Give Yourself Goosebumps Book14 The Creepy Creati
Give Yourself Goosebumps Book14 The Creepy Creati
Give Yourself Goosebumps Book14 The Creepy Creati
Clean out Professor Shock’s garage? Major drag! you say. Until you sneak
into his workshop — and check out the gadgets. Whoa! He’s got a huge robot in
there. And a really cool pinball machine.
You’re dying to try them all. But look out. Some of the professor’s
inventions do shocking things! Can you take it? Will you know what to do when
an mp3 player attacks you? And what’s that thing labeled “Loreo”? Do you have
the guts to find out?
Whatever you do — don’t push the red button on that remote control! You
already pushed it? Oops. Sorry!
You’re in control of this scary adventure. You decide what will happen. And
how terrifying the scares will be!
Start on PAGE 1. Then follow the instructions at the bottom of each page.
You make the choices.
Beware!!
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Teaser
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“School’s out!” you yell gleefully. Leaning on the handlebars of your
bicycle, you gaze at your best friends, Jason and Stacey. “What should we do
today?”
Jason and Stacey are twins. Both have blond hair and blue eyes. But that’s
about the only way they’re alike.
“Let’s ride around the park,” Jason suggests.
“BOR-ing!” Stacey responds. “Let’s go someplace new.”
As always, you make the decision. “We’ll go that way,” you say, pointing
north out of the park.
You race up the wide boulevard on your bicycles. Soon you’re in a part of
town you’ve never seen before.
“I heard this was the oldest part of the city,” Jason says. “Some of the houses
go back to pioneer days.”
“That one looks like it goes back to the dinosaurs,” you joke. You point at a
high, crumbling brick wall. All you can see of the house behind it is a rotting
roof.
A sign by the front gate says PLEASE COME IN.
You turn to your friends. “Let’s check it out,” you suggest. You turn back to
the gate.
And stop. In shock. Because the sign now says DANGER!
Turn to PAGE 2.
You rub your eyes. Did you read the sign correctly?
Then you see that it’s loose. It turns slowly in the wind — back to the side
that says PLEASE COME IN.
“Let’s go in!” Stacey says excitedly.
“Are you nuts?” Jason cries. “The sign says danger.”
As usual, you decide. “I want to see what’s inside,” you declare. The rusty
gate is open a crack. You push it all the way open and enter.
You find yourselves in a weedy yard with grass as high as your knees.
Beyond the lawn stands a huge old three-story house. Paint peels from every
wall. The porch sags. Several of the windows are boarded up.
“It looks haunted,” Jason says nervously.
Stacey rolls her eyes. “There’s no such thing,” she responds. “But I’ll bet no
one’s lived here in a long time.”
You step onto the sagging porch and peer in the front window. It’s so dirty
you can’t see anything inside.
Then a strong, bony hand clamps around your wrist.
Go to PAGE 3.
Your heart thuds. A fierce-looking old man is holding your wrist. He’s
totally bald. A bushy white beard hangs down to his chest. His dark eyes squint
behind thick glasses.
“It’s about time you got here! I’ve been waiting all morning. I’m Professor
Shock,” the old man says. “Are you ready to start work?”
“What do you mean?” you demand, pulling away from him.
Professor Shock frowns. “Aren’t you from Acme Cleanup?”
“No,” Stacey tells him. “We were riding around and saw your gate was
open.”
“Oh.” Professor Shock seems disappointed. “The people from Acme were
supposed to clean my garage,” he explains. “But they didn’t show up. Why don’t
I hire you kids? It’s not hard work — and I’ll pay you fifty dollars.”
You glance at the twins. That’s a lot of money!
Jason nods eagerly. “Sure! We’ll be glad to.”
“Wonderful!” Professor Shock replies. “Right this way.”
You follow the old man to the backyard. Then you see the garage. And you
wonder if you’ve made a big mistake.
Turn to PAGE 4.
The garage is as big as a barn — and packed with junk. Moldy old furniture.
Rotting cardboard boxes. Piles of rags. A rusted-out car. And that’s just in the
front part.
“You want us to clean this out?” Stacey asks.
“It’ll be easy!” Professor Shock says cheerily. He hands you brooms and
trash bags. “I’ll check back later. Oh, one thing,” he adds. “Whatever you do,
don’t go in the back room!” He points to a partially open green door at the back
of the garage.
“But —” Stacey cries.
Too late. He’s gone. You and your friends gaze at the incredible mass of
junk. Is the money really worth it?
“Let’s get started,” you say with a sigh.
You find a wheelbarrow and load piles of old newspapers into it. Stacey
pushes a broom in the back of the garage. Jason carries boxes to the front.
“Oh, no!” Stacey suddenly calls. “My ring slipped off my finger! And it
rolled right into the back room!”
Go to PAGE 62.
You decide to try FAST FORWARD. Maybe it’ll speed you up, so you can
escape Professor Shock’s robot!
You jab your finger down on the FAST FORWARD button.
Every single machine in the workshop clicks on at once. And they all run at
supersonic speeds! Lights flicker on and off like strobes. The computer printer
spews out paper, hundreds of pages a minute. The power drill spins so fast it
starts to smoke. The pinball machine flashes and clangs.
And then everything stops. Just like that.
“What happened?” you demand. Your voice sounds strangely tinny. You
reach up to touch your mouth.
CLANG! Hey! Your skin feels … metallic.
“Congratulations,” Professor Shock says.
You glance at him. And gasp. He’s turned silver! Light gleams off his
polished head.
He’s become a robot!
And so have you!
“You fast-forwarded right through all the stages,” Professor Shock tells you.
“My plan is now complete. Thank you!”
Welcome to Machine World.
Hope you like heavy metal music!
THE END
“We’d better go after our reflections,” you say. “What if they don’t come
back? We can’t go through life without them. We’ve got to catch up!”
You thrust your foot at the mirror. It slides right through! A tingle runs up
your leg.
And then you’re on the other side.
Stacey and Jason pop through a moment later. The three of you are right in
front of Miller’s Ice Cream. The sun is shining. The air is full of familiar scents
and sounds.
“We are home,” Jason says. “This is great!”
You point to the plate-glass store window. Everything is reflected there —
everything but the three of you. It’s very creepy.
“We have to get our reflections back,” you say firmly. “Come on. They must
be in the store.”
But when you enter the ice-cream store, there’s no one there but the cashier.
A white ceiling fan circles lazily.
Stacey steps up to the cashier. “Excuse me,” she says. “Did three kids just
run in here? Three kids who look a lot like us?”
Jason nudges you. “There they are,” he whispers, pointing to a big mirror on
the right-hand wall.
You run over and peer into the mirror. “HEY!” you shout.
Go on to PAGE 17.
You squeeze through a narrow opening between two tall mirrors. It leads
into an entrance hall. You and the twins walk in — and stop, shocked.
The inside of the Palace is made of mirrors, too! Everywhere you look,
hundreds of reflections of yourself gaze back at you.
