Welcome to Camp Slither

  I cleared my throat. “We … we … were looking for Uncle Jerry,” I choked out.

  Dr. Crawler nodded. “Boone, Heather, good work. You’ve found him,” he said.

  I squinted at him. “Excuse me? We found him? Where?”

  “Right here,” Dr. Crawler said.

  He spun the other chair around.

  My sister and I both jumped back when we saw the enormous cottonmouth snake coiled in the chair.

  “Don’t be scared, guys,” Dr. Crawler said. “This is Uncle Jerry!”

  I swallowed hard. Beside me, Heather backed up toward the office door.

  The snake tilted its head as if studying us. Its tongue licked the corners of its mouth.

  “Uncle Jerry c-can’t be a snake!” I stammered. I balled my hands into fists.

  Dr. Crawler grinned his pointy-toothed smile. “Would I lie to you, Boone?”

  The snake arched its head, rose up taller in the chair, and opened its mouth with a long hisssssss.

  “Boone, let’s go,” Heather whispered from behind me.

  “No. I want to know the truth,” I told her.

  Sure, I was scared. So scared I could barely breathe.

  But I was angry, too. I had to know what was really going on in this camp. Was Roddy right about everything?

  “Uncle Jerry had a little accident in the lab,” Dr. Crawler said. “But I don’t want you kids to worry. I’m taking very good care of him. And the others.”

  Others?

  The big cottonmouth in the chair snapped its jaws.

  And suddenly I just lost it. I let out a scream and dove forward.

  I grabbed Dr. Crawler by the arms. And I started shouting:

  “Tell us the truth! Tell us the truth!”

  I shook him hard. He tried to pull back. But I held on tight. And something happened. Something slid in my hands.

  It took me a long while to realize it was his skin!

  Dr. Crawler’s skin began to slide off.

  As I tugged his arms, the skin pulled out from his shirtsleeves. It felt kind of like shrink-wrap. Only it was flaky and dry. And warm.

  I tried to let go. But the skin stuck to my hands.

  I choked and started to gag.

  I staggered back. More skin rolled off his body. Off his face … His chest …

  Dr. Crawler was shedding his skin like a snake!

  I stood there gasping. And as the skin came off in my hands, I saw that his human body wasn’t real.

  His clothing collapsed in a heap on the floor. His body started to shrink. I watched in horror as his head, his arms, his legs vanished.

  A few seconds later, Dr. Crawler was gone. And a long, hissing snake crawled out from one of his pant legs.

  A copperhead snake.

  Heather and I stood frozen. Now there were two snakes in front of us.

  The skin dropped from my hands and spilled silently to the floor.

  “You ssssshouldn’t have done that,” Uncle Jerry hissed.

  “Y-you can SPEAK!” I gasped.

  “My brain is human,” Uncle Jerry replied in a dry whisper that sounded like crackling leaves. “I can ssspeak … and I can BITE!”

  “Now we have no choissssssse,” Dr. Crawler uttered.

  “Boone — let’s GO!” Heather screamed.

  I turned to run. But the doorway filled with snakes. Six or seven poisonous snakes, coiling and curling on each other. Blocking our escape.

  “Don’t try anything foolissshhhhh,” Dr. Crawler hissed. “Their bite is sharp. And their poison works in seconds!”

  Nathan and the other counselors appeared in the doorway. They stepped over the knot of snakes. They didn’t say a word.

  The counselors forced us outside and up the hill. To the low building we had seen the night before.

  Dr. Crawler, Uncle Jerry, and the other snakes slithered beside us, pulling themselves silently through the tall grass.

  “Our lab was here for many years,” Dr. Crawler said.

  “We were sssssscientists studying ssssnake venom,” Uncle Jerry hissed. “We were trying to find antidotes. Ways to cure the poison. We injected ourselves and the young people who worked for us. But we made a terrible missssstake.”

  “We wanted to be famousssss,” Dr. Crawler said in a crackling whisper. “Sssso we injected ourselves too ssssoooon. We all became ssssnakes.”

