“Like, are we there yet?” Shaggy propped up his head and studied the Canadian countryside that the Mystery Machine drove through on the quiet road. “I’m dying for an all-you-can-eat buffet.”
“Reah,” Shaggy’s Great Dane, Scooby-Doo, agreed from the Mystery Machine’s trunk. He sniffed one of the gang's suitcases and whimpered.
Fred quickly glanced at Shaggy before focusing back on the road. Strands of his blonde hair blew with the AC, and he said, “Relax, Shaggy and Scooby. We can eat in Toronto before heading to Lady Evelyn.” He checked the tips of the two canoes strapped down on the Mystery Machine’s roof and asked for the hundredth time, “Velma, do those canoes look all right?”
Velma, who occasionally checked her phone and then typed on her laptop, said, “They’re fine, Freddie.” She appeared to be engulfed in research again.
“Velma, please.” Daphne powdered her cheeks and fixed her hair. “It’s summer vacation. Loosen up a bit.”
“Yeah,” Freddie said. “After all, I’ve got this great vacation planned for us.”
Shaggy slapped his hand to his face. “You mean one week in the wilderness without free fruit salads, sandwiches—not even a fast food place.” He crossed his skinny arms and pouted before loosening his shoulders. “Well, at least it’s one week of no monster and ghost hunting. Right, Scooby?”
“Right.” Scooby chuckled and kicked one of the paddles in the trunk aside. He stretched and plopped down, resting his head on his front paws.
“Well, um, actually...” Freddie tittered nervously. He lifted his foot off the gas before placing it back on.
His friends tensed and said at the same time, “Freddie!”
“Look,” he argued, removing one hand from the wheel and rubbing his sweaty neck, “I just thought that since this is our last summer vacation before college, we should celebrate with one more mystery.”
“Freddie, please,” Velma quipped. “We’re in college now. Don’t you think we’re getting a little old for mysteries?”
“Besides...” Daphne shook her head. “What on Earth would we find in the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park—the mystery of the haunted tree?”
“Ah, I’m glad you asked.” Freddie opened the center console, pulled out a newspaper, and handed it to Daphne.
“Are you kidding? You still read the newspaper?” she inquired, opening it.
Freddie glared. “I just happened to pick up a copy at the border. We won’t have service where we’re going, so we need something.”
“No service?” Daphne tightened her grip on the paper and stared into the unknown, causing Velma to take it.
She rolled her eyes and observed, “Is this what you’re looking at, Fred?” She cleared her throat and read, “The Ghost of Ontario strikes again in the Lady Evelyn-Smoothwater Provincial Park with ‘Lucilla’, scaring tour groups away.”
Scooby jumped up, and he and Shaggy asked simultaneously, “Ghost?”
“Like, make room for me, Scoob!” Shaggy dove into the back with Scooby, and the two hugged, shivering.
“See?” Freddie said. “Isn’t it exciting? One last hurrah before college.”
“Like, no sir re!” Shaggy protested, releasing Scooby. “This is summer vacation, not ghostcation!”
“Yeah,” Scooby agreed, huffing.
Freddie remained calm, although his face showed he was a bit irritated. “Oh, come on, guys! Where’s your sense of adventure?” He pointed at the trunk. “I packed Scooby Snacks for you and Scoob, Shaggy.”
“Huh?” the two said, their faces easing.
“Yum!” Scooby closed his eyes and licked his lips. “Rooby Racks!”
Shaggy nudged him. “You can try all you want, Fred, but no Scooby Snacks will convince Scooby and me on this adventure.”
Freddie looked at him knowingly but lost his half-smile when Daphne gasped and pointed outside. “Freddie, watch the road!”
Freddie snapped his neck, and it cracked slightly. “What is it, Daph—?”
Bump! A large figure dropped from the sky and hit the windshield.
Freddie slammed on the brakes, and the Mystery Machine swerved. She spun in a circle or two and ended up on the roadside like roadkill, leaving everyone slightly dazed. “What the heck was that?” Freddie shouted. “Is everybody okay?”
“Sure,” the others dizzyingly answered, giving him a thumbs up.
Scooby shook his head and suddenly barked, “Rird! Rird!” He mimicked Daphne’s earlier gesture.
Shaggy removed his shaking hands from his head and looked at him. “Like, Freddie, Scooby thinks it was a bird.”
“Bird or not...” Freddie opened the door, and warm air passed through the van. “Let’s look and ensure the Mystery Machine’s okay.” He jumped out first, followed closely by Velma, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby. Freddie brushed off his white and blue shirt and scratched his head while he examined the windshield.
