The Ghost of the Bermuda Triangle
Page 4
The painting seems to smile.
“Von Lamkey has been missing for years. Everyone thinks he’s dead. But could this be his secret workshop?” Fred wonders excitedly.
Thunder booms inside the room! Lightning flashes. Fred jumps so high that he almost hits the ceiling.
“Leave this place or meet your doom!” a voice demands. “These sights are not for you to see!”
“It’s the ghost!” Fred shrieks. His whole body shakes as the sea spirit stands before him and menaces with his pointy trident. Fred is about to run for his life when he notices something familiar about the monster. “Hey, you’re the Screaming Specter of the Seven Seas! I love that movie!”
Fred’s fear fades. He grabs the trident from the ghost’s skeletal hands and studies it.
“This is a fantastic prop! But it’s not the original. That’s in a movie museum. Did you make this? Can I see the design drawings?” Fred asks.
“A-are you a fan?” the ghost stammers.
“Are you Dr. Von Lamkey?” Fred gasps hopefully.
The ghost pulls the mask from his face.
“I’m his son, Brady Von Lamkey,” the man says proudly.
“It’s great to meet you!” Fred says and shakes hands. “But why did you scare the ship’s passengers?”
“I was testing this costume for a remake movie,” Brady confesses. “Say, I can hire some extras. Do you want to be in it?”
“Yes!” Fred says. “Another monster mystery solved! And I did all by myself!”
THE END
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Smolder jumps away from the sharp points. Then he sees that Velma has not moved. She still stands in front of the spirit.
“Velma! No!” Smolder shouts as he watches her deliberately step toward the barbs of the trident. Velma walks through the phantom as if it is a cloud.
“It’s another hologram! See?” Velma grins and swipes her arms through the ghost. She points to one of the TV monitors on the wall. “Look. You and I are on the monitor, but the ‘ghost’ isn’t.”
Smolder studies the control board for a moment and flips a switch. The specter disappears. He presses another button, and the ghost appears on the other side of the room.
“Great CGI work!” Smolder exclaims.
“Thanks!” a voice replies. “I specialize in computer-generated imagery!
Suddenly a young man appears in the room with Velma and Smolder. He wears a Why Files t-shirt and rushes over to shake Smolder’s hand.
“Where’d you come from?” Smolder asks, surprised.
“He was hiding behind a hologram, just like the door,” Velma answers. “I saw him on one of the monitors.”
“The ghost is an example of my CGI skills. I only wanted to impress you, Mr. Smolder. I’m such a fan!” the man says in a rush. “Can I have a job on your show?”
“So this was all just a job audition?” Velma realizes. “Haven’t you ever heard of a regular résumé?”
“A program as sophisticated as Why Files demands the highest technical standards!” Smolder declares. “This young man has skills we can use.”
“Thanks, Mr. Smolder! Um, I’m sorry about sliming you, sir,” the youngster says.
“Why don’t you show me your control board? I’m curious how you stabilized the 3-D holographic matrix,” Smolder says as he and his new friend bond over SFX and hi-def tech.
“Geeks,” Velma shakes her head and shrugs. She leaves the secret control room to find her friends. “I guess in this case CGI means Computerized Ghost Imposter.”
THE END
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Fred feels something grab him by the collar of his Frankenstein costume. He is dragged off his feet and carried through the air.
“Yaaa!” Fred yells. He spins around and catches a glimpse of Daphne’s flashlight beam searching for him. “I’m over heeeeere!”
Fred’s voice echoes off of the steel hull of the cargo hold. It sounds as if he is in five places at once. How will Daphne ever find him?
Fred squirms. He tries to get out of his suit. If he can get out of the jacket, he can get out of trouble! But whatever has him by the collar grips it like a predator’s claw!
Fred twists in midair. He clutches at whatever has him by the collar. His fingers feel something skeletal.
“Yaaa! It’s the ghost!” Fred shouts. His hair stands on end, and his limbs stick out like twigs in a snowman. Then his whole body goes limp and becomes a dead weight.
“Uh-oh,” the ghost gulps.
Fred and the sea specter drop to the deck. CRASH! The two lie in a heap as Daphne rushes up with her flashlight. It lights up Fred and . . . a woman!
“Jeepers! The ghost is a fake! You’ve solved the mystery, Fred!” Daphne says as she holds up the ghost’s rubber seaweed mask.
“Explain yourself!” Daphne demands. She points the flashlight in the fake ghost’s face.
“You meddling kids! You’ve ruined my plan,” the woman grumbles. “I wanted to scare the passengers and have my revenge on the cruise line. They wouldn’t hire me as a captain. They said I didn’t have enough experience.”
“And you would have gotten away with it, too, if your upper arm strength had been better,” Fred explains. “You couldn’t hold my weight.”
“She’ll have plenty of time to work out in the jail gym,” Daphne says.
Fred pats his padded Frankenstein costume.
“Who knew that a few extra pounds would crack the case?” he laughs.
THE END
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A heavy hand clamps down on Scooby’s shoulder. At least, Scooby hopes it’s a hand! His whole body trembles.
