Scooby and the eagle led the way to Ihaan. Before long, the gang hovered over him on the beach, waves brushing their shoes.
Fred shook his head—“He’s no ghost”—and clenched his fist. “Darn it, I thought we found him.”
“That doesn’t matter right now.” Daphne knelt to Ihaan. “We need to wake him, but how?”
The gang thought momentarily, and then a light flashed across Scooby’s face. He slipped his paw into Freddie’s pocket and pulled out the bottle of Deet.
“Oh, that’s great, Scooby!” Daphne said, moving aside. She pinched her nose, as did the rest of the gang.
Scooby stopped before Ihaan and sprayed the Deet before his nose.
“Ugh!” he yelled, coughing. Ihaan sat and grabbed his nose, rubbing his head.
“Peehew!” Shaggy repeated. His eyes watered. “Who knew we could use bug spray as smelling salts?”
Scooby tittered and lowered the bottle, allowing Velma through.
“Hey, are you all right?” she asked Ihaan, reaching for him.
His eyes fluttered open. At the sight of Velma, he yelled and crawled back, hiding behind his canoe.
“Velma!” Fred snapped. “I thought you told us to let you do the talking.”
She glared and fought, “For the love of Pete, Fred! I don’t know when he last saw another human.”
“Hey, I have an idea.” Daphne turned to Shaggy and Scooby. “Why don’t we let Shaggy and Scooby talk to him? After all, they met him last night.”
“Like… us?” Shaggy said, pointing at himself. “Talk to a mysterious boy in a haunted park?”
“We need to help him,” Daphne added, gesturing at the eagle. “I don’t think the eagle would’ve gotten us if he didn’t need it. Besides, Scooby is man’s best friend. He’d be the perfect emotional support animal for him.”
At Scooby’s name, Ihaan poked his head out from his canoe.
The eagle seemed to understand Daphne’s plea because she hopped to Scooby and stood before him, flapping her wings.
Shaggy and Scooby’s knees shook but locked in place when the eagle motioned them forward with her head. Freddie, Daphne, and Velma remained silent while they slowly began approaching Ihaan.
He slipped half his face back behind his canoe.
Shaggy lifted his hand and fearfully stuttered, “Uh, hi. Do you remember us? This-this eagle—is she your best friend?” He patted Scooby’s head. “Scooby’s mine.”
Silence, and then Ihaan pulled half his body out from the canoe. “Ro,” he announced.
Shaggy gulped and dipped behind Scooby. “Ro? Is that a new salad plate?”
Ihaan giggled. “No, Ro is her name.” He carefully rose to his knees and pointed above. “The Great Spirit assigned her as my guardian.”
Behind, Velma whispered to Daphne and Freddie, “His English is pretty good, don’t you think?”
They nodded in agreement.
Ihaan rose to his full height and stepped out from the canoe, finally allowing the gang to get a good look at him. Patches of dirt covered his face, forehead, and bare torso, and his muscular arms were also decorated with paint. He approached Shaggy, Scooby, and Ro and kneeled, hugging the eagle. “I’ve missed you, girl.” He next scratched Scooby behind his ears. “Are you the ‘dog’?”
“The dog?” Shaggy inquired.
“Spirit Animals told me a dog would help me,” Ihaan explained. “Great Spirit never lies.”
The rest of the gang joined Shaggy and Scooby and examined him.
Velma hooked her fingers behind her. “How old are you?”
“Ten winters,” Ihaan answered.
“Ten?” Freddie said. “Uh, no offense, but you look more fifteen.”
Ihaan shook his head. “No, I’m ten. Woke ten winters ago on Red Squirrel Lake. Made Anima my home.” He met the gang’s eyes.
“Okay, let’s try something else,” Velma added. “What happened? We found you unconscious on the beach. Your eagle friend got us.”
“I fell off the cliff,” Ihaan answered. “Been happening a lot lately.” He didn’t remove his hand from Scooby the entire time he spoke.
“Well, we’re glad you’re all right,” Velma said. “I’m Velma, and this is Fred, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo.”
“I know. You told me yesterday.”
Velma gasped. “Ah-ha! So, you are the boy we saw in the woods!”
