by R. L. Stine
Dr. Eeek smiles. “Gooood,” he says, drawing out the word. “I knew you’d cooperate.”
He gives you a wink with that weird eye. The one that seems to be stapled to his cheek. It makes him look as if he’s permanently squinting.
“Follow me,” Dr. Eeek commands.
Head over to the canine lab on PAGE 54.
You dash out into the hall with the whistle in your hand.
Now what?
You can’t just leave this place without Sam….
Sam! He’s with Dr. Eeek — in a lab down the hall! He’s probably in big trouble!
You race back to the room where you left Sam and Dr. Eeek. But it’s empty. All you find is a chewing gum wrapper for cinnamon gum. The kind Sam always chews.
Then you notice — there’s another part of a gum wrapper on the floor by the door. And another out in the hall. And another.
It’s a trail! Sam’s trying to tell you where he went!
You follow the gum wrapper trail. Down the hall. Around the corner. And straight into another operating room!
There you find Sam lying on one stainless steel table. And a jar of pickles lying on another.
Electrical wires run from a scary-looking machine to Sam’s feet. And to the jar of pickles!
“What are you doing!” you scream at Dr. Eeek.
Quick! Turn to PAGE 5.
“No way,” you say, eyeing the straps on the two black chairs. “Come on, Sam. Run!”
Without waiting another second, you and Sam bolt for the door. You race back into the lab with the goo. Then out the door and into the hallway.
Now …
Hey, wait a minute. Which way is the waiting room? Left or right?
Can you remember?
You’d better think fast, because Dr. Eeek is on his way!
If you think the waiting room is to the right, go to PAGE 102.
If you turn left, go to PAGE 95.
In a panic, you try to remember what you know about those sprinklers.
Oh, yeah. They’re heat sensitive. Your mom told you about them once. When they get hot, the water comes on.
You grab a chair as fast as you can. Then you unplug a table lamp from the receptionist’s desk and remove the lamp shade.
This will work, you tell yourself. Won’t it?
You stand on the chair, under one of the sprinklers. With the lamp in your hands, you touch the still-hot bulb to the sprinkler head.
For a moment, nothing happens.
Hurry up, you pray silently. Is this thing going to work or not?
Turn to PAGE 19.
“That’s my mom’s shoe!” you cry, pointing at the blue-and-green thing in the German shepherd’s mouth.
The dog growls again when you point. His teeth are dripping with drool. And the look in his eyes is killer. Pure killer.
“Huh?” Sam says. “How do you know?”
“Because I know,” you manage to choke out. “I recognize it. No one else has shoes like my mom’s.”
Sam gulps loudly at your side. For some reason, he can’t take his eyes off the dog. And the dog won’t take his eyes off Sam. The two of them are having a stare-down.
“Where did he come from?” Sam asks nervously.
“Probably from Dr. Eeek’s canine lab,” you reply.
And then it hits you. Your mom could be there, too! Maybe Dr. Eeek has gone crazy. Maybe he’s trapped her in the canine lab. Maybe he’s going to do something horrible to her — in that awful operating room!
Anyway, she must have been in the canine lab recently. How else can you explain the fact that the dog has her shoe?
“Come on,” you order, pulling Sam by the arm. “We’ve got to go back to the canine lab. Now.”
Be brave and return to the canine lab on PAGE 29.
“Larry was holding a hairbrush,” you tell Dr. Eeek.
“Wrong, wrong, wrong!” he shrieks. “Obviously you’re not as big a GOOSEBUMPS expert as you claim to be. Off to the Canine Maze!”
“No, please, no!” you cry. It’s humiliating to act like such a wimp, especially in front of Sam. But you’ve got to stall. “Anything but the Canine Maze. Anything!”
“Anything?” Dr. Eeek asks.
Turn to PAGE 98.
You turn and run back to the door where you came in. But it’s locked. You pound on it. Finally it opens.
And your mom is standing there! You know it’s really her this time. The beauty mark is in the right place.
“Good work,” she says, giving you a huge smile and a hug. “You figured it out. That wasn’t me. That was a hologram of me that I invented. How do you like it?”
How do you like it?
Once your heart stops beating like a marching band, you like it fine! Your mom even lets you and Sam play with her hologram machine. You make hologram copies of yourselves — and leave them all over the lab.
Which is why — if you open this book to another page — you’ll see yourself in Dr. Eeek’s lab again. In lots of trouble!
Did you really think this could be …
THE END?
You bark and bark. Your mom smiles at you.
“Harold, I can’t deal with these dogs now,” she says. “I’ve got to find my kid.” But she pats your head before she leaves.
Of course she never does find her kid — since you’ve been turned into a dog by the horrible Dr. Eeek.
Eventually, though, you do get to go home. Your mom adopts you! She takes you home and gives you plenty of dog food. Once in a while, you even get to sleep in your own bed — but only when your mom’s not home. The rest of the time she makes you jump down. She doesn’t want dog hairs in the bed.
The good part is that you’re a really smart dog. Exceptionally smart. Because you’re not a dog. You’re a kid!
