Work Text:
August 1972
9:40
A chilling breeze raced throughout the summer night. It rustled the tree branches and tore through the air, chilling anything in its path.
The woods were empty this time of night, with cold pitch black darkness draped over its thickets. Drowning out any light that dared entered from the starlit sky. One light, however, flew throughout the woods, casting a yellowish hue on everything in its path. This light was unnatural, casted from a multi-colored van decorated with bright flowers and bold lettering on its side.
Its interior contained a mood that could not have been more opposite to the dark, wind-chilled woods. It was one of joy and camaraderie. Shared by a man and his canine best friend.
“Man. Like it sure was nice of your sister to invite us out at such short notice!” The man known as Shaggy Rogers declared aloud.
“Rah!” His dog, Scooby-Doo, barked an enthusiastic response. “Rood times.”
“I just hope we can get there before midnight.” Shaggy mentioned, “It sure would be nice to get my eight hours.”
“Reah!” Scooby agreed with a chuckle.
“Hey Scoob, why don’t ya put on some tunes. It'll help pass the time.”
“Ro-k,” the dog happily agreed. He reached for a Grateful Dead CD and shoved it into the player. Then proceed to shove a handful of chips into his mouth. His loud crunching noise filled the van, the sound, trailing outside into the woods.
Shaggy turned the music up causing the noise to echo around them. Filling them with a shared sense of energy.
“Like man Scoob! That is my jam, haha!” Shaggy cried as the chorus hit. Scooby didn’t reply; he was too busy gorging himself with the various snacks stashed in the back seat of the van.
“Like I hope you're planning on sharing some of that old pal.” Shaggy knew the back was overstuffed with salty chips, frozen meats, and Scooby Snacks. But he also knew just how fast his dog could turn a lifetime supply into a two hour one-course-meal once the first bite was taken.
“Like I don’t want yo-,” He was cut off by Scooby shoving a cookie into his mouth. The taste was heavenly. He had already been driving for a couple hours without a bite to eat and the munchers were starting to hit hard. “Ha ha ha, like maybe I'll have a turkey sandwich--and-and a side of corn chips and maybe a bit of Coke to wash it down.”
“Rou got it!” Scooby-Doo began to prepare Shaggy requests while also simultaneously devouring parts of it. After all, his friend was too distracted to stop him.
“Truckin” soon filled the atmosphere, loud enough for the near-by nocturnal critters to enjoy. The two paid no mind to the rest of the world around them. They remained lost in their own version of heaven.
“Like Scoob, I could have sworn I asked for mayonnaise on this turkey sandwich.” Shaggy raised suspicion, after tasting nothing but dry bread.
“Rooops,” Scooby replied with a burp. “Roway.” He then laughed it off as if it was no big deal.
Shaggy rolled his eyes. He knew his dog was just being silly, but still, would it hurt him to save a little decent food for the driver?”
A deep fog fell over the atmosphere. It seemed to have come out of nowhere as if a cloud had suddenly dropped down from the sky and settled itself on this very woods. It danced over the vans headlights, making them increasingly obsolete.
Shaggy turned down the music to focus on the obscuring road. “Hey! What's with all this funky fog?” Like I can’t see a thing, Scoob!”
Scooby-Doo, still chilling in the back, nursed his third cup of soda. “Reuroo,” he barked something inaudible. Clearly his attention still lay on the food.
“Man, I think I will have to pull us over.” As if on command, the van came to a sudden halt, causing a foot long sandwich Scooby had stacked to jolt ahead, painting itself all over the van’s windshield. Scooby cried in horror at the massacre of his perfectly prepared sandwich. Shaggy feelings were not mutual.
“Way to go…old…pal..” He moaned with annoyance. Scooby, a little less cheerful than before, replied with the classic “rorry raggy,” followed by a small disheartened laugh.
“Like it’s fine, man, but you're scraping it off” His mind raced before he remembered. “I wonder why the van mysteriously stopped out of nowhere?”
