by R. L. Stine
“It’s working!” Lauren exclaims. “The ants are all heading straight for the O’s!”
Sure enough, all the red fire ants are crawling off your bodies and over to the O’s. Thousands of tiny mouths crunch and munch through the pile of cereal.
Then you have an even better idea. You’re going to slam your foot down on the whole hungry colony, squashing them once and for all. You raise one foot above the obvious leaders of the group. But before you stomp them out, you stop. Something strange is going on.
The ants are turning their tiny faces up to you. They are making strange motions with their little arms!
Go to PAGE 59.
“Hey, look at me! I’m strong!” Sharky cries.
“Me, too!” Buck exclaims. He pushes an enormous fist in Todd’s face.
“Me three,” Jess says, testing his new strength by lifting Todd up.
“HELP!” Todd screams high above Jess’s head.
“Hey, Sharky,” you call over to the biggest brother. “I give up. You win. You can have Todd and this jumping box.”
“What!” Todd hollers. “You can’t leave me with them!”
You toss Sharky the jumping box with the troll still inside.
Jess puts Todd down. He hurries over to Sharky and Buck. Sharky starts to open the box.
At that moment you catch Lauren and Todd’s attention. You give them a let’s-get-out-of-here look. Then the three of you make a run for it.
When you are far enough away, you glance back and see exactly what you were hoping you would see.
Go to PAGE 114.
“All right, all right,” you snap at Todd as he pulls you back from the mouth of the cave. “We won’t go in the cave. But do you want your box back or not?”
“Of course I do,” he says, still holding on to you. “But I think I’m allergic to caves. I feel kind of strange.”
“Well, I feel kind of strange, too, with you holding on to me all the time!” You shake his hand off your arm and step back. Ooops! Instantly your feet sink into a thick, mucky goo that won’t let go. Quicksand!
You’re glued to the spot and sinking deeper and deeper.
“Hey, Todd,” you cry. “Get me out of this, will you?”
But Todd isn’t listening. He has his back turned. He is staring at a beam of light shining through a crack in the cave’s ceiling. Todd gazes up and shouts, “I see the full moon!”
“Never mind the full moon, Todd,” you beg him. “Please, pull me out of here!”
Todd does nothing. You quickly check and see that Todd isn’t standing in quicksand. But he can’t seem to move either. He stares motionless at the light of the full moon. Todd is in a trance!
Turn to PAGE 10.
This falling thing is starting to get boring. With no bottom to this pit, there’s nothing to look forward to.
Since there’s nothing to see down below, you and Todd gaze up instead. You immediately are hit in the eye with drops of some liquid.
“Yikes!” Todd screams. “There’s a whole pack of those werewolves up there!”
Todd’s right. At the rim of the pit, twenty or more hungry werewolves are leaning into the hole. Those drops that hit you in the eye were drops of drool dripping from the fangs of the hairy beasts.
Gross! The werewolves want food, and you and Todd are it. You can feel their fire-red eyes staring right at you.
A hot glob of drool hits the tip of Todd’s ear and dribbles down the side of his neck.
“Oh, disgusting!” he moans. He pulls his hand away from your arm to wipe off the steaming drool. Uh-oh. Todd is falling away from you. You’re both on your own now.
Go to PAGE 102.
The woods are alive with the sounds of trolls’ whistles. If you could hear it, you would be deafened by it.
They whistle louder and louder and louder. Soon the sound of their own whistle drives them crazy. They all hold their own ears as they spin around and around like tiny troll tops. They’re out of control! While trying to control you, they have lost all control of themselves.
Right before your eyes you see hundreds of trolls disappearing into the ground. The faster they spin, the deeper into the ground they go. Soon all of them are right where you want them — GONE!
You stand up and brush the dirt from your clothes. Then you stroll back to your cabin, whistling as you go.
THE END
“Ugh!” you cry. “Disgusting!”
