Escape from Camp Run-For-Your-Life

by R. L. Stine

  That must be the special prize for winning the Selection, you think.

  Cool! Now you really want to win!

  Go on to PAGE 40.

  Carefully, you and Kim poke your heads into Zombie Cave.

  “Hello?” you call, hoping no one will answer.

  Whew! No one does. The cave is empty!

  You peer down at the floor. No footprints in the loose soil. You must be the first hikers to reach the cave.

  “Come on!” Kim says impatiently. “Let’s find the bones.”

  Where is the light coming from? you wonder. Then you notice faint green streaks of glowing minerals in the cave walls.

  A quick search doesn’t turn up any bones.

  First you feel disappointed.

  Then you feel something on your leg. It tickles.

  Absently, you reach down to scratch your thigh.

  Aaagh! A giant spider crawls onto your hand!

  With a yell, you flick the spider away. It flies off your hand and lands on a glittering object, half buried in the cave floor.

  A gold ring!

  “Maybe we should dig here,” you suggest eagerly. “We might find buried treasure!”

  Or you might find buried terror.

  See what’s there on PAGE 71.

  On first sight, the cage seems filled with humans.

  On second sight, it seems filled with ex-humans.

  They are dressed in rags and are partly decomposed. As if they were corpses. Except they’re somehow alive. Like …

  Zombies!

  The creatures moan hideously. One of them shakes the bars of the cage with its rotting hands. It clacks its teeth at you. “Foo!” it cries in a groaning voice. “Foo fo fawt!”

  What’s that? Is the zombie trying to speak?

  Kim jumps behind you, trying to use you as a shield. “Zombies!” she shrieks. “Let’s get out of here — now!”

  For once, you agree with her. Your knees tremble with fear. Turning, you stumble back toward the dark tunnel.

  But then a tall, bulky figure steps out and blocks your way.

  Turn to PAGE 59.

  Your fingernails dig into the track. Terror adds to your strength. If you fall, you’ve had it!

  With a mighty effort, you haul yourself out of the pit. You get to your feet. Your legs are wobbling.

  Coach Rex smiles. “Good work. Now, move it!”

  You were always a good runner. It’s time to pour it on. You increase your pace and pull even with Brad. Then you’re ahead.

  Not being stupid, you’re pretty cautious about the next hurdle. You pull up short and peer over the jump. What’s on the other side?

  Whoa.

  It’s a pit full of writhing, twisting, hissing snakes!

  You don’t need a field guide to reptiles to recognize some of the most poisonous snakes in the world. Cobras. Rattlers. Pit vipers. Coral snakes.

  “What are you waiting for?” Coach Rex shouts. “Do I have to come in there and make you jump?”

  You glance back. He’s striding toward you.

  Holding one of the javelins from the javelin catch!

  You have no choice. Taking a deep breath, you fling your body up into the air.

  See if you made it on PAGE 86.

  Suddenly, the sound of the waterfall gets much more distant.

  You open your eyes. The boat bobs in a quiet inlet.

  Excellent! You made it into the little stream!

  “I wonder where we are,” you say, gazing around.

  “I’m too seasick to read the map,” Kim moans. She hands it to you.

  You glance at the map. Even you can figure this one out. A trail from the shore goes a little way up the mountain. It dead-ends in a cliff. But you can see the dark hole in the cliff from where you are.

  “There’s Zombie Cave!” you exclaim. “Come on!”

  Climbing over the side of the rowboat, you wade ashore. The water doesn’t even come up to your knees.

  Kim, of course, doesn’t climb out. Not until you’ve dragged the boat up on the bank so she won’t get her feet wet.

  The two of you start up the trail to the cave.

  You’re almost there when a terrifying moan stops you.

  You peer up the slope in the fading sunlight.

  Yikes! A monster is staring down at you!

  Go on to PAGE 134.

  You turn around.

  Coach Krump is standing there, water gun in hand.

