Time: 1152. Location: Mulberry, KS.
The church is packed with the same faces as the evening before. The only one missing is the woman who had brought them their breakfast. As they enter, Father Flagg is well into his sermon. They take seats in the last pew, coincidently the only empty one. First Velma. Then Shaggy. Scooby sits in the aisle, Shag's hand on his neck. "Okay, we're here. Now wh-wh-what?"
"Look around, Shaggy. Look for anything unusual."
"Unusual." He scratches behind the dog's ear, "You hear that, Scoob, in a land of zombies, this place is the most unusual around." The dog lets out a small huff of air in response.
"Shaggy."
"Yeah?"
"Have you looked at the windows?"
"Yeah, just like every other church."
"No. Really look at them." The worry in her voice causes him to look up.
The windows depict various scenes from the Good Book. Apostles and martyrs performing legendary deeds. "Like, I said, normal." Velma grabs his hand and looks at Shaggy. Her intense stare makes him uneasy. "No, Shaggy. Really look."
He turns back to the windows. Unsure of what she means by "really look". He strains his eyes trying to see what she does. In bits and pieces, the truth reveals itself to him. The windows don't represent passages from the Bible. They depict grotesque monsters and the horribly mutilated dead. The first shows a massive winged creature with a body similar to that of a man and a squid for a head. It is shown peeling the skin off of a screaming man while stomping on the bloody corpses of the deceased. More horrid images appear in each window. Decapitations, eviscerations, and hangings are all at the hands of despicable creatures of nightmare. "Do you see them?" Velma knows the answer, Shaggy's pale skin and large eyes are all the verification she really needs.
"Wh-wh-what's going on here V?"
"I'm not sure, Shaggy. Look at the people."
Shaggy does as he's asked thankful to look away from the terrors of glass. What he sees shocks him to his core. The people who were once dressed to the nines are now…
The men wear brown waist-length tunics of rough fabric. The women wear nothing. Men force themselves upon the women who respond with a mixture of agonizing screams of horror and delightful yelps of pleasure. The men take turns, sometimes more than one at a time. All the while Father Flagg stands before them donned in his finest vestments. Upon his chest an image of a green eye, stark against the pitch black of the cloth. The dais he calls from is made from stained skulls and what look like arm bones all held together with cracking sinew and tendon. The Priest chants in an even tone words which should never be spoken. Words of the lost alphabet. Words that in their utterance unlock power. Behind him hangs an image of a terrible creature, the same massive green eye that dons his surplice only now it is surrounded by black tentacles in the grip of which are gory remains of once living beings.
"Wh-wha-wh-what… is hap- hap…" Shaggy's nervous words trip over his tongue the sounds catching the attention of the Priest before them.
The incantations cease. Raising a crooked finger towards them the Priest screams, "The blasphemers know. They must be punished. Seize them!" The congregation moves as one. Shaggy and Velma rise bringing Scooby to his feet. The dog is confused all he sees is his friends from yesterday coming to give him more good things. The Priest repeats his command, "Stop them!" They have no time to escape as the mass of people floods over them. Hands pin them to the ground. Others claw at Velma's clothing tearing it from her body. exposing her to the lecherous men. In the background Scooby watches his people play. He wonders when he'll get to play. One of the men comes over with a piece of meat for the big dog. He quickly swallows it. His eyelids get heavy as he lies down for a nap, he'll play with his people later.
__________________________
The cave is just as in their dreams. They see it in bits and pieces as they fight unconsciousness. It's the screams that finally pull them from the darkness. They awake to find themselves tied to chairs. In horror, they watch as the Priest pulls out the intestines from a still-screaming toddler. The words he speaks are ancient, from before time. He drapes the innards on one of the idols placing the child over the top then forcing the statue through the small body and out the other side. At each of the pillars, the ceremony is repeated. Above each graven image hang young ones, some still wailing as life leaves their fragile forms, dripping fetid ichor on the things below. Others are cast about the ground at the base of the podium. The juvenile flesh lying mutilated, skinned, and tortured. Shaggy chokes on vomit held back by the gag in his mouth. Unseen hands remove the tightly tied cloth. He wretches, the contents of his stomach landing in his lap. What he's witnessing is almost too much for his mind to accept. He looks to his right and sees Velma. Tied similarly, clothing gone, eyes wide. She hasn't even the willpower to struggle against the bonds. A warm thick fluid lands hitting Shaggy then Velma. He turns to see Father Flagg holding a vessel, a small human skull, into which he dips his fingers before flicking the thick liquid onto the two captives. Shaggy can see the red streaks left behind as the droplets run down his bare arms. He dry heaves. Velma chokes back tears. The Priest steps closer his voice growing louder.
"Please, let us go. We won't tell anyone, just let us go." Shaggy pleads tears streaming down his cheeks.
"I'm afraid it's far too late for that. You have been chosen by the Great Old One. You shall be his seed. She, his vessel."
"Please." The one word repeated again and again louder and more shrill with each step the Priest takes. The terror is so great in his soul that a puddle collects at his bound feet. "Please." His begging goes unanswered. A chorus of voices erupts from behind him. The sounds reverberate throughout the subterranean grotto. More unseen hands unbind him and force him to his feet. He struggles to break free feeling this may be his last chance only to be met with a swift kick to his knee. He falls to the ground. He turns on his back, in a crab walk he tries to escape the mass of beings coming towards him, shrouded in dark hooded robes their bare feet leaving puddles of red with each step. He watches as the blood is quickly absorbed into the ancient rock. "Please, let us go." He looks towards Velma, her battered body held securely by many hands forcing her ever forward. "Please." Shaggy back peddles coming to an abrupt stop as his hands hit the sticky life fluid of the young. Behind him the defaced bodies and cold stone of the platform upon which sits the sarcophagus.
Hands grab him. They make quick work stripping him of his clothes. He screams in sheer terror. His screams echo as he is tied to the lid of the sarcophagus. They drag Velma kicking and screaming towards him. They force her on top of him face down. Their unclothed bodies pressed against each other. Ropes bite into their skin as they are pulled taut forcing their bodies ever closer. Velma's blood flows and mixes with Shaggy's to be quickly consumed by the creature within the ancient stone casket. The Priest stands over them a knife raised over his head.
"With your blood, the circle will be complete. Our GOD of gods shall forever have power as will the Vaeyen who serve and protect our master." He continues on in the language of the gods. The power in his voice grows.
His attention is completely fixed on the task before him. He prepares to plunge the blade into the sacrifices. So mesmerized is he in serving his master he is unaware as the primeval door far behind is shattered.