The trolls turn on you. All at once the whole horrible population of the creepy little creatures starts whistling. “Tweeeet! Tweeeet! Tweeeeet! Tweeeeeeeet!”
Your ears ache. The trolls’ whistling begins to shrink your super-strength muscles.
“We’ve got the offender!” shouts the ugliest troll of all. Thick, lizard-skin eyelids droop down over his bulging green eyes. “Everyone attack! Attack the one who insults us!”
All your strength is gone. You are an easy target for the attacking trolls. They leap from trees and rocks. They land all over you. You fall to the ground. A tribe of trolls quickly crisscrosses your body with ropes, anchoring you to the spot.
“We’ve captured the giant!” the trolls cry.
What should you do?
If you need more time to think, go to PAGE 94.
If you call for help, scream on PAGE 64.
“Werewolves! There are werewolves behind you!” you finally manage to scream. “Jump, Todd, jump!”
You fumble with the faulty flashlight. This time it goes on. You point the flickering beam past Todd’s slug-slimed head. You aim for the eyes of the snarling beasts. Yes! It’s working!
“The light is hypnotizing them!” you shout. “Hurry! Jump across!”
“Oohhhhhh!” Todd cries, as he glances back and finds himself eyeball-to-eyeball with the werewolves.
“Jump!” you yell. “JUMP!”
As the werewolves reach out for him, Todd jumps. You lean over the edge of the gaping pit and grab for Todd’s outstretched hand. You stretch your own arm as far as you can, and …
If you catch Todd, turn to PAGE 80.
If you don’t catch Todd, plunge to PAGE 61.
Todd is standing next to you. He is just as surrounded by the beastly bats as you are. But Todd is acting as if they are butterflies instead of bats. He’s even reaching out his hands to them!
A sudden gust of wind blows through the cave. The bats beat their wings furiously, which creates an instant whirlpool. The force pulls Todd backwards.
You can’t believe your own eyes! Todd is being sucked into a tunnel — a tunnel filled with yellow bat eyes.
“Todd!” you scream.
“Bats! Bats! Everywhere, bats!” Todd yells, as you watch him being drawn deeper and deeper into the tunnel. “They’re beautiful!”
You knew this kid was weird. Now what are you supposed to do?
Go down the Tunnel of Eyes after Todd? Or turn back and run for help?
The eyes have it, if you turn to PAGE 47.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going … for help! Turn to PAGE 19.
“I don’t know where your box is,” you answer Todd. “The troll has made Sharky so small now, I can’t even hear his voice.”
Smaller and smaller and smaller. Sharky, Jess, and Buck are shrinking right before your eyes.
“Yes!” the troll cries as he jumps around gleefully. “Now I have the information I need. The red tin box will be mine. I will be the master of another box in WoodsWorld.”
You, Lauren, and Todd creep over toward the troll. You hide behind the bushes and watch. The troll is climbing a large maple tree. He quickly scales the trunk and scampers into the leafy branches.
“Aha! I found it!” the troll cries. “It’s beautiful!”
“That’s my box!” Todd whines.
“Ssssh,” you whisper, gazing up at the tree. “I have a plan.” You sneak over to the base of the tree. You grab hold of the trunk and shake. You shake the tree with all your might.
The troll hangs
on to a branch. He swings back and forth. But Todd’s red tin box falls to the ground. Todd snatches it up.
“Run!” you cry. You and your friends take off. “Run faster!” you shout, glancing back at the troll high in the tree. You head for your cabin at top speed, because you now know that what goes up, must always come down in
THE END.
“Good evening,” purrs a deep, velvety-smooth voice. “I’ve been expecting you.”
“Expecting me? You have?” you gulp. You squint into the blackness, trying to see who is talking. But it is too dark.
“When the full moon is out, I always expect good things to come to my door,” the voice says slowly.
“Maybe you can help me, doctor,” you say nervously. “You see, I’m looking for a box that belongs to my friend. A red tin box. We’ve been searching all night, but we ran into some trouble.”