  Okay, so you’re a zombie.

  As it turns out, though, being a zombie is not the worst thing in the world. True, within a month, most of your skin rots away. Your teeth and hair fall out. You lose all of your toes.

  But no one makes any cracks about it.

  That’s because, thanks to the Cemetery Man and his army, everyone else in the world has also been turned into a zombie.

  And all you zombies live — uh, that is, don’t live — happily ever after!

  THE END

  You unroll your sleeping bag. This is fine, you tell yourself. I’ll just find the campsite in the morning.

  If you’re still alive in the morning.

  You eat a candy bar. Then you snuggle into your sleeping bag. You’ll have to stay awake all night. You don’t dare fall asleep. If you do, zombies could sneak up on you.

  You lie in the sleeping bag, staring at the moon.

  But gradually, your eyes flutter closed….

  When you open them again, everything is pitch-dark.

  You try to sit up. But something is wrapped around you. You can’t see or hear! You scream like a maniac.

  Then you realize:

  You zipped yourself into your sleeping bag, dummy!

  When you finally struggle out of the sleeping bag, sunlight floods your eyes. It’s a beautiful morning.

  But the woods are still full of zombies, you think. And Kim is out there by herself, where you left her.

  You’ve got to go back for her!

  When you reach the clearing, there’s no sign of her.

  But you notice something you missed last night.

  Find it on PAGE 111.

  You crack up. “There’s no such thing as zombies,” you snort.

  “Are you sure?” Coach Krump narrows his eyes at you. “Why do you think they call it Zombie Mountain?”

  You know he’s just fooling. But he sounds awfully serious.

  “Wh-what do zombies look like?” Kim asks.

  “They’re the walking dead,” Coach Krump replies. “They crave living flesh. A zombie’s bite will turn you into a zombie.”

  You and Al snicker.

  “It’s not funny,” Coach Krump says solemnly. “Every year we lose a few campers to zombies.”

  Okay, the coach is just trying to make the hike more fun. But isn’t he going a little overboard?

  Ted pipes up, “I’ve heard stories about a strange guy who lives on Zombie Mountain. They call him the Cemetery Man.”

  Krump scowls. “He doesn’t exist,” he snaps. “Okay, people! The gear is in the shed. Take what you need and get started.”

  You take a sleeping bag, pack, food, and flashlight. Coach Krump hands you a map and a box labeled SURVIVAL KIT.

  You’re turning to go when the coach stops you. “Wait!” he exclaims. “I forgot to tell you the most important thing of all. No matter what, you must reach the campsite by midnight!”

  Go on to PAGE 50.

  “Wh-what do you mean?” you ask in a shaking voice.

  “The Outdoors Medal,” Coach Krump says. “All the others got theirs. Maybe I forgot to mention the rules before,” he adds. “See, the only way to earn a medal — is to become a zombie!”

  “No!” you howl. You try to crawl away.

  But it’s no use. The zombie kids grab you. Kim bites your arm. Al tears at your legs.

  Seconds later, your heart stops. Your breathing stops. Your brain stops. Your entire body turns cold.

  Coach Krump places a medal around your neck.

/>   In camp, it glittered like gold. But actually, the medal is made of cheap plastic. There’s a picture of a zombie etched in the center. Around the edge of the pendant are the words: KISS ME, I’M A ZOMBIE!

  THE END

  The creature stands directly in front of you. It is the size of an adult man. But it’s missing an arm. Its other arm and its legs are covered with sores and scabs.

  Its face is a thing from your nightmares. Half the skin has rotted off its skull. One eye is missing. Two black teeth dangle from its gums.

  Kim screams, “It’s a zombie!”

  You gasp and start backing down the path.

  “Foo!” the creature cries. It staggers after you.

  You whirl and begin to run.

  “Go!” you scream to Kim. “Run back to the boat!”

  It’s nearly dark. It’s hard to see where you’re going. You slip and slide on the rocky trail. At last, you see the boat.