“Well done, Sherlock,” Velma growled, motioning at the imprint on the Mystery Machine’s flowery hood. “Not even five hours into Canada, and we almost crash.”
“I got a little excited, that’s all,” Freddie countered. “And hey, at least we weren’t on the interstate.” He smiled at the countryside, farms, and rolling hills. A few cattle studied Fred and his friends.
A little nervous, Daphne gripped her hips. “Will the van be okay until we return to the country, Fred?”
“Of course, Daph.” Freddie patted the Mystery Machine’s hood and double-checked the canoes. “It’ll take more than a bird to put the Mystery Machine out of commission.”
“But maybe, just for the heck of it,” Shaggy interjected, “we can take it to a buffet—I mean, a mechanic in Toronto to get it checked out and stay there for the week.” He laughed at his joke. “Right, Scooby?” However, Scooby no longer stood beside him. “Huh?” Shaggy stretched his fingers. “Like, where’s Scooby?” Fear flashed across his face, and he called, “Scooby-Doo, where are you?”
“He couldn’t have gone far,” Fred observed, knowing that no matter how cowardly Scooby-Doo was, he’d never leave him and his friends. “Scooby!”
“Down here!” a familiar, deep voice called from under the Mystery Machine.
Everyone turned in that direction.
Scooby soon emerged from under the van, pushing a motionless figure with his nose. The eagle’s feathers were a bit scruffy, and she rested on her front, wings outstretched. Dirt splashed onto her white neck while Scooby pushed her to Fred.
“Jeepers,” Daphne whined, reaching for her lips, “we really did hit a bird. Good catch, Scooby.”
“You’re welcome.” Scooby’s tail wagged, and he bumped the bird.
The gang created a circle around the eagle with guilty looks on their faces.
“Like, is it dead?” Shaggy wanted to know.
Right when he said that, the eagle’s golden eyes fluttered open, and she leaped to her feet.
“Zoinks!” Shaggy jumped into Scooby-Doo’s front paws. “It’s a zombie!”
“Don’t be dumb,” Velma snapped. “It was just knocked out. All right, everyone, stay calm and back off.”
The eagle whistled a high-pitched whistle and bent her wings. A few loose feathers fell from them.
Daphne gripped Freddie’s shoulders and lightly blushed. She chewed on her pinkie and questioned, “Is it just me, Fred, or is that eagle big for an eagle?”
“She is, even for a female.” Velma lifted her eyebrow and rubbed her chin, observing the curious eagle. “She’s also pretty tame.”
Freddie recognized Velma’s look and said, “Look at you, Velma. I thought you said we’re told old for mysteries.”
Velma blushed. “We are, but this is no ordinary eagle.”
The eagle hopped to Scooby, whistling again. She circled him, and her fierce eyes met Scooby’s. She pushed against his right front leg and opened her wings.
Scooby growled, but the eagle didn’t flinch.
Instead, she lifted into the sky and whistled some more. Then, just like that, she bounced off the Mystery Machine and broke into flight, disappearing behind a cumulus cloud.
“Like, that wasn’t weird at all.” Shaggy silently cried. “Oh, Freddie, why must you pull us into these things?”
“Hee, hee, sorry,” Freddie giggled. “But hey, I’ve been waiting forever to say this again. Between the eagle and the Ghost of Ontario, it looks like we have a mystery on our hands.”
Velma put her foot down and tugged on her sweater collar. “The eagle and that’s it.”
“I’m with her,” Daphne intervened, joining Velma. They headed for the Mystery Machine, and Shaggy and Scooby chased them.
“Hey, wait for us!”
Scooby slipped under Freddie’s feet and knocked him onto his backside.
“Ow!” he groaned, reaching for it.
“Oops.” Scooby returned to him and urged Fred up. “Sorry, Red.”
Fred scowled. “You guys are no fun anymore.” And after all he did to put together the canoe trip, too. He groaned and peered into the sky, seeing the eagle circling high overhead like a vulture. “Yikes!” Fred yelped, hopping into the Mystery Machine with the others. “Let’s get you and Scooby to that all-you-can-eat buffet, Shaggy.”
“And then maybe a hotel, so we don’t have to look for ghosts,” Shaggy tried.
“Nice try,” Freddie said, pulling onto the main road. “I think you guys will like this mystery. Just give it a chance.”
“Perhaps after that all-you-can-eat buffet,” Shaggy stated before smacking his hands over his mouth. “Wait, did I say that aloud?”
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