's so much we don't know about this mystery yet."
Shaggy shuddered at the thought of this. He didn't want to devote all his free time to solving the mystery, as he'd be liable to be scared half to death.
"I'm not sure I agree with that, Velma." Daphne pointed out. "We don't need to spend every waking moment on the mystery. Fred's right, there's not much more we can do right now. We've searched all the places The Freak has been, and we didn't find any clues."
Fred chimed in as well. "Besides, I think we're entitled to a little rest and relaxation. Maybe we could just take a walk together, or find a good movie on TV."
"Agreed." Luna nodded. "It's been a long first week already, and I'd rather spend my last day off relaxing, rather than doing more work before we plunge into a busy second week."
"Amen, sister." Dusk chimed in.
"Like, I agree." Shaggy added.
"Yeah, it'd be nice to just relax and unwind. The stakes have been pretty high for us lately with school and the mystery, so it'd be nice to just hang back and chill." Thorn commented.
Velma didn't necessarily look super happy, but nonetheless, she seemed to compromise. "That's fair. We can just relax. You know, we could check out the game room Headmistress Quinlan mentioned on the first day. I don't think any of us have gone there yet."
"That'd be fun!" Daphne agreed. "Maybe after that, we could wind down and watch a movie."
Shaggy felt his mood elevate a bit. Not only did spending the day relaxing sound amazing to him, but he was pleasantly surprised that what he'd initially suggested to Fred ended up being what everybody wanted to do. Maybe he knew a little bit more about how to be a good friend than he thought.
The game room was far more lackluster than Velma had thought it would be. The room was quite small, and only had table tennis and a pool table. Apparently, the extent of this game room was only two games, but to be fair, the room was small enough that it didn't look like they could fit any more games in the room even if they wanted to. Still though, it was better than nothing. The decorations were also very modest; the room's walls were painted white, and were only adorned with a few "study tips" posters.
"So, who wants to play?" Fred asked.
"I think I'll sit this one out. I'm not so great at sports, even if it's just pool or table tennis." Velma admitted.
"Like, me too. With my luck, I'd probably accidentally break a window." Shaggy joked in a self-deprecating fashion.
"I don't think I'd be any good at pool, but I wouldn't mind playing table tennis." Luna volunteered.
"Yeah, I'll give table tennis a try too. Can't hurt." Dusk shrugged.
"Sure. Why not?" Thorn suggested.
"I'll play too." Daphne chimed in.
"I would have played as well, but we've got an odd number of people. I'll sit out for this first round, then maybe we can switch." Fred offered.
"Sounds good to me. You can take my place next round." Luna said.
The girls each took their places on either side of the table; with Daphne and Dusk being on one side to comprise one team, and Thorn and Luna being on the other to make up the opposing team. Along with Shaggy and Fred, Velma stood towards the back of the room and watched them.
"Hey, have you guys listened to the records you bought yesterday?" Luna inquired.
"I listened to the Siouxsie one." Thorn responded. "I absolutely love the songwriting of her work. I have to admit, as a songwriter, I'm jealous."
"Woah, you write songs?" Luna exclaimed.
"Yeah." Thorn nodded. "It's actually not as hard as you'd think, at least my opinion. I'd be happy to teach you sometime and write one together, if you'd like."
"I'd love that." Luna replied, still looking a bit in awe at Thorn's talent.
"I'd write one with you guys too, if you'd be willing to teach me." Dusk interjected. "Although it will probably take me a while to get up to speed with what Daphne writes. I read that poem you left out for me to read the other day, and it was amazing. You're an awesome writer."
Velma was admittedly surprised how complimentary Dusk was. Usually she was quite brusk, but perhaps her transition to this school was helping her settle down and be less on edge.
"Thank you so much!" Daphne smiled. "I'm so glad you liked it."
"This was a fun idea, Velma. Thanks for suggesting it." Thorn complimented, switching gears from the current subject. Her voice was cool and even-keeled, but Velma had admittedly noticed that about her. She seemed to exude a personality that was a mix of mysteriousness and not caring what anyone thought of her.
"Thank you!" Velma smiled. She admittedly wasn't sure whether or not she should say her next thought, but she quickly blurted it out, deciding to add a caveat to ensure she didn't offend Thorn. "I'm glad we're doing stuff together now…and I'm sorry again about badmouthing you earlier. You're right that I never gave you a chance to live up to my standards, and that was wrong."