Shaggy got out to investigate, ordering Scooby to come with him. He refused as usual. “I can’t offer you any Scooby Snacks because you ate them all!” He reminded the dog. “Ro yeah,” he replied as he rubbed his belly “relicious.”
Shaggy’s patience felt like it was starting to get lost in the fog. “And it’s not like you haven’t been in a dark creepy forest a hundred times over.” Shaggy reminded him. But he still didn’t budge. “I'll let you have the rest of my peanut butter glazed donut.” Scooby ears perked up at the sound of such buzz words. “With, the rest of that beef burrito I ordered from that takeout place downtown.” Shaggy bargained. It was sold.
The fog still lay heavy, however one could still make out the vibrant, eye-catching paint of the van. The duo stayed close to it, cuddling around it for security as they tended to the repairs. Scooby creeped back inside after retrieving a hand-held window wiper. While Shaggy gazed around with a brightly lit flashlight for any signs of distress or damage to their vehicle.
After minutes of searching he finally gave up, retreating back in the van for warmer surroundings. The squashed pizza was gone, however he noticed the wiper was devoid of staining.
“Like don’t tell me you licked it off.” Scooby made a “you got me face.” followed by a sheepish shrug. Sometimes Shaggy wondered about that dog.
A few minutes passed by as they both sat in silence. Shaggy tried hard not to doze off, hoping by some miracle that the van would start any minute and they could get the heck out of this spooky forest. Thankfully the fog began to clear, slowly but surely.
“Look, I can see the road again!” Shaggy cheered. He tried to get Scooby to look, but his friend was already beginning to nod off, in no state to celebrate. At this rate they could better check the condition of the van within ten or so minutes. Shaggy hoped.
10:30
Minutes passed, ten, fifteen, twenty. It felt like hours as Shaggy watched the old wrist watch his grandfather had left him. The batteries were frequently changed and the time was always right. It was one of the ways he kept the memory of his grandfather close. But now, staring at it failed to bring the usual comfort.
A bright light caught Shaggy's eye. He turned slightly to see a reflection in the rear view minor. A glowing yellowish circle illuminated the darkness. It took a second for him to realize what it was, it felt like he hadn't seen a light that bright in ages. But the reality soon settled. A headlight.
It grew larger and larger, becoming less of a circle and more of a messy patch of bright intensely. It was headed right for them, soon to clash with their van.
“Wake up Scoob!” Shaggy cried, his voice stripped with panic. “We gotta exit stage left!” Scooby’s eyes fluttered open as he jumped in fright. “Rhat?” He asked, confused. “Come on!” Shaggy pushed open the door with as much speed as he could muster. His dog darted after him, but not before grabbing the last sandwich. There had already been too many delicious casualties after all.
They gazed in horror as a black car was about to collide with their van. They shielded their eyes hoping to not witness the trauma that was about to unfold in front of them. Three. Two. One…..
Silence. Shaggy worked up the courage to peek through his shaky fingertips. He saw Scooby, curled up in a ball, eyes covered, shaking harder than the trees in the forest.
The door opened as a silhouette soon emerged from the darkness. It stepped into the headlights to reveal a man, who was about in his thirties. Dressed in a casual plain grey tank top and blue jeans. His bushy brown bread hung down about 6”, making it the defining feature to his skinny figure. He looked concerned as he shined a flashlight near the duo, careful not to blind them.
Shaggy breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the fear ooze out of him. “Like it’s cool Scoob, it’s just another dude.”
“Yall needing some assistance?” He asked, gazing over at the van. “Ya blow a tire or something?”
Shaggy laughed, quite embarrassed. “Like we're not sure what happened, we just stopped out of nowhere man!”
The man approached Shaggy, giving him a firm handshake. He induced himself as Buck and offered to drive the boys to wherever they needed to go.
A shiver ran up Scooby’s back. There was something off about his smell, sure it was unfamiliar, but it was also offputting. Not welcoming like a warm batch of cheesy chimichangas. He looked normal though, maybe he was just imagining things.
