by R. L. Stine
He has fallen — and he can’t get up. He’s lying at the edge of the snake pit. A diamondback rattler is coiled by his face — ready to strike!
“Help!” he cries. “If I move, it will bite me!”
You’ve had enough of Brad and his tricks. Let him help himself, you think.
Then you think again. Brad may be a jerk — but he’s a jerk in need.
Maybe you should go back and help him.
If you help Brad, go to PAGE 41.
If you don’t help Brad, go to PAGE 5.
You can’t believe who is standing behind you.
“Uncle Ed!” you cry.
“At last!” Uncle Ed says. He’s carrying a flashlight. By its glow, you can see that he looks tired and worried. “I’ve been searching for you for hours!”
“Am I glad to see you!” you exclaim. The whole incredible story pours out of you. About the zombies. And Coach Krump.
“I’m sorry,” Uncle Ed says when you’ve finished talking. “I never should have brought you on this mission.”
“Mission?” You stare at your uncle in confusion.
Uncle Ed glances around to make sure no one is listening. “You see, I’m with the X-Factors,” he whispers. “It’s a secret security organization. We investigate unnatural events. On the way to Camp Pendleton, I made a phone call, remember?”
You nod, dazed. The X-Factors?
“That was when I got the assignment to investigate Camp Running Leaf. There were rumors the Cemetery Man was there.”
“The Cemetery Man?” you exclaim. “But Coach Krump said there was no such person as the Cemetery Man.”
Uncle Ed shakes his head. “He was lying,” he tells you. “Coach Krump is the Cemetery Man!”
Learn the whole, horrible truth on PAGE 49.
You strain your ears to hear more.
“I heard one of the specimens gave you some trouble this morning,” the other coach says. “Started a food fight.”
“Yeah,” Coach Rex growls. “Kid wouldn’t eat the eggs. But the rest are chowing down on them three times a day. Getting stronger and more obedient.”
“They’d better be. Or the masters on Xentron will rearrange our organs.”
“Ouch!” Coach Rex exclaims. “I hate when that happens!”
Are you dreaming this? You pinch yourself.
Yeow! That hurt!
You start to panic. Because this definitely is no dream.
Turn to PAGE 68.
You doze off. The sound of a car honking wakes you up.
Cautiously, you peer around the corner of the gas station.
“Uncle Ed!” you cry when you recognize his car. You run to the station wagon.
You yank open the passenger door — only to find that it’s already occupied.
By Coach Rex!
The coach grabs your wrist. “No more escapes for you,” he snarls as he loads you into the backseat.
“Uncle Ed, what’s happening?” you plead.
“I took you to Camp Running Leaf instead of Camp Pendleton on purpose,” he says. “Our alien masters pay me well to direct kids here. It’s a recruiting station for Xentronian mine slaves.”
“But — but you’re my own uncle!” you wail.
Uncle Ed shrugs. “Sorry about that. Just business. Nothing personal. Now, where can I drop you off, Rex?”
“The infirmary,” Rex commands. “From there, this camper is going on a long trip.”
“Right.” Uncle Ed chuckles and turns to you. “Well, kid, soon you’ll be shoveling klatu crystals in a Xentronian mine. I hope you dig the experience!”
THE END
“Gotcha!” cries a familiar voice.
“Kim!” you scream.
You whirl around angrily. Kim is standing behind you with a stupid grin on her face.
“What did you think, I was a zombie?” Kim asks. She laughs.
“Funny!” you grumble.
“Don’t you know there’s no such thing as zombies?” Kim adds.
“I know that,” you snap. “I knew it was you. I was looking for you. My map is wrong. I wanted to compare it with yours.”
“You never could follow a map,” Kim declares. “So I guess you have to follow me.” She giggles. “That is, if you’re not too scared to hike with me.”
You swallow an angry comment. Payback will come later.
Meanwhile, you want that Outdoors Medal. And you’ve already wasted a couple of hours.
It looks as if you have no choice.
Turn to PAGE 118.
The bugle sounds for dinner, but you ignore it. You have a pretty good idea what they’re serving.
Instead, you lie on your bunk, thinking.
Why are the eggs blue?
And why is it so important that the campers eat them?
Pat returns from dinner. “You missed great eggs Benedict,” he drones. “You should eat them like everyone else.”
Your stomach growls. “I wasn’t hungry,” you lie.
A few other campers straggle into the cabin. You introduce yourself. They barely look at you.
To break the ice, you say, “Coach Rex acts like this is a boot camp, not a sports camp.”
A kid named Preston stares at you. “Don’t put down our master coach. He should be respected and obeyed.”
Pat adds, “Don’t make waves. Just get with the program.”
Man! They sound like robots!
The bugle sounds again. This time it’s playing taps. Lights go out all over the camp. No one laughs or tells stories.
You feel very alone in this creepy camp.
Go on to PAGE 42.
You reach into your pack and grab the survival kit. You open it with shaking fingers.
Your heart falls right down to your toes.
All the kit contains is a bar of soap and a sewing kit!
Wait a second.