“What a strange place!” Stacey exclaims.
“I never saw so many mirrors,” Jason says. “One of these must be the one
we’re looking for.”
“No way!” Stacey disagrees. “They wouldn’t keep the Queen’s mirror in
some lousy entrance hall! It must be in another part of the Palace. I bet it has its
own special room.”
“We should search in here first,” Jason insists.
“It’s a waste of time,” Stacey retorts.
You sigh. Sometimes you feel like a referee.
“I’ll tell you what we’re going to do,” you say.
If you stay and search for the Queen’s mirror in the entrance hall, go to
PAGE 49.
If you skip the entrance hall and search the rest of the Palace, turn to PAGE
16.
A tiny beetle clings to a branch of an enormous tree. It has a gigantic,
trumpet-shaped mouth.
“AROOOOOOO!” the beetle booms.
“A bug?” Jason says in disbelief.
You step up, peering at the little insect.
“AROOOOO!” it shouts.
Your head vibrates like a gong.
“Why aren’t you three in school?” a stern voice demands. You glance up to
see a big man wearing a badge.
“A policeman!” Stacey cries. “Officer, can you help us find the Palace of
Mirrors?”
“The Palace is across the lake,” the policeman replies. “But you can’t go
there now. You kids are supposed to be in school!”
Behind the policeman you can glimpse a wide lake through the trees.
Something glitters on the far shore. Is it the Palace?
“Come on,” the officer says. “I’ll take you to school.”
You hesitate. Is it worth trying to explain your problem to the policeman? If
he believes you, he might help you. But your story is pretty weird. Maybe you’re
better off running away and trying to get to the Palace of Mirrors on your own.
If you try to get help from the policeman, turn to PAGE 44.
If you run for the Palace instead, go to PAGE 121.
You decide to give the backward answer.
“Seven and eight are fifty-one,” you tell the teacher.
“Wrong!” Ms. Silver cries in triumph. “Everyone knows that seven and eight
make fifteen!”
“But —” you start to protest.
“Arnie gave a correct answer, but you told him he was wrong!” Stacey yells.
“Yeah! You can’t have it both ways,” Jason adds.
“Silence!” Ms. Silver screams. “I will not tolerate back talk. Into the closet.
All three of you!”
Before you can move, the teacher has your ear in an iron grip. Out of the
corner of your eye, you see that she’s got Jason’s and Stacey’s ears pinched
together in her other hand. You struggle, but you’re no match for Ms. Silver.
“Give my regards to the sharks,” she sneers. Then she shoves you all
through the closet door and slams it.
It’s pitch-dark inside. You seem to be sitting in a giant woven basket of some
sort. Straw pokes into your back.
“Did she say sharks?” Jason moans.
You never get the chance to answer. Because suddenly there’s a deafening
SPRRROINGGGG! Like a giant rubber band snapping.
And then the three of you are hurtling through the air!
Pick your jaw up off the floor and turn to PAGE 37.
Stacey puts a hand on your shoulder. “Remember how Uncle Jack told you
he built Red’s circuits?” she asks you.
You don’t like the way she’s looking at you. “So what?” you say and shrug
her hand away.
Jason puts a hand on your other shoulder. “Well, that wasn’t quite true,” he
tells you. “Actually, it’s the other way around. Uncle Red’s the one who built
Uncle Jack.”
Uncle Red?
Stacey smiles. “And then Uncle Jack built Jason and me!”
You’re suddenly having trouble breathing. “You mean —”
“Yes.” Jason nods. “We’re cyborgs.”
“We used you to steal the remote from Professor Shock. We knew he’d come
after it,” Uncle Jack explains. “We had to get him somewhere, away from all his
gadgets, where we could neutralize him. You see, he’s the only person who could
have stopped us.”
Your legs start to shake. You need to sit down. “You mean all this time, I’ve
been hanging out with cyborgs?” you squeak. “Helping them?”
“Right,” Jason says. “As a reward, we’re willing to make you one of us. Isn’t
that great?”
You? A cyborg? A mutant machine monster?
If you can’t beat them, join them. After all, they won, in
THE END.
Slowly, nervously, you and the twins step out of the elevator. The doors
swish closed behind you.
You’re in a huge room. Steps lead down to a polished white floor. Staring
around in wonder, you walk down them.
Giant red numbers are painted all over the floor, which slopes gently
downward. Thick blue and yellow pillars sprout up everywhere. Here and there
you see what look like archery targets, outlined in neon light. Odd, wedge-
shaped swinging gates are also scattered around the room.
“Where are we?” Jason whispers.
“It looks like a fun house!” Stacey exclaims.
You glance up. Hey! The ceiling is made of glass! Through it, you can
glimpse an even bigger room — so vast you can’t take it all in.
Then, you spot something else. Something unbelievable. Something so
terrifying you can’t hold back a scream.
JUNKYARD
Huh? Isn’t that where people throw away old dishwashers and other
appliances? Why would the bicycle bring you here?
The bike tears through the gate. Straight toward an enormous junk heap!
You squint. It’s hard to see, with the wind in your eyes, but it appears as if
the junk heap is moving. Ugh! you think. It must be covered with rats or
something!
Without warning, the bike screeches to a stop.
You, however, keep going.
You sail over the handlebars and fly toward the junk heap. Now, at last, you
can see it clearly.
It’s a squirming, heaving pile of … people!
That’s right. In this horrible machine world, human beings are useless.
Garbage.
Your bike was simply taking out the trash!
THE END
“AAAAAAGHHH!” you scream.
A mountain-sized man is peering through the ceiling at you!
He has a long, white beard. Every hair of it is like a thick rope. The wrinkles
on his face are so deep that you could get lost forever if you fell into one of
them. Thick, black-framed glasses make his tremendous eyes look even more
huge.
Wait a second! You recognize this giant! It’s …
“Professor Shock!” Stacey shrieks.
“Ooohh …” Jason murmurs. And faints.
Your heart races. What’s going on? Where are you? And how on earth did
Professor Shock get to be so big?
The professor strokes his beard with his enormous hand. Then he reaches
down. His hand disappears somewhere to the right of the glass-ceilinged room.
CLING! GA-ZURK! SPROINGGGGG!
You feel a chill. There’s something horribly familiar about those clanging
noises….
THE END
“I’m sorry,” you tell Professor Shock. “We didn’t mean to come in here. And
we didn’t mean to make the robot go nuts. It was all an accident!”
“What about the damage?” the old man thunders. “You’ve caused thousands
of dollars worth of damage!”
You gulp. “I’ll work to help pay for it,” you offer.
“You’ll pay, all right,” Professor Shock mutters. He glances around.
“Where’s my remote control? I left it on my desk.”
“You mean this?” Guiltily, you pull the two pieces of the flat, black box from
your pocket.
“You broke it!” the professor screams. “What will I do now?” Then his eyes
narrow thoughtfully. “Never mind. I just figured out what you can do to pay me
back. Follow me.”