Fred noticed her growing excitement. “Velma,” he said through clenched teeth, but Velma dropped to her knees and leaned into Ihaan.
“Tell us, how did you get here? How long have you been alone? Who are your parents? What do you know about the ghost? Please, Ihaan, I’m dying to know!”
Ihaan’s face paled. He released Scooby and rushed to his canoe.
Freddie slapped his palm to his face. “And I thought I was the only one excited about this mystery.”
“I’m not excited,” Velma argued. “Just curious.”
Daphne leered. “We all are, but you’re scaring him.”
“And after you told me I would scare him,” Freddie bickered. “How will we get him out now?”
Daphne sighed and came between Freddie and Velma. “How about this? We leave him alone and let him come to us? We’ll get nowhere if we gain on him immediately. Let’s let him know we have his torch, though.”
“Hey.” Freddie gestured at her. “That’s not a bad idea. We hold onto his torch but let him know we have it—and see if he follows us to the construction site.”
Ro sauntered to Ihaan’s canoe as he said that and joined him behind it.
“Like, hey,” Shaggy called after nodding at the gang, “we found your torch.”
“And we’re headed to the construction site,” Fred included. “You may follow us if you want.”
Ihaan did not come out, so the gang shrugged and turned to leave.
“Oh,” was the last thing Fred said. “We also want to thank you for returning Scooby and Shaggy’s headlamps.” He hoped and prayed that he and the others would see Ihaan again, but that depended on his shyness and whether the eagle could convince him to ask for help.
With those thoughts in mind, Fred led the way to the canoes.
The gang climbed in, pushed off the beach into the lake, and continued their journey.
***
His torch. Those kids mentioned they found it (not that Ihaan already had many torches). They also said they were traveling to the site—right when Ihaan thought he had found someone willing to believe him.
Standing, he hugged Ro and questioned, “Great Spirit, what should I do?”
A wind gust and a trail of leaves answered him. They circled Ihaan from his heels up and blew his hair.
Ihaan’s ears perked, and he closed his eyes. “But-But, how do I know they’re not like the others?”
A second trail of leaves circled him, and Ihaan opened his eyes, glancing down at Ro. “What do you think, Ro? Can they help me?”
She met his wide eyes and nodded. Escaping Ihaan’s arms, Ro landed on a leather wrapping around his right one.
Ihaan gulped and said, “Well, we have no choice now. Great Spirit says to give them a chance.”
Ro jumped from his arm and landed on his canoe. She remained patient while Ihaan pushed it into the lake and hopped in, picking up his paddle. He stretched his legs, tucked hair behind his ear, and observed the other side of Anima Nipissing. “I can do this,” he whispered, kicking off the lake’s shallow end. “I can do this.”
Ihaan remained far from the gang and hid behind smaller islands, waiting for the opportunity to continue following. He tucked into a tree when they stopped on another island for a break and watched as they searched it for clues. Every time they drew close, Ihaan pulled leaves and branches before him.
Shaggy and Scooby stuffed their faces with snacks, and Fred checked a paper he held. “We’re almost there, gang. Hopefully, Stan isn’t too heated.”
Daphne stood beside him. “No sign of the ghost, either. See, gang? There’s no such thing as ghosts.”
They spoke of a ghost where they met Ihaan, too. He didn’t recall one living alongside him and the Spirit Animals unless he missed something.
Velma emerged from the woods and said, “Ghost or no ghost, we should get a few answers at the construction site. Let’s see if they’ve also seen Ihaan.”
Ihaan shivered. How much he wanted to lay it in on them, he couldn’t… not yet. He first had to see if they could be trusted, and he could only achieve that by studying them.
The rest of the way to the construction site, Ihaan felt himself grow tense. How many trees had the workers already cut down that morning? Which of his animal friends still had a home? Had Ihaan lost all his lake findings from the past ten winters? He never hoped to ask those questions, yet there he was.
Once he approached the site, Ihaan paddled into a hidden river covered with overgrown trees and leaves. He slipped over lily pads and found a cove, ducking into it.
How long would it be before the workers discovered the cove?
Ihaan climbed out of his canoe and jumped when the roar of a loud machine on the other side of the tree line scared flocks of birds away.
He had to do it; he had to do it—for all of them.
ns 15.158.61.40da2