“Trouble?” says the voice from the shadows.
“Wolves. Well, more like um … uh … werewolves to be exact,” you explain.
“Werewolves, eh?” the deep voice says. The door opens wider. The doctor steps out into the light of the full moon. There’s only one thing for you to do now — SCREAM!
And go to PAGE 112.
“Run!” you shout.
You take off, holding the boxes in your arms. You glance back to see if Lauren and Todd are following. It’s so dark in the woods, you can’t find your friends.
“We’re right behind you,” Lauren assures you.
“Run!” you shout again. Then your whole body smacks up against a tree trunk. “Oooff!” you gasp. The impact knocks the air right out of you.
“Ooooff!” Lauren adds, slamming into your back.
“Ooooff!” Todd cries. He plows into Lauren.
You feel the ache of sudden airlessness. But the ache instantly turns into a stinging feeling all over your legs, arms, neck, and face.
“Ouch! Ooo! Youch!” Todd screams. He jumps up and down, then rolls on the ground. “Red fire ants!”
Hurry to PAGE 62.
“Don’t hurt us!” Buck begs the beast.
The werewolf snarls and lifts Buck up by his collar. Its hairy paws close around Buck’s neck.
“Don’t do it!” Lauren cries out.
Sharky and Jess Murphy are huddled together next to a tree. They have their eyes covered, but you see tears streaming down their cheeks. You’ve never seen the Murphys look so scared.
The werewolf ignores Lauren’s plea. But then Todd speaks up. “Please don’t hurt them,” Todd says gently.
For a second it seems as if the werewolf is listening to Todd. But then it tightens its grip on Buck. The werewolf moves over to where Sharky and Jess stand shivering in their black high-top sneakers.
“GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR …” growls the werewolf, ready to finish off all three Murphys.
“You have to help us!” the Murphys cry.
To help or not to help? That is the question! Turn to PAGE 91.
You know you have to try to save Todd from the bats. Even if he doesn’t realize he needs saving. Even if it means you have to face millions of bat faces yourself.
You step into the tunnel. You don’t even try to fight the power of the tunnel’s air currents. You let your body be sucked into the open mouth of the black hole. Immediately you hear the THWAP of flapping wings.
THWAP! THWAP! THWAP!
The sound is so close to your ears it’s deafening. You flap your own arms back at the bats. This clears the way in front of you. Now you can see the choice you must make.
There are two more tunnels at the end of this tight-squeezing passageway. Above the sound of the bat wings, you hear the roaring of rushing waves of water. The sound is coming from the tunnel on the left.
And from the tunnel on the right comes a wicked howling that can only be one thing — wolves.
To tackle the Tunnel of Waves, go to PAGE 51.
To brave the Tunnel of Wolves, go to PAGE 130.
“Release my leg at once!” the troll demands. You open your hand, and he disappears completely. For a second you think you are free of his control.
“Tweeeeet!” comes his shrill whistle from behind you. At the sound of it you feel a renewed loss of power. “You must do what I tell you to do. You must get the red tin box for me. Inside the box there are enemies of the trolls,” the troll declares. “I must have the box to control those enemies and protect the entire nation of trolls.”
“There are other trolls?” you ask.
“Shhhh! The slave does not speak to the Master!” shouts the troll. “Where is the box? I command you to tell me now!”
“I don’t have it,” you say. “My friends and I are looking for it, too.”
“Silence!” the troll sputters. “You must search everywhere for the box. Search the cabins. Search the WoodsWorld community center. Go now!”
If you decide to search the cabins first, hurry to PAGE 76.
If you’d rather search the community center first, go to PAGE 60.
You and Lauren stay hidden a little while longer. “My mother talks to our cat,” Lauren says, “but your friend is actually talking to a werewolf!”
Todd and the talking werewolf are acting as if they have been friends for years. The red foam bubbling and frothing from the mouth of the werewolf doesn’t seem to upset Todd at all.