  But there’s another zombie on the path in front of it!

  You skid to a stop just before you run into the hideous thing. You spin, looking for an escape route.

  Too late. You and Kim are completely surrounded.

  Surrounded by hideous, undead creatures!

  Turn to PAGE 21 — if you dare!

  You circle around until you’re behind the zombies.

  Then, from a safe distance, you follow the hideous band. It’s easy to keep track of them in the dark. They smell like a garbage dump!

  With luck, you’ll be able to warn the other campers in time.

  The zombies shuffle through the dark woods.

  Suddenly, Coach Krump calls a halt. “I hear something,” he rasps. “Maybe it’s that kid who got away.”

  Holding your breath, you duck behind a rock.

  A mosquito bites you. Swatting at it, you slap your arm.

  Oops! Did anyone hear that?

  “Uuuuurrrrggghhh!” someone says right behind you.

  Uh-oh.

  You run as fast as you can — for about three feet.

  Then you trip.

  When you look up, you’re surrounded by zombies. Their undead faces stare hungrily at you. As if you’re junk food.

  “Congratulations,” Coach Krump tells you. “You’ve almost earned your medal.”

  Medal? Move on to PAGE 133.

  The fastball is too tempting. You lace it to left for a single. You stand on first base, grinning.

  But the first-base coach grabs you and throws you out of the game. “You were told to make a sacrifice bunt,” he fumes. “You disobeyed an order.”

  As he pushes you off the field, the other players shake their heads.

  “Obey the rules!” the first baseman calls in a dull voice.

  “Follow orders!” your pal, Pat, sneers.

  “Respect authority!” another kid chimes in.

  “Aren’t you guys taking the game a little too seriously?” you ask.

  The coach turns to the others and says, “What do we do to those who aren’t team players?”

  The campers chant in one voice, “Sacrifice! Sacrifice!”

  All the players stalk toward you with their bats raised. That’s when you realize the horrible truth: They’re not talking about a sacrifice bunt.

  You got to first base.

  Too bad you’ll never make it home!

  THE END

  “Oooh, I don’t like graveyards,” Kim whines. “Why did we have to come this way?”

  “Don’t ask me. You’re the one with the map!” you retort.

  Then you notice something odd.

  A glass beaker, the kind they use in science labs, is lying on top of a gravestone. You step closer, squinting at the white label on the beaker.

  “ ‘Property of the Cemetery Man,’ ” you read aloud.

  The Cemetery Man?

  Wasn’t he the guy Ted asked about?

  The one Coach Krump said didn’t exist?

  Then you hear a noise. SCRAPE. SCRAPE. SCRAPE.

  The sound is coming from a grave. The one with the beaker on it. You aim your flashlight at the grave.

  NO! This can’t be real!

  A hand is pushing its way up through the ground!

  A moment later, a hideous head thrusts out into the air. The same thing is happening at the other graves.

  The dead are rising!

  Flee to PAGE 47.

  BEWARE!!

  DO NOT READ THIS

  BOOK FROM

  BEGINNING TO END!

  Hey! You never noticed that comic store before. It’s kind of dusty — but man, does it have great comics!

  If you check out the books on the spinner rack, you’re spun into a comic-book universe. Which superhero do you want to be? Will the super-villains destroy you? Or worse — will you end up as an ink blot?

  If you follow the HORROR sign to the basement, look out! You’ll find horror down there, all right. But not horror comics …

  This scary adventure is all about you. You decide what will happen. And you decide how terrifying the scares will be!

  Start on PAGE 1. Then follow the instructions at the bottom of each page. You make the choices. If you choose well, you’ll make it home again. But if you make the wrong choice … BEWARE!

  SO TAKE A DEEP BREATH. CROSS YOUR FINGERS. AND TURN TO PAGE 1 TO GIVE YOURSELF GOOSEBUMPS!