Nervously, you follow the old man out of the garage and into his house. As
soon as he opens the door, loud squawks fill your ears.
“In here,” Professor Shock shouts above the noise.
You stop and stare. The living room is even stranger than the garage.
Go on to PAGE 78.
That yell sounded like Jason! You and Stacey dash after him into the back
room.
He’s struggling in the grip of a tall, red-haired man with a beard. You stare.
This guy is almost as big as Deep Voice!
“Leave my brother alone!” Stacey yells.
“What have you done with Uncle Jack?” Jason cries at the same time.
The red-haired man lets Jason go. “Sorry, kid,” he says. “I thought you were
trying to steal something. Jack’s your uncle, huh? My name’s Red. I — uh —
bought this shop from him.”
Jason scowls. “Why didn’t Uncle Jack tell us about you?”
Red shrugs. “Maybe he forgot.”
You’re in a hurry to leave this creepy mall before Deep Voice catches up to
you. “Come on,” you say to your friends.
“Wait!” Red cries. “I didn’t mean to upset you kids. Tell you what. Let me
see your remote. I’ll fix it for free.”
You stare at him. You never mentioned the remote to him! How does he
know you have it?
Oh, no! Is he after Professor Shock’s gadget, too?
THE END
“What’s all the fuss?” a metallic voice grumbles.
It’s Professor Shock’s robot! And it can talk! Professor Shock is the most
brilliant inventor ever, you think.
Uncle Jack pushes past you. “Where’s Professor Shock?” he demands. “We
need to see him right away. We must join forces.”
“No need,” the robot answers. “The battle is already over.”
“The battle?” you gasp. “What battle?”
The robot turns its red eyes on you. “The battle between the humans and the
cyborgs,” it answers. “We won.”
“We won!” Stacey cries, clapping her hands. “Did you hear? We won! That’s
great news!”
You’re not so sure. “Uh, by the way … which side are you on?” you ask the
robot, trying to sound casual.
“The side of the machines, of course,” the robot replies. “Our age is just
beginning. Now, follow me … slaves!”
The Machine Age may be just beginning. But for you humans, this is
definitely
THE END.
You, Jason, and Stacey ride out to the old mall on the edge of town. As you
draw near, you begin to wonder if this was such a good idea. The mall looks
even worse than you remembered! Weeds sprout from cracks in the pavement.
Several of the windows are boarded up.
“Why is your uncle’s store here?” you ask the twins.
“He’s trying to sell it and retire,” Jason tells you. “But no one wants to buy
it. So he’s kind of stuck.”
“Uncle Jack’s store is on the third level,” Stacey calls over her shoulder.
“Let’s cut through the garage.” She veers down the driveway into the lower level
of the parking garage.
You and Jason follow. Privately, you wish she’d gone around the garage.
Sometimes you wish Stacey wasn’t so fearless.
Like now. It’s pitch-dark in the garage. So dark that you have to climb off
your bike. You can’t ride if you can’t see where you’re going!
Are Stacey and Jason still with you? “Guys?” you call.
“Here!” Stacey calls. Her voice comes from your left.
“Over here.” That’s Jason. On your right.
“Behind you,” a deep voice says in your ear.
Yikes! Who’s that?
Go on to PAGE 56.
“I’ll stay on the bike,” you decide. The thing is traveling along a definite
route, almost as if it’s been preprogrammed. Which is pretty creepy. You figure
you should stick around and find out where it’s going. And why.
The bike zooms down a hill. Faster. Faster! Before long, it’s moving so fast
the wheels start to give off a high-pitched noise. Almost like a scream.
You clutch the handlebars and hunch down. Wind drags at your hair. Your
clothes. It’s all you can do to stay on the seat.
You’re really scared now. But it’s too late to jump off. At this speed, you’d
splat on the pavement like a broken egg!
The bike turns left at a white signboard and then races toward a high,
barbed-wire fence. There’s a gate dead ahead. It’s open.
As you whiz past the white sign, you manage to glimpse what it says.
Uh-oh!
THE END
You’re fascinated by the mirror showing the country scene. “Let’s try this
one,” you say. “If we don’t like what we find, we can always come back.”
The twins agree. Trying not to feel silly, you poke your left foot at the glass.
Hey! It goes right through! The glass feels rubbery. It’s like walking through
a bowl of Jell-O. Your arms and legs tingle.
And then you’re on the other side.
You glance around. You’re in a flower-dotted field. Jason and Stacey are
beside you. Warm sun pours down. Birds are singing. In the distance, cows
munch on grass.
But there’s something wrong with the whole scene….
“The grass! It’s blue!” Jason cries. “And the sky’s green!”
He’s right! And now that you know what to look for, you notice that the
cows are red and yellow, while the flowers are spotted black and white. The
colors are reversed. Backward!
“Where are we?” Stacey cries.
“Who cares?” Jason says. “I want to go back.” He turns around. Then he
gasps.
“The mirror!” he shouts. “Where’s the mirror?”
Go to PAGE 60.
“Heads up!” you yell as the bike carries you away.
It races down your walk and into the street. Straight for a speeding bus!
You jam on the brakes. Nothing happens.
You try to swerve to the left. But you can’t control the handlebars. They turn
themselves to the right. The bus’s radiator looms in front of you. You stare,
frozen in terror.
Then you scrape past the bus. With only inches to spare.
Whew!
The bike darts in and out of traffic. It’s nerve-wracking, but there’s nothing
you can do to control it. So you hang on and try to ignore the danger while you
figure out what’s going on.
Could this mechanical madness have anything to do with Professor Shock’s
remote control? When you pressed that red button, did something happen after
all?
You suddenly notice that the bicycle is picking up speed. You’re already
going so fast that the wind is making your eyes water. If you hit anything, you’ll
be a goner for sure!
Should you jump off now? Or would you rather stay on and see where the
bike takes you?
If you want to get off, jump off the bike on PAGE 69.
If you’d rather not jump, stay on until you reach PAGE 45.
“Jason’s right. We should look for the Queen’s mirror in this hall before we
go on,” you say.
You examine the mirrors near you. Some are round. Some are square. Some
are shaped like hearts. You peer into each of them. They all seem ordinary to
you.
But then, you don’t know what a queen’s mirror looks like.
“Maybe the Queen’s mirror has her name on it,” Stacey suggests.
It’s an idea. You begin checking the mirrors for names. But the only writing
you find says MADE IN TAIWAN.
Then you spot something green glittering in a corner. You step over the
mirrors for a closer look. But all you find is a green mirrored door, set back into
a nook in the wall.
Hmm. Should you investigate what’s behind the green door? Or should you
forget it and rejoin your friends?
THE END.
The water of the lake only comes to your knees. You start for the boat.
“This is easy!” Jason marvels.
Too easy? you wonder. You glance nervously around, scanning the water for
dark fins. But it’s all clear. No sharks.
