The gang woke the following day to gusty winds and an overcast sky, but Ihaan and Ro navigated them through Anima Nipissing back to their campsite. They pulled their canoes to the dock, and Freddie and Velma disembarked, tying them up.
Ihaan watched as they unloaded their canoes and headed toward a green van parked in the parking lot. He finally paddled to an overgrown section of the forest and hid his canoe behind branches. Ro landed on his arm, and Ihaan left his boat. Bow and arrow in hand, he emerged in the parking lot as the gang carried their canoes to their van and strapped them down.
By the time everything concluded, Shaggy and Scooby whined and collapsed onto their backsides, Shaggy saying, “Oh, my poor arms. I can’t feel them, Scoob.”
“Reah. Me reither.” Scooby rubbed his front leg and showed Shaggy a limp paw.
“Relax, you two,” Freddie said, opening the driver’s side of the Mystery Machine and sticking the key in the ignition. “We’re not going to canoe today; we’re going to take Ihaan to meet Stan.” He turned the key, and the van started, releasing a loud huff.
Ihaan jumped and leaped behind Daphne. He cautiously peered out.
“Oops. Sorry, Ihaan.” Fred chuckled hesitantly and opened the Mystery Machine’s passenger door.
Shaggy and Scooby stood simultaneously and muttered, heading for the back doors.
“Just tell us we’re not going to see a ghost today,” Shaggy begged, putting his hands together in prayer. “Pretty please.”
“Sorry, guys,” Freddie said, “but we must catch that demon bear. While Velma hasn’t solved the mystery yet, I have a plan.”
“Hey!” Velma argued. She appeared slightly offended but also playful. “I’m getting there with the mystery, Fred.”
“The demon bear.” Ihaan emerged from Daphne and stroked Ro under her beak.
Daphne left him and joined Fred, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby at the Mystery Machine. “Are you coming, Ihaan?” she called, cupping her hand around her mouth. “It’s okay if you don’t want to. I won’t taunt you with Scooby Snacks.”
At the words “Scooby Snacks”, Shaggy and Scooby zoomed to Daphne like racecars and held up their hands and paws like begging felines.
“For the love of—!” Daphne snapped. “You two are impossible.” She reached into the van and grabbed another box of Scooby Snacks.
“What can I say?” Shaggy inquired, catching one biscuit in his mouth. “Scooby and I live on Scooby Snacks. Yum, General Tso’s Chicken taste, too, Scoob.”
“Reneral Tso?” Scooby took the box from Daphne and shook a few snacks into his trap, licking his lips.
Ihaan soon approached, Ro hovering beside him, and Daphne said, “Oh. Would you like to try one, Ihaan?” She offered him a Scooby Snack, and Ihaan accepted. His face lit up once he swallowed, leaving Shaggy laughing.
“I know! They’re delicious, aren’t they, Ihaan? Like, the best part of any mystery.”
“Yeah! Rest!” Scooby agreed.
After a few more Scooby Snacks, Scooby, Shaggy, and Ihaan climbed into the Mystery Machine from the back, and Shaggy closed the doors.
Ihaan sniffed the unique car smell and set down his weapons. He hugged Ro and moved toward the back of Fred’s seat.
He rolled down the window and placed his elbow on the frame. “Are we ready, gang?”
Ihaan answered by crawling over the seat and sticking his head out the window like a dog. A gust of wind massaged his tan face. Daphne and Velma pulled him back in, and Ihaan groaned, releasing Ro.
“Ready,” Daphne and Velma said, keeping Ihaan steady.
“We’ve got him, Fred,” Daphne mused, and Fred grinned.
He backed the van up, put it in drive, and turned onto the main forest road. “Then, without further ado”—he twirled his finger—“let’s solve this mystery.”
***
The gang drove for seven minutes before stopping at a small gas station off the roadside to gas up.
Ihaan, Shaggy, and Scooby scampered into the building and left with their arms full of food.
When the gas pump at their spot clicked, Ihaan dropped his meal and dove behind the Mystery Machine.
The gangs’ mouths twitched, and they hooted.
Before leaving, Daphne snapped pictures of everyone standing before the Mystery Machine. From there, they continued their journey through the Canadian wilderness.