"Thanks, and no worries. I forgive you." Thorn had a faint smile on her face. "Anyway, let's get started playing."
Velma believed it was the first time she'd ever seen her roommate do that. She was glad that Thorn forgave her for treating her so shabbily when they'd first got here. While Thorn's one word reply was not exactly a resounding forgiveness, Velma realized that Thorn clearly did mean that she forgave her, even if she hadn't completely opened up. She didn't mind that Thorn's display of appreciation was brief, because she was gathering that it was just kind of Thorn's personality not to be super open and warm, and that was okay. To Velma, the fact that they were now becoming friends despite her previous mistake was enough.
It had been a nice, relaxing day yesterday, but now it was time to get back into the daily grind with another day of school. Daphne didn't really want to get up this morning, which was rare for her, but she imagined she was just adjusting to the new school.
Nonetheless, she'd dragged herself out of bed and felt a bit better after she'd eaten a good breakfast. History class had just wrapped up, but she knew her work for this class wasn't over. As the gang had discussed yesterday morning, they needed to talk to Marcie.
"Alright everybody, that does it for today's lesson! I'll see you tomorrow!" Mr. B ended class.
"Ready?" Fred asked his friends, once everybody was packing up.
The others didn't respond, they simply nodded or put their thumbs up in response. They quickly walked over to Marcie, who was wearing a yellow shirt, blue jeans, and a pastel yellow bow to keep her hair tied up in a small ponytail on the back of her head. Unfortunately, Daphne saw Gibby over talking to Marcie, appearing to be giving her the same treatment that he had given Daphne and her roommate a few days ago.
"You know, folks say I'm a great tutor. If you ever want help, just let me know." Gibby offered in a slightly flirty voice.
"Umm…okay." Marcie stuttered. She seemed uncertain about what to say to the nerdy womanizer, but thankfully for her, he picked up his backpack and headed out the door. Daphne hoped that wouldn't shake Marcie up too much more.
"Hey, Marcie?" Daphne asked. "We heard about what happened yesterday. We're really sorry."
"Thanks." Marcie smiled. "It was really scary. I just left my room to go get breakfast, and all of a sudden, that…thing…tried to kill me."
"Did it say anything?" Velma bluntly asked.
Daphne internally facepalmed a little. She knew Velma was socially awkward and didn't always know the right thing to say, but surely such a forward question right off the bat would throw her a bit.
"He was speaking in some sort of creepy riddle. I don't remember exactly the words he used, but it was something about how he was going to have a third victim by the time the week was done, and that victim was going to be me." Marcie revealed.
"Oh, how terrifying!" Daphne sympathized. "I'm sorry if we're bothering you. We've seen it too, so we're just wondering if you noticed any clues as to who it was when it chased you."
"No, I'm sorry. I was just trying to escape as fast as I could, so I didn't really pay attention to any details of his appearance, y'know. It all still seems surreal to me." Marcie shared. "It's good to know I'm not the only one who's seen him. He's terrifying. Sounds like Headmistress Quinlan has the police on the case though, which is assuring."
"You poor kids." Mr. B chimed in, to Daphne's surprise. She hadn't realized he was listening in on their conversation. "Nobody your age should have to witness things like this. Marcie, like I told the rest of these guys yesterday, Headmistress Quinlan and all of us are on the lookout, and we're trying to stop whoever this is."
"Who do you think it is, out of curiosity?" Marcie asked. "I just don't understand who would do something so horrible, so I'm curious if anyone has any insight."
"I think it's maybe a kid. A very sick, twisted one, but I just don't know how else anybody would get into the school. Nobody without an ID could get in, so unfortunately, it has to be somebody who had access to the school. I can't imagine a teacher doing anything this heinous, so a kid is my best guess." Mr. B assured.
"The guy looks way too big to be a kid." Fred pointed out.
"I hate to say this, but… it also doesn't look human." Marcie said. "Maybe it can get in the school because it's some sort of ghost that can walk through walls."
"I don't know about you kids, but I don't believe in ghosts. It's probably a kid in a Halloween costume." Mr. B guessed.
"Honestly, I'd buy that. Ghosts aren't real." Dusk sneered.
"Like, he seemed pretty convincing to me." Shaggy gulped.
