Welcome to the Wicked Wax Museum

by R. L. Stine

  “An empty city, it looks like,” you reply a little nervously. “We’re the only ones here.”

  A metal garbage can falls over with a crash and a surprised cat wails in the alley. You turn in the direction of the noise.

  And scream. “Liz! Look out! Behind you!”

  Liz whirls around and gasps. Uh-oh. You’re not the only ones here after all.

  Hurry to PAGE 94.

  “Never trust anyone named Sybil,” you declare.

  Liz nods. “Let’s let these bodies sleep. We’ll find a way out by ourselves.”

  As quietly as you can, you tiptoe through the aisles. You don’t want to wake anybody! It’s hard, though. The aisles are very narrow.

  You ease around a corner. Oh, no! Your shirt is caught on something. You’re stuck! You tug at your shirttail.

  CRASH! BANG!

  The huge room echoes. It sounds as if you knocked over ten garbage cans! Your heart is in your mouth as you turn around.

  A single object is rolling across the floor. Quickly you bend down and snatch it up. Maybe you can simply put it back on its shelf and keep going.

  You don’t really believe it’ll be that easy, do you?

  When you straighten up, all the Sybils are sitting bolt upright on their metal beds. And they’re all pointing at you!

  Turn to PAGE 87.

  You decide on the blank button. “Here goes nothing,” you mutter. Picking up the phone, you press.

  BZZZT … BZZZT … BZZZT …

  Busy?! “I don’t believe this!” you grumble.

  But the next time you try, you hear a click. Then a recorded voice comes over the line.

  “I’m sorry. Your call cannot go through … but YOU can!”

  The limo screeches to a halt. In the mirror, you catch a glimpse of Axel’s face. It’s furious! As furious as a bare skull can look, that is.

  The floor of the limousine drops out. A trap door! Your seat belt flies open. Next thing you know, you and Liz are shooting down a long, sloping tunnel.

  Drop down to PAGE 66.

  “Break the glass!” Liz shouts.

  “Don’t!” Sybil screeches.

  “DO IT!” Liz commands.

  You’re not arguing. You’re too busy pulling a wax leg off the rack in front of you. You hold it by the foot and swing it like a baseball bat against the glass box.

  CRASH! Bits of glass shower down on the floor. A hidden door slides open in the wall, and a deafening alarm goes off.

  The whole room vibrates and hums from the sound waves. It’s like an earthquake! The lights sway, casting wild shadows. Rows of legs, arms, lips, and eyeballs dance on the racks. They slap, kick, and pummel Sybil and Axel.

  You decide to take this opportunity to say goodbye. “Let’s go, Liz!” you shout.

  “Stop them!” Sybil commands. She’s buried under a mound of mixed lips and ears. “They’re getting away!”

  “This way!” you shout to Liz, and dash out the exit.

  Head for PAGE 83.

  “What is it?” Liz cries, moving up behind you. Then she sees what you see. “Oh, wow!” she mutters. “Too strange!”

  You’re in someone’s bedroom. Everything is purple. The walls. The furniture. The bedspread is lavender. Two doors in the far wall are painted dark plum. But it’s not the purple that’s getting to you. It’s not the fact that there are no windows, either. It’s what’s on the walls.

  Dozens of giant, blown-up photos — and they’re all of your face and Liz’s!

  You and Liz walk slowly around the room, studying the pictures. They’re all marked up. Your nose, your eyes, your mouth are covered with circles, arrows, and measurements. Someone has penciled notes next to them. “Excellent nostrils.” “Correct lower lip. Upper lip good.” “Adjust eye color.”

  Liz calls you from across the room. “You’ve got to see this,” she says. “It gets worse!”

  Go to PAGE 95.

  How can you stay perfectly still when you’re shaking like a blob of Jell-O? You decide to look for another way out.

  Shoving Liz ahead of you, you push through the purple robes. Behind you, the closet door flies open. A familiar voice calls out, “Peekaboo, I see you. And I’m coming to get you!”

