The gang had never heard such a melody—eerie but also gentle and, in some ways, magical.
A few loons emerged from the dark and landed in the area without warning. They folded their wings and swayed back and forth to the music.
Scooby and Shaggy stopped eating and sat back with the gang, all smiling and listening to Ihaan.
The “Song of the Forest”, Fred thought, clutching his beardless chin and glancing at Velma, who grew more excited by the second. She would bombard Ihaan with questions again after this, wouldn’t she? Fred wasn’t sure if that was healthy for her and Ihaan, especially since Velma initially wanted nothing to do with the Ghost of Ontario mystery. She still looked like she had something on her mind, but Fred would pry her later.
Ihaan lowered his leaf after a minute and set it in his lap.
Daphne put her hands together. “Wow, Ihaan, that was beautiful.”
Sure enough, Velma started with the questions: “Do you remember who taught that to you? Does the song have another name? How often do you play it?”
Foot shaking, Ihaan clutched his head and lowered it. “I-I don’t remember. I can’t remember anything, Velma.”
Fred grasped Velma’s shoulders. “Velma, back off.” He pulled her back and turned her over to Daphne, who distracted her with fashion advice.
The visiting loons Ihaan drew in with his song took off in flight. One accidentally flew into Scooby’s mouth when he attempted to eat one of Shaggy’s Leaf-Fish sandwiches.
He spit the bird and a few feathers out and barked, “Ratootie! Ratootie!” Scooby growled and hopped up on all fours, studying the area.
Shaggy laughed and said, “Oh, Scooby, you’re scared of just a little bird?”
“Rird? Where?” Scooby’s dark eyes landed on Ro first and then the loon. He growled again, but it died when Ihaan picked up the loon and checked it, carefully stretching its wing out.
Smiling gently, Ihaan said, “Sorry, little guy.” He released the loon, and it soared toward the lake and the clouds moving in.
Ihaan waved goodbye, and Velma released herself from Daphne. “Amazing! He talks to animals and can play the leaflute!”
Once he ensured the loon was safe, Ihaan lit the torch Shaggy returned and stood, asking, “That not it. Would you guys like to see something before sleep?”
Velma jumped up. “Oh, anything!” She lugged Daphne up, and Fred and Shaggy also stood.
“What is it, Ihaan?” Fred said, keeping a calm voice.
“Star canopy,” Ihaan replied. “Beauty of park. Why they can’t build canoe resort. Why demon bear and so-called Ghost of Ontario are attacking.”
“Um…” Fred scratched the side of his face. “English, please.”
Daphne rolled her eyes. “Let’s just follow him, gang. I’m in if it’ll get us away from the mosquitoes and provide more photo opportunities for Myspace.”
Fred worried Myspace was the only thing Daphne was concerned about nowadays.
A sparkle of light seemed to flash in Ihaan’s eyes, and he held his torch aside, ordering, “Let’s go, then. To the canoes.”
Shaggy patted Scooby’s head while he passed him but jumped when another gust of wind blasted through the forest. “Like, zoinks!” he yelled, pointing at Ihaan’s shadow once he got ahead of the gang. “It’s the ghost!”
Fred popped him on the head again and grabbed Shaggy and Scooby, pulling them forward. “Oh, please, you two—it’s only Ihaan.”
They and the remaining gang followed Ihaan to the beach. The clouds quit creeping in, so everyone pushed their canoes into the water and climbed aboard. They stuck close together while Ihaan led the way with his torch.
The wind gusted on the lake, and the gang popped over a few whitecaps. Water splashed into their canoes, but they continued paddling.
The wind died just enough for Ihaan to stop everybody in the lake’s heart. He peered over his shoulder at the Mystery Gang and sighed at seeing Shaggy and Scooby shivering as usual.
Ro cued Ihaan by shooting him a nod, and he returned it. Then, with one last look at the gang, he blew out his torch and glanced into the sky.
A blanket of never-ending stars, planets, satellites, and the Milky Way covered the eye of the clouds on the horizon.
The Mystery Gang grinned and pointed out a few shooting stars. Daphne even lowered her cell phone for once. “I never realized how beautiful the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park is,” she admitted, leaning on Fred’s back.