You’ve almost reached the boat when Stacey screams.
You whirl around. Something big and black has swooped down from the sky
and grabbed her.
Something with fins! And lots of sharp teeth!
“What was that?” Jason shrieks.
You can’t believe it! It’s a shark. A flying shark!
When you glance at the sky, your eyes widen in horror. Heading for you are
more flying sharks. Hundreds of them!
Then one of the things zooms at you. You duck. But it’s no good. Daggerlike
teeth close on your body. You’re whisked up, up and away. Jason is next to you,
screaming horribly.
Too bad! It looks as if this adventure has come to a very fishy
END!
“Wait for me!” you call, dashing after Stacey and Jason. You race past the
piles of boxes and old furniture in the garage. You don’t even glance at the
rusted car and machinery.
Speeding outside, you jump on your bike. The twins are already way down
the street. You pedal as fast as you can for your own neighborhood.
After a few blocks, you glance back. Whew! No sign of Professor Shock.
You’re home free.
When you reach your house, you grab some cookies from the kitchen and
head upstairs. You feel like relaxing for a while. You slip on your headphones
and lie down on your bed to listen to some music.
That’s when you remember the broken black box in your pocket.
Go on to PAGE 73.
ZZZT! The laser beam bounces off your mp3 player.
The music suddenly grows louder.
Quickly, you turn the volume down. But the sound keeps swelling. It’s
hurting your ears!
You switch the device off.
The music plays on! It blares in your ears, so loud you think your brain will
fry!
Dropping the remote, you try to yank the headphones off your head. But
they won’t budge. It’s as if they’re glued in place.
“Help!” you cry. But you can’t even hear your own voice.
The music is so loud your whole head is vibrating. Your eyes feel as if
they’re about to pop out. You’ve got to do something. This is dangerous!
Think! you urge yourself. Your device went crazy right after you put the
remote together. Maybe if you break it apart again, the player will leave you
alone.
Or maybe you should try pressing one of the remote buttons.
Better decide quickly — before your brain explodes!
THE END
Jason jumps up. “Help! I want out!”
“Hold on!” you call. “Don’t panic!”
“There’s got to be a way out,” Stacey declares.
You stare at the mirrors. An idea is forming in your mind. “If we came in
through the mirror, maybe that’s the way out, too. Maybe we can escape through
one of these mirrors.”
“But which one?” Jason demands.
You study the two mirrors. The one on your right seems ordinary. It reflects
you and the twins.
The one on your left is a different story. In fact, you wonder if there’s a
hidden movie projector in the room. Because the mirror shows a peaceful
country meadow full of grazing cows.
Which mirror will you try?
If you choose the one with the country scene, turn to PAGE 47.
If you pick the one that reflects you and the twins, go to PAGE 123.
Jason’s right. The mirror has vanished!
You can’t go back to the little room!
“We’ll be fine,” Stacey declares. “Professor Shock said all we have to do to
get out of here is find something.”
“But he didn’t say what we need to find,” Jason retorts. “We’re trapped.
Maybe forever.”
You sure hope Jason’s wrong. You stare around. There must be some clue,
something that will tell you what to do next.
Then, across the field, you spot a green sign. It looks like a regular road sign
— except that there’s no road nearby.
“Maybe that sign will tell us something,” you suggest.
Stacey immediately races toward the sign. You and Jason take off after her.
Tall, blue grass tickles your ankles. It feels good to run. Until you realize that
something is wrong.
You’ve been running for several minutes. But — “The sign looks farther
away than when we started!” you blurt out.
You and your friends stop running and turn to gaze back the way you came.
You’ve definitely covered some ground.
“Weird,” Stacey pants.
“Maybe it’s an optical illusion,” Jason suggests.
Before you can reply, something grunts. Right behind you.
Go on to PAGE 82.
You gaze into the mirror, hoping to see the world you came from. The real
world.
Instead, you see — nothing.
There is no reflection inside this mirror! Behind the glass, there’s just —
nothing.
“Creepy!” Stacey mutters. “What kind of mirror is this?”
“A backward mirror,” you answer with a sigh. “But maybe we can step
through it. Maybe it will take us back home.”
“I doubt it,” Jason says glumly. “We still haven’t found whatever Professor
Shock told us to find. But let’s try it.”
“I don’t want to go yet! I want to see the Loreo,” Stacey objects. “Come on,
let’s sit down.”
“No! Let’s go!” Jason whines.
You’re feeling cranky yourself. Should you just give up on the Loreo and try
the mirror? Or would you rather wait for the Loreo after all?
Which will it be? Step through the mirror on PAGE 28, or wait for the
Loreo on PAGE 125.
“Oh, no! It’s happening again!” Stacey cries.
She’s right. Once again, your reflections are shrieking in soundless terror.
Yours throws up its hands. Stacey’s starts to tremble. Jason’s puts its hands over
its eyes.
Then, just as before, they turn and run away!
“Wait!” you scream. Lunging forward, you dive headfirst into the big mirror.
Jason and Stacey are right behind you.
Your body tingles. Then you tumble out onto the wooden floor of an empty
ice-cream parlor. A moving shadow makes you look up.
A white ceiling fan circles lazily overhead.
You’re in Miller’s!
“Not again!” Stacey exclaims.
“It’s déjà vu,” Jason moans.
This time, the mirror is on the left-hand wall. You peek at your reflection.
And as soon as you lock eyes, it happens again. The screaming. The running
away.
Finally, you get it.
Your reflection is running away from … you!
You don’t know why. All you know is, you’ve got to keep after your
reflection until you catch it.
Even if it takes the rest of your life….
THE END
You stare at Uncle Jack. Maybe being tied up has made him a little funny in
the head! “Red is a cyborg?” you repeat.
Yeah, right!
But Uncle Jack nods solemnly. “He’s half human, half machine. Professor
Shock invented the technology to make cyborgs years ago. I helped. I built Red’s
circuits. And now he’s the leader of a band of rebel cyborgs!”
Uncle Jack is starting to scare you. He sounds completely serious. Could he
be telling the truth?
Stacey and Jason appear to be convinced. And they know Uncle Jack better
than you do.
“Wh-what do the cyborgs want?” Stacey stammers.
“Power,” Uncle Jack replies. “Cyborgs are bigger, stronger, and faster than
natural humans. They think that makes them better. Red told me about their
plan.”
He stares at each of you in turn. Leaning forward, he whispers, “They want
to make us their slaves!”
Go to PAGE 112.
You decide to go for the shop’s back door. Maybe you can outfox Red. “Split
up,” you whisper to the twins.
You duck to the left. Jason lunges to the right. And Stacey dives straight at
Red’s knees!
“Hey!” the huge man yells. He looks surprised. And furious! “Who-o-oa!”
he cries and topples over backward.
CRASH! The floor shakes when his body hits it.
“Nice move, Stacey!” you cheer.
The three of you race through the back door, tear down the hall, and clatter
downstairs to the mall’s first level.
