Toy Terror: Batteries Included

by R. L. Stine

  The robot is sitting at your dad’s desk with the computer open in front of it.

  And it’s typing!

  Go to PAGE 72.

  Benny’s left shoe is off. You stare at his foot in horror.

  In the heel is a battery compartment. Just like the compartment in the police doll’s foot.

  Suddenly you understand why Benny didn’t want you to put the key in IT’S TIM. He knew that if you turned off the toys, you’d turn him off too. Because he wasn’t really alive.

  He was running on batteries.

  Benny is a doll, too!

  “I’m sorry,” you say to Benny, standing over him sadly.

  Then you realize something.

  You’re talking to a doll!

  You feel bad about Benny. But after all, you hadn’t known him very long. And you did always think he was kind of weird.

  Oh, well, you think as you walk out of the factory. At least you didn’t get zapped by Nasty Kathy.

  You start to pedal your bike home. But suddenly you’re hit with a horrible thought.

  If Benny was a doll — who else is a toy too?

  Your father? Your mother? Your best friend?

  Guess you’d better start reading again. Until you find out the answer to that, you haven’t really come to

  THE END….

  Benny climbs into the front seat with Bobaloo. The car pulls back onto the road.

  You yank on the car door handles. But they’re locked. They won’t open from the inside.

  “Why are you doing this, Benny?” you cry.

  “Put a sock in it,” Bobaloo commands over his shoulder.

  Benny bends over and starts untying his shoelaces. A moment later, he whirls around. He leans into the backseat and stuffs his sock in your mouth.

  Oh, gross! You want to scream. But you can’t make a sound. Not with Benny’s dirty, smelly sock in your mouth.

  You strain to see the bottom of his feet, but they’re hidden by the seat. You reach up to remove the sock. But Benny grabs your wrists and lashes them together with duct tape.

  The truth hits you. You’re not going to get out of this. They’ll stick you in the Dark Hole — and never let you out!

  You’re desperate, but you can’t think of anything to do. Except lean over the seat and grab the steering wheel.

  The trouble is, with your hands taped, you aren’t sure you could control the car. It could be very dangerous!

  If you grab the wheel, turn to PAGE 21.

  If you think grabbing the wheel is too risky, go to PAGE 85.

  You stand still and try to listen. But your heart is pounding so loudly, it’s all you can hear.

  Then a noise comes from down the hall. A noise that makes the back of your neck prickle.

  “Meeeooooww!”

  It’s Patches, your cat! She’s in trouble. And you think you know what’s causing it.

  Please, you think, let Patches be okay!

  Find out if Patches is okay on PAGE 46.

  THWACK. KA-CHUNK. THWACK …

  You squeeze your eyes shut. Any second now, mechanical arms are going to swoop down, poke holes in your head, and stuff it full of doll hair!

  Then, suddenly, something incredible happens.

  A voice comes out of the walkie-talkie in the waistband of your jeans. It’s muffled, but everyone can hear it.

  “Don’t hurt me,” a small, high-pitched voice says. “Please believe me. I’m a toy!”

  That voice. You recognize it.

  It’s the pig!

  The head ninja runs over to the switch and stops the hair-planting machine. “The voice came out of its stomach!” the ninja cries. “A human can’t do that!”

  “It must be a toy!” another ninja shouts.

  “Of course I’m a toy,” the pig’s voice answers. “Let me go!”

  The pig must have found the other walkie-talkie near Benny!

  Silently, you promise never to eat another slice of bacon as long as you live.

  Three ninjas jump onto the conveyor belt.

  And bring their swords flashing down at your head!

  Go to PAGE 136.

  You and Benny slip around to the back of the car. You lift the trunk lid slightly and squeeze in.

  Seconds later, Bobaloo pulls away.

  “We did it!” Benny whispers triumphantly.

  “We’re nuts,” you answer.

