by RL Stine
So does Cronby, soon enough. Except that in his stomach, what’s sinking is you and Zoe!
THE END
You stumble along the darkly lit tunnel, listening to your heartbeat.
How will you find three pieces of gold when it’s so dark you can hardly see your hand in front of your face?
BUM-bum. BUM-bum. BUM-bum. Your heartbeat makes the only sound.
I don’t even hear Zoe’s footsteps anymore, you think to yourself as you tramp through the passageway.
That’s when the tunnel ends. That’s right. You walk smack into a rounded stone wall.
You’re in a small cave. Huge boulders block the path forward. It’s a dead end.
Where did Zoe go? She was right in front of you …
Your heartbeat speeds up! BUM-BUM. BUM-BUM. BUM-BUM.
Where is she?
Look for her on PAGE 104.
“Let’s go back to that big tunnel and choose another direction!” Zoe shouts as you race back the way you came.
“Okay,” you pant. Sweat trickles down the back of your neck. “We just need to find one more piece of gold!” you exclaim, pulling the timepiece from your pocket and examining it. “We’ve got about a fourth of a Palooka left!”
“By the way,” Zoe says, “thanks for saving me from the troll!”
“No problem!” you answer.
Finally, you reach the big branch of the tunnel. It’s nice to be able to see well again — the lanterns that line the walls of the main tunnel flicker brightly.
You glance down the tunnel in both directions. To the right you see a tunnel that leads to a lot of little passageways. There are a lot of options that way, but it might be easy to get lost.
To the left is one big tunnel that looks wet. If there’s an underground stream it would be the perfect place to search for gold, but it might be slippery.
Either head for the group of tunnels on PAGE 109.
Or brave the slippery tunnel on PAGE 12.
Gasp! You can’t breathe on dry land anymore! It makes no sense! You were just walking around and breathing a few minutes ago. It’s like your transformation into a fish monster is finally complete!
Dizziness overtakes you. You collapse on the ground. Suddenly, it occurs to you: You’ve got to make it back into the water, where you can breathe through your gills.
Inch by inch, you pull yourself back to the river’s edge. Plop! You throw yourself into the racing water.
What a joy it is to have the cold, clear water streaming through your gills!
I guess I won’t be getting any help from Mrs. Wheedle, you sigh to yourself as you paddle down the river. Unless she comes in for a dip!
It turns out to be a pretty good life, living in the river. There are plenty of small fish to eat, and sometimes you even hunt alligators.
Whenever humans come swimming, you try to explain to them who you are. But as soon as you get their attention, they never stick around long enough to find out.
They may not know who you used to be. But they know who you are now. You’re a legend. Famous throughout the world. They call you … the Abominable Fish Monster!
THE END
“I’ve got to fight the dragon! I can’t leave without getting one of those fruits!” you exclaim. “If I don’t get one, I’ll be stuck looking like a monster for the rest of my life!”
“Okay,” Ben agrees courageously. “We’ll fight the dragon!”
Just then, you remember something you learned in school about lizards. Maybe it will work on a dragon!
“Don’t move, Ben!” you command. “Some lizards can only see movement. Maybe it won’t be able to see us if we hold still.”
You’re right. After you and Ben stop moving, the dragon seems confused. It sniffs at the air and scans the cave with its green-and-red eyes, but it doesn’t see you. The dragon loses interest and crawls back behind the tree.
“I’m going to grab a fruit, very slowly,” you whisper.
You tiptoe up to the lava pool, moving at the pace of a slow motion replay. You slowly reach over the small lake of boiling, steaming molten rock.
Turn to PAGE 82.
About twenty yards off to the right, through the crisscrossing branches and leaves of the jungle, you see a bush.
A big bush of vines … with feet!
That’s right, two clawed feet carved in stone are sticking out from under the clinging vines.
You figure it could be one of those tribal ruins in the jungle you’ve read about.
You heard there used to be some pretty dangerous tribes of headhunters in the area! You’re dying to find out if they still exist.
Headhunters shrink people’s heads! And they make sacrifices to ancient statues carved in stone. At least that’s what you’ve heard. Mrs. Wheedle would have everyone thinking the most dangerous thing in the jungle was a bee. Or maybe an aphid — they eat endangered plants!
“Zoe,” you call up to her. “Look over there! There’s something weird about that bush. I wish we could go check it out!”
“I’ve got an idea!” Zoe says with a gleam in her eye.
You’ve been friends with Zoe for almost your entire life. And you know that when you see that gleam in her eye, it means you’re about to get into trouble — usually a fun kind of trouble — but always big trouble!
Find out what kind of trouble on PAGE 64.
“I’m not going to risk Zoe’s life on a bet,” you answer. “Now hand over my gold.”
The troll hands you the gold nuggets with tears in his eyes. He swivels around and pushes a piece of moss on the huge boulder behind him. The stone rolls to the side to reveal a closet. Zoe is sitting there on the ground with her arms crossed over her chest.
“He pushed me in here and locked me in!” she yells.
“Quick!” you say to her as you help her up. “I won two pieces of gold, but we’re running out of time!”