“R-rut ris it?” he asks Shaggy.
“It’s . . . it’s . . . it’s,” Shaggy stammers. Then he faints!
Scooby’s teeth clack like a tap dancer’s shoes. He gulps and slowly looks down at his shoulder. He expects to see the worst—and he does! Wet seaweed drips cold sea water over his fur. Skeleton fingers grip him like frigid spider legs. Scooby turns around to look at what’s connected to these creepy things. He regrets it.
“Raaaa! Rit’s the rhost!” Scooby screams. His limbs kick into survival gear. His legs spin like windmills gone wild. Scooby takes off and leaves his wits behind.
Scooby-Doo peels out like a drag racer. He zooms all around the galley and barely avoids the major cooking appliances.
Scooby spins around the rim of a giant stand mixer, swings from the hanging pot racks, and bounces off a huge mound of rising bread dough.
The ghost stands still in the middle of Scooby’s riotous run and looks confused. Finally, the spook sticks out the trident and trips Scooby.
Scooby sails through the air with the grace of a bowling ball and lands in a pot of cooked spaghetti. CLANG! The pot bounces and spins. Noodles and tomato sauce fly! SPLAT! Everything lands on the sea ghost.
“Spaghetti and sushi? Rucky!” Scooby says as he looks at the mess.
Press here.
“I’m so glad to see you guys!” Velma declares. “Where are we?”
“Under the buffet table, where it’s safe!” Shaggy says.
“And rummy!” Scooby says and licks his lips clean. He sits in the middle of a mound of food.
Now that Velma has her glasses, she sees that Shaggy is covered with pudding and frosting that she thought was ghost slime!
“That will teach me to draw conclusions before I see all the evidence,” Velma states firmly.
“Don’t feel bad. Here, have an éclair,” Shaggy says and hands Velma a dainty delight.
“There’s a ghost on the cruise ship! We have to investi—ooh, is that mint chocolate chip?” Velma says. “Maybe the investigation can wait for a minute.”
Velma t
akes a bite of the puff pastry and sighs with happiness. She eats the whole thing and licks her fingers clean. Shaggy offers her another delicious dessert.
“Don’t mind if I do,” Velma says as she takes the sweet treat. “Here Shaggy, try a bonbon.”
“Like, this is almost as good as a Scooby Snack,” Shaggy says.
“I rike rese better!” Scooby proclaims with a mouthful of the confections.
The three friends happily hand each other cupcakes and candies, donuts and peach pies, sundaes and celery sticks.
“Celery sticks?” Shaggy says suddenly. He looks at the hand holding the leafy green vegetables and his eyes go as large as tortillas. The hand is dripping with rotting seaweed. “Ahhh! It’s the ghost!”
Press here.
“We’ve got to get back to Earth! Where’s that doorway?” Fred says.
“It’s over there!” Daphne replies and points to a spot of sparkling air in the middle of the street.
Fred and Daphne try to run back the way they came along the moving sidewalk, but they end up running in place. An alien’s pet growls at Fred and chomps down on his pant leg. Fred tries to shake off the little critter.
“Fluffy! The monster has my Fluffy!” a female alien shouts.
“This sidewalk is getting us nowhere,” Daphne concludes. She grabs Fred’s hand and jumps into the street!
Vehicles zoom around Fred and Daphne. Anti-collision force fields flare. Warning sirens blast.
“Talk about jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire!” Fred yelps.
“Hurry, Fred! The doorway is fading!” Daphne warns.
Fred and Daphne weave through traffic as if running an obstacle course. They jump over and slide under the flying vehicles as fast as they can.
“Kids, don’t try this at home! Adults, don’t do this either!” Fred warns the crowd of aliens pointing at his antics.
Fred and Daphne leap through the shimmering portal and vanish!
Press here.
The ghost rises up in the tangle of noodles. Gooey red sauce drips from head to toe. Shaggy wakes up just in time to see the shambling shape and faints again!
Scooby-Doo can’t resist the temptation of so much pasta. He chomps down on the end of a spaghetti noodle and slurps!
The sea ghost spins around and around as the noodles unwind. Suddenly his mask spins right off his head. PLOP! The headpiece lands in the stand mixer and gets blended with the cake batter.
“Rey! Rou’re a rake!” Scooby realizes.
“A rake? I’m not a garden tool!” the unmasked man says angrily. “I’m Mondo the Magnificent! The greatest magician on the Seven Seas!”
Press here.
“The Sea Ghost Trick will be my greatest illusion of all time!” Mondo proclaims. “But no one can witness the secret of how it’s done. You and your meddling friend must disappear, forever!”
Mondo slices the spaghetti strands with the sharp ends of the trident. He bursts out of the cocoon and points the weapon at Scooby-Doo!
“Ruh-roh!” Scooby gulps. He tries to run, but his paws spin in circles on the slippery spaghetti noodles. The pasta piles up on the menacing magician but doesn’t stop him.
“Ri’m roomed!” Scooby whimpers.
Scooby sees a stack of flat tortillas on a table and grabs them like a deck of cards. “Row about a rard trick?”