"There's no way it's a real ghost, Shaggy. Phantoms are just a figment of the imagination." Velma argued.
"I think you're right, Velma." Luna agreed.
"I don't know, I'm leaning more towards Shaggy and Marcie's side." Thorn pondered. "No Halloween costume looks that real."
"Me too." Daphne added.
"You guys really think there are such things as ghosts? I think this is just a really clever and/or really psychotic criminal." Fred presumed.
"You all shouldn't worry about this." Mr. B assured. "Headmistress Quinlan, the police, and I are on this, and we're going to make sure we stop this person as soon as we can."
"I'll see you guys tomorrow, but I need to get to my next class." Marcie said, as she gathered her belongings from her desk and walked out of the classroom.
"Yeah, we should head to class too." Luna prompted the others, looking up at the clock. "We've only got two minutes."
"Thanks for the help and moral support as always, Mr. B." Fred waved, as he too headed out. He paused when he noticed a yellow ribbon of some sort laying on the floor. He picked it up off the ground and examined it, trying to figure out what it was.
"Oh hey, I think this was Marcie's." Daphne said, rushing out in the hall to catch up with her. "Hey Marcie! You forgot your hair tie!"
"Oh!" Marcie exclaimed. She quickly doubled back and walked towards Daphne and the others. "Sorry. That stupid thing is always falling off."
As Marcie headed back in the other direction, the others went the opposite direction to get to their next class.
"That was kind of Mr. B to comfort us." Thorn smiled.
"Eh. I find it a bit generic at this point." Velma retorted.
"I think it's sweet." Daphne disagreed. "I like that he cares about us enough to assure us that everything will be alright."
"I mean, I kinda agree with Velma." Dusk said. "He has no control over the situation. I guess the thought is nice, though."
Daphne had admittedly noticed that Velma could be a bit glass half-empty, and seemed to place her faith heavily in logic rather than human emotion and connection. Dusk, on the other hand, seemed quite snarky and jaded. Nonetheless, she was comforted by Mr. B's advice. Even if Velma and Dusk may be right that there wasn't much Mr. B could do about stopping The Freak from striking again, it was a comforting thought to know that teachers were looking out for them. Maybe Daphne was just too innocent and naïve, but it was relieving to know that the teachers were all in this together to protect the students and stop this fiend as quickly as possible.
To avoid certain freakish circumstances, the gang skipped taking their usual walk outside at night. They instead focused on completing their homework for the day. They'd found a study area that had booths with cushioned seats that were quite comfortable, so they had all gathered there.
"What do you guys think the answer is for #4?" Dusk asked.
"Are you talking about the math worksheet?" Luna inquired.
"No, the history one, from Mr. B." Dusk corrected.
"Dusk, the American Revolution happened in 1776." Thorn laughed. "I would have thought that would have been obvious."
"Well, it would have been, had I actually listened to Mr. B. History bores me to tears, so that class isn't exactly my favorite." Dusk responded.
"It's definitely my favorite class." Daphne chimed in. "Mr. B is amazing. He makes history so much more interesting that it could otherwise be, with the different activities and discussion groups that we do."
"I love it too." Fred replied. "The history teacher at my old school was so boring. He just went chapter to chapter in a textbook, and never deviated from it. I hated that."
"History's interesting and all, but science and math are more my thing." Velma added.
"Like, no thanks!" Shaggy said with a chuckle. "Science and math are, like, my worst subjects. History is so much easier to understand."
"Completely agreed. I've always been fascinated with history stuff." Luna shared. "Although I'm pretty decent at math and science too."
Thorn let out a yawn. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for bed. I'm all finished with my worksheets that are due tomorrow, so I think I'm headed to my room. Coming, Velma?"
"Yeah, I'm all done too." Velma agreed.
"I've still got a couple more problems on Mr. B's worksheet, so I think I'll stay here a little longer." Fred informed.
"Like, me too." Shaggy added.
"A couple?" Dusk exclaimed. "Oh god, I've still got most of the worksheet left!"
"We're going to head back up to the room too, Dusk. Both Luna and I are done." Daphne informed.
"Good luck!" Thorn waved to those still sticking around to finish the worksheet. "We'll see you in the morning."
"Goodnight!" Velma chimed in.
"Poor Dusk. She seems to really struggle in school." Thorn observed, once they were far enough out of Dusk's earshot.
