- ONE WEEK EARLIER -

The cabin's interior was nicer than Daphne expected. After seeing the poor maintenance of the museum and library, she assumed the cabins would be the same way – dusty and unkempt. But everything was spotless. The beds were neatly made, the furniture dusted, and the bathroom scrubbed clean.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Daphne cried, throwing herself onto one of the twin beds. The small cabin had a modest kitchen and living room, separated from the bedroom.

Velma dragged her suitcase inside, nodding. "Yeah. I've heard Helen keeps these cabins really nice."

"She's the housekeeper, right?" Daphne propped her head in her hands.

"Yeah. Dad says she's mean and uptight, but who knows what she's really like," Velma muttered, her voice wavering. "Since Dad's lied to me about almost everything."

"Hey," Daphne said softly as she sat up. "Your dad cares about you. He couldn't disclose that information about the true history of what happened here. He could've gotten fired. What he's told us now puts him in a tight spot. But he trusts us, Velma."

"I know, but still . . ." Velma sighed. "How would you feel if your parents told you bedtime stories about a 'true' legend, but it ended up being a lie?"

Daphne looked down. "It's happened with my mother . . . I mean, about the Princess Fairy. But we don't talk about that." Daphne waved her hand, as though brushing the thought away. "Besides, I'm sure your dad didn't tell you the real story since you were kind of a talker as a kid."

Velma let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I guess."

Outside, the sun had finally set. The world outside was pitch dark except for a flickering streetlamp. More cabins stood on the other side of the dirt road with one of them belonging to the boys. Shaggy nearly lost it when he, Fred, and Scooby were assigned Cabin 13.

By the time teeth were brushed and pajamas put on, exhaustion set in. Velma and Daphne were now lying in their beds, staring at the ceiling.

"I bet Shaggy and Scooby are desperate to get out of this place after everything we told them," Daphne whispered. "I mean . . . I don't really blame them. We don't even know what we're up against . . . there weren't any sightings. Just . . . signs."

"My dad's being paranoid," Velma replied, folding her arms behind her head. "He couldn't have possibly released an evil spirit from the dead. It's scientifically impossible."

"I mean, weird things do happen, Velma," Daphne said. "Things nobody can explain. Like what's inside a black hole . . . or the depths of my closet."

"Nobody wants to see the back of your closet, Daph," Velma laughed. "You have so many clothes in there to bury someone."

Daphne laughed soflty, her eyes growing heavy. "Goodnight, V."

"Goodnight, Daph."

And within minutes, both were overcome with sleep.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

- 2 AM: 6 DAYS EARLIER -

Velma's eyes snapped open. She sat up with a start.

She looked around the room widely. She had no idea why she woke up; it was still pitch dark. The room was silent, save for Daphne's soft snoring. According to the alarm clock on the nightstand, it was 2:00 AM. Velma frowned. She was usually a heavy sleeper.

It was probably a bad dream.

Sighing, Velma laid back down into the comfort of her quilted blanket. And then she looked up.

There was a shadow stretched across the ceiling.

Her breath caught in her throat. The shadow was so dark, it had a stark contrast against the already pitch-black room. Velma couldn't quite tell what the shadow was – human? She couldn't tell. The head was small, its long arms stretching across the ceiling. The legs were long too as well, disappearing beyond the edges of the room.

Velma felt like her body was frozen in place. She felt heavy. But then she remembered she wasn't wearing glasses. That was it. She was seeing things. The darkness was tricking her eyes and her body.

Velma reached for her glasses on the nightstand and slid them on.

The shadow remained.

It had no face – just like a normal shadow. The shadow began to slowly move its extremities. There was something sickeningly playful about it. The shadow looked as though it were dancing, moving its arms slowly and deliberately, almost like a puppet.

Velma felt a drop in the room's temperature. Her breath plumed.

Then she felt a sensation wash over her. Her limbs felt heavy. Her mind was in a fog. She suddenly felt like letting go . . . letting herself go to a better place.

Her eyelids drooped. She was almost there –

And then there was a piercing scream that shattered those thoughts. Daphne.