“No,” Ihaan said, looking at her. “It’s not the beauty of the provincial park but the beauty of Canada. Why humans should be more considerate of nature. We’ve lived under these stars forever.”
“Wait,” Fred found himself wanting to know, “you’re not saying you have a tribe that lives out here, right?”
“No,” Ihaan explained, sitting back in his canoe and hugging Ro. “Only Spirit Animals and I.”
Was there any way to confirm that? After all, the kid had amnesia. That was another question for Stan in the morning if he was actually at the construction site. Fred also wondered how he would react if he introduced Ihaan to him by any chance.
Hey, that wasn’t a bad idea. Fred smiled when the light bulb clicked above his head. “Hey, Ihaan,” he said, touching his arm, “have you ever ridden in a car before?”
“Car?” Ihaan shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of.”
Daphne released Freddie and said, “What are you thinking, Fred?”
“I’m thinking,” he answered, “we should give our arms a break tomorrow and take Ihaan on a field trip in the good-old Mystery Machine to meet Stan—away from the ghost.”
“Who Stan?” Ihaan inquired.
“A friend of ours,” Freddie elucidated. “He’s looking into the Ghost of Ontario investigation with us. We were supposed to meet him today, but something came up.”
“Oh, boy.” Shaggy gulped, and he and Scooby met eyes. “I think I smell a trap coming, Scoob. What about you? We’re going to try to catch that demon bear tomorrow, aren’t we, Fred?”
When Shaggy hypothesized that, Ihaan turned his back to the gang and spoke with Ro. He turned around and nodded at them. “Ro says a car ride may be fun.”
Fred hooted and almost flipped the canoe, but Daphne said, “Freddie!” She wrapped her arms around him.
“Oops, sorry,” Fred cooed, blushing.
The gang remained on Anima Nipissing’s heart for an hour before canoeing back and getting ready for bed.
Ihaan and Ro fell asleep first, so Freddie removed a blanket from his dry bag and tossed it over Ihaan. Shaggy and Scooby snored soon after, and then Velma turned in, too, leaving Daphne and Freddie the only ones awake now.
Daphne clutched her knees, and her face turned stern. “Freddie, are you sure it’s a good idea for Ihaan to meet Stan tomorrow? We may be putting him in danger with that demon bear still lurking.”
“Of course,” Fred stated. “So far, nobody believes us when we say a boy lives in this park. Stan may also know if there are any tribes here that Ihaan may not remember. If the demon bear does attack, Ihaan can help us catch him. I think it’s a brilliant plan.”
Daphne shuddered. “No offense, Freddie, but you and Velma are too into this mystery now.” She gripped his shoulder. “Just be careful, okay?” She pecked his cheek, and Freddie blushed. Daphne lay down beside him and fell asleep two minutes later.
Freddie remained awake a little longer, drawing his plan to catch the demon bear in the dirt at the light of his headlamp. There was still a ghost somewhere in the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park, and this was his first step in learning who he was. Getting Ihaan before Stan would also, hopefully, get him some help for his foot. Freddie noticed throughout the day that his limp had worsened.
He opened Stan’s map of the provincial park and found the construction site as well as the road that led to it. It looked like it was only thirty minutes away from their campsite.
Excitement bubbled like lava in Fred’s gut, and he folded the map, lying down beside Daphne. However, he slid a few feet away from her and patted his thighs.
A crack in the forest jolted Fred upright, but the others didn’t stir. He rose and stopped by Ihaan’s canoe, releasing an arrow from a quiver.
The crack sounded again, and Fred held the arrow over his shoulder, creeping toward it. Was it the Ghost of Ontario? As the Mystery Gang leader, Fred had to protect everyone, even Ihaan.
A shadowy figure resembling a large animal emerged in a cluster of trees and stood tall. It and Fred seemed to stare at one another, and another wind gust passed through the treetops.
Finally, Fred lowered the arrow and put his feet together.
The figure turned on its heel and left the campsite, leaving hundreds of question marks floating over Freddie’s head.
He swore—what was the secret of the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park, and how did Ihaan tie into everything? Most importantly, who was the Great Spirit he kept mentioning? Hopefully, everything would come together in the morning.
ns 15.158.61.46da2