  It’s Axel! “Hurry,” you mutter.

  “Hey!” Liz exclaims. “There’s something here. It’s a —”

  The rest of her words are cut off. You charge toward the back of the closet, batting hanging robes out of your way. “Liz!” you shout. “Where are you?”

  Then you smash into a flat, smooth surface. It feels like glass. And it’s moving. You’re in a revolving door!

  You spin through the revolving door and stumble out the other side. Ahead of you stretches a long room. But you only get a glimpse of it. Because there’s nothing under your feet. You’re falling!

  Plunge to PAGE 97.

  BZZZZZ! The buzzing sound is suddenly much louder.

  You’re in a room so big you can’t even tell where it ends. All you can see is aisle after aisle of metal shelves. They look like bookshelves. But these shelves are stacked with … bodies!

  Bodies in long, purple robes. They seem to be sleeping. That’s what the buzzing noise is. They’re snoring!

  Fascinated, you step closer and peer at one. Its skin has a strange, waxy glow. On its sleeve is embroidered SYBIL 67. The one on the shelf above it is labeled SYBIL 82. Creepy!

  Each face is slightly different from the others. One has a big nose. Another has no eyebrows. One even has no upper lip.

  “These must have something to do with those experiments we were told about,” Liz whispers. “I bet Sybil Wicked used these people somehow in her face-replacement experiments.”

  That gives you an idea. “So maybe all these people are mad at Sybil,” you say. “Maybe if we wake them up, they’ll help us get out of here.”

  “Maybe,” Liz says. “Or maybe they’ll turn us in!”

  What should you do? Better make up your mind!

  If you try to wake the sleeping Sybils, turn to PAGE 85.

  If you decide not to, turn to PAGE 34.

  “Steaming Room?” you ask Liz. “What do you suppose that is?”

  Liz only shakes her head. And the conveyor belt comes to a sudden stop.

  You squint, trying to peer ahead in the darkness. You’re about to call out Jake’s name when you hear voices.

  “Let’s get him off this belt,” says one man.

  “Dr. Wicked wants this one steamed right away. We’ll do him first and then get the others,” says a second man.

  “Steamed?” you gasp.

  “And we must be the ‘others’!” Liz cries.

  “Shhh! Listen!” you say as the voices begin to argue.

  “Maybe we should skip the steaming,” one man says. “If Dr. Wicked wants us to be finished in time for the opening tomorrow, we might just have to go on to the next step.”

  “No way!” says the other man. “You know we can’t skip any steps. If the steaming is skipped, nothing goes right.”

  “Okay, okay. Let’s just get this kid into the tube.”

  You and Liz glance at each other in horror. Jake’s always had a knack for getting into trouble, but this time he’s out of his league!

  Turn to PAGE 59.

  You jump. Who yelled?

  When you look the other way down the hall, your heart sinks. Standing at the far end is Axel. Even at this distance, his fleshless face gives you shivers. Exactly what happened to him? you wonder. But there isn’t time to think about that right now. Because Axel is moving toward you. Fast.

  You try to keep calm. “Maybe we should run,” you tell Liz.

  She doesn’t answer. That’s when you realize she’s already halfway down the hall.

  “Wait for me!” you yell, and sprint after her.

  You catch up to Liz at the end of the hall. “There’s no way out,” she pants. “Let’s see what’s behind one of these doors.”

  She throws open a doo
r and you dash through. Then you slow down to look around. Where are you?

  This room looks like the kitchen of a fancy restaurant. It’s full of gleaming, stainless-steel machines. There’s one that looks like a giant mixer, and another with dozens of sharp blades. It’s labeled PEELER.

  But the one that really gives you chills is the DEBONER.

  Turn to PAGE 28.

  The WHACK of the ax on the chopping block is followed by a THUD! The severed head rolls and lands at your feet.

  “AHHHHH!” you scream. Two glassy eyes are staring up at you.

  But wait! Those aren’t Jake’s eyes at all!

  “They’re marbles!” you exclaim to Liz. “This is just a wax figure. It’s part of the exhibit. It doesn’t even look like Jake! Except for the hair.”