You hurry past the old Kiddie Karnival. Your mom used to leave you there to
ride the bumper cars while she went shopping. Now the little cars are covered
with dust. The poles that connect each car to the power grid have been removed.
Too bad! you think. You used to love those bumper cars.
Stacey suddenly cries out. You stop and turn around.
She’s limping and clutching her ankle. “I twisted it,” she explains. “I can’t
walk!”
“I want that remote!” Red’s voice roars from the stairwell.
Uh-oh. He’s coming!
Then you have a great idea.
THE END.
You gulp. Ms. Silver is pointing straight at you. You’re on the spot now!
“I don’t get it,” Jason whispers. “Arnie was right. Seven times seven is forty-
nine! Why did she punish him?”
“Don’t forget, we’re in a backward world. Maybe she wanted a backward
answer,” Stacey replies.
“Silence!” Ms. Silver shrieks. “Now tell me: What is seven plus eight?”
You’re starting to sweat. If you don’t give Ms. Silver the answer she wants,
you’ll end up in the closet, just like Arnie.
And you know that would be really bad news!
“I’m waiting,” Ms. Silver snarls.
If you think the best answer is the real answer, fifteen, turn to PAGE 88.
If you think the answer the teacher wants is fifty-one, try PAGE 14.
GUGUGUGUGUGUG! The floor suddenly starts to shake. A giant, silver
ball shoots from a tube on your right. It slams into the back wall, bounces off,
and hurtles down the sloping floor. Right toward you!
“Look out!” Stacey yells.
“Yipe!” you squeak, and dive to the side.
Just in time. The enormous silver ball rumbles past you and smashes into
one of the targets.
DING-DING-DING! Bells ring. The target flashes.
That’s when it all falls into place. You know where you are. And you realize
it’s not Professor Shock who changed size.
It’s you!
Maybe it was the remote. Maybe it was the blue light in the elevator. But
something has made you shrink to the size of a marble. And something has
dumped you where you are now —
Inside Professor Shock’s pinball machine!
You gaze around frantically for the silver ball. To your relief, it appears to be
losing speed.
Then the entire floor heaves up to the left. You lose your balance and tumble
to the floor. The silver ball zooms at you.
No fair! Professor Shock is tilting!
And you’re
FINISHED!
“We’ve got to find a way to go through the window,” you say.
“We could pile some of the furniture up and use it like a ladder,” Jason
points out.
He’s really pretty smart.
Uncle Jack helps you and the twins shove a table underneath the window.
You stack an armchair on top of it. Then you balance a stool on top of that. The
pile looks very shaky. But it reaches almost to the bottom of the window.
“I’m too big to fit through the window,” Uncle Jack tells you. “You kids will
have to go through and then come back and unlock the door for me.”
You climb up onto the table. Then the chair. Then the stool. The whole pile
wobbles. You feel like a circus acrobat.
Very carefully, you slide the small window up. Luckily for you, it isn’t
painted shut. Grasping the windowsill, you pull yourself through. Into a row of
garbage cans at the back of the employee parking lot.
It stinks. Yuck.
But you made it!
Then a cold hand grips your shoulder. “Where do you think you’re going?” a
voice demands.
THE END
“Stacey!” you cry. “Jason! Is it really you?”
“Of course it’s us!” Jason replies.
“But you’re so — so clean!” you exclaim. “You both have new haircuts. And
new clothes!” Jason and Stacey stare at each other. Then they glance down at
their new clothes. “Cool!” Stacey cries. “How did this happen?” Jason asks.
“You got polished,” the Queen mutters. “What did you expect?”
You’re ready to leave this place. “You promised to let us use your mirror,”
you remind the Queen. She glares at you, then opens a secret panel in the wall. A
round, gold-framed mirror appears. You and the twins rush up to it and gaze in.
“Look!” Stacey cries. “There are words in it!”
You peer at the swirling letters in the glass. You’re sure the words are
instructions for returning to your own world. There’s only one problem. They’re
in a strange writing.
If you can read this secret writing, you know what to do. Turn to PAGE
107.
If you can’t read it, go to PAGE 93 for a hint.
You grab the remote from your bed where you dropped it. You don’t have
time to fiddle with the thing. This is an emergency!
As hard as you can, you hurl the remote against your bedroom door.
CRASH! The black case shatters. Springs pop. Sparks fly.
And the deafening music stops.
Whew! You rip off the headphones and throw the mp3 player across the
room. It hits the floor next to the remote.
ZAP! A giant yellow spark leaps out of the broken remote control. And into
your player.
Uh-oh. Why is the device quivering? you wonder. And why does it look …
bigger?
In seconds, the awful truth is clear.
Somehow, when that spark hit the mp3 player, it made it start growing. You
don’t know how. Or why. But the thing is expanding in front of your eyes. And
expanding! Soon the player is bigger than you are! And it’s still growing.
It’s also blocking the bedroom door. You’re trapped.
You cower on your bed, watching in horror as the player looms over you. It
bulges against the walls and ceiling.
You always wanted to fill your room with music. Unfortunately, this isn’t
what you had in mind.
In fact, this is
THE END!
Your heart is beating double time. You’re convinced. If Uncle Jack says a
bunch of cyborgs want to make you their slave, you believe him!
Jason is pale. But his scientific mind is at work. “Where does the Universal
Remote fit in?” he asks.
“Professor Shock was afraid the cyborgs might turn against us. So he built
the Universal Remote to control them,” Uncle Jack explains. “Now that they
have it, we have no control. But it’s worse than that.”
Worse? You shudder. What could be worse than a bunch of eight-foot, super-
strongman-machines running wild?
“You see, the remote can control all machines,” Uncle Jack goes on. “The
cyborgs can use it to turn appliances against us. Imagine being attacked by your
own TV!”
“Oh, no!” you exclaim. You remember Jason’s model plane dive-bombing
you. “We have to get the remote back!”
“Right,” Uncle Jack agrees. “But first we must break out of this basement.”
You gaze around. You could try to reach the window. Which looks awfully
small and high up. Or you could try to break down the door. Which looks
awfully thick.
Think over your answer. If you decide to tell the truth, turn to PAGE 101.
If you think a lie would be safer, turn to PAGE 52.
You decide to take the remote back to the professor. He must have missed it
by now. You don’t want him to think you stole it!
As you’re leaving your room, you hear a sound behind you. You glance
back. Your model train is chugging toward you.
And it’s off the tracks!
You feel a sudden chill. How did that happen? You were sure you turned the
train off before. Quickly, you aim the remote at the train and click. The cars stop
moving.
Maybe there’s something wrong with the remote. Maybe its insides got
scrambled when it fell on the floor of Professor Shock’s garage. Maybe there’s a
short circuit somewhere.
Whatever it is, Professor Shock can probably fix it. You’re suddenly in a
hurry to get the remote back to him. There’s something about it that gives you
the creeps.