  “I thought after-school clubs were supposed to be fun,” you grumble. You love comic books. And a comic club sounded cool. But it’s run by Horace Grumbacher, the dullest kid in school!

  How could someone make a subject like comics boring?

  Horace manages.

  He clicks his slide projector to a picture of a comic book cover. “Here’s the first issue starring Super-Doer,” he drones. “Today, it’s worth nearly two hundred thousand dollars.”

  Click! “And here’s the first appearance of Ballistic Bug. This comic goes for nearly twenty thousand.”

  As if any kid in this club can afford that, you think.

  The projector clicks again, and a horror comic appears on the screen. Excellent! You love horror!

  But Horace can even make horror dull. “This issue of The Cellar of Scary Stories went for sixteen hundred dollars,” he lectures.

  An ugly face sneers at you from the comic cover. Yuck! It looks like a rotten pumpkin. With warts.

  You turn away, and notice the classroom clock. How did it get so late? You run outside — in time to see a horrible sight.

  “Oh, no!” you groan.

  What’s wrong? Find out on PAGE 2.

  The school bus is already a block away. It left without you!

  “Thanks a lot, Horace,” you growl. Because of his boring lecture, now you have to walk home!

  If you follow the same route as the bus, you won’t get home for hours. You decide you’d better try a shortcut. Even though it means going through a part of town you’ve never seen before.

  You walk and walk along your shortcut. With every step you take, your book bag gets heavier.

  The area you’re cutting through looks a little weird. The buildings are all old and dingy. The stores huddle together as if they’re holding each other up.

  And the stuff in the windows is very weird. You pass a clothing store that seems to be selling Halloween costumes — even though Halloween is months away. And those dolls in that toy shop window. They look like … vampires!

  You’re relieved when you spot a store for vacuum cleaners. That’s normal, you think. And next to it …

  Hey! A comic shop!

  Want to visit? Go to PAGE 3.

  You step inside. The comic shop is dimly lit. You can barely make out the comics on spinning racks. Beyond, in deeper shadows, are tables with row after row of boxes. These are the back issues, where collectors look for treasures.

  The owner stands behind a cash register. He looks familiar, with his round face and warts. But you can’t place him.

  He grunts when he sees you. “Humph. Kids.”

  Well, wh
o does he expect to come in and buy comics?

  As you walk past him, the store owner calls out, “Leave your bag up here!”

  You scowl. Why is he treating you like a thief? You think about leaving. But you’d like a rest from walking. And besides, you really want to check out the comics.

  Strolling around the racks, you notice the latest issue of Major Disaster. You bought it just a week ago. This guy has a sticker on it for half price!

  Walking a little faster, you start picking up comic books. Doesn’t the owner know what these things are worth?

  The deeper into the store you go, the darker it gets. A pair of bookcases block your way. But there’s a little space between them. You see light coming through the crack….

  Push through to PAGE 4.

  You squeeze between the bookcases into an open area. A dusty lightbulb dangles from the ceiling. In its dim glow, you make out another spinning rack full of comics.

  A sign taped to the top of the rack says:

  YOU THINK THIS IS A LIBRARY?

  LOOK, BUT DON’T TOUCH … OR YOU’LL BE SORRY.

  You peer at the comics on the rack. Whoa — that’s the issue of Ballistic Bug from Horace’s slide show! The comic is marked for two bucks! And up there, on the top rack — is that the incredibly expensive copy of Super-Doer?

  Then you notice something else. A doorway. Beyond the rack. Metal stairs lead downward — to the basement, you guess. An arrow-shaped sign points down the stairway. It reads: HORROR.

  There’s also a tattered sign on the open door. You try to make out the faded letters. It seems to say NO ADMITTANCE. TRESPASSERS WILL BE GLOMPFed.

  GLOMPFed? What’s that?

  You don’t really care. All you care about is making a tough decision: Should you take a closer look at the rack, or should you go down to the horror section?