A sewing kit?
Maybe that’s the answer!
Check out the plan on PAGE 117.
Slowly, carefully, you sneak off down the track. All eyes are on Brad. No one sees you go.
You dash to the cafeteria. All right! The mountain bike still gleams in the glass case.
You break the case, wheel the bike outside, and climb on.
And you’re off!
With everyone’s attention focused on Brad, the coaches don’t realize what you’ve done — until you’re halfway across the field. You throw the bike into the highest gear and stand up to pedal.
Hey. This is your best event yet!
You zoom past the gatehouse at the other end of the camp. Rex and the other coaches give chase. But they’re on foot. You’re on wheels. They can’t catch you!
You’re escaping from Camp Run-for-Your-Life!
Pedal to PAGE 81.
You check to make sure no one is looking. Then you casually put your napkin on top of your eggs, fold them inside, and slip it under the table.
A second later, you hear a voice behind you. “I saw that!”
You freeze. It’s Coach Rex.
Rex points at another camper and barks, “You spit out your eggs. Don’t let it happen again.”
The camper, a tough-looking kid with a black buzz-cut, nods.
You let out a sigh of relief as Rex walks away. He didn’t see you hide the eggs.
“Who’s the guy who didn’t eat the eggs?” you ask Pat.
“His name’s Brad,” Pat answers.
Doo-doo doot-a-doot, doo-doo doot-a-doot! A bugle blows reveille outside. The campers rise as one and march to the door in neat files. No one talks. No horseplay.
“You know what I call Camp Running Leaf?” Pat whispers to you. “Camp Run-for-Your-Life.”
You grin at his joke.
Pat doesn’t smile back.
Go on to PAGE 106.
“I want to do the hurdles,” you tell Pat.
“Me, too,” he agrees. “I hate swimming.”
You follow Coach Rex to the track. You and Pat line up with the oth
er kids. Coach Rex points a starter’s pistol in the air. “Runners on your mark!”
You step into the starting blocks.
“Get set!” Coach Rex calls.
You set your hands in the dirt. Then you glance up to check out the hurdles.
You can’t believe your eyes.
The first hurdle is higher than your waist. Its two legs are tipped with gleaming swords. And the crossbar is a wicked-looking rusty saw! If you land on that, you’ve had it!
Pat gulps. “Oh, no!”
BANG!
The runners take off.
You and Pat take off, too. But in the other direction.
You’re not about to jump over those deadly hurdles!
“Come back here!” Coach Rex roars.
You spy a small door near the edge of the stadium.
“Come on!” you cry to Pat. “Let’s get out of here!”
Turn to PAGE 112.
Agent Driscoll immediately gets on the phone to Washington.
The problem is, it takes a long time to get a search warrant. By the time the authorities finally arrive at Camp Running Leaf, the grounds are deserted. The coaches, campers, and transporter are gone. There isn’t even a scrap of blue egg.
However, Agent Driscoll doesn’t lose heart. “I’m certain Coach Rex and the Xentronians will soon start up another camp for human slaves,” he tells you as he drives you home.
Another Camp Run-for-Your-Life.
It could be anywhere in the country.
It could even be the next camp you go to!
THE END
“It’s the kitchen!” Pat whispers.
Workers scurry in and out through the swinging doors in the far wall. Two cooks in aprons bustle back and forth among bubbling vats and giant grills.
“That stuff in the vat! It’s blue, just like the eggs,” you point out.
The blue liquid is poured over some freshly broken eggs. The cooks fry them on the grill.
One of the cooks stops to fan himself. He glances around, as if he’s making sure no one is looking. Then he picks up a spray bottle and sprays himself.
Huh? His face! It’s … melting!
No, you realize. What you thought was his face is actually a thick layer of stage makeup.
But that’s nothing compared to what you see underneath.
His skin is tinted blue.
His eyes are golden.
He has no nose.
There’s a small round hole in the top of his head.
“He’s … he’s not human!” Pat gasps.
Save your gasps until PAGE 115.
Enough worrying about Pat. You decide to check out the soccer game.
When you reach the field, one of the goalies is holding a hand over his swollen, purple nose. It looks broken to you.
“Go to the nurse, Antoine!” his teammates yell at him. “You can’t play anymore.”
“I don’t want to leave my goal area!” Antoine cries in a plugged-up voice. “And I’m not going to the nurse. No one comes back from the infirmary!”
Your eyes widen. Is Antoine serious?
A tall girl grabs you. “You can play goalie, can’t you?”
What should you do? You could replace Antoine as the goalie, or you could volunteer to play forward instead.
If you agree to play goalie, turn to PAGE 20.
If you’d rather play forward, turn to PAGE 53.
It’s a good thing you played goalie and saved your energy. Because now you’re able to stay awake.
Rex and the other coach finally move on.
You quietly dress and creep out of the cabin. Your plan is to find a phone and call Uncle Ed for help. But after a few minutes of searching, you realize the truth.
There are no phones at Camp Running Leaf.
Well, it makes sense — in a horrifying way. They don’t want anyone to contact the outside world.
