Time: 1152. Location: Mulberry, KS.
"Velm..."
"Yeah, Shag?"
"I changed my mind. I don't wanna die today."
The crowd of men and women inches closer. All eyes fixed on Velma and Shaggy. Dull sunken eyes of the defeated.
"Velma…" The strain in Shaggy's voice was apparent.
"I know. I know."
They raise their weapons scanning, back and forth, unsure who to target first. Scooby locks eyes on one, his lips peel further back, his growl ceases, and takes a step forward. "Scooby, wait." The big dog stops in his tracks, his eyes never leaving his intended victim. As if by some command heard only by them, the group stops. Neither the men nor the women show any signs of emotion. As one, they turn eyes down the road. A lone man walks down the center of the road towards the group coming from the same area the woman had come from. The man wears a traditional Cassock however instead of a white collar, his is green. A green that is simultaneously brighter than leaves after a Spring rain and darker than the Arctic sky. His eyes are the same un-Earthly color. As he reaches the pack it parts in biblical fashion. All eyes remain fixed on him, heads moving in unison. He stops ten feet from Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby, raises his palms up, and smiles. Unthreatening in outward appearance his presence sends a wave of unease and nausea through the three before him. "You were asked to leave. You need not be here." As he speaks Scooby vomits at Shaggy's feet. He cowers behind Shaggy, tail between his legs whimpering. Shaggy feels ready to join his four-legged friend barely able to keep his stomach in check. He reaches out to pat the big dog as he had a thousand times before when Scooby unexpectedly snaps at his human companion. "Scooby?!" Scooby lies on the ground a combination of whimpers and growls escapes his throat. "Velma?"
"I see Shag."
She turns her attention back to the man before her. The smile still there she finds herself slipping into the chasm that is his eyes. The colors swirl before her engulfing her in a long passageway of ephemeral light. The tunnel is both soothing and comforting while also terrifying and sickening. She drops her weapon. She steps forward. Stepping out of her boots. Her socks. She removes her gun belt and skirt. She pulls her grungy sweater over her head. Lastly, her underwear finds its way to the ground. Looking down she finds herself in a gown of green. Her once bare arms were now covered in gloves the deepest black and brightest white. She continues towards the man at the end of the tunnel. He puts his hand up stopping her in her tracks. "Thank you for coming, Velma. Now leave."
"How… How do you know my name?" She wants nothing more than to reach out and touch the man before her, and yet she is terrified to do so.
"I know all and nothing."
"Who… No, what are you?" As she asks the question, she fears the answer.
"I am all, and I am nothing."
"What does that even mean?"
"You know what it means, Velma. Now leave."
"Please, take me with you. Please." Tears well in her eyes.
"I will do no such thing. I prefer my sacrifices… younger."
She trembles before the man and yearns for his touch. "This isn't right. It's not real."
"You don't believe that. You don't believe anything."
Velma drops to her knees. Her dress is now a swirling red-black. Blood begins to flow from beneath the dress soaking into the tunnel. Blending. Mixing. Darkness sucking all light into its abyss. All that remains is the man before her. Glowing in his purity. Burning in his wickedness. She reaches down, the blood coating her hands. She pulls them back watching in disbelief as the ooze spreads up her arms. "I have warned you, Velma. Leave."
____________________
"Velma?" Shaggy reaches out and grabs her by the shoulder, "Velma." In an instant, she is back. The touch snapping her out of whatever it was that had caught her. "Velma?"
"Yeah, Shag."
"You, okay?"
"I am now." She turns to look for her dropped weapon only to realize it never left her hands. She stands in the same spot in her dingy clothing. She carefully looks back at the thing standing before her in the guise of a man. "What are you?"
His smile never fades. He ignores her question, "You must leave. No one here needs your help."
"Well, the woman from this morning said she…"
"Mary isn't well. She's been ill since the baby arrived. Post Partum is what I believe your doctors would call it."
"We'd like to see her."
"That is not possible."
"Why?"
"She's been sent to the hills to seek forgiveness."
"Forgiveness?"
"I have been as accommodating as I can be. Now I ask you to leave our town in peace."
"Peace? Do you know what's going on out there? Hell, you have bodies in the road."
"Yes. We are aware of it all. Now, I ask you to leave. I will not ask again." As one the horde of people turns back towards Velma and Shaggy outright terror plain on their faces. Two step forward, one on each side, their intense stare never leaving Velma and Shaggy as they open the doors to the van. Scooby is in the van before either Velma or Shaggy have moved. His whimpering grew louder. "Velm. I think we should go."
"Yeah, I think you're right, Shag."
They carefully back their way toward their seats. They slam the doors closed. The feeling of unease that has taken root in their bones grows. Velma turns the key. The van sputters but does not start. She tries again. "I said LEAVE." The horde closes on the van as Velma frantically tries to start it. They bang on the sides, the grates over the windows. The van rocks back and forth under the weight of the many hands slamming into it. "I said LEAVE!" The banging gets louder. Scooby begins crying loudly in the back. Shaggy shakes back and forth in his seat incompressible muttering coming from his trembling lips. The anxiety grows in Velma. She screams a blood-curdling noise. Shaggy follows suit. Scooby joins in the cacophony. The sounds turn animalistic. The grates from the windows are torn off, hands smash through the glass with ease. Hands grab at the two inside. Velma screams above the rest, "NOOOOO!!!"
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