Zoe gets to her feet. Cronby kicks at the dust on the tunnel floor, looking disappointed.
“Wait just one second,” Zoe says, lifting the troll up by his collar. “I have to finish up something with this little guy.” Zoe pushes Cronby into the closet and presses the moss button.
“That’s what you get for trapping people!” she shouts as the stone rolls into place.
“Come on!” you shout.
Together, you race back through the tunnel.
You only need one more piece of gold! But where are you going to find it?
Start by looking on PAGE 34.
The Warrior Women are closing in on you with their spears. And they want to make Hackey Sacks out of your heads!
Time to SCRAM! you think. And without a word, you pick Ben up and take off.
You slip past the Warrior Women and race through the jungle. The exotic flowers and plants blur before your eyes as you run.
The Warrior Women hoot and holler behind you. Even though they are old, they run fast! And carrying Ben is weighing you down. They are right on your trail. Arrows zing past you and stab into the trees.
“Oh, NO!” Ben cries. You skid to a stop.
Ahead of you, the ground falls off into a dark pit filled with bubbling, oozing tar.
An arrow flies over your shoulder and lands in the tar. The tar swallows it with a little burp that pops with a splat of gooey tar.
A vine dangles right in front of you.
“What do we do?” Ben asks.
To swing on the vine, go to PAGE 54.
To jump over the pit, go to PAGE 75.
“Let’s try the door,” you shout to Zoe. You grab the handle to the blue door and twist it with all your strength. It pops open and you and Zoe slip inside.
You slam the door behind you.
BANG! The creatures strike at the door in anger. BANG!
You’re in a very dark room. It’s not very big, either. You can see dimly by the torchlight flooding under the door.
“Where are we?” you ask Zoe.
“I don’t know, but at le
ast we’re away from those sponge-headed freaks,” she answers.
BANG! The creatures pound on the door. They want in.
“I can’t believe we got away from them,” you add. “I thought for sure we were history!”
“Don’t worry,” Zoe remarks, “we may still be history!”
“Ha-ha, very funny,” you answer. How can she be sarcastic at a time like this?
BANG! BANG! The cave creatures slam on the door.
“This place gives me the creeps!” Zoe declares.
“Me, too,” you say. You feel chilled to the bone. You turn your head and see a flash of movement.
“Who’s there?” you ask nervously. Good question …
The answer lies on PAGE 92.
You squirm and struggle, trying to break free from the Warrior Women. Three of them are holding on to you! Three other Warrior Women have got Ben. You can’t move!
The women are incredibly strong. They bind your hands and feet with cord that looks as if it’s been made out of plant stalks. The ancient Warrior Women lift you into the air and carry you through the jungle.
“Ben, what do we do now?” you ask him as you bounce along on the shoulders of the Warrior Women. “Did your booklet give you any ways to fight the Muglani?”
“No,” Ben mumbles. “If only we had tried to jump over the tar pit! Maybe then we would have gotten away!”
“Maybe,” you answer. “Or maybe if we had accepted their help in the first place!”
You two will have plenty of time to discuss it.
Soon, your shrunken heads will be hanging side by side on the magic table in the clearing. One little fishy head. And another little one with glasses.
You two can HANG OUT together all you want!
THE END
You and Zoe dash off the path into the jungle. You hear Mrs. Wheedle yelling behind you. “QUUUUUIIIIIIET!” You can picture her, red-faced and out of breath.
All the noise settles down and Mrs. Wheedle starts talking again. You stay very still and listen from your hiding place behind a big tree.
“We’ve got two good hours of hiking left to get to our campground for tonight. That gives us until three o’clock to find that kerritatlocus! Now everyone, follow me!”
It worked. They’re looking for that flower. And as long as you hook back up with them again before three o’clock, they may never know you’re gone.
“Zoe, did you really see the kerritatloca-whatever?”
“No way!” she says, grinning from ear to ear. “But now we get to explore!”
You make your way through the dense leaves and vines toward the stone feet that caught your eye before.
“Here it is, Zoe!” you shout. “There must be a statue underneath these vines.”
You both get a good grip on the creeping vines and yank them back. Your blood runs cold at what you see….
Rush to PAGE 47.
“Let’s go back to where we were earlier,” you say to Ben as you leave the clearing. “After all, that’s where I thought I saw the Fireheart fruit.”
“Cool!” Ben bounds ahead of you, pushing the heavy foliage out of his way as you both climb up a steep slope.
“Now I see why they use those big knives in the movies,” he declares over his shoulder. “These leaves are really thick!”
A soft rain begins to fall. The water feels good on your gooey skin. You and Ben are making your way back to Mrs. Wheedle’s meeting spot when you come to a big gnarled tree.
You hear a rustling at your feet.
Suddenly, you are snatched up into the air, along with Ben.
You are caught in a huge net!
Drag yourself to PAGE 44.
You are hanging suspended from the giant tree in a big net. Tight, tough ropes crisscross every which way.
“Who put this net here?” you ask Ben worriedly. “Do you think it was the medicine men?”