He shuffles the tortillas at Mondo as fast as he can. They smack the outlaw magician in rapid fire and force him backward. Scooby uses all four paws to fling the floury discs.
“Rour of a kind! Ri win,” Scooby says.
Mondo stumbles and falls into the giant vat of cake batter. As Mondo gently churns around and around, Scooby takes a taste.
“Reeds more rugar,” Scooby decides.
Shaggy wakes up to discover Scooby-Doo licking his face.
“Hey, pal, it’s nice to see you, too!” Shaggy laughs.
“Rit’s ranilla icing! Rummy!” Scooby says.
“Congratulations on catching the culprit!” says the head of the ship’s security. The rest of the gang is there, too. “You solved the mystery of the scary sea ghost.”
“I did?” Shaggy gulps. “I wish I’d been there.”
“Actually, Scooby-Doo is the hero of this case,” Daphne says and pats Scooby on the head.
“Scoobs, you’re the greatest!” Shaggy declares. “So what happened to that spooky specter?”
“He’s just about to make his appearance,” Velma says.
A giant cake rolls out of the oven. Mondo struggles to escape the massive sweet treat.
“Like, he’s just another half-baked villain,” Shaggy says.
THE END
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Blackness surrounds Fred and Daphne as they travel through the space between worlds. This time they remember to hold their breath! They tumble out on the other side of the glowing doorway, and its light goes out. Fred and Daphne are left sitting in the dark.
“Uh, where are we?” Fred wonders.
“Fred, is that you?” a voice asks. It isn’t Daphne.
The lights go on, and Fred and Daphne see Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby. They are in the ballroom.
“How did we get here?” Daphne asks. “We were in the cargo hold.”
“We were on another world!” Fred exclaims. “At least I think we were.”
“Oh, we were all right,” Daphne says firmly and points at the tooth marks in his pant leg.
THE END
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AUTHOR
Laurie S. Sutton has read comics since she was a kid. She grew up to become an editor for Marvel, DC Comics, Starblaze, and Tekno Comics. She has written Adam Strange for DC, Star Trek: Voyager for Marvel, plus Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Witch Hunter for Malibu Comics. There are long boxes of comics in her closet where there should be clothing and shoes. Laurie has lived all over the world. She currently resides in Florida.
ILLUSTRATOR
Scott Neely has been a professional illustrator and designer for many years. For the last eight years, he’s been an official Scooby-Doo and Cartoon Network artist, working on such licensed properties as Dexter’s Laboratory, Johnny Bravo, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Powerpuff Girls, and more. He has also worked on Pokémon, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, My Friends Tigger & Pooh, Handy Manny, Strawberry Shortcake, Bratz, and many other popular characters. He lives in a suburb of Philadelphia and has a scrappy Yorkshire Terrier, Alfie.
GLOSSARY
accomplice (uh-KOM-pliss)—someone who helps another person commit a crime
dimension (duh-MEN-shuhn)—measure of extension in one direction or in all directions
electrocuted (i-LEK-truh-kyoo-ted)—injured or killed with an electric shock
generation (jen-uh-RAY-shuhn)—the process of bringing something into being
imposter (im-POSS-tur)—someone who pretends to be something that he or she is not
innocent (IN-uh-suhnt)—not guilty
investigate (in-VESS-tuh-gate)—find out as much as possible
kraken (KRAK-ehn)—a sea monster
logical (LOJ-ik-uhl)—using careful thinking
phantom (FAN-tuhm)—a ghost
portal (PORT-uhl)—a gate or passage
publicity (puh-BLISS-uh-tee)—information given out about something to get the public’s attention
trident (TRYE-dehnt)—a spear with three prongs
What do Scooby and Shaggy wear in the Bermuda Triangle?
Bermuda shorts
Ghoul weather clothes
Boo jeans
Why was Scooby underwater?
He sank his ship and turned it into a nervous wreck.
He just graduated from lifeguard class and got his deep-loma.
He was Scooby diving.
How did the lobster travel across the Bermuda Triangle?
It took the octo-bus.
It moved from tide to tide.
It rode on a sleigh with sandy claws!
What did Shaggy say when he swam in the ocean?
“Look at all my mussels!”
“Yuck! I think the sea weed!”
He didn’t say anything, he just waved.
Why did Scooby and Shaggy stop playing cards on the cruise ship?
They heard the Bermuda Triangle was full of card sharks.
Scooby was tired of shuffling cards—he was “shuffle bored.”
The captain of the ship was standing on the deck!
Why did Fred dress up as Frankenstein for the costume party?
He wanted Daphne to be his ghoul friend.
He wanted to win the best costume prize, of corpse!
Because Scooby’s jokes put him in stitches!
THE FUN DOESN’T STOP HERE!
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You Choose Stories: Scooby-Doo
is published by Stone Arch Books,
A Capstone Imprint
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www.capstonepub.com
Copyright © 2014 Hanna-Barbera.
SCOOBY-DOO and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Hanna-Barbera. WB SHIELD: ™ & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s14)