“Like wow! You would do that?” He nodded with a smile.
“Sure! You know, hitchhikers get stuck out here all the time.
“Looks like we found our ticket out of here, ay, Scooby-Doo?”
Scooby didn't say “rayeah.” Instead he cuddled close to the van, still shaking with uncertainty. Shaggy was really starting to get annoyed. Why did his dog have to slow down and inconvenience everything on roadtrips? Normally Shaggy would be right there with him. Goofing around and inhaling every morsel of food. But that was when they were traveling with the rest of their high school, mystery solving, friends. This was different, Shaggy now held all the responsibilities. Without a level head, the two of them would have gotten lost beyond hope hours ago, never getting this far into the forest in the first place.
Shaggy grinned as an idea popped into his head. “Oh..k…guess I’ll have to leave old Scooby here with all the ghosts and goblins living in this here creepy woods.
“Rhosts, rodlins!?”
“That’s right, rhosts and roblins. Now hurry up, would ya Scoob?” He obeyed, finding his way to the back seat while Shaggy occupied the front passenger seat.
A sense of calm washed over Shaggy; he was glad to have company. “Like I think my buddy's got a screw loose, hahaha.”
“Reyah,” Scooby agreed, “rhee hee h-......rait second!?”
Like, I tell ya.” Shaggy laughed.
“So where ya boys headed?” Buck asked as the car began to pull away from the van.
Scooby watched it out the rear window as the oh so familiar vehicle drifted further and further out of sight. He had the urge to wave to it as if saying goodbye to an old friend. But Shaggy had already poked fun at him once tonight, no need to give him more material.
“Like, we're heading to the Salty Seas music festival. Me and Scooby-Doo dig the vibes of an outdoor show, don’t we pal?”
“Ryeah,” Scooby replied with an eye roll. He was growing tired of Shaggy, although he struggled to pinpoint exactly why. The two of them were inseparable within the company of the rest of the gang.
Buck looked pleased. “I enjoy my fair share of festivals around here too.”
“Wow! Hear that Scoob? Like, what do ya like, Summer of Freedom? Johnny’s Rockin Palooza?”
“Nothing you boys would be interested in.”
This was enough for Scooby, he yawned and tried to make himself comfortable on the backseat. The seats were crafted out of hard leather, making it difficult to find comfort in something so firm. He gazed at the roof of the vehicle while his body lay down with his legs stretched out. The space was hopelessly limited.
He thought he could see some faint lettering printed on the roof above him. But it was too faint to make out and he had left his microscope back in the van.
“How’s about some beats!” Shaggy exclaimed. His gaze attempted to locate a radio, only to find that there was none. “Huh? Like, what kind of car doesn’t have a radio?”
“My car is very old,” Buck said flatly. “Passed down from my late father, made in the 1930s.
“Aw man, I’m sorry about that dude. Shaggy was filled with sympathy “Like, my grandfather passed a few years back.”
“That's rough, I’m sorry.”
“It’s all good, he did leave me this groovy watch.” It was hard to make out the frame in the dark so he had no idea what time it was.
“How did he go?”
“Huh?” Shaggy was a bit taken aback before the question sank in. “Oh, ah, it was just age, man. He was pretty old.” He paused. “But hey he's always here groovin’ alongside Scoob and I!”
“That sounds peaceful,” Buck started….. “Mine was killed.”
“Zonkies! A silver run of Shaggy’s spin. “Like h-h-h-ow did that happen?”
“Ya ever heard of the Red Keepers?”
“No-o,” Shaggy stammered, fearful for where this was headed.
“Yeah, well, they're a cult and a pretty bad one at that. They kill innocent people, believing the act will add the remainder of their victims' lifespan to their own. My father was young when died, only 27.”
“Like, s-s-orry I asked!” Shaggy squeaked, now in full body goosebumps from the horror of such a tail.
Buck chuckled a bit “hey we don’t need to dwell on all that now, did you see the game last night?”