"Yeah. It seems like maybe she just doesn't apply herself as well as she should. If she would have just listened in class, that 1776 question on Mr. B's worksheet would have been easy for her." Velma hypothesized.
Velma couldn't resist the urge to yawn as Thorn unlocked the door to their room. She was exhausted.
"I'm heading straight to bed." Velma informed her roommate.
"Okay, I might stay up a little while and read. I have a book I've been wanting to finish." Thorn stated.
"Sounds good. Goodnight!" Velma said to her roommate, as she headed to her bedroom. She was not somebody who picked out her clothes for the next morning the night before like Thorn did; she just threw on something in a sleepy stupor in the morning. Given this, she quickly went to close the blinds and prepared herself for her voyage to the land of nod.
Sleepily, she glanced out the window. She was just about to close the blinds, but she noticed something odd as she did: there appeared to be some sort of shadow that flashed past her window. She figured it was just her imagination playing tricks on her. Who would be walking outside that late at night?
She proceeded to close the blinds, but her heart almost stopped when she did. Just as she was about to shut the blinds for the night, a grotesque face pressed itself up against the window. It was the face of The Freak.
Velma screamed as The Freak scratched his long fingernails up against the window. She raced out of the room to get Thorn.
"Oh my god, what happened? I heard you scream!" Thorn exclaimed.
"It was at the window!" Velma gasped.
"What was at the window?" Thorn wondered. Velma knew she was probably not explaining things in the clearest way right now, but she was scared to death at the thought of The Freak being right outside her window.
"Him." Velma stuttered, almost too afraid to say the creature's actual name. "The Freak of Crystal Cove High."
Thorn's face quickly fell into a state of anguish. "What?"
"Come look." Velma whimpered. She didn't actually want to look again, but she felt the need to prove to her roommate that they needed to get the heck out of there.
Cautiously, Thorn ran over to the window in their bedroom. She nervously opened the blinds, and saw…nothing. Nothing was there.
"There isn't anyone here, Velma. Maybe it was just your imagination?" Thorn shrugged.
Velma felt like she knew what she saw, and she didn't imagine it. However, chalking it up to her imagination felt like a much more comforting solution than the alternative, which was that she really did see The Freak. She decided to choose comfort over fear as she responded to Thorn.
"Yeah…you must be right. All the murders going on around here must have gotten to me." Velma said. "Sorry to scare you. Goodnight!"
Velma wasn't entirely sure she believed herself, but she was trying to get it into her mind that she was just overtired and had only imagined seeing The Freak outside her room. There was no way The Freak could actually get in her room, so it didn't matter if he was outside their room…right? She could only hope.
"And you mean you actually saw The Freak outside your window last night?" Fred gasped, as he took a bite of his cereal. He couldn't believe what Velma had just told him - The Freak stalking them at night brought this mystery to a whole new level of terrifying if it was true.
"Yes…no…I'm not sure." For how rational Velma usually was, The Freak targeting her seemed to have really shaken her up. Her voice quivered as she tried to explain the situation, despite that she was usually so articulate and well-spoken.
"If it really was The Freak, maybe he would have left something behind outside your window." Fred pointed out.
"We've got a half hour before class. Why don't we check that area out and look for clues?" Thorn suggested.
"Like, what if he's still out there?" Shaggy gulped.
"Well, it'd be seven against one. Besides, he seems to only strike when it's just one person, so it'd be unlikely for him to attack when all of us are out there." Fred comforted.
"The Freak seems cowardly to me. Between Marcie, his victims, and now last night with Velma at the window, he always strikes when the person is alone." Dusk dissed.
"Like, you're forgetting about the time he was in Headmistress Quinlan's office, or when he attacked us outside." Shaggy reminded.
"All of the times he was outside were just him hiding in the shadows, though, and he didn't chase us out of Quinlan's office." Dusk argued. "Seems like a Grade A Coward to me!"
"I wouldn't exactly say a murderer is a coward." Luna commented.
"Dusk has a point." Daphne agreed. "When we're in a group, it always seems to be a quick scare, but then he doesn't chase us. It's only when someone's alone that he strikes. Doesn't mean he's not dangerous, but it does mean there's less risk of us investigating outside Velma's window. I think we should do it."
"Like, do we have to?" Shaggy whimpered.