Ihaan played with Ro, Shaggy and Scooby stuffed their faces, Daphne put on makeup, and Velma looked deep in thought with her magnifying glass and the piece of fur they found when they first reached the provincial park. She occasionally studied Ihaan and then the clue.
The gang stopped again on the lakeside and went for a quick dip.
Ihaan boosted Ro off his forearm, and she disappeared across the water, returning soon with a fish she ate on the side.
Ihaan joined the others in the lake and splashed them.
Scooby circled him, and Ihaan pulled him into a quick embrace.
“Aw,” Scooby said, blushing.
Shaggy crossed his arms and lifted his top lip.
Velma exited the lake after ten minutes and went back to her mystery-solving. She paced and tapped her head. “Think, Velma, think!” Velma bumped into a picnic table and flinched, reaching for her knee.
The rest of the way to the construction site, Daphne showed Ihaan her purse and shared everything in it.
Smiling, Ihaan covered his fingers with foundation and decorated Daphne’s face, dotting it with lipstick afterward. She gasped, but Ihaan climbed over her and stuck his face out the Mystery Machine’s window again. He lifted his arms and closed his eyes.
Daphne cleaned her face and admitted, “If only I could stay mad at him.”
It wasn’t long until Scooby stuck his head out the Mystery Machine’s other window, letting his tongue flap in the wind.
Fred let the two be and checked the van’s GPS. “Okay, five minutes to go, gang.” He couldn’t wait to introduce Ihaan to Stan and prove that a boy lived alongside the Ghost of Ontario. The demon bear would come next, which would wrap up the mystery just in time for Fred and the gang to spend the rest of the week with Ihaan. All he wanted was for them to enter college with one last incredible adventure under their sleeves, and he got just that with not only the Ghost of Ontario but also an amazing and talented young boy.
Fred’s excitement grew when he finally turned into the construction site’s parking lot and shut off the van. Thirty minutes had turned into two hours, but they were there, and Fred already saw a figure in the distance. The increasing clouds and darkness in the area made it difficult to see who it was, but Fred hoped it was either Stan or Heather. “Here we are, gang,” he chortled, opening his door.
The others stepped out with him, excluding Ihaan, who remained in the Mystery Machine a little longer. He sat in the back with Ro and blew on his leaflute.
Fred and his friends, too excited to notice him missing from the group, shuffled toward the distant figure. “Isn’t this exciting, gang?” Fred said.
They nodded in agreement, even Shaggy and Scooby.
***
In the Mystery Machine, Ihaan looked up from his leaf and told Ro, “It sounds better every day, Ro. I’m glad the gang liked it last night.”
Ro whistled and spread her wings, but Ihaan folded them back.
“Okay, gang,” he said, struggling to his feet, “we’re ready now.” However, a question mark appeared above Ihaan when he realized he was alone. He scratched his head. “Shaggy, Scooby, Velma, Daphne, Fred?” Ihaan shrugged and picked up Ro. “I guess they’re waiting for us, Ro.” He dug around for his bow and quiver of arrows and pulled them out from behind a suitcase, slipping them on.
Ihaan pushed open the Mystery Machine’s back doors and hopped out, Ro behind him. He closed them and wrapped around the car, freezing in his tracks. Ihaan’s face grayed, and he reached for his bow and arrow.
The construction site loomed before him, casting shadows across the parking lot and trees like the demon bear himself.
Ihaan stumbled and fell onto his backside, nearly crushing Ro.
Her beak dropped, telling Ihaan she was just as surprised.
“No. Why?” Ihaan asked, standing. The Mystery Gang trapped him, and he fell right for their trap. His heart snapped into a million pieces. He thought the Mystery Gang were his friends. He thought he had finally found someone willing to fight alongside him for his home.
A few tears dripped down Ihaan’s cheeks. He brushed them away and saw the gang in the distance stepping onto the leading construction site. “Let’s get out of here, Ro,” Ihaan hiccupped, crying harder. Without warning, he nocked an arrow and took out one of the Mystery Machine’s side mirrors. It dropped onto the dirt, and Ihaan kicked it aside, flinching when a wave of pain overtook his ankle.
Why was Ihaan so gullible? He was right. Humans couldn’t be trusted—no wonder he had avoided speaking to them for the past ten winters.
Ro cringed when Ihaan punched the Mystery Machine’s hood, leaving a dent. She cautiously followed as he limped into the forest and disappeared from view.
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