- 3 AM: 6 DAYS EARLIER -

"Alright. Shag and I are going to check out that cabin."

They were now sitting around the dimly lit living room of the guys' cabin, each holding a mug of Shaggy's "famous" hot chocolate. Scooby lay asleep on the floor, snoring softly. Daphne and Velma were wrapped in blankets, still shaken from what they experienced.

Shaggy perked up from his chair. "No. No way, Fred. I am not going in there."

Fred shot him a look.

"It might be gone already," Velma murmured, looking into her mug. "It didn't follow us . . ."

Daphne shook her head. "It's still in our room. I just know it is. And I don't think it's safe to go in there. Like Velma and I said, it had some kind of psychological effect on us . . . It was something otherworldly. We couldn't move. If Velma hadn't . . ." And she shuddered, remembering how close she was to succumbing to the darkness.

"Daph, this isn't some supernatural thing," Velma gripped her mug tightly, her knuckles turning white. "It's just the perpetrator's ingenious way of getting people hypnotized or something. The shadow was obviously projected somehow . . ."

Shaggy bounced his knees with anxiety. "Like, we don't even have any suspects. I mean, who could really be behind this? We don't have any leads."

"Reah, we do!"

Everyone went silent, startled by Scooby's sudden alertness. Scooby's eyes met Velma's.

Velma sat up straight. "What is it, Scooby?"

"I smelled romething off with Barny."

Shaggy groaned. "Oh, Scoob, not this again!"

Scooby turned to him sharply. "No! I smelled it!"

"Shut up, Shaggy," Velma snapped, her eyebrows raised with curiosity. She turned back to Scooby. "Scooby, who's Barny?"

"He was the rook at the rood court," Scooby explained. "He smelled like – like . . ."

"He couldn't even explain it to me," Shaggy interjected.

"Well . . . he smelled really rad."

Daphne gave him a confused look. "He smelled rad?"

"No! Rad!"

"He says he smelled bad," Shaggy said. "But I didn't smell anything. I mean, I know Scoob's a dog, but still."

Fred suddenly stood. "Alright, enough talking. We're wasting time. Let's go, Shag."

"But, like –

"No 'buts.' Come on. Whatever was in there, we need to investigate. It really influenced you two somehow," Fred looked at Daphne and Velma, who were still wrapped in their blankets. "You guys stay here with Scoob . . . which cabin was it again?"

"Cabin 9," Velma said.

"Oh, great," Shaggy slapped a hand to his face. "Another unlucky number."