Velma jolted out of her trance as she jumped out of bed and across the room to where Daphne stood. She was in the corner, shaking terribly. Velma flipped on the bedside lamp.

"Velma, what – what's happening?"

Velma followed Daphne's gaze.

The shadow was still there. Now with dimmed light, the shadow looked even darker - almost like a never-ending void of something almost human.

Velma felt Daphne's nails dig into her arm.

"Daph . . . we – we've got to move . . ." Velma felt her words come out slowly, sluggish. She couldn't think straight again. Her brain felt like fog.

Daphne's breathing hitched. "Yeah . . ."

But neither of them could move.

Velma struggled against the feeling. It felt like an eternity before Velma shook herself back to reality. This was their chance.

"Daphne, come on!" Velma grabbed Daphne's arm and dragged her towards the bedroom door. They reached the front door and Velma flung it open. They stumbled out into the freezing night.

Their feet burned from the snow, but they did not stop. They had a destination in mind – Cabin 13.

Velma and Daphne banged against the door as hard as they could, gasping for breath.

"FRED! SHAGGY!" Daphne screamed, her fists flying against the door. "OPEN UP!"

Velma threw herself against the door. She knew the shadow was probably after them. Chasing them. "SHAGGY! FRED! SCOOBY! HELP!"

Nothing.

Velma looked over her shoulder. She let out a breath of relief when she saw nothing there.

Suddenly, the door swung open to reveal Fred in his pajamas, his hair disheveled from sleep. Behind him, Shaggy was holding a plate of fresh stacked pancakes, looking utterly confused.

Daphne and Velma pushed themselves past them and into the warmth of the cabin, gasping for air.

"What in the world happened to you guys?" Fred said in shock, looking between Velma and Daphne. "And why aren't you wearing shoes?"

"There . . . there was something on our ceiling . . ." Velma panted, wrapping her arms around herself. "I – I think it wanted to hurt us . . ."

Shaggy went pale. "Like, what kind of something?"

Fred took Velma and Daphne by the shoulders and guided them to the couch. Velma and Daphne huddled together, still shaking with cold. Scooby entered the room, whining as he saw Daphne and Velma so scared.

"Rhat's wrong?"

"We – We saw a shadow . . ." Daphne whispered. "But it wasn't a shadow. Or, it was, but it was so –

"Dark," Velma breathed, bringing her knees up to her chest. "And it was shaped like a person . . . but not a person. It was almost like . . ."

"A void," Daphne said. "But it was shaped like a human."

"But it wasn't at the same time . . ." Velma felt tears sting her eyes again. She experienced something. Something she couldn't explain.

Shaggy shuddered. He and Fred sat themselves onto the opposite couch, with Scooby lying at the girls' feet.

"A – A shadow?" Shaggy stammered.

"A void?" Fred said. "Oh, my God. Wait . . . are you guys hurt?"

"No," Daphne said. "Just scared . . . Velma saved me . . . I - I couldn't move, Fred."

"It had a strange hypnotic effect," Velma continued, meeting the questioning gazes of Fred and Shaggy. "I don't know what would've happened if we stayed like that . . ."

"Well, we now know one thing," Fred said. "We know your dad was on to something, Velma. And we're going to find out who's behind this."

"We are?" Shaggy trembled. "This seems dangerous. Like, I don't think we've ever had something like this happen before . . . whoever is behind this had a hypnotic effect on the girls . . . but also impacted their ability to move. It's probably best if we –

"No," Velma interjected. "We need to find out who's behind this. Their messing with my dad's property. We need to bring him to justice."

"I – I'm with Velma," Daphne said. "This is her dad we're talking about, Shaggy."

"Alright! All in favor of solving this mystery and getting Crescent Hill back in business, raise your hand!" Fred stood as he raised his hand. He looked down at Scooby. ". . . Or paw!"

Daphne and Velma simultaneously raised their hands. They looked down at Scooby, who whined.

"Oh, all right," Scooby sighed, raising his paw.

They all looked across the room to Shaggy, who was crossing his arms in contempt. He met Velma's gaze. Shaggy hesitated. He knew how much the preserve meant to her father.

Then he slowly raised his hand.