"Well, gang, we're finally here." Now in an open park area, Fred parked beside a few trees in Anima Nipissing's parking lot and motioned at the enormous lake before him.

"Jeepers," was the first thing Daphne said. "There aren't any other cars here."

In the back, Shaggy's teeth chattered, and he clutched his friends' seat heads. "Like, I think I know why."

"Well, then, this is perfect!" Fred turned off the Mystery Machine and removed the key from the ignition. "We have the campsite to ourselves. Come on, guys, help me unpack the canoes, and let's get our site ready." He glanced at Velma. "What time do we have, Velma?"

Velma lowered the map Stan gave them and checked her flip phone. "4:00, so we drove exactly eight hours, fifteen minutes, thirty seconds."

Fred shot her a funny look. She didn't have to go into that much detail. However, he shook it off and stole the map. "Did you check out the notes on the back? I'm sure they're about the Ghost of Ontario."

Shaggy grasped his head. "Like, please don't say that name again. Let's just get this over with."

From there, the gang unpacked their canoes for thirty minutes and tied them up on the dock that stretched into Lake Anima Nipissing. They also grabbed their camping supplies and found the trail for their campsite.

During the five-minute walk through the woods, Fred shooed away mosquitos and read a few notes on the back of the map. "I was right. It says here that 'Lucilla' is the warning sign of the ghost. Stan describes the melody as reminiscent of the Narnia lullaby in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but this lullaby sounds like it's coming from a leaf."

"A leaf?" Shaggy piped up. "People use them as instruments?"

Velma rolled her eyes. "Yes, Shaggy."

Beside her, Daphne held her phone up toward the treetops and begged, "Come on, come on!"

Freddie glanced over his shoulder. "What are you doing there, Daphne?"

She pouted a bit. "What does it look like? I'm trying to get service to upload a few pictures on Myspace."

"I already said that we don't have service out here," Fred explained. "We can only make emergency calls. We're solving this mystery the old-style way, gang—with clues, magnifying glasses, and Velma's big brain."

Shaggy smiled slightly, showing genuine interest behind his cowardly façade. "Like, sounds like an earlier incarnation of us." He and Scooby chuckled, but their giggles died when Fred accidentally crashed into a tree and tumbled onto the forest floor. Instantly, Shaggy and Scooby were back in each other's arms.

Fred sat and rubbed his head. He spit out a few leaves.

The others hovered over him, and Velma placed her hands on her hips, Daphne, too. "Fred, maybe we should have your driver's license revoked," Velma voiced. "First an eagle, and now a tree."

An innocent smile crossed Fred's face. "Sorry, Velma."

Daphne and Velma grasped Fred's arms and started to help him stand, but they stopped when something crashed in the forest. A yell overtook it, followed closely by Shaggy, Scooby, Fred, and Daphne also yelling. They dove behind a log just off the path and left Velma alone.

"Like, what was that?" Shaggy whimpered. Fred swore that his knees were louder than the crash.

Velma moved toward the inside forest, where the crash had come from. She studied it for a minute before calling back to the gang, "It's fine, gang! It's just a boy."

"A boy?" Fred and his friends asked together. What was she talking about? They emerged behind the log and approached Velma, Shaggy and Scooby still hugging one another.

"What are you talking about a boy?" Freddie wanted to know.

Velma gestured at the forest. "There's a small cliff in the forest. I think he fell off it."

"What are you—?" Fred started.

Velma grasped his temples and turned his head. She folded her arms.

Sure enough, a medium-sized figure covered in shadows stood in the overgrown woods and leaped behind a tree. Fred barely noticed him peering out at them.

"Oh, wow," he said, eyes sparkling like before. He lifted his hand and called, "Yo! How ya doing, man?"

"Freddie!" Velma snapped. She slapped her hand over his mouth. "Let me handle this."

"Oh, oops." Freddie blushed and lowered his hand.

"Hi," Velma said to the mysterious figure, "I'm Velma, and this is Freddie, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo. We won't hurt you."

"What's a boy doing out here?" Daphne questioned.

Shaggy gulped. "Like, I don't know, but I don't like it."

Velma removed her hiking pack and added, "It's okay. How about you come out here so we can see you?"

