Chapter 20: oh no, they are keeping up!

Scooby held his ground growling for a few minutes. Then he ran after them.

The stalkers were beyond pissed. As far as they were concerned if they expressed the slightest interest in a woman, that woman should eagerly submit. Period. In this case it was Daphne. The sooner she realized she was just a body for their pleasure, the sooner she could get to enjoying her life.

And no growling dog was going to stop them from this truth.

They charged.

Scooby knew the bluff failed. He would never have bitten these two anyway. The diseases they likely carried would have him at the vet for months. No thank you.

Shaggy also knew the bluff failed.

“Faster.” He pulled on her hand and guided her down the trail. Then Shaggy took a deep breath. “Like ZIONKS!!!”

Scooby moved ahead. “This way.” Every so often he would pull them down some trail they did not even notice.

The stalkers stayed so close that they kept up.

Soon Scooby gave up on trails of any kind. If it looked like the humans could barge through, he led them through the undergrowth.

By the time they burst out of the forest it looked like they were wearing homemade ghillie suits.

Shaggy took a couple deep breaths. Then he once more yelled at the top of his lungs “Zoinks!!!”

His cries had been heard a couple times before and now several groups converged.

Incidentally, the commune security volunteers looked like frustrated would be football players.

One was guiding the others through a headset. He arranged for the group in front of Shaggy to open them up and let them through. Then four men we detailed to get them safely to the part of the parking lot where he had his van. Then they were told to help clear an exit path so Shaggy and his friends could escape. The rest of the teams surrounded the stalkers.

The stalkers did not like this at all. They could see their prize escaping behind a wall of rather large people. People that exuded none of the charm and friendliness hippies usually did. They stopped.

The leader showed up. His words seemed friendly. His tone certainly did not seem that way at all. “Good morning. My name is Bob. May I know your names?”

The stalkers realized they were in trouble. Their plans had failed. And they might soon be the ones being taught a life lesson. They did not need a syllabus to know they with prefer to drop these lessons. Drop the lessons before the lesson dropped them to the ground. They knew this and were stupid enough to stand there defiantly.

The remaining security people surrounded them.

Bob approached as this was any other peaceful morning. His words and tone continued to show that this was going to be a bad day for somebody. “Gentleman. And I use that would very loosely. Something you did cause Shaggy to go shouting his safe word as he went running though the woods. You were caught chasing him, a woman and his dog. Some of what you were heard shouting would be against the rules anywhere. We, as relaxed as we may be about many of society’s rules, have trouble thinking up any defense for your actions.” His tone turned progressively harder as he continued to speak. “Nonetheless we will give you a chance to explain yourselves. And it had better be good.”

The two stalkers looked at each other. Then they decided. “Court?” One asked the other.

“Public opinion.” The other answered. “Properly timed.”

The first looked pensive for a moment before brightening. He gave a be my guest gesture to his friend.

The second stalker nodded. He turned to face Bob. He stood taller, far more comfortable than a man in his position should have been. He looked around as though he was a well behaved attendee at a church picnic. The kind of person with nothing to worry about. You do not need my name. And your friend we are not. The bringers of your worst legal nightmares we will be if you keep us here two more minutes. We will issue a press announcement explain how you interrupted us. Of course we will emphasize every controversial thing about this place. Whatever victory you might have in the courts will be ashes in your mouth when we are done in court of public opinion. You will be lucky if the place is not closed down and burnt to the ground.”

There was some angry muttering at that.

He smiled an evil smile. “There only two ways to avoid this. You kill us. Or you set us free.”

“Of course, we prefer being set free.” The other stalker chimed in.

“You might be right about that.”

Half the jaws in the crowd dropped.

“Good. We should still be able to catch our property.”

Bob held up his hand and waved his finger in a no you don’t motion. “Free, yes. Free once you in your car and off the property. Keep trying to chase her and we’ll be the ones calling the police.”

The first stalker remembered something about the roads outside the commune. “We can work with that.” He whispered something in the other’s ear.

Both went quietly after that.

A few minutes before that Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne reached the van.

By this point the leisurely loading job they had planned this morning had changed. Now Shaggy and Scooby both opened the back doors of the van.

Then Shaggy jumped in the driver’s seat and revved the engine.

Scooby threw everything in the back. Then he grabbed Daphne and tossed her on to one of the softer piles. He jumped in afterwards and closed the doors. “Now Shaggy!”

The phrase ‘bat out of hell’ would be too slow to describe the speed Shaggy left the area at.

One would think their escape assured.

Sadly, there was only one road in or out of the Cummune. It was long enough that the stalkers were able to get into their car and race after them.

Shaggy drove as though he did road races as hobby.

Sadly the others were driving a sports car. A well designed, well cared for sports car.

Most people would not have put large bets on winner of this race.

Most people also had not spent as much time on these roads as Shaggy.