This is my first story, so by all means productive feedback is welcome.
The story will stay fun and lighthearted, though it'll probably get more explicit in future parts.
Prologue:
Daphne fumed.
For what felt like the millionth time she had leaned against a wall, only to plunge headfirst through a hidden door into a pitch black void and awoken with a splitting headache. After her last head injury her doctor had "joked" about naming his boat after her, and after this next visit she suspected he'd be able to follow through.
As she regained her bearings, Daphne quickly ascertained two things; the darkness in which she currently lay was the result of a blindfold, and she was somewhat sloppily bound and gagged. Assessing her bonds she gave her unknown captor a C-. While her hands were tightly bound behind her back, she could tell the technique was subpar, even for a criminal. The rope around her wrists pinched her skin in some spots, sat slack in others, and crisscrossed itself in a tangle as it dug into her pale skin. The bonds around her ankles weren't any tidier, but also weren't quite as tight. More ropes wrapped tightly around her chest, crossing over and under her breasts, pinning her to some sort of metal rail. In similar fashion loops around her thighs squeezed her legs against the same metal. Sloppy or not, she was going to have to work to get free.
Rubbing her head against her shoulder, she was relieved and bemused when a bandana slid easily off of her head. "Honestly why even bother if you're going to half-ass it like that?" she thought to herself.
She subsequently dislodged a similarly useless bandana that had been used as a cleave gag and continued to wonder what cartoon this master criminal had learned how to kidnap from.
Now free to examine her surroundings, she found herself in an antiquated mine shaft. A lantern hung from a sagging post nearby, casting a dim glow through the tunnel.
"You have got to be fucking kidding," she fumed.
She was tied to a railroad track. Of course she was. Of all the cliched indignities she had endured in her years as an investigator, this took the cake.
Sitting on the antique tracks at her feet was a mine cart, which contrary to the signs of neglect everywhere else had seemingly recently been filled with coal.
The realization cleared the haze in Daphne's mind. The gang had heard rumors in town about a haunting in a nearby mine. A ghostly, glowing figure had been seen entering and exiting the mine at night. The local sheriff had put up a new "No Trespassing" sign at the entrance, and called it a day. He explained that between staffing shortages and OSHA there was no way he was sending a deputy into a derelict shaft. With their recent pivot to true crime podcasting, and Fred's newfound enthusiasm for darker content, they had all (except Fred) agreed that investigating the sightings would be a welcome palate cleanser.
That night, the gang had piled into the van and driven down to the mine. Taking care to turn off the headlights as they approached, they had parked in the brush on the side of the access road and quietly made their way to the mine entrance. They had turned Scooby's nose loose, where he had found the scent of a sweaty, but importantly not decomposing, man, before the sound of footsteps from within the mine had sent them dashing behind some large rocks. Immediately, out from the gloom emerged a brightly glowing figure. In remarkably unghostly fashion, the ghost had produced and drank from a large bottle of water, poured some on its head, and then after fanning itself several times, turned and reentered the mine. The gang had cautiously followed, at which point Daphne had discovered the trapdoor.
Hearing someone approaching, Daphne was shaken from her recollection. Continuing to struggle to free her wrists she was irritated to find that despite the low quality work, she couldn't get loose.
"Christ, Daphne, all of this time spent tied up and you can't even get out of an amateur double column?? The kids you babysat in high school could tie better than this!" she raged at herself.
"What the hell are you doing?? Stop that!" a gruff voice snarled.
"Stay back!!" she barked back at the glowing figure storming towards her.
"Relax," the ghost implored her, raising his hands to show he meant no harm. "I'm not really a ghost, and if I was going to hurt you I already would have"
"Of course you're not a fucking ghost! But why the fuck are you glowing?? Is that radium paint? I don't want to end up like Marie Curie!" Daphne feigned panic as she unsuccessfully tried to worm away from her captor. This was one of the more hyperbolic stalling tactics she had employed, but it's only crazy if it doesn't work.
The ghost immediately stopped his approach, and stood baffled. He was already flustered, having been taken completely by surprise by the beautiful redhead falling almost literally into his lap. In a panic he had ensured she was breathing and tied her up, but he had no idea what to do with her. Now she was yelling about radiation poisoning and he was at a complete loss.
"Look," he started hesitatingly. "The paint is safe, I bought it on Marketplace from some guy after he came back from Burning Man. I really don't want you here, but I can't exactly let you run off to tell the police what I'm doing, can I?"
"Well what exactly are you doing here?" Daphne continued stalling, still twisting her wrists, and unsuccessfully trying to slip her hands free. Where the hell were her friends? She'd been yelling as loudly as she could and they couldn't be that far away.