  “Ha!” Liz laughs nervously. “I wasn’t fooled for one minute. Were you?” She looks at the headless wax figure and shudders.

  “I wasn’t scared,” you reply, trying to sound braver than you feel. To prove it, you reach up and tweak the Executioner’s waxy nose. “It’s all fake, see?”

  “Yeah,” Liz says, giving the towering figure’s cheek a pinch. “Just fake!”

  You’re not so sure anymore, though. You don’t want to scare Liz or anything, but when you touched his nose you felt … what was it …? Breath?

  Yes. Warm breath. Coming from the Executioner.

  But that’s impossible! Or is it?

  Take a deep breath yourself and turn to PAGE 86.

  You turn back and come face-to-face with the man in overalls. He’s furious and ready for revenge. His arms are full of what’s left of the Strangler. Pieces of his evil face, loose fingers, and masses of melted wax overflow from the museum worker’s cradled arms.

  “You can’t get away with this!” he shouts. “The Strangler won’t allow you to escape so easily.” He hurls huge globs of wax at you and Liz.

  You try to run but your feet get stuck in the sticky piles of the Strangler’s waxy remains. The angry worker hurls more and more of the melting wax. SMACK! THWACK! THWONK! Soon you’re both buried in the waxy remains of the Strangler.

  The wax hardens. You can’t move. Both of you stand stiff and still. The museum worker examines the results of his wax attack. “Yes,” he snarls gleefully. “Nobody beats the Strangler. He’s got his hands all over you. And I mean all over you.”

  THE END

  You won’t show Sybil Wicked’s face to Liz, you decide. She’ll just get creeped out.

  “I’m not looking at anything,” you answer quickly. “Come on, let’s investigate this left-hand hall.” Taking Liz’s arm, you pull her past the porthole and down the short hallway.

  At the end is a purple velvet curtain. Behind it, you can hear a low, steady buzzing noise. A sign pinned to the heavy cloth says DO NOT DISTURB.

  Would it be rude to ignore the sign? “My parents always taught me —” you begin to say.

  Then you hear voices behind you. You recognize one as Axel’s. The other is a girl’s voice. It’s saying:

  “My victims must be here somewhere. We must find them!”

  This is no time to worry about rudeness! You and Liz quickly duck under the purple curtain.

  Turn to PAGE 39.

  “I think we should help Axel,” you whisper to Liz.

  She makes a face. “Are you kidding? He kidnapped us and brought us to this weird place. Who knows what horrible things he was going to do with us? And now you want to help him? What if he comes after us again?”

  She has a point. Maybe you should think again.

  Still want to help Axel? Okay, turn to PAGE 136.

  Changed your mind? Go to PAGE 82.

  Your two eyes are staring into each other — from about ten feet apart!

  You scream.

  Your voice comes from all the way across the room!

  Both your eyes swivel wildly. Now you can see other bits of you, hanging on nearby racks. There’s your right arm … and your left foot … and that ear over there is Liz’s! You recognize her gold earring!

  “Too bad they got so banged up. Now I’ll have to find some new victims for the Face Lifter. Oh, well, at least we saved some of their body parts for the other experiments,” a voice says. You recognize it as Axel’s. But you can’t tell where it’s coming from, because you don’t know where your ears are.

  You wonder what “other experiments” are in store for you. You’re sure you’ll find out soon. Anyway, there’s nothing you can do now. There’s no point in getting all broken up about it!

  THE END

  You try to save oxygen in this glass prison by standing perfectly still. Apparently, Liz has the same idea. She breathes slowly inside her tube. You can’t see Jake at all. His tube is filled with a cloud of white steam.

  Your mind works overtime. What’s this all about? Those two men talked about getting you ready for Dr. Wicked. They said this steaming was just the first step. First step of what? You’re not sure you want to know. You’d rather just get out alive!

  Steam whooshes in through a hose in the top of the test tube. You brace yourself for the pain….