You rush downstairs. There’s a lot of noise coming from the kitchen. It
sounds as if your mom is running all her appliances at once. But you don’t have
time to pop in and find out what’s for dinner.
You race out the front door. And then you screech to a halt.
What in the world is going on?
Go to PAGE 55.
Your eyes widen in horror. The robot is trying to strangle Jason! “Duck!”
you shout.
But when Jason ducks out of the way, the robot doesn’t seem to notice.
Instead it lurches wildly across the room. Bangs into the wall. Spins around.
Walks into a chair. Next, it starts knocking things off the tables. Its arms whirl
like windmills, smashing into everything that’s near them.
The robot is out of control! You wonder if Jason knocked its circuits loose
when he whacked it on the back.
“Turn it off!” Stacey screeches.
Snapping out of your horrified daze, you start for the back of the shop.
You’ve got to reach the red switch!
Oh, no! The robot is moving toward Professor Shock’s desk. It’s stacked
with books and complicated charts. A flat, black box with rows of buttons
balances atop a pile of papers.
“No!” you shout. Professor Shock will boil you in oil if you let the robot
mess up his work. You leap toward the desk. If you can only move the papers out
of the way …
But the robot is faster. SMASH! CRASH! Its metal arm sweeps across the
desktop, knocking everything to the floor.
At that moment Professor Shock rushes through the door.
Go to PAGE 40.
You spin around, following Professor Shock’s gaze.
The employee parking lot is full of wrecking equipment. Bulldozers.
Steamrollers. Cranes. Wrecking balls.
Standing in the middle of all these machines is a familiar, eight-foot-tall
figure. Red. His fingers fly over the remote.
CLANK! CLANK! The wrecking machines roar into sudden life. Two huge
steamrollers position themselves side by side.
“Feet,” Professor Shock mutters.
You, Stacey, and Jason exchange worried glances. Feet?
A big crane lifts up two bulldozers and sets them on top of the steamrollers.
The bulldozers’ shovels wave in the air.
“Hands,” Professor Shock says, nodding.
TINKLE-LINKLE-LINK! Glass shatters overhead. Glancing up, you spot two
big-screen TVs sailing through the air.
“Eyes,” Professor Shock says grimly.
“Eyes?” you echo. You’re almost afraid to ask. “Feet? Hands? Wh-what are
you talking about, Professor?”
Professor Shock points at the pile of machinery. “Can’t you see?” he asks.
“Red is using my remote to build a monster robot!”
Go on to PAGE 53.
“We’re stuck!” Stacey cries. “The elevator was a trap!”
“Help!” Jason yells.
“Stay calm,” you say, even though you’re starting to panic. You grope in the
darkness and press the elevator buttons.
Nothing happens.
“Can we climb out?” Stacey suggests.
“Too dangerous. Try the remote!” Jason tells you.
Hey! It might work. After all, the elevator is a machine. You pull the remote
out of your pocket.
You hold it in both hands. So many buttons. You can’t tell which ones are
which in the dark. Should you press the button under your right thumb? Or the
one under your left?
CRRREAKKK!
The elevator sways. Then drops three feet!
You all scream.
“Come on!” Stacey urges. “Choose a button now!”
You’ve got a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right. The odds are even. What
about you? Are you even or odd? Count up the letters in your first name.
If you have an odd number of letters, go to PAGE 135.
If you have an even number, turn to PAGE 70.
You turn to Professor Shock in — well, in shock.
“What happened?” you demand.
“Was it the water?” Jason adds. “Did we short out the robot after all?
“No, I don’t think so.” Professor Shock strokes his beard thoughtfully. “It
was the remote. It stopped working.”
“But why? How?” Stacey asks.
“The batteries must have run down,” Professor Shock answers.
“The batteries?” you sputter. You just escaped being crushed by a bulldozer,
and the human race just escaped becoming slaves to a cyborg, because the
batteries ran down?
Professor Shock shrugs. “That’s right.”
Then he smiles.
“What’s so funny?” you want to know.
Professor Shock’s smile grows wider. “I was just thinking…. Good thing I
didn’t use Supergizers!”
THE END
Taking a deep breath, you punch your finger down on the red button.
The remote lets out a short, high-pitched buzzing sound. But your Walkman
doesn’t turn on. In fact, as far as you can tell, nothing happens.
“What a rip-off,” you grumble and press another of the black buttons.
All the lights in the room blink on!
You hit the button again. The lights go off.
A third button controls your TV. A fourth turns your model train on and off.
Even though it’s made of wood!
Cool, you think. Professor Shock’s box is some kind of Super-remote!
That reminds you. The remote does belong to Professor Shock. You know
you should return it.
But maybe you don’t have to return it right this minute. You’d really like to
show it to Jason and Stacey….
What do you think? If you choose to return the remote to the professor
right away, go to PAGE 83.
If you’d rather show it to the twins first, turn to PAGE 11.
You’ll never make it through the gap fast enough to escape the Loreo. “All
together!” you shout. “We’ll go through the fun house mirror.”
“What if it’s not that kind of mirror?” Jason asks.
“Then we’re monster-meat,” Stacey tells him.
The Loreo’s hot breath sears the back of your neck. In the fun house mirror,
it appears even bigger, more terrifying. Its teeth are the size of shovels. It opens
its mouth wide, wider.
It’s about to bite your head off!
“One. Two. Three. Geronimo!” you shout and dive straight into the mirror.
Jason and Stacey are on either side of you.
To your relief, its surface is soft and rubbery. Your arms and legs tingle as
your body passes through.
You hit the ground on the other side.
THUD! THUD! Jason and Stacey land beside you.
You’re lying on some kind of wooden platform. “Whew. We’re safe!” you
exclaim, picking yourself up.
Then you get a good look at Stacey. And you realize you spoke too soon.
Go on to PAGE 24.
Get the hint? Turn back to PAGE 79.
“What’s going on?” Jason cries in panic.
“Where’s the door?” Stacey yells.
“Who’s there?” you demand.
A deep voice speaks from the darkness. It asks, “Contestants, are you
ready?”
“What? We need help!” you exclaim. Your eyes are adjusting. But you can’t
tell where the voice comes from.
“The judges are ready,” the voice says, as if you hadn’t spoken. “You’re the
most beautiful entrants we’ve ever had.”
What’s with this guy? you wonder. Is he nuts? Is this some kind of sick joke?
You and the twins are the weirdest-looking freaks you’ve ever laid eyes on.
“This is a mistake!” you cry. “We didn’t enter any contest!”
“Be quiet and look beautiful!” the voice orders. “The beauty contest is about
to begin!”
It’s up to you. If you think the path labeled PALACE OF MIRRORS will lead
to the Palace, turn to PAGE 109.
But if you think the path labeled LOREO will take you to the Palace, go to
PAGE 102.
At the very last second, Red pushes another button. Your bumper cars jerk to
a halt.
“Get out,” Red snarls. “And turn to face me.”
You do as he says. Your heart is thundering. What’s he up to?