The boy didn't move. He only hid himself from view, so now the gang no longer saw him. Before Velma attempted a new tactic, they heard him running in the forest. He disappeared behind the cliff she mentioned.

Shaggy's eyes widened. "Like, what on Earth just happened?"

Freddie shrugged—"Beats me"—and gave his friends a cheeky look. "But I think it's safe to say we're all locked into this mystery now, huh? We've got a ghost, a demon bear, and now disappearing boys to deal with."

"You're locked into this mystery, Fred," Velma said. "We're just here for the ride."

What was her deal? Like the rest of the gang, Velma loved mysteries.

Daphne examined the forest one more time. "Shouldn't we report that boy to the authorities?"

"We'll do that tomorrow when we get to the construction site." Velma picked up her backpack. "I've had enough mutiny for one day." She started back down the path.

Fred, Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby exchanged looks before following her. A few minutes later, they reached their campsite and sighed with relief.

The site was just off a beach and contained a small hill leading to the tent sites. Anima Nipissing's gentle water slapped the sand and bounced off a few rocks. Groups of trees covered certain site sections, and a picnic table rested on the sand.

"Wow," Daphne said, quickly snapping a picture with her phone. "I'll admit—you did well, Fred."

"Don't I always?" he smugly returned.

The gang worked quickly to set up their tents and dinner supplies. They brought out a few chairs and set them up on the beach. Afterward, Fred started dinner, Scooby and Shaggy went swimming, Daphne sunbathed, and Velma examined the piece of fur she found with a magnifying glass at the table.

"Velma, what's going on?" Fred said. "One minute, you say you want to solve the mystery—the next, you don't."

"I just have a lot going on right now," Velma answered, not meeting his eyes.

Fred rested his elbow on the table. "Do you want to talk about it? I'd make a great therapist."

"No, you won't," Velma admitted, returning to her research.

Well, gee, that hurt a little.

Freddie pushed off the table and changed the subject before things got too awkward. "So... about that boy we saw..."

"Oh, please, Fred!" Velma slammed her magnifying glass on the table and stood. "Can you not talk about that mystery for one minute?" With that, she took her clue and left the scene.

Freddie, slightly heartbroken, dipped his head and returned to his cooking. Had he messed up, bringing his friends out there unexpectedly?

***

Shaggy and Scooby waded in Anima's comfortable water and splashed each other.

"You know, Scoob," Shaggy said, "there may be a ghost on the loose, but this water still feels great."

"Yeah, yeah!" Scooby floated on his back and circled Shaggy.

"Just imagine if there was an all-you-could-eat buffet out here," Shaggy added. "Then I'd give this trip a ten out of ten." He scooped up a stick floating in the water and taunted Scooby.

He panted and reached for it.

"Want the stick, boy?" Shaggy inquired, bringing back his arm. "Go get it!" He threw it, and Scooby doggie-paddled as fast as he could.

When he reached the stick, it slipped underwater, so Scooby kicked his legs and ducked under. White sand, pebbles, and schools of fish created a lively community under Anima Nipissing's surface, as did the dancing weeds.

Scooby found the stick and closed his eyes, chomping down on it. However, something grabbed the stick with him, and he opened his eyes, coming face-to-face... with a boy. Bewilderment flashed through his broad, deep brown eyes, and his long, scraggly brown hair swayed with the lake's current.

At once, Scooby released the stick and rushed to the surface. He nearly ran across the lake to get to Shaggy and jumped into him, knocking him into the water. Scooby hurried to the beach and kissed the sand at Daphne's feet.

She removed her sunglasses and said, "Jeepers, Scooby, what happened?"

Scooby tucked his head under her chair and covered his eyes. "Ghost! Ghost!"

"Oh, not again!" Daphne complained. She nearly broke her glasses. "There are no such things as ghosts."

Shaggy and the others sprinted to Daphne and Scooby and stopped before them. They shivered under a sudden blast of cold wind and covered their arms.

"Oh, ho, ho, ho," Shaggy sniffled. "I don't like this park. Can we please leave, Fred?"

Freddie popped him on the back of his head. "No way. We're not going anywhere until we solve this mystery."