11:50
The forest dragged on for miles with no end in sight. Although the fog had cleared, the area still lay in a dead, dark, silence. The only light shining came from their car, as it dragged them along the endless path. This ride was not the same cheerful party as before, with music so loud all woodland life could hear. It was now nothing but dead, sleepy silence.
Shaggy quickly grew bored of Buck’s uninteresting topics of small talk. Things such as his mid-spring hunting experiences and his friends' social club couldn't have been more boring to the seventeen year old. Scooby lay asleep in the back completely disconnected from reality. Shaggy envied his best friend, he was growing quite tired himself, but felt it would be irresponsible to doze off before they reached their destination. Still, he grew weary of staring into endless darkness.
He glanced down, squinting hard to make out the time shown on his grandfather’s watch. It seemed to be nearing midnight.
This couldn’t be right…..even with the delays they should have been at the hotel half an hour ago. They must be lost.
“Hey Buck man, I think we may be, like, spinning in circles here. Shaggy unfolded a curled up map from his pocket. “Like it says here that we should be-”
“Taking a short cut.” Buck interrupted. “It’s faster this way, trust me, I take it all the time.”
“If you say so man.” Truth was, Shaggy hadn’t felt this uneasy since he consumed three month old enchiladas. But as the hippie lifestyle preached it was always better to trust someone then to be left alone in this world,
“Have you guys ever seen a dead body before?”
“Yikes!” Shaggy gulped “Like what kind of road trip question is that?”
“I mean your grandfather, did you ever see him, after?”
Silence. Shaggy had no idea what to say, let alone process such a personal question.
“Sorry, it’s just that I usually get into some pretty hard core talks with folks like yourselves, seeing as we will never see each other again. I find it helps others as well as myself to talk about the details of traumatic events. Especially since I’m studying to become a psychologist.
“Oh haha, you sure gave me the willys there for a sec, good thing Scoob wasn’t awake for that one! Like, you must get a lot of hitchhikers around these woods, for a second I thought Scoob and I were the only ones!”
“There were plenty…hippies like you,” His eyes turned cold as he faced his passenger. “Ones who broke down, ones who trusted strangers.
Shaggy laughed hysterically “Boy were they dumb, everyone knows you shouldn't tr-” A wicked, almost inhuman looking smile grew over Buck’s face. He stared at Shaggy, eyes unblinking, face twisted into a grin that carried some kind of sick pleasure.
Shaggy’s heart sank as he realized what he’d done. Now all he ever wanted was to wake up, back in the van, with Scooby telling him he dozed off in the motel parking lot. The two would share a laugh as they grab a bite to eat. But instead here they were, stuck at the mercy of this unknown.
The deranged man began to laugh; it started slowly but rapidly increased to a high pitched cackle. Shaggy’s heart began to beat faster with the reach of every octave. The piercing sound caused Scooby to jump in fright, frantic to make sense of what he heard.
“Raggy rhut’s happening?”
Too breathless to answer, Shaggy attempted to escape. He pushed on the passenger door as hard as his body would allow, but it still didn’t budge as if it were yet another monster trying to keep him in.
They were too paralyzed with fear to try any self defense, their response to danger had always been to run, it kept them safe, always keeping distance between them and the danger. But now they unwillingly had run towards it.
No sound passed their lips as their bodies struggled to function, crumbling under the high anxiety. They had felt plenty of fear, but not like this. This was not fun, not exciting. This was sheer terror.
The car began speeding up, winding down a path that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, plunging itself into even deeper darkness.
Shaggy and Scooby clung to each other, frantically shaking, dreading every second.
A group of lights came into view revealing a field filled with other people, each carrying something to illuminate the darkened area. There must have been over a dozen of them crowding around, waiting for the car to come to a stop.
The two had seen countless monsters, but nothing like this…this was real. Not vampires, ghosts, or zombies, these were just people.
“You boys have made a big mistake!” Buck roared with excitement.
“Just like my father did…….”