"How about this?" Thorn suggested. "Shaggy, you can wait inside Velma and Thorn's room. If there's any sign of danger for us, there's no screen on the window, so you can open it and let us in. That solves both our problems."
"I guess I, like, can't argue with that." Shaggy shrugged.
"And the rest of us will go outside and investigate. Everybody finished with breakfast?" Fred inquired.
Everyone nodded in response, with the exception of Dusk, who shoveled down her last couple of bites before putting an affirming thumb up.
"Here's the key to our room, Shaggy." Velma said, as she handed him a gold-colored key ring. "If at any point The Freak is behind us, give us a signal, so we can run."
"Like, will do." Shaggy gulped.
Fred and the others returned their trays to the dishwashing room, and fast-walked through the hallway to get to the front door. They had Mr. B's class in only a half-hour, so they would have to do this quickly.
"Think we'll find anything?" Luna asked.
"No. I don't even know if I actually saw The Freak or not." Velma admitted. "Maybe I was just tired or something…or at least, I hope I was just tired. It's worth a look, though."
"We should be able to do this pretty quickly." Fred stated, as he walked out the front door of the school. Given Velma's room was #105, it was just a few windows away from the entrance to the school. "If there's anything in the general vicinity, we should see it right away."
"And I think I do. Look!" Thorn pointed. Fred almost couldn't believe his eyes at first. It was a tiny little clue that wouldn't likely mean anything to almost any other passerby: a small yellow hair tie. Fred recognized it from yesterday, though.
"That's Marcie's hair tie!" Fred realized.
"Do you think there's a possibility she happened to drop it, and it's unconnected to The Freak?" Daphne inquired.
"No." Fred responded, as he picked up the hair tie once they reached the window, and proceeded to examine it closer. There was a strand of black hair stuck to the hair tie. He knew Marcie had brunette hair, so the color of the strand attached to the hair tie did not match Marcie's hair. "If I were a betting man, I would say Marcie is The Freak."
Thorn gasped. "You mean, that creature is disguising herself as Marcie?"
"I don't think so. More like the other way around." Fred responded. "I think Marcie is dressing up in a Halloween costume to scare us. I don't know why, but it seems like the most likely solution."
At that moment, Shaggy opened the window. "Like, don't worry, there's no danger. What'd you guys find?"
"Evidence as to who The Freak really is. This is Marcie's hair tie, which would tell me that it's her." Fred informed his shaggy-haired pal.
"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed.
"I think this warrants a visit to Marcie's room." Daphne suggested. "Not to accuse her of anything, but we could return her hair tie, and see if we could make her slip about if she's been dressing up as this Freak or not."
Thorn looked at the watch on her wrist. "We've got about 20 minutes, so we'll have to hurry."
"Where exactly is Marcie's room?" Dusk inquired.
"Room 209. Headmistress Quinlan told us that right when she introduced Marcie." Velma reminded.
Fred admittedly hadn't remembered that conversation at all, but he was thankful Velma remembered so that they could investigate.
"Like, man, Velma, I wish I had a memory as good as yours." Shaggy laughed, as he stepped aside so the rest of the gang could climb into the window of Velma and Thorn's room. "C'mon in and take the shortcut."
"Thanks, Shaggy." Fred said, as he climbed in the window and quickly headed for the door, as to get up to room 209 as quickly as possible.
"So what exactly do we say when we talk to Marcie?" Shaggy wondered, as the rest of the gang climbed in the window.
"I think we can just casually ask her about how her hair tie got outside our room. Not in an accusatory manner, but more so just saying it's odd and see where she takes the conversation." Thorn suggested. Fred thought this was a great suggestion. At least from the mystery and crime television he watched in his free time, usually the killer would slip up one way or another. If Marcie was responsible for these murders, which it seemed she was, she would be liable to say something that would admit guilt sooner or later if pressured.
The seven friends quickly hurried out of Velma's room and headed up the stairs to the second floor. They would have to make it very quick, as if they didn't hurry, they would be late for class.
Fred held open the door to the stairwell, as his six friends headed up to Marcie's room. He hadn't realized it would be so close by, but he quickly realized that room 209 was directly next to the stairwell.
"Well, this is the place, gang." Fred said. He softly rapped on the door, and waited a moment, but nobody answered.
"Try knocking harder." Dusk said, as she hit the door more forcefully with her fist.