Behind you, the elevator doors swish open.
“Step back,” Red commands.
You, Stacey, and Jason back into the elevator.
Hey! There’s nothing under your feet. What happened to the floor? Too late,
you guess the truth.
The elevator car is missing!
“Help!” you scream.
A moment later, you’re falling through blackness.
THE END
You glance up fearfully.
The person clutching your shoulder is Professor Shock! “I’ve been looking
for you,” he says.
Stacey crawls through the window. Jason is right behind her. “Professor!”
Stacey exclaims. “What are you doing here?”
“Were you following us?” Jason demands suspiciously.
“Of course I was!” Professor Shock snaps. “I had to get my remote back!
Luckily, you kids pushed the red button. That’s a homing device. Still, my robot
and I have been chasing you all afternoon.” He scowls at you. “My robot tells
me you threw crumbs in his eyes.”
You remember the cookie crumbs you threw at Deep Voice.
That was Professor Shock’s robot?
You start to blush. “I’m sorry I caused all this trouble,” you mumble.
“Well, there’s no serious harm done — yet,” Professor Shock replies. “Just
give it back.”
“I can’t,” you admit. “The cyborgs took it.”
“Oh, no!” Professor Shock exclaims. “That’s the worst thing that could
possibly happen!”
Then his gaze focuses over your shoulder. He gasps.
“I take that back,” he murmurs. “This is worse.”
Go to PAGE 87.
“I know I’m right!” you shout. “Turn around!”
“You’re crazy!” Jason wails. But he does what you say.
You spin to face the bull. He’s charging straight at you. His horns look as
sharp as shish kebab skewers.
What if you’re wrong?
Too late to think that way. You’ve made your choice.
So you sprint toward the bull. The twins run on either side of you, yelling.
You blink. Is it your imagination?
Or is the bull a little bit farther away?
“Yes!” you shout triumphantly. With every step you take, the bull gets
smaller. In a minute, it’s a speck in the distance. Then it vanishes completely.
“It worked!” Stacey cries.
“I feel sick,” Jason groans.
You laugh. “Let’s go find that road sign and see if we can go back home
again!”
THE END
Now you know the secret of escaping from the mirror world. All you need to
do is step backward through a mirror.
You thank the Queen and rush back to the entrance hall. You and your
friends turn your backs on the largest mirror, then step backward into it. You feel
that strange, rubbery feeling again, like walking through Jell-O.
The next thing you know, you’re back in Professor Shock’s garage!
You and the twins gaze around. Everything looks normal. The mirror leans
against the wall. The big colored switches are off.
“Let’s get out of here!” you exclaim.
You and the twins hurry through the front part of the garage. It’s still piled
with junk. But you don’t feel like doing any more cleaning. You just want to get
away from this place!
The front door is open. You can see your bikes, right there in the yard.
Then a dark figure looms in the doorway.
Professor Shock! And he’s blocking your way out!
“Oh, no you don’t!” he exclaims. “You’re not leaving now — not after what
you’ve done!”
He holds up a strange-looking black box with a long tube on one end. He
aims the tube at you. “Don’t move!” he shouts.
Go to PAGE 116.
You aren’t in the woods for long before you realize that something is wrong.
Very wrong.
“This doesn’t look like the path that we took before,” Stacey murmurs. “This
path is narrower.”
You gaze around. Stacey’s right. The path is narrower. Because the vines are
closing in again!
You swallow hard and keep walking. But soon there’s hardly any room to
move. And your foot is caught on something.
You glance down to see what it is. A thick, orange vine has wrapped itself
around your ankle! The more you tug, the tighter it hugs. And it’s climbing your
leg….
“A tree just grabbed me!” Stacey cries. “Let’s turn back!”
“Back where?” Jason yells. “To the Loreo? Anyway, we can’t go back. We
can barely even move!”
The vine is past your waist now. Your mind churns frantically. Is this how it
will end?
THE END
“Go through there!” you shout to the twins. You push Jason through the gap
between the tent and the ground. Then you dive for it yourself.
The Loreo pounces, pinning you to the floor. Its mouth is so close you can
count every one of its pointed teeth.
“Help!” you scream.
“Go away!” Stacey shouts. She picks up one of the nearby mirrors and
smashes it over the Loreo’s head.
The Loreo is stunned! Only for a moment. But that’s all the time you and
Stacey need to squeeze through the gap.
Behind you the Loreo screams in anger. A long tear appears in the side of the
tent. Then another. It’s trying to claw its way out. It wants its dinner!
You don’t wait around. The three of you run as fast as you can away from
the woods. In just a moment, you’re back among the trees, pushing through
vines. You’re moving toward the fork that will take you to the Palace of Mirrors.
Or are you?
Go on to PAGE 108.
Deep Voice looms over you, his hand outstretched.
You gulp. Any chance you can bluff your way out of this? “Give what to
you?” you ask, trying to sound innocent.
“The remote control, dimwit!” Jason cries.
“Jason!” you groan.
“I don’t have time to explain,” Deep Voice says. “Trust me. You must give
me Professor Shock’s remote!”
“Maybe we should trust him,” Stacey whispers.
You aren’t sure. Maybe it would be better to try to run.
“Hurry! There’s no time to lose,” Deep Voice insists.
Turn to PAGE 5.
You’ve emerged from the forest into a meadow. In the center stands a big,
yellow-striped tent. A sign over the tent doorway says SEE THE AMAZING LOREO.
The sign on the path wasn’t backward after all! The Palace must be the other
way!
“Let’s start walking back,” Jason says grumpily.
“Wait!” Stacey exclaims. “I want to see the Loreo.”
You’re curious yourself. “Me, too,” you tell Jason.
You step up to the doorway of the tent. A thin man in a tall black hat holds
up his hand to stop you. “Tickets?” he demands.
“Where do we buy them?” you ask.
“Buy them?” the man repeats. He laughs. “What an idea! You don’t buy
them. I give them to you.”
You should have guessed. It’s backward!
The man hands each of you a ticket. “Have a seat inside,” he says. “The
Loreo will appear shortly.”
You step through the doorway. The inside of the tent is lined with mirrors.
And one of them looks exactly like the mirror you came through to enter this
backward world!
You rush up to it. Maybe your problems are over!
THE END!”
“What’s that noise?” Jason cries.
“I don’t know!” you whisper.
“AROOOOO!” The sound is louder now. Closer.
Even Stacey is scared. “Maybe we should go back,” she says.
You stop and glance back. Thick vines have grown over the places you
walked. The path is gone! You try to break the vines apart. But they grow back
instantly.
You gulp. “We’ll have to keep going,” you assert.
“AROOOOOO!” This time the howl is so loud that the ground shakes. Your
eyes dart around fearfully. You can’t see anything through these thick vines!
What’s out there?
“Come on!” Jason cries. He takes off running.
Your heart thudding, you tear after him. Stacey’s right behind you.
If you pocket the turtles and make a break for it, turn to PAGE 133.