  “We’re trying to reverse it all,” Dr. Crawler said. “Ssssome of us are almost back to normal. Ssssome of usss become human in the daytime. But it wears off by night. At night, we become sssssnakes again.”

  Heather and I both gasped. The counselors’ cabin. Those snakes in the beds. They were Nathan and the other counselors! Humans who turned into snakes at night!

  “What about Serpo?” I cried. “Is that true, too?”

  “Sssserpo?” Uncle Jerry hissed. “That’s a ssssstupid old legend. Who would believe a sssstory like that?”

  “But — all the mice … ?” I said.

  The two snakes flicked their tongues. “We have to eat, don’t we?”

  “Why are you taking us up here?” Heather cried. “What are you going to do to us?”

  “We need you in the lab,” Dr. Crawler said. “We don’t want to sssstay ssssnakes forever.”

  “We need fresh humans to do our tests on,” Uncle Jerry added. “That’s why we sssstarted this camp. We need to experiment — to find the right formula to make us human again.”

  “Experiment?” I cried.

  “Yes. And we have to do it fast,” Dr. Crawler said. “The townspeople have been getting ssssuspicious. Too many questions. The police will be closing in on us soon. So we have to act!”

  We reached the top of the hill. The long building came into view. Nathan and the other counselors shoved us forward.

  The hissing sound started up again, so loud I covered my ears.

  “What is that?” I cried. “Tell me the truth! What is that hissing sound?”

  “You’ll soon find out,” Nathan murmured. “Real soon.”

  He and the other counselors pushed us through the front door. We stepped into a large science lab.

  Enormous machines lined the walls, humming loudly. The ceiling was covered with tangled cords and cables. A dozen computer screens blinked and flickered. Against one wall, metal cones hung down on long cords from the ceiling.

  The machines began to hiss, as if letting out steam.

  I turned to my sister. “Heather,” I said, shouting over the noise. “The hissing we heard. It wasn’t snakes. It was these machines!”

  The snakes crawled over each other, forming a tight knot, guarding the door. The counselors pushed us across the huge room.

  “Just cooperate,” Nathan whispered. “Maybe you’ll end up in the same body you started with.”

  Huh? Those words sent a cold shiver down my back.

  Against the far wall, I saw a boy. He had a metal cone pulled down on his head.

  As we walked closer, I recognized the boy. “Roddy!” I shouted. “Roddy! You’re here!”

  Roddy turned to us. He opened his mouth to speak.

  And Heather and I both uttered horrified cries.

  Roddy had a thin, black, forked tongue.

  The counselors surrounded us. Dr. Crawler slithered in front of Roddy. “This boy is helping ussss,” he said. “And now you will, too. I’ve been preparing you ssssince you arrived.”

  “Preparing us?” I cried. “What do you mean?”

  Dr. Crawler’s shiny snake eyes flashed with excitement. “The Ssssun-Glo sssspray isn’t ssssun protection,” he said. “It’s snake DNA.”

  “Your ssskin is ssssoaked with it,” Uncle Jerry said. “Now let’s ssssee if we can find the right power level to transform you into ssssnakes.”

  “Transform us into snakes?” Heather cried. “Why?”

  “We need to change you into poisonous ssssnakes so that we can figure out how to change you back into humans,” Uncle Jerry said. “If we can change you
back to humans, we’ll know how to change ourselves back to humans!”

  My whole body shuddered. What would it feel like to be a snake?

  I didn’t want to find out. I lowered my head like a football running back — and took off.

  I got about four steps. Nathan tackled me and brought me down to the floor. Snakes slithered over and wrapped themselves around my legs.

  When I looked up, counselors had already pulled a metal cone over Heather’s head.

  I couldn’t escape. I couldn’t help her. The counselors pushed me to the wall between Roddy and my sister. They fastened a metal cone over my head.

  “It doesn’t hurt,” Nathan whispered.

  “But I don’t want to be a snake!” I screamed.

  “Neither do I,” he muttered. He pulled the metal cone lower on my head.

  Uncle Jerry slithered in front of us. “The big hissing machines ssssend the power into the metal cones. The power works with the ssssnake DNA to change you.”

