by Chase Wilder
You can handle three jets of flame, you think. Counting down, you take a running jump and fling yourself into the air.
This is the exact moment when three more jets of flame explode from the tunnel floor.
The heat must be widening the cracks, you reason.
Even at the end, you’re pretty bright.
Shame you’ve been burned to a crisp.
Does anyone smell toast?
RUN AGAIN?
OR JUST GO BACK?
You take a deep breath and launch yourself out over the murky water. You’re sure you see the beady eyes of a gator watching you from below, thinking of its next meal. This is one time you definitely don’t want a soft landing.
A second later, you crash down hard in the belly of the dinghy. The boat is still rocking as you jump to your feet and tug hard at the outboard motor’s pull cord. Once. Twice. Three times.
Finally, the motor chokes, splutters, and roars. You drop down into the seat and turn the bow around to face the open swamp. You can see the red brake lights of the buggy leaving trembling trails across the dark water.
The dinghy moves quickly. Soon you’re gaining on Silva.
“Don’t try to follow me, amigo!” he shouts, seeing that he’s no longer alone. “It will be very dangerous for you.”
He’s not wrong. Silva steers the buggy into the swamp, bumping through mangroves and over a high bank. You don’t see the bank until it’s too late to turn back. You rev the outboard motor, building up as much speed as you can, before—
Thwack!
The dinghy bounces up the slope and vaults into the air. You duck as a tree swings out at you in the darkness and hold on tight as the dinghy drops down hard onto the water.
Silva was counting on losing you. Instead, you’ve nearly caught up to him. Another burst of speed from the motor and suddenly you’re side by side with the buggy. Could this be your best chance of getting back the treasure?
If you jump now, you could have a chance to overpower Silva. Leap to this page.
But it’s a dangerous jump. If you take a second to steady yourself, turn to this page.
It doesn’t take Barry long to rig the dynamite. “Better stand back, buddy,” he warns you. “This is going to be one big bang.”
He isn’t wrong. What Barry doesn’t know is that there’s a strong seam of coal gas behind that rock face. As soon as he lights the fuse, the gas ignites and creates an explosion loud enough to be heard in Antarctica. Your ears would be ringing for weeks. If you still had ears. As it is, your ears, nose, and toes are scattered from here all the way to the swamp. Talk about going out with a bang!
RUN AGAIN?
OR JUST GO BACK?
You let go of the tree and are whisked away by the fast-flowing river. The water has turned the stone path into a twisting set of rapids, strewn with obstacles. You have to paddle desperately to avoid a boulder in the middle of the path. Seconds later, you’ve no choice but to hold your breath and duck underwater to avoid a massive log.
At least you’ve left the monkey behind you, right? Wrong! The beast is bounding down the mountain beside the path, ripping out bushes and trees as it goes. When you back-paddle to avoid a collapsed section of wall, the monkey’s claws slash down to try to fish you out. You dive underwater and the monkey misses.
After that, you let the river take you wherever it wants. Soon, the monkey can’t keep up. You hear its howls of frustration as you disappear around yet another bend.
On and on you tumble, until finally you’re washed out into the swamp. The current ebbs and you’re able to swim back to shore before any gators notice you. It feels good to be on solid ground.
You hold the mask up in front of you. “Well,” you tell it, “thanks for the ride. But I think it’s time we got you locked up somewhere safe.”
Turn to this page.
You sprint along the narrow bridge. It immediately starts trembling, and then boards beneath your feet start to shatter, tumbling into the gorge below.
Yikes! You leap through the air to whatever boards are left, desperately trying to avoid tumbling into the river below.
Just as you reach the other side, the last of the bridge crumbles away. You smack into the rocky ledge, knocking the air from your chest. Still, you’re alive.
You hang there for a moment, then pull yourself up. You look down and see the wooden boards snapping and splintering in the river’s white water.
There’s another tunnel here, much wider than the last. Without thinking, you strike a match to see into the tunnel ahead of you. And what you see is the outline of two men.
You freeze, and your match instantly goes out.
More monkey men? You hold your breath, but you don’t hear anything.
To your left is a dark nook. Should you hide in there and see what happens, or brave up and confront the men?
To hide, turn to this page.
To confront the men, go to this page.
Guy drops you back in town. “Remember,” he says, “there are lots more adventures where this one came from. Look me up.” Then he speeds away, the buggy fishtailing in the dirt.
Barry is waiting for you in the hotel lobby. He raises his eyebrows. “You look like you were dragged through a bush backward.”
“I should head up to my room and pack,” you say.
Barry narrows his eyes. “Thought maybe you got lucky. With the mask, I mean.” He stares right into you. It’s like he can read the truth scrawled across your heart, even as you tell a big, dirty lie.
“Nope,” you say, and hurry off.
Upstairs in your room, you wrap the mask in your dirty laundry.
The whole journey home, you’re waiting for an airport alarm to go off or for a heavy hand on your shoulder. But you get away with it. You smuggle the mask all the way back to your bedroom.