If you go on with your polishing, turn to PAGE 30.
You bite your lip. “All right,” you say. “I’ll trust you.”
Pulling out the remote, you hand it to Deep Voice. You hope you did the
right thing.
Deep Voice whips out a walkie-talkie. “We’re secure!” he barks into it.
The next instant, banks of headlights flash on, blinding you. Dozens of men
in suits pour out of parked cars.
“What’s going on?” Stacey cries.
“Who are you guys?” Jason demands.
“I’m Agent Jones. We’re with the government,” Deep Voice replies.
“Professor Shock is our top weapons designer.” He waves the remote in the air.
“You kids have been playing with a very dangerous toy here! All I can say is,
thank goodness we got it back before you pushed the red button.”
Your heart thuds. “Uh, well, actually …” you mumble.
Agent Jones stares at you in horror. “You mean you did press the red button?
Oh, no! When?”
“About an hour ago.” You gulp. “Wh-what does it do?”
Agent Jones shakes his head solemnly. “You don’t want to know. Let’s just
say, we’re all doomed. We have only a few seconds left before
THE END.”
In the center of the parking lot, the monster robot’s TV-screen eyes blink on.
It’s ready. Ready to crush you!
“What happens now?” Stacey gasps.
“Professor Shock, tell us what to do!” you cry.
“Help us!” Jason begs, grabbing the old man’s arm.
“Stop that!” Professor Shock snaps. “I’m trying to think.” Closing his eyes,
he begins to mumble to himself.
And then he starts to snore.
You can’t believe it! You feel like screaming. What a time for the professor
to take a nap!
Jason tugs your sleeve. “The professor’s too old for this. Let’s go get Uncle
Jack,” he whispers. “He’ll know what to do.”
You hesitate. You have to admit, it’s a bad sign that Professor Shock fell
asleep. But still, you believe he’s a genius. Maybe this is the way he gets all his
ideas.
Maybe you should wait for him to wake up.
If you want to wait for Professor Shock to wake up, turn to PAGE 84.
If you’d rather get Uncle Jack, do it on PAGE 10.
“Run!” you shout. You and the twins take off.
“Stop!” The policeman pounds after you.
The lake is just ahead. A blue rowboat bobs at a small dock. “Head for the
boat!” you call.
You reach the dock and jump into the boat. A moment later, Stacey jumps in
after you.
But where is Jason?
“Help!” Jason shouts. You and Stacey glance back.
Jason has tripped on a rock! The policeman aims a long tube at him. There’s
a pop. Then a net sails through the air and drops over Jason.
“I’ve got you now!” the policeman yells.
“Untie the boat!” you instruct Stacey. “I’ll help Jason.”
You run back to your friend. He’s struggling against the net. “Hold still!”
you command. Grasping the net, you wrap it more tightly around Jason’s body.
“Stop it!” Jason shrieks. “You’re making it tighter!”
“Don’t squirm,” you tell him. Tightening the net is the only way you can
think of to make it loose. You pull it even tighter.
The net falls off!
You help Jason up and start running. The policeman is right behind you. You
jump into the boat. “Row!” you shout.
Go on to PAGE 130.
The Queen leads you to another, smaller room. It’s piled high with little
stone statues. But these aren’t shiny and bright, like the ones in the big cave.
These simply look like carved rocks.
“These are my new carvings,” the Queen tells you. “Polish them! If you
finish them in two hours, I’ll return your friends to their true forms. I’ll also let
you use my mirror. But if you fail — look out!”
You gaze at the piles of carvings in panic. There are thousands of them!
The Queen hands you a rag and a can of wax. “Better get started,” she tells
you, cackling. Then she leaves.
You grab the nearest carving and start rubbing wax over it. Gradually it
becomes a deep, glowing blue. You set it aside and grab another.
As quickly as you can, you polish carving after carving. You rub wax on a
stone apple, a little house, a woodpecker. All of them grow shiny and beautiful.
But after an hour, you’ve barely even made a dent in the pile. Biting your
lip, you pick up another carving.
You start polishing grimly. Then you notice something very odd about the
little statue.
Go to PAGE 29.
You decide to finish investigating the entrance hall before you try any doors.
You’re turning back to rejoin the twins when someone calls your name.
That’s funny. The voice is familiar, but it doesn’t belong to either of the
twins. And it’s coming from nearby!
You glance around. At first you don’t see anything. Then you spot an old,
cracked mirror hanging by itself in a dark corner of the doorway. You peer into
it.
And gasp.
A hideous, withered old face stares back at you! It’s so wrinkled you can
hardly see its eyes.
Your heart thunders. There’s something familiar about the face. You’ve seen
it before. It reminds you of …
Could it be — you? As an old person?
You scream.
Go on to PAGE 114.
The spray of water hits the robot squarely in its TV-screen eyes.
FZZZTT! The giant screens explode. Bits of glass rain down on the
pavement.
“All right!” You, Jason, and Stacey cheer like idiots.
But you forgot about Red. Water won’t stop him. And you’ve just made him
very, very angry.
“You kids are really starting to bug me!” the cyborg bellows. “Time to deal
with you once and for all!”
He jabs another button on the remote control.
And the monster robot turns toward you.
“Help!” Jason shrieks.
“No!” Stacey cries.
“Spray!” you yell at the top of your lungs.
You aim the water at the robot’s legs. Its arms. You soak every part of its
metal body.
But bulldozers and steamrollers aren’t like TVs. They’re built to work in the
rain. The monster robot keeps coming.
One huge bulldozer shovel looms over your head. The other is poised over
Stacey and Jason. You know you’re doomed.
“Crush them!” Red cries.
And then —
Did you just get a piece of advice from Professor Shock? If you did, turn
to PAGE 65.
If you didn’t, turn to PAGE 106.
The sign is as far away as it ever was. But now you know how to get to it.
“All we have to do is walk in the wrong direction,” you point out.
“Cool! Let’s go,” Stacey says.
In a few minutes, you reach the sign. It says:
Race to PAGE 2.
“NOOOOOOOOO!” the scream continues. “Don’t touch that flower!”
It’s only Mrs. Wheedle.
“What’s wrong?” you ask. “Is it poisonous? Does it shoot venom or
something cool?”
“Of course not!” Mrs. Wheedle huffs. “That flower is an endangered species.
You could have killed it!”
She turns and marches back to the front of the group.
“Whew! That was a close one!” Zoe says, brushing the bangs away from her
eyes. “For a second there, I thought something exciting was actually going to
happen!”
Zoe’s cool. Way cool. That’s one of the reasons she’s your best friend. She
has a sarcastic remark for every situation. And she’s not scared of anything.
That’s why you know she’s just as anxious as you are to break away from
the group and do some real exploring.
Just a moment ago, through the trees, you saw something else that was
definitely worth checking out.
There it is again. Off to the right. About twenty yards away. Incredible! Your
heart skips a beat at what you see.
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