  “Your friend Roddy is already helping ussss,” Dr. Crawler hissed. He turned to Uncle Jerry. “Let’s ssssee if we have any ssssuccess with him today.”

  “No — don’t hurt him!” I shouted. “Don’t do it — please!”

  The hissing grew to a deafening roar. It sounded like a hundred fire hoses going off at once.

  Nathan crossed the lab to a huge control panel. He threw a switch.

  Roddy let out a groan. His black snake tongue flicked in and out.

  His knees collapsed. His body started to twitch and vibrate. Bright white and yellow sparks shot out of the helmet.

  “Stop it! STOP IT!” Heather and I both screamed.

  I gaped in horror as Roddy’s body appeared to melt away. He melted right out of his clothes.

  A few seconds later, he was a snake — a long yellow snake with bright red stripes — crawling on the floor in front of us!

  “Ssssuccess!” Dr. Crawler cried. He raised himself tall and did a kind of shuffling snake dance.

  “We are doing well today,” Uncle Jerry agreed. “Getting very close. Ssssoon you will be ssssnakes, too. Ssssnakes we can try to change back to humans.”

  “You can’t do this!” Heather screamed. “Let us go! You cannot get away with this!”

  Roddy — now a long, thick snake — crawled over the floor toward my sister and me. I watched him move, studying his red-and-yellow stripe pattern.

  “Let’ssss try you next, Boone,” Dr. Crawler hissed. He bobbed his head toward Nathan.

  “No — please!” I cried. “Please —”

  Once again, Nathan threw a switch.

  I felt the cone over my head start to vibrate. My head began to tingle. My eyes blurred. My whole body throbbed as if I had stuck my finger in an electrical socket.

  Last chance, Boone, I told myself. Last chance before you become a snake …

  I signaled to my sister. I pointed frantically.

  Yes. After a few seconds, she understood me. Heather raised her arm — and rattled her bracelet as hard as she could.

  The sound startled Dr. Crawler and Uncle Jerry. I saw their heads whip around.

  It gave me one second to move. I tore off the vibrating cone and dove to the floor. I grabbed Roddy. The big snake wriggled in my hands. I raised it high over my head.

  Dr. Crawler’s eyes flashed. “What are you doing with that ssssnake?” he hissed.

  I held the snake high. “Do you know the biggest predators of snakes?” I demanded. “Do you know the two biggest enemies of snakes?”

  Dr. Crawler pulled his head back. “I know that man is the firsssst,” he replied. “Humans are the biggest enemy of ssssnakes.”

  “And the second biggest enemy?” I cried. “You should know this!”

  The two startled snakes stared at me.

  “The king snake is the second biggest enemy,” I told them. “King snakes love to eat other snakes. And guess what? You just turned Roddy into a king snake!”

  I didn’t give them a chance to move. I heaved the king snake onto Dr. Crawler.

  Dr. Crawler arched his head. He tried to squirm away.

  The king snake let out a warning hiss.

  But Dr. Crawler opened his jaws — and attacked first. His head darted forward as he snapped at Roddy’s throat.

  Roddy pulled his head back.

  Dr. Crawler missed — and accidentally bit HIMSELF!

  Heather pulled herself free of the metal cone. We both watched as the venom instantly shot through Dr. Crawler’s body.

  “He poisoned himself!” Heather cried.

  Dr. Crawler slumped heavily to the floor. He didn’t move.

  The counselors uttered cries of shock and horror. Uncle Jerry stared down at Dr. Crawler, then started for the door. The snakes all began to hiss at once.

  And then they all turned and, wriggling and slithering furiously, followed Uncle Jerry out of the lab.

  I watched them fleeing down the hill. Their leader was dead. They were defeated.

  I turned to Heather — and uttered a shocked cry. Roddy stood beside her, looking like his old, human self.

  He shook his head, confused. “I’m a little dizzy,” he said.

  “I guess Dr. Crawler’s experiment was a failure,” I said. “It only lasted for five minutes.”

  “Five minutes was plenty,” Roddy said. “I told you this camp was creepy! Look at me. I’m all dusty from crawling on the floor! Yuck! Next summer, I’m going to Latin camp!”

