11. Chapter 10: Irreversible (1/2)

chapter 10: irreversible

"like, zoinks! i still don't understand, like, why you both waited to tell us about this zombie attack! you coulda been zombie food!" shaggy yelped.

it was the morning after fred and i had been ambushed by the zombies in front of sherry's diner. fred, shaggy, scooby, and i were on our way to coolsville high school: i had just updated shaggy and scooby about our run-in with the zombies, which prompted us to hurry along in investigating the cabin that day. and even though it had been decided that we would skip classes for the day in order to search the cabin, velma had snuck off that morning to study the microchip in the school science lab, and had told us where she was only minutes ago. we were currently driving to the school to pick her up, and then we were on our way to the isolated cabin in the woods.

"well, we're telling you about the zombie attack now because we knew that if you heard about it last night after it happened, you and scooby probably wouldn't want to visit that cabin today," fred explained as the mystery machine pulled into the school parking lot. "we know how you guys tend to be scared when monsters are involved."

"well of course fredster, and for good reason!" shaggy cried. "like, i want to live to see graduation day: i don't want to be zombie food!"

"rombie rood is not good rood!" scooby agreed.

"don't worry guys, i called coolsville police and reported the attack this morning," fred explained. "when i mentioned that it happened at sherry's diner, the cop i spoke to said he would send some officers over to examine the security cameras and speak to sherry about the incident. hopefully, they can help us in getting some answers for this case!"

fred pulled the van into a parking space and turned off the car. outside, students were clustered together in tight groups, laughing and talking in lively voices as they filed into the school. but there was something unusual about the noise level of the school parking lot, which was usually rambunctiously loud. it seemed quitter than any other given day, and i couldn't help but notice that it was because there were fewer students in the parking lot. every day the student population was decreasing just a little more, and although it wasn't enough to be a concern for the principal to address, it was still evident. when any student did inquire as to what was causing so many absences as of late, a teacher would

ush it off and attribute it to an illness going around the school. but what if the increasing absences were connected with the zombie attacks?

as if fred had read my mind, he said, "gang, we need to hurry up and figure this mystery out before anyone else gets hurt or goes missing. sherry is still missing her fry cook, and i think coolsville is starting to take a more significant hit in terms of missing citizens. we should move quickly."

i unbuckled my seat belt and opened my door. as i started climbing out of the van, i said, "i'll go inside and hurry velma along. you guys wait in the mystery machine. we'll just be a few minutes, and then we'll get going to search for clues in the cabin."

as i threaded my way through crowds of students and made my way into the school, my heels clicking against the pavement below my feet, i thought back on the zombie attack the previous night. it had been our first encounter with the zombies, and i was sure that it wouldn't be the last. the zombie attacking us had mentioned something strange – something about a "final mission." what was all that about? josh had stated that layne uttered something similar when he attacked, too.

i finally reached velma's favorite science lab and burst through the doors, my eyes scanning the room for velma. i quickly located her seated on the ground, her face cloudy with what looked to be a mix of fear and regret.

"hey velm, what's going on?" i asked, approaching velma. i lowered myself next to her on the floor. "is everything all right? you don't look too happy about something."

velma shook her head slowly. "that's because i am not too happy, daph. i slipped in early this morning to study the microchip we found in great detail. after spending some time deconstructing the chip and playing around with the wiring and the mother board, i have finally reached the disturbing conclusion that the microchip appears to be…irreversible. or at the very least, if it is reversible, it appears as though it must be done from a master control panel of sorts. there is one switch in the chip that i was not able to discern or crack, and if that is the one that stops transforming people into zombies, then i think whoever is behind all of this holds all of the power for reversing the microchips. and even if we were to somehow trap a citizen, studying this microchip was for nothing: i would have no clue how to remove the chip without hurting the infected citizen in the process. i hate to admit it, but i am starting to feel more and more helpless about this case."

i put my arms around velma's shoulders and gave her a tight hug; even though what she was saying definitely didn't sound good, it hurt to see velma, who was usually so confident and logical, acting despondent. "oh velma, you did your best with that microchip, and i know that had to be hard. don't beat yourself up! we'll go to that cabin today, find some clues to lead us to the person behind all of this, and make them tell us how to reverse this whole thing. after all, we're mystery inc., and that's what we do best!"

velma sighed, remaining silent for a minute. outside the classroom, i could hear a group of students running through the hallways, their sneakers smacking against the ground as they yelled in excited voices. the tardy bell was probably going to ring relatively soon if people were already hurrying to classes.

finally, velma smiled