Then, in the distance, you hear Coach Rex’s voice on the loudspeaker. “Alert! Alert! Escaped camper!”
You listen more closely. Now you hear what sounds like a hundred people marching together. TROMP. TROMP. TROMP.
The marching feet are coming your way!
Oh, no! If they catch you, you’re in major trouble!
Go on to PAGE 19.
“What’s this?” a voice booms. “Two athletes not competing?”
You groan. You know that voice.
Coach Rex!
Coach Rex waves some workers over. “Maybe they haven’t eaten enough eggs. They need a direct transfusion. Hold them down.”
Your arms are pinned. A moment later, the blue-skinned alien is standing over you. The plastic tube is in his head again. He places the other end in your left ear.
NO!
You stare in helpless horror as the fluid begins to flow….
Down the tube.
Into your ear.
“Your brain is being bathed in our special fluid,” Coach Rex informs you. “It will make you completely obedient.”
As the last shreds of your own free will leave you, you think, I guess this is what they mean by brainwashing….
THE END
You’d much rather face a mountain lion than a walking corpse, you think.
You glance at the mountain lion again. It kind of reminds you of your cat, Smokey, back home.
“We can handle the cat!” you tell Kim confidently. You pace toward the beast. “Here, kitty, kitty,” you croon.
Kim stays a couple of steps behind you.
The mountain lion’s yellow eyes don’t blink. It crouches there, its tail twitching. You’re starting to wonder if this was such a good idea. The beast still reminds you of Smokey … when she’s getting ready to kill a mouse!
You gulp. Maybe you should back up.
Too late. Before you’ve gone three steps, the big cat springs!
What happens next?
Well, we’d really rather not go into details.
But we’d be lion if we said it wasn’t …
THE END.
You can’t let Kim face a flesh-eating zombie alone. You turn back and grab her hands.
“Come on!” you cry, pulling her up. “We’ll lose the zombie in the woods.”
Kim leans on you. The two of you stumble into the trees. You hear the zombie crashing through the trees.
“FOOOO!” it moans. “UURRGGHH!”
Quickly, you switch directions.
And then — the woods are silent.
Where did the zombie go? Did you lose it?
Or is it laying some kind of trap for you?
You sniff the air. Is it your imagination? Or can you catch a faint whiff of rotting flesh?
“Hurry,” you urge Kim. You drag her along.
The rotten smell grows stronger.
And then you crash right into a tall, dark form.
Turn to PAGE 48.
Without thinking, you grab the alligator’s jaws. SNAP! You shut them. It’s as easy as closing a suitcase.
The alligator glares at you.
CREEEEAKK! It forces its jaws open again. SNAP! You glare back and shut them again.
CREEEAAK! It opens them back up.
SNAP!
CREEEAAKK!
SN —
CREEEAAKK!
CHOMP!
GULP!
BUUUURPPPP!
THE END
A huge hand grabs you.
“Who are you?” barks the huge guy attached to the huge hand.
“Uh, I-I’m from Camp Running Leaf,” you reply meekly.
A woman comes up. “I’m Agent Alice Draper. We’re with the government. We’ve been monitoring transmissions from a planet eight light-years from Earth. The transmissions have been traced to Camp Running Leaf.” She raises an eyebrow at you. “What can you tell us about the camp, kid?”
You repeat what you heard Coach Rex say about Xentron.
Draper’s eyes light up. “This is amazing. The camp must hold incredibly advanced technology. Good job, camp
er.”
The next few days are a blur. The government sweeps in by helicopter and raids the camp. Coach Rex and the rest of the staff are arrested for kidnapping, conducting business with an alien government without a license, and — worst of all — not paying their taxes.
The arrests so anger the Xentronians, they invade Earth.
Way to go. You’re responsible for the total destruction of the human race!
Oops!
THE END
You sure did a lot of running around when you played forward. Now you’re exhausted.
Try as you might, you can’t keep your eyes open. Coach Rex’s voice becomes a gentle buzz….
You dream that Pat is forcing blue eggs down your throat. You struggle, choking. But you can’t stop him.
The sound of the loudspeaker blaring reveille jolts you awake. It’s morning. Automatically, you get out of bed.
That’s when you glance down at the T-shirt you slept in.
It’s smeared with blue eggs!
Pat is standing in the doorway with a wicked grin. “You’re one of us now.”
You feel different. Mellow, obedient. You wish only to do as you’re told.
And later, when the blue-skinned Xentronian overlords tell you to dig for klatu crystals, you ask only one question: How deep, sir?
THE END
Outside, Coach Rex announces, “Fun time is over.”
He stares at the campers. “You’ve eaten your eggs. You should be ready. The Selection is about to begin. And remember: The winner gets a very special prize!”
Rex checks his watch. “All athletes who think they are worthy of it, report to the stadium right now!”
“You’re not going to do it, are you?” Pat whispers.
“Of course I am,” you reply. You practically drool, thinking of the new mountain bike gleaming in the cafeteria.
Coach Rex claps his hands. “Let’s go!”