In no time, you learn great tricks. You can do things such as “go fetch a red sweater with blue buttons.” You can “find the man with the black beard in the fourth row of the audience.” You can add four and seven and count the answer out with your paws.
Welcome to the world of show business!
With a dog like you, your mom becomes rich and famous. She tours the world with you. And you’re pretty happy. After all — being your mom’s best friend isn’t so bad in …
THE END.
Dr. Eeek still has a glove on one of his hands. He moves toward you. Then pulls some of the green goo out of your mouth.
“There — you’ve got about two minutes until the G-substance slips back into your mouth and down your throat,” he tells you with a horrible laugh. “Now, what were you saying?”
You gasp for air, then talk fast. “You worked with my mom at Eeek Labs,” you say. “Until you got fired for being crazy!”
“Not at Eeek Labs,” Dr. Eeek corrects you. “EIK Labs. It stands for Engineered Inner Knowledge. And yes, I did get fired. That’s why I started my own lab — in the same building, just one floor above!”
“Huh?” you say, not quite understanding.
“It’s simple,” Herbert Wimplemeyer explains with a nasty shake of his head. “You got off the elevator on the wrong floor!”
You glance at the clock. You have only one minute left.
Quick! Turn to PAGE 21 before you choke on the goo!
“Wow,” you say, shaking your head. You still can’t believe this. “But how did you get here so fast?” you ask the pizza guy. “I mean, I’ve heard of delivery in thirty minutes. But you were here in thirty seconds!”
“Easy,” he says. “Our shop is on the first floor!”
You’d like to laugh, but you don’t have time. You run out into the hall to escape. You pound on the elevator button. Just then it opens — and your mom steps out! She’s been searching the building for you for over an hour.
When you tell her what’s happened, she calls the police immediately. She also runs down the hall and rescues Sam from the virtual reality game. Luckily, she turns it off just in time. Right before he’s about to be strangled by
a boa constrictor.
The police arrive a minute later and haul Dr. Eeek away.
“Whew,” you say to Sam. “That was a close one. But at least it turned out all right.”
“Yeah — I guess,” Sam mutters, looking glum.
“What do you mean, you guess?” you ask. “We’re safe. And we didn’t get turned into something horrible in Dr. Eeek’s lab. What more could you possibly want?”
“My fifty bucks!” Sam says with a goofy grin.
THE END
“It’s a giant rat!” you cry.
“Are you sure?” Sam whispers. “How can a rat be that enormous?”
“How would I know?” you snap. “But it is definitely a rat.”
You and Sam stare at the rat. The rodent is as tall as you are. You figure it must weigh over one hundred pounds. It glares at you with beady eyes. Its long whiskers twitch as it grinds two sharp front teeth.
“Let’s get out of here,” you tell Sam. You both turn to leave, heading for the sliding panel door.
WHAMP!
The giant rat springs forward!
It leaps in front of you. Its nails scratch the floor as it blocks the exit.
You stare at Sam. What are you going to do now? The passageway is a dead end.
The rat moves toward you. Closer and closer.
You and Sam back into a corner. The giant rat approaches. Its mouth opens wide.
“Rats,” you mutter. “I think this is …
THE END.”
You try to stay cool — even with the scientist glaring at you. You introduce yourself and Sam to the man. You reach out to shake his hand. Grown-ups usually like that.
“Ah, yes,” the man says, squeezing your hand a little too tightly. “I know your mother well. A brilliant scientist.”
You smile proudly.
The chimp tugs on the sleeve of the man’s lab coat, trying to get his attention. He makes some signs with his hands. You can’t figure out what he’s trying to say — but it seems to be a kind of sign language.
The man nods, as if he understands.
“I am Professor Yzark. One of Dr. Eeek’s assistants,” the man says. “I see you’ve met Oscar.” He nods toward the chimp. “Would you care to take a look at our work?”
He leads you and Sam to a wall of windows. You both peer through.
“Wow!” Sam gasps.
Take a closer look on PAGE 53.
You follow the dogs, and Sam trots along behind you.
Through the Canine Maze. Left. Right. Left. Left. You turn a dozen times. Are you ever going to get out of there? you wonder.
The pack is about twenty feet ahead of you, but all of a sudden you stop. There’s a big sign on the wall up ahead. It reads EMERGENCY EXIT in big red letters. Beneath the sign is a small red button. It reads PUSH TO OPEN.
The only trouble is the button is too high for you to reach. It’s four feet three inches off the ground. You start to jump, trying to push the button with your nose.
Can you do it? Here’s the rule. Human beings who have been turned into dogs can jump only as high as they were tall when they were human.
If you are four feet three inches or taller, turn to PAGE 92.
If you are under four feet three inches, turn to PAGE 61.
“You’re not my mom!” you shout, pointing at the woman in front of you. “You’re a clone … or … or something!”
The woman in front of you looks exactly like your mom — except for one thing. She has a beauty mark on her right cheek. Your mom’s beauty mark is on her left cheek!
She gives you a proud smile.
“You’re right, kiddo,” she says warmly. “You guessed it. I’m not your mom.”
“What is she talking about?” Sam asks.