  You know you shouldn’t be riding in the trunk of a stranger’s car. Especially a stranger who probably isn’t even human! You’re terrified of what will happen if Bobaloo catches you.

  But you must find out what he’s up to.

  You grip the trunk lid tightly so it won’t bounce around or slam shut.

  Finally, Bobaloo pulls to a stop. When you hear him get out of the car, you lift the trunk lid and take a peek.

  “I see a small airplane. Bobaloo is getting on board!” you tell Benny.

  “I’ve always wanted to stow away on a plane,” Benny says.

  Can that be a good idea? you think.

  Definitely not.

  Do it, anyway, on PAGE 57.

  You can’t take your eyes off the Laser Blaster. It looks so big. The red and blue lights on its barrel flash on and off. On and off. It’s just a toy, you tell yourself. A plastic toy.

  But toys have a way of being dangerous around here.

  What if that Laser Blaster is alive, too? It could blow you to bits….

  “Well, look who it is!” Nasty Kathy sneers. “Dorky Porky and his new friend — the pile of human guts.”

  You swallow hard. The truth is, Nasty Kathy is terrifying. She’s only two feet tall — but she looks so evil, it makes her seem bigger somehow.

  “Oooink!” the pig squeals, and trots off.

  “I’ll see you later, fatso,” Nasty Kathy calls. “As for you, let’s go. On your feet, human!”

  She jerks the Laser Blaster in the direction she wants you to walk.

  Do you dare make a run for it?

  If you dare to make a run for it, turn to PAGE 53.

  If you think you’d better do what she says, turn to PAGE 87.

  Whittle lifts the new robot out of its box and sends it striding toward your house.

  The new Annihilator clomps up your front steps. At the front door, it stops and waits. A moment later, Whittle leaps onto your porch.

  “Let me in!” he yells, pounding on the door with his fists.

  “No! Go away!” you shout.

  Whittle peers in through the front window at you and scowls.

  “I’m coming in,” he announces in a gruff voice. “And you can’t stop me!”

  WHIRRR …

  Oh, no. That sound …

  You don’t dare turn around. But you know what’s happening. The Annihilator — the one that’s already in your house — has walked into the living room. It’s standing right behind you.

  You can’t move.

  You can’t leave.

  You’re trapped!

  Turn to PAGE 30.

  A small stuffed pig peers down at you. And blinks.

  “It’s true,” the pig says. “She is alive. I am, too!”

  You and Benny gasp. The fuzzy pink pig is squirming to get out of the twist-tie holding it inside its package.

  You both start to back away.

  “Pleeeease wait,” squeals the pig. “Please help me out of my box. Every night I have to get out by myself, and it’s h-h-hard.”

  You look up and see that the pig has a tear in one eye. It’s crying!

  As you reach up to help the pig, you hear something. A rustling noise, like water, or wind. It seems to be coming from all around you….

  Out of the corner of your eye, you see movement. Something just flitted across the aisle!

  Then it dawns on you. The rustling noise? It’s paper. And cardboard. And plastic. And right now, every single toy in the warehouse is doing something incredible. Something you thought only happened in a kid’s best dream — or worst n
ightmare.

  Thousands of toys: all coming to life.

  Turn to PAGE 24.

  Your heart hammers as you dash into the night. Before you know it, you’re at your house. You run around to the back door.

  As you’re turning the knob, you peer through the glass in the door. Your dad is seated on a kitchen stool with his back to you.

  He has one foot propped on the opposite knee — and his shoe is off. He’s doing something to his foot!

  You flash back in the factory — you can still see that plastic ninja toy dropping batteries into the policeman’s heel.

  Is it possible that your own dad is a life-sized toy?

  Who can you trust? Where can you go that’s safe?

  You turn and run again. Blindly. Not knowing where to go.

  But as you race through the night, you suddenly realize you’re heading for your best friend’s house. Amy’s. You’ve got to see her. She’s the one person you know you can trust.

  You ring her doorbell. Panting. Out of breath.