Well done. Now you’ll always have a reminder of this great adventure! You spend your first day back at home gazing at it happily, feeling sure you did the right thing by keeping it for yourself.
But when your parents see the mask on your bedroom wall, they’re not happy. They can’t afford to insure a priceless treasure, and word is bound to get out that this mask is in your possession. What happens if someone tries to steal it?
You lie awake at night, worried that masked men will hunt you down for your treasure. Soon, you’re convinced you’re being followed around town. And then there’s the creepy graffiti you keep seeing in your neighborhood. All those scrawled slogans about DEMON MONKEYS and THE CURSE OF THE MASK.
Finally one night, you look out your bedroom window and a skull-faced demon monkey is looking in. You get the feeling it’s not here for some milk and cookies. Adios!
RUN AGAIN?
OR JUST GO BACK?
With the thieves in pursuit, you and Barry sprint off down the right-hand shaft.
“We need to lose these guys!” Barry shouts.
Ahead, the tunnel forks again. Barry leads you down the left shaft and ducks into a hollow in the wall. Squeezing in beside him, you press your face against the cold stone.
A few seconds pass. You hold your breath. Then there’s a shuffling of feet and whispered words. The monkey men are at the fork in the shaft, trying to decide which way to go.
A flash of lantern light bounces across the walls of your tunnel. A few of the men creep past. They walk right by without seeing you!
Your lungs are about to burst.
A few seconds later, the men return. They seem to be laughing behind their masks. At the fork, they run off with their comrades down the other tunnel.
“Those are some blind sons of monkeys,” Barry chuckles. “We got really lucky there.”
“Why were they laughing?” you ask.
He shrugs. “Who knows what goes on in those monkey brains?”
You step out of the hollow and freeze. You can hear crackling. Is it coming from the roof? As you look up, soot spits in your eye.
“Well now, will you look at that?” Barry is
shining his flashlight down the shaft. There’s a glint of gold in the rocky floor. Hurrying over, you snatch it up. It’s a gold doubloon. You spot another, a bit farther on. And then another! And another!
Soon you and Barry are running, taking it in turns to snatch up the coins. You hurtle around a corner and grind to a halt. The tunnel has come to an abrupt end. But there, against the far wall, is a treasure chest. An actual treasure chest! The sort of thing pirates drew maps about.
“This is it!” Barry exclaims. “This is where they hid the mask!”
“But where did the coins come from?” you ask.
Barry doesn’t seem to hear. He takes a deep breath and opens the chest. It’s packed with gold doubloons and bright green jewels.
“Wow!” you gasp.
“Hang on, that looks like a note.” Barry heaves the chest up and slides out a neatly folded square of paper from underneath.
It says: ¡UNA MUERTE FELIZ!
He reads it aloud. “That’s Spanish. Hmm, I think it means, A happy death. But why—?”
You don’t have to wonder for long. Behind you, the roof of the tunnel collapses in a cascade of rocks and coal. It’s a trap! You’ve been sealed in.
“Guess now we know why those monkey men were laughing,” you say.
Buried alive. Still, at least you’ll die stinking rich!
RUN AGAIN?
OR JUST GO BACK?
You return to camp pretty much empty-handed. The best snack Guy can come up with is a fistful of worms you’d hoped to use for fish bait.
“Full of nutrition,” Guy promises, throwing the worms on a skillet over an open fire. “And loaded with good bacteria. Also loaded with bad bacteria, but it should all balance out.”
He hands you a steaming plate of the slippery things, and they taste just as disgusting as they look.
Guy falls asleep instantly after dinner, but you lie awake, listening to the cries of mysterious creatures. At one point, you hear a bellowing roar and sit bolt upright in bed. After a few moments, you decide the scream isn’t human. That doesn’t cheer you up.
Gurgle.
What was that?
Gurgle gurgle.
It seems to be coming from inside the tent!
Gurrrrgle.
It’s your stomach! Those worms must still be writhing around in there. You’re going to be sick. You feel around in the darkness for a container, but you don’t find one. In the end, you have to run out of the tent to the water’s edge and throw up. Food poisoning is the worst.
No, wait. Being eaten alive by an alligator is much worse than that. Guess you should have made sure the coast was clear before you came running from the tent. It’s feeding time! Good-bye, brave explorer. Hello, gator food.
RUN AGAIN?
OR JUST GO BACK?
You hold out the mask to the demon monkey. It isn’t interested. Maybe it’s waiting for an apology.
“Hey, I’m really sorry,” you say. “I, uh, didn’t know it was yours.” You don’t sound very convincing.
The demon monkey reaches down, grabs you by the back of your shirt, and shoves your head into its mouth.
It’s very dark in here. And wet. And smelly. Thankfully, you’re not going to be in here for long. Looks like this demon monkey eats explorers like you for breakfast!
RUN AGAIN?
OR JUST GO BACK?