“Never mind,” you answer. “It’s a trick! Let’s get out of here! Run!”
Run as fast as you can to PAGE 117.
You stop and give Eeek a glare that could melt stone.
“How did we get in here?” you repeat, spitting the words at him. “My mom works for you — you creep!”
“Your mother?” Dr. Eeek asks. He pulls himself up straight again. The twisted smile creeps back across his lips.
“Yeah,” you say. “But not for long. Because I bet she’ll quit when she hears what you tried to do to us.”
“Your mother?” Dr. Eeek asks again. He sneers. “Tell me, dear child. Just what is your mother’s name?”
You tell him, and he laughs. He laughs so hard that his squinty eye opens and closes. It makes him look like a hideous puppet.
Finally, he stops laughing. His face turns dead serious.
“I doubt you’ll ever see your mother again,” he sneers with a menacing glare.
Oh, no.
“What have you done to my mom?” you cry.
Find out on PAGE 36.
WOOF!
That’s you, barking.
Your little doggy heart is racing. You trot out into the narrow hall and run toward the approaching dogs. You’re going to attack!
BARK! BARK! BARK!
They’re barking as they charge toward you.
You’re terrified, but you’re trying to bluff. You bark as loud as you can and race to the place where the hallway turns. That way you can stand there and act as if you’re protecting your territory. Maybe they’ll back down. Maybe not. But it’s your only chance.
Sam catches up with you and barks viciously, too. Then all at once the pack of dogs races around the corner. Their sharp teeth are bared. They’re snarling. Running. Charging.
It looks as if nothing can stop them….
Until they see you.
You curl back your lips, exposing your own razor-sharp teeth. You plant your feet firmly. You give a low, mean, angry growl.
GRRRRRR.
Keep growling on PAGE 46.
Luckily, you have the silver whistle. Maybe you’ll get out of here alive!
The German shepherds lunge at you.
The leader is so tall that when he barks, you can feel his hot breath on your face. Suddenly his huge teeth chomp down on the neck of your T-shirt, grazing your throat!
But you don’t panic.
As fast as humanly possible — which is pretty fast, since you have lightning-fast reflexes after years of playing video games — you reach into your pocket and pull out the whistle.
You blow it as hard as you can.
Nothing happens.
No sound comes out. Nothing whatsoever!
Now what are you going to do?
Face your fate on PAGE 66.
Your heart hammers wildly in your chest. You’ve got to find that antidote. Time is running out!
You yank open one lab drawer after another.
“… sixteen, seventeen, eighteen …” Dr. Eeek says. Now he’s toying with you, counting more slowly. His eyes are still closed.
None of the drawers contain anything that looks even remotely like an antidote to the goo. And it’s taking you so long to open them. Your sticky hands cling to everything you touch.
Then you see it. In the last drawer. A jar of red gooey stuff.
Could it be?
“Twenty!” Dr. Eeek cries, opening his eyes.
You don’t wait. You unscrew the lid of the jar, plunge a slimy green hand into the red stuff, and scoop out a handful.
It smells sweet, so you put it in your mouth.
“Ha-ha-ha!” Dr. Eeek laughs uproariously. “You think you can save your life that way? You’re eating strawberry jam!”
Oh, no. He’s right.
And guess what? You’re allergic to strawberries!
Break out in hives on PAGE 48.
Every instinct in your body says HIDE! And Dr. Eeek’s office seems like the best place.
You see it on the opposite side of the operating room. An office with a big glass window.
The sign on the door reads, EEEK’S OFFICE. KEEP OUT!
“I’ve got to hide!” you say to the half-boy, half-dog.
With a flick of his wrist, he tosses you a silver whistle.
“It’ll keep the dogs away,” he tells you.
You start toward the door. But the footsteps are right outside.
Uh-oh. Time to make another choice.
If you follow the boy’s advice, run to PAGE 112.
If you think it’s best to turn around and hide in Dr. Eeek’s office, turn to PAGE 34.
Cautiously, you continue straight ahead in the maze. You and Sam walk side by side. But the hallway is so narrow, you just barely fit.
“Hey, quit bumping me,” Sam snaps. He shoves you aside with his shoulder.
“I didn’t bump you,” you reply. “Quit bumping me.”
“Ouch!” Sam says as he slams into the wall beside him.
Uh-oh. You suddenly figure it out. The corridor is gradually getting narrower. In fact, as you gaze ahead, it seems to narrow down to nothing. It almost looks as if the two walls come together at a point.
“Maybe we should turn around and go back,” Sam suggests. “This is a dead end.”
A dead end? Your throat tightens up at the thought.
You check behind you to see if anyone — or anything — is back there.
That doggy smell is getting stronger.
What do you want to do?
Keep going to the end of the narrowing hall on PAGE 62.
Or turn around and go back to the fork on PAGE 87.
BEWARE!!
DO NOT READ THIS
BOOK FROM
BEGINNING TO END!
You and your family are visiting an exhibit in ancient Egypt when you make a discovery of your own: a 4000-year-old diary written by a mummy! Cool, you think, as you slip the book into your pocket.