"You don't need to hit it that hard, Dusk." Thorn laughed. "You're knocking on a door, not punching somebody in the face."
"Well, I wanted her to hear me." Dusk snarked back.
The door opened slowly with a creak. Fred had expected to see Marcie standing there, but instead, they saw…nobody. There was no one anywhere near the door, which Fred found very strange.
"Should we go in?" Daphne inquired.
"Like, I'd prefer not." Shaggy gulped.
"Yeah, I'd say we can." Velma answered, ignoring Shaggy's anxious musing.
"Hello?" Thorn called, as she cautiously stepped in the room.
"Is anybody here?" Velma followed.
The only response was an eerie silence.
Fred stepped into the room, and much like his and Shaggy's room, there was an entryway blocking his line of sight. He continued walking further into the room to see the living room, kitchenette, and the bathroom. Fred was only able to see the living room and kitchen though, as the bathroom door was shut. He glanced rapidly from side to side, looking to see if there was anybody in the room. He didn't see anyone, but he quickly saw something that horrified him.
"What is that?" Luna shrieked when she looked over towards the sink.
There was a huge knife laying on the kitchen counter, and it was covered in dried blood.
"We need to get out of here." Daphne panicked.
"Like, you can say that again!" Shaggy cried out, as he began running in the other direction.
Fred agreed, but he couldn't help quickly glancing at a piece of paper on the counter. It had pictures of Elliott and the long blond-haired kid. To his shock, Fred saw red X's drawn in marker through both of their faces on the sheet of paper. It was more clear than ever that Marcie was the killer. There was also another thing that was now more clear than ever to Fred: Daphne was right; they needed to get out of there immediately. It was extremely clear they were never supposed to see any of this.
At that moment, the bathroom door creaked open, revealing the same ghastly white face with long black hair that had haunted Fred's dreams ever since he saw it in Headmistress Quinlan's office.
"You will never share with the world what you have witnessed. Now, I'm afraid that you and your friends will be finished!" The Freak rasped.
Fred didn't need any more incentive to get out of there as fast as humanly possible. He sprinted with all his might, and burst out the door to make a break for the stairwell. He had figured maybe The Freak would follow his previous pattern and not chase them, given they were all in a group. Fred decided to take a quick glance behind him as he was running. He unfortunately realized that this was a huge mistake, as it did not calm him down in the slightest. In fact, it only made him even more panicked out of his mind, as The Freak was running down the stairs right behind him.
When Fred made it to the bottom of the stairwell with his friends, he could hear Shaggy shout something that sounded like "where are we going?" However, Shaggy didn't slow down at all when he yelled this, nor was Fred going to, so it was difficult to hear. He thought he'd heard Velma say Mr. B's classroom, but he figured he'd just follow Velma wherever she was running regardless. That seemed like the best solution, given he couldn't fully hear her due to the fast pace all of them were running at. If Velma had said the classroom, it was a very smart solution. There was safety in numbers, and going into a classroom with a lot of people would be their best chance to survive The Freak.
Fred secretly hoped that The Freak would stop chasing them once they got to the first floor, but a quick look behind him showed him that his wishes were for naught. They'd almost made it to the classroom now, and it would be very interesting to see if The Freak would try to take on 20 students and a teacher.
"In here!" Velma shouted, as she darted into Mr. B's classroom. Fred and the others were quick to follow.
They must have been a minute or two late, as Mr. B was already speaking as they entered the room. Shaggy began to shout regardless of this, as he should; a supernatural murderer chasing them seemed like as good of an excuse as you could get to disrupt the class.
"Like, I don't mean to alarm anybody, but we're getting chased by the murderer!" Shaggy screamed.
"What?!" Mr. B's eyes lit up with shock, as he rushed to the door.
Fred's heart was racing, wondering what Mr. B would possibly say next when he saw The Freak running towards the door.
Velma, Thorn, Luna, Fred, Dusk and Daphne were all panting, as they slowed down from their lightning-speed pace once they got into the classroom.
"Kids, you seem really worked up, so something must have scared you, but…there's nothing there." Mr. B informed, as he took a look out in the hall.
"What?" Fred exclaimed. He had to see this for himself. He hurried over to the door and peeked his head outside. To his surprise, Mr. B was absolutely right.
The hallway was eerily empty, with not a soul anywhere in sight. It was as if the whole thing had never happened.