“I don’t know. I hope not!” You and Ben are a jumble of arms and legs in the giant net. You can hardly tell which way is up!
A rustling sound draws your attention back to the ground. A group of incredibly tall women dressed in leather and animal skins step out of the trees.
They are very old, with tan, wrinkled faces and white hair hanging in braids. Across their chests are slung long, curving bows, and they carry sharp spears in their hands.
“Those aren’t the medicine men I was reading about!” Ben whispers to you.
“Check out their spears,” you say quietly. “They don’t look too friendly!”
“Warrior Women!” Ben gasps. “I read in a comic book once that the Amazon River was named after some ancient Warrior Women. They were called … Amazons!”
The leader of the Warrior Women steps forward. She raises a decorated spear, points it right at you, and jabs!
Quick, turn to PAGE 28.
You dig around for gold on the floor, among the jewels. You can’t resist slipping a few gems into your pockets.
An emerald here, a diamond there …
Soon, you’ve forgotten all about the gold, about Zoe, about everything but filling your pockets with jewels!
You’re focusing on collecting gems and daydreaming about giving your mom a thousand carat diamond! You don’t notice the walls of the cave closing in on you.
The rock formations hanging down from the ceiling fit with the ones sticking up from the floor like a huge set of teeth. And those glittering teeth are chomping down on you!
You glance up from your jewel-collecting just in time.
If you move quickly, there still may be just enough room to squeeze out the way you came. Of course, you’ll have to empty your pockets of all those jewels to be sure you don’t get snagged on a rock.
Then again, maybe if you lie very low on the floor between two stalagmites, you won’t get crunched! Then you could keep your treasure. Finders keepers. You’ll be rich!
It’s your choice!
Drop the jewels and slip out to PAGE 20.
Or lay low and wait for the chamber to open again on PAGE 4.
Ben’s booklet explains why you have turned into a monster. Maybe with his help, you can become human again!
“The Muglani are a tribe of medicine men — you know, witch doctors,” Ben explains. “They leave this enchanted fruit out here so that people will come and be turned into strange creatures. They don’t like people. The Muglani want to turn all people into animals or monsters!”
“Does it say anything about how to undo the spell?” you ask Ben in a hoarse voice.
“It says in the pamphlet that there’s a legendary fruit that can undo the Muglani magic. It’s called the Fireheart fruit,” Ben reads from his booklet.
“I remember a tree that Mrs. Wheedle showed us that had fruits that looked like little red hearts. Maybe that’s the one!” you tell Ben excitedly. “Will you help me find it?”
“Of course,” Ben says good-naturedly. “After all, you saved me from eating that magic banana!”
“We’d better hurry,” you declare, glancing at your watch. “It’s already two-twenty! We’ve got to be back by three or Mrs. Wheedle will kill us!”
“Which direction was the tree you saw? To the left or to the right?” Ben asks.
Flip a coin! If it lands on heads, go left on PAGE 43.
If it comes up tails, go right on PAGE 103.
The creeping vines fall to either side of the statue. A hideous gargoyle carved out of gleaming white stone grins out at you. It has crazy, bulging eyes and long, sharp teeth. It looks like some kind of a mutant cat creature!
“That’s really creepy,” Zoe says. “It gives me the shivers just looking at it.”
Then you hear something else.
It sounds like a low, deep growl.
It sounds like it’s coming from the statue!
You feel a hot blast of stale-smelling air on your face. That’s when you notice the bits and pieces of plaster falling away from the statue.
What’s going on? you thin
k. You shake your head and blink your eyes, but it doesn’t help. The great stone beast lifts one of its clawed forepaws and slices at some vines still clumped around it. They fall in pieces to the ground!
“RUN!” Zoe screams, grabbing at you. But which way? There are two paths leading away from where you are.
Down the path on the left, you see a small pool and a waterfall. Maybe you could swim away from the beast! To the right, you see a clearing with heavy sticks and rocks.
To fight the beast with sticks and stones, run to PAGE 11.
To try your luck with the water, rush to PAGE 68.
The beast takes two steps toward you and Zoe when suddenly it gives a yelp and starts to tremble! The gargoyle starts looking less like a fierce monster and more like a scared puppy dog. It looks terrified!
Whining, and with its tail between its legs, the gargoyle backs up and runs away! You’re so shocked you drop your club.
“I can’t believe it!” you shout to Zoe. “What happened?”
“It looked like it was afraid of something!” Zoe exclaims. “Maybe it can’t go into direct sunlight. Or maybe it’s afraid of grass!”
“Ha-ha, very funny!” you retort as you cast your eyes around the clearing. That’s when you notice the wooden table you glanced at before. You get a funny feeling about it.
“Maybe the gargoyle was afraid of this table,” you wonder aloud as you stroll over to the ancient table.
“What’s so scary about a table?” Zoe asks sarcastically, pushing her heavy brown bangs out of her eyes.
“I don’t know.” You shrug. You bend down to examine the enormous wooden table. That’s when you realize that the table is decorated with shrunken heads!
Shrunken human heads!
Race to PAGE 110.