  The door swings open. But it’s not Amy who’s standing there. It’s someone else. The last person you expected to see….

  Find out who it is on PAGE 83.

  You won’t give up without a fight.

  You jump up. “Your plan is going to fail, Bobaloo!” you shout at him. “And you’re not putting us in the Dark Hole!”

  Bobaloo’s face starts to twitch. Soon he’s grinning. Then he’s laughing. The two goons behind him laugh too.

  “You have spunk, kid,” Bobaloo says. “I like that! I’m going to give you a reward.”

  He gestures to the goons. They pull a lever, and a door slides open. Cold wind blasts into the plane.

  “Guess what your reward is,” Bobaloo says.

  “We’re going to Walt Disney World?” Benny asks hopefully.

  “No!” Bobaloo laughs again. “Your reward is … skydiving lessons!”

  Uh-oh.

  “I never went skydiving before,” you say. “I don’t even know how to use a parachute.”

  “We’ll make it easy, then,” Bobaloo says. “For this first jump, we won’t use any parachutes.”

  Easy? Not quite.

  Looks as if you’re going to learn the hard way!

  THE END

  You’ve got the disc in your pocket. The one you found inside Nasty Kathy’s trunk.

  And you remember where the rubber hand told you to put it. In the Incredible Talking Spelling Thinking Intelligent Machine.

  Your heart pounds as you race down the aisle.

  Frantically, your eyes scan every box, every toy on the shelf. Puzzles. Reading games. Math machines. Mazes. Alphabet games.

  Everything but a Talking Speller!

  “Where is it?” you cry out in frustration.

  The pig’s voice suddenly bursts out of the walkie-talkie in your waistband. “IT’S TIM!” the pig yells.

  Huh? It’s Tim?

  Who’s Tim?

  Turn to PAGE 129.

  It’s Patches! She’s dragging an ice cube on the end of her tail. The Annihilator must have zapped her with its freeze-beam!

  Patches meows unhappily and twitches her tail, trying to shake the ice off.

  The Annihilator strides in behind her and stops. Its eyes glow. It seems to be staring straight at you.

  Patches darts behind your legs and cowers there.

  The Annihilator just stands there. Not moving.

  Somehow, that makes you more scared. Not less. It’s as if the robot is thinking … planning …

  Plotting what to do next.

  The hair on the back of your neck stands up.

  I’ll call 911, you think.

  But as you reach for the phone, a horrible high-pitched noise blares out of the Annihilator’s head: SCREEEEEEEEECH!

  A quick burst of laser beam shoots from its hand. A bright red line of light zaps straight into the wall phone.

  ZZZZTT!

  Slowly you pick up the receiver. You bring it to your ear.

  No dial tone. The line is dead!

  Don’t make any sudden moves. Just put the phone down and turn to PAGE 66.

  “No, Benny!” you shout. “Let’s find a different way out.”

  You dash away, through the twisting aisles of the warehouse. You don’t dare slow down to peek over your shoulder. All you can do is hope Benny is following you.

  Nasty Kathy’s voice booms over her megaphone.

  “Alert!” she shouts. “A ball of human fungus is loose in our warehouse. If it escapes, I’ll have you all taken apart!”

  The second she finishes speaking, you hear the whir of toy motors and the clatter of plastic feet.

  You keep running, even though your lungs are about to burst. You need to find cover! Then you see that you’ve run right into the main aisle. And you realize you’ve made a mistake.

  A terrible mistake.

  It sounds as if the entire warehouse full of toys is coming for you! Surrounding you!

  Then you see six pairs of eyes — glowing green eyes — closing in….

  “No!” you scream.

  Meet your fate on PAGE 89.

  “Heeeeeelp!” You kick and scream, struggling to get free.

  In a burst of strength, you break your arms and legs out of the sticky web!