“Here, take this,” Todd says, handing the werewolf a tissue. “You’ve got gunk coming out of your mouth. Wipe it off.”
The werewolf takes the tissue, wipes its mouth, and says, “Thank you, Todd.”
“If only the Murphy brothers could act more like you,” Todd declares. “You’re so polite, and they are such beasts.”
No sooner does Todd mention the word beasts, than something horrible crashes through the bushes. Todd shrieks. The polite werewolf runs. You open your mouth to scream, too.
If a scream comes out of your mouth, turn to PAGE 32.
If nothing comes out of your mouth, turn to PAGE 119.
Smart move. You toss the SMARTS BOX to Todd. “Here, catch!” you shout.
Todd misses. The box falls to the ground, and the top flies open.
“I can’t look!” Lauren cries, still hiding her eyes.
“Cereal!” Todd exclaims. “Cherry-O’s!”
Sure enough, cherry-colored O’s spill out of the box. The snarling werewolf’s eyes light up when it sees food. It sniffs the ground where the O’s spilled. Its fangs spear one. The werewolf pulls the O-shaped cereal out of its drooling mouth and stares at it. The werewolf can’t seem to decide whether to eat it or play with it.
A piece of the SMARTS BOX cereal is lying on the ground near your foot. You pick it up, smell it, and pop it into your mouth. It tastes like ordinary Cherry-O’s.
But as soon as you swallow it, you know there’s nothing ordinary about this cereal. Your head feels strange. Ideas and thoughts fill your mind faster than you can blink.
What’s happening to me? you wonder.
Go to PAGE 103.
WHOOSH!
You step into the Tunnel of Waves. A sudden flood of icy water forces you forward through the tight-fitting tunnel.
“Todd!” you scream over the roar of the waves. “Todd! Are you in here? TODD!”
A disgusting smell of rotten eggs fills your nostrils. “Sulfur, yeecchh!” you say to yourself. You remember the same horrible smell coming from the old mill pond at home. You try not to breathe it in as you scream out one more time, “TODD!”
No answer.
You gasp for fresh air from somewhere, anywhere. Then you struggle against the pounding pressure. A wall of waves pushes you from behind.
It’s no use. You stop fighting the waves. Instead you stretch your arms out over your head and go with the flow.
Water fills your ears, your eyes, your mouth. The enormous, crashing waves carry your body through the tunnel. There is no end in sight!
Float on to PAGE 67.
The ringing is so loud, so horrible. The sound
shatters the darkness. You have to stop the noise. Some way, any way. You can’t stand it any longer.
You reach your arm out into the blackness …
… and shut off your alarm clock.
You slowly open your eyes. You look around. Where’s Todd?
Then you realize you’re at home, in your bed, clutching your pillow for dear life.
Your mother pushes open your bedroom door and pokes her head in. “Rise and shine! Today’s the day we go to WoodsWorld.”
“Really?” you ask. You need to make sure it truly was all a dream — the red tin box, the pit, the werewolves. “What time are we meeting Mr. and Mrs. Morris and Todd there?” you ask.
“What are you talking about?” your mother says. “The Morrises aren’t coming with us. It’s a family vacation — you, me, and Dad. Just like always.”
You smile and lean back on your pillow. This just may turn out to be a fantastic summer in
THE END.
In one quick motion you reach for the open SUPER-STRENGTH BOX. You throw it over the tiny troll. You stuff him into the box and close it tightly.
“Gotcha!” you cry triumphantly.
“No!” screams the troll from inside the box. “No! You can’t do this to me! I am the Master of the Box! You’ll be sorry. You will, you will! I’ll get you for this!”
Lauren and Todd laugh at the sight of the box jiggling around on the ground. The little troll inside is rocking it back and forth.
“No! No! No!” he screams again.
What in the world are you going to do with a jumping box full of SUPER-STRENGTH O’s and a mean little troll? Then the answer comes tramping through the bushes.