  A happy ending for everyone but the snakes.

  The next day, Mom and Dad picked us up. We tried to explain why camp closed early. We told them the whole story. But I don’t think they believed us.

  Who would?

  Heather and I sat in the backseat, watching the trees speed by, happy to be going home.

  “Why do you have that grin on your face?” Heather asked.

  “I’ll show you,” I said. I reached into my backpack. I pulled out a little garden snake. I handed it to my sister.

  “What’s this, Boone?” Heather asked.

  “A present,” I said. “You never shut up about how no one remembered your birthday. So I picked it up for you this morning. Happy birthday!”

  She stared at it. “For my birthday? Are you crazy?”

  And before I could answer, the snake opened its jaws and hissed, “Many happy returnsss!”

  A group of kids received invitations to be Very Special Guests at a scary theme park called HorrorLand. They came looking for good, creepy fun — but instead, they found real horror.

  Frightening villains from their pasts followed them to the park. A park worker, a Horror named Byron, warned them they weren’t safe in HorrorLand. He said their lives were in danger.

  After three kids in their group mysteriously disappeared, the Very Special Guests decided to escape. They made it as far as the parking lot. It didn’t take long to realize they had walked into a trap.

  Boone Dixon continues the story….

  I thought I’d be spending the whole summer at Camp Hither. But one week later, I was happy to be away from that horrible place. Happy to be home. But it wasn’t all good. My sister was driving me crazy.

  Heather wanted to play croquet in the backyard all day. And she cheated at it! Can you imagine a kid so lame she cheats at croquet?

  My friends were all away. And every morning, Mom and Dad took turns saying, “Boone, have you done your summer reading yet?”

  Wow. Awesome summer, huh? And I didn’t even mention the nightmares about snakes almost every night.

  So when the invitation came from HorrorLand Theme Park, I was psyched.

  The card had a grinning monster on the front. At the park, I think they call them Horrors. And under the monster, in creepy, bloodred lettering, my name: Boone Dixon.

  An invitation for a whole week at HorrorLand as a Very Special Guest.

  The scariest theme park on earth. Could I say no?

  Mom and Dad put me on the bus two days later. As the towns
, farms, and forests passed by my window, I couldn’t stop thinking about the great rides and shows and scary fun.

  I knew where I wanted to go first. My friend Jonathan had told me all about Werewolf Village. He swore the werewolves there were real.

  I knew he had to be joking. But if you know me, you know I don’t like mysteries. I had to check it out for myself.

  The bus ride was four hours. I was too excited to sit still. I kept getting up and changing seats.

  Finally, the driver braked the bus and shouted, “HorrorLand Park. This is as close as I go.”

  I peered out the window. I was at the entrance to the huge parking lot. I pulled my bag from the overhead rack. And I stepped down from the bus.

  The bus pulled away with a roar. I shielded my eyes from the bright sunlight. The parking lot was jammed with row after row of cars. Under the blazing sun, the cars all glowed as if they were on fire.

  I could see the park entrance at the other end of the parking lot. A tall green-and-purple fence surrounded the park.

  I shifted the bag to my other hand. Then I began making my way through the long rows of cars.

  As I got closer to the park, I could see the top of a black roller coaster near the fence. And I could hear screams and laughs and creepy music blaring.

  Two ticket booths stood at the front entrance. I pulled out my invitation. And I started to trot toward the gate.

  But then I stopped.

  I saw a group of kids near the entrance. There were about eight or nine of them. At first, I thought they were playing with some kind of net.

  Then I heard their screams. And I realized they were struggling against the net.

  Were they trapped under it?

  Yes! Screaming and crying out for help, they thrashed and kicked and tried to free themselves.

  I dropped my bag on the asphalt. I started toward them — and gasped!

  I blinked. I struggled to focus my eyes in the blinding sunlight.

  I stood there, staring. It wasn’t a net.

  It was snakes. The kids were covered in SNAKES!

  I froze. My breath caught in my throat. It all came rushing back to me. All the terrifying, poisonous snakes I had just escaped from …