  But it’s too late. Two huge mechanical arms move in to hold you in place. A large, flat panel slides under your back, then bends, forcing you to sit up. A bowl-shaped thing whirs into place over your head.

  You squint your eyes and grit your teeth. Any minute now the hole-punching should begin….

  Then you catch your reflection in the shiny machine.

  Hey! The bowl-shaped thing above you is a giant plastic doll scalp! You watch, horrified, as the machine lowers it onto your head. Then it fits a plastic doll’s face over yours, molding it into place! You can see through the eye slits.

  The machine molds plastic arms and legs around your own. Soon you’re covered in plastic.

  They’re turning you into a life-sized doll!

  Turn to PAGE 102.

  You’re saying you stopped in Aisle Three and picked up a handheld video game?

  Who do you think you’re kidding?

  You didn’t stop in Aisle Three at all!

  You didn’t pick up a video game.

  This book is the only game you played. And guess what?

  YOU LOSE!

  GAME OVER

  “You’re lying,” you say to Benny, staring him right in the eye. “I don’t trust you for a second. In fact, I don’t trust anyone anymore! Maybe you’re all toys! Even you, Amy. Maybe even my mom and dad are toys!”

  Amy opens her mouth to argue, but you won’t listen.

  “I’m calling the government!” you shout as you dart away from your friends and out the door.

  You run into the night. An owl hoots in the trees. From the other end of town you hear a police siren. You keep running. There’s a pay phone at the end of your block. You’re going to call the FBI!

  You lift the receiver and dial “O” for the operator.

  Just then a car pulls up next to the phone booth.

  A rusty old sedan.

  The phone is ringing now on the other end. Pick up! you think. Please pick up!

  But it’s already too late. You feel a hand reaching over your shoulder.

  Find out whose hand that is on PAGE 135!

  “What about the two kids?” Officer Murphy asks.

  “Spread the word,” Bobaloo says. “Tell the others to be on the watch for them. Once we catch them, we may have to take them to the Dark Hole.”

  “The Dark Hole?” Murphy says. Then you hear an eerie sound, like an alarm clock getting smashed over and over with a sledgehammer.

  Yikes! The toy policeman is … laughing.

  Turn to PAGE 13.

  Change things? What do the toys want to change?

  “Everything,” Benny answers. “We’re going to change the laws so kids have more
time off from school. And we’ll give kids video games instead of schoolbooks. And change school lunches too. More pizza. Less broccoli. Get it? But it takes a lot of adults to vote for stuff like that. That’s why we need mostly toys that look like grownups.”

  As Benny talks, Bobaloo shows you pictures of the plan. Kids on new bikes grin happily. Kids wave from awesome rides installed in a school playground. Kids laugh as they cram cotton candy into their mouths in a cafeteria.

  Cool. It’s a plot to make the world more fun for kids!

  Benny puts his hand on your shoulder. “Bobaloo and I decided to tell you about the plan because we’ve got a very important job for you. You’re going to be in charge!”

  In charge? Sounds great!

  That is, until you find out what “in charge” really means.

  All the toys run on — what else? — batteries. And guess who gets to keep all those batteries charged up?

  That’s right. You. You just keep going … and going … and going …

  THE END

  You don’t get it. Why is the pig yelling about someone named Tim?

  Then you catch sight of it. And it all makes sense.

  Incredible Talking Spelling Thinking Intelligent Machine.

  A red plastic toy, shaped like a book. And the first letter of each word spells out IT’S TIM!

  You are about to insert the CD — when you hear Benny’s voice. From two aisles over. He sounds terrified.

  “Don’t do it!” he cries. “Whatever you do, don’t put the key in IT’S TIM!”

  How does Benny know what you’re doing? Did he figure it out from the soldiers? Does he know something you don’t know?

  He’s your friend. Should you listen to him?

  If you do, you might miss your chance to turn off the toys. You can hear Nasty Kathy’s voice nearby. She’s coming. She must have heard the pig yell, “It’s Tim!”