  But it never comes! Instead, your pores open as the steam gives your skin a deep cleansing. It’s hot, but not so hot you can’t stand it.

  Then, as suddenly as the steam appeared, it clears. You see you’re moving again. The test tubes are lined up along a rolling track. Jake’s tube is far ahead of you, rattling as it goes.

  Behind you, Liz looks as surprised as you that it’s over. You raise your hand to the glass to wave at her.

  As you do, you bump the latch on the glass door — and it wiggles loose!

  Turn to PAGE 4.

  You stare at the lever marked POWER. What will happen if you pull it? you wonder.

  “Do it,” Liz whispers. “Pull the lever.”

  You look over at the skin scraping machine, then back at the lever. The door of the steel tumbler is closed. Jake’s muffled cries can be heard from inside.

  The man in white overalls reaches for the dial to start the machine. His hand is almost on it. You pull the POWER lever.

  KABOOM! Sparks fly from the control box and from the dials on the skin scraping machine. All the circuits are shorting out. The man in overalls pulls his hand back and covers his face just before the second KABOOM blasts open the door.

  The whole laboratory is shaking. You and Liz hold on to each other and watch as Jake’s stretcher rolls out of the tumbler and down the ramp. Jake is still strapped in. His eyes and mouth are still taped shut. He can’t see what you see.

  The chair is rolling wildly out of control. “Oh, no!” cries Liz. “He’s heading right for the …”

  “Wax Dipping Laboratory!” you cry out together!

  Try to catch up with Jake on PAGE 92.

  The seats move forward into yet another dark tunnel. It’s so dark you can’t even see your hand in front of your face.

  Then your seat swivels abruptly and the lights come up.

  Before you is a wax diorama. It shows a stonewalled room filled with weird, old-fashioned science equipment. In the middle of the floor is a doctor’s examining table. You recognize the setting — you’ve seen the movie at least five times.

  It’s a scene from Frankenstein!

  But there’s something wrong. A wax statue of Igor, the creepy assistant, stands with his hand on the power switch. His mouth is open as if he’s talking to someone. Except that there’s no one else there. What’s more, the examining table is empty.

  Where’s Dr. Frankenstein?

  And where’s the monster?

  Weird! You know the museum is set to open tomorrow. So where are the missing statues? Maybe you should investigate.

  Liz has a different plan in mind.

  Turn to PAGE 131.

  You glance back over your shoulder to see if the Strangler is following you. “Hey!” you exclaim with relief. You stop running and stare back in amazement. “He isn’t moving!”

  From
where you’re standing it’s obvious that the Strangler isn’t as scary as you thought he was.

  “Is he made out of wax?” Liz asks breathlessly.

  “Yeah! That’s what I think,” you declare. “Boy, are we stupid. Let’s go back and take a closer look.”

  You run back down the block to where the figure still stands with his hands stretched out, ready to strangle his next victim.

  Ah-ha! Just as you thought. “He’s wax, all right,” you laugh. “This whole setup is just another scene.”

  Liz stops before she gets too close. “Are you sure he’s wax?” she asks nervously. “Are you absolutely sure?”

  Go to PAGE 113.

  After a second, the bucket seats start up again. You turn a corner. There’s light up ahead.

  A recorded voice says, “We hope you’ve enjoyed the show. Please watch your step as you leave the ride.” The bars lift from your laps and you step out.

  You’re in a little room with mirrors on the pale green walls. On one wall there’s an open door. A sign above it says WELCOME TO THE “RIVER OF WAX” MAZE. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

  Beyond it, a narrow path is bordered by clear glass ditches. What looks like hot wax flows through the ditches — popping and bubbling as it goes. Now you see why it’s risky to enter this maze. You wouldn’t want to slip and fall into the wax!

  Liz starts to say something, but you cut her off. “Shhhh!” you caution. “I think I hear something….”

  Sure enough, barely audible above the gurgle and pop of the wax, you hear voices. You can’t make out what they’re talking about, but you know who they are. You’d know those voices anywhere. How could you forget them?