- ONE WEEK EARLIER -

"Like, man, Scoob, this is livin'!"

Shaggy and Scooby sat in the dining hall eyeing the endless plates of turkey, steak, mashed potatoes, corn, and chocolate cake in front of them.

"Reah! Reah!" Scooby cried in delight as he buried his muzzle into the mountain of food.

There was nobody else in the hall other than a grumpy old cook who seemed displeased when he saw a young scruffy man and a strange-looking dog devouring his buffet.

"Hey! What do you two think you're doing!"

The cook stormed over to where Scooby and Shaggy were sitting. His fists clenched and his face contorted into a scowl. They jumped, immediately ceasing their eating.

"Don't you know you should only take what you can eat?"

The cook aggressively pointed to a sign on the wall reading: ONLY TAKE WHAT YOU CAN EAT!

Shaggy laughed nervously. "Um, sir, like, this is what we can eat!"

"Reah!"

The cook glared at them.

"How the hell would you two be able to –

And the food was gone within seconds. The cook stood frozen in shock, unable to process what had happened.

"You want seconds, Scoob?"

"Of course!"

"In all my years of working in the restaurant industry, this is the first time I've seen anyone eat as much as you . . . and as fast as you."

The cook took off his chef's hat in a gesture of respect, revealing his graying tousled hair. "I'm Barny. Barny Greene."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Shaggy, and this is –

"Scooby-Doo!" Scooby interjected, grabbing the last slice of cake and shoving it into his mouth.

Barney chuckled despite himself. "I've never met a talking dog! I'm sorry about earlier - it's just that with everything going on lately I've been . . . on edge."

"Like, what's wrong?"

"We've been having really low numbers of guests here lately. I don't know if it's because it's extra cold this year or if it's because of something else . . ."

"W – What do you mean?" Shaggy could tell there was a sense of unease in Barny's voice.

Barney glanced around his shoulder nervously. "Real weird things have been going on around here. Electronics acting up. Wildlife disappearing. Something's not right. Most of the staff quit a few weeks ago. Lisa the tour guide, Janice the receptionist . . . everyone except for me, Helen the housekeeper, Ron the gardener, and Mr. Dale Dinkley stuck around."

Shaggy trembled, holding Scooby for comfort.

"I guess you two want to get out of here as soon as you can," Barney sighed. "What are you two doing here anyways?"

"We're friends of Velma's. Her dad is Mr. Dinkley," Shaggy explained, his voice cracking. "He invited us to stay here for the week."

Barny frowned. "Now why would he do that? He knows there's something weird going on. Why would he ask you guys to come now?"

Shaggy hesitated, the pieces slowly clicking into place. His stomach dropped.

"Oh, like, of course," Shaggy groaned, running his hand through his hair. "He didn't invite us here for a vacation. He wants us to solve another mystery."