Escape from Camp Run-For-Your-Life

  “Help!” you shout. Your cry ends in a gurgle as you’re sucked underwater.

  You barrel on down the pipe.

  Where will you come out?

  Tumble to PAGE 82.

  “Later,” you tell Kim. “I’m hiking by myself.”

  You strap your sleeping bag to your backpack, stick your water bottle in your pocket, and start off down the trail.

  The other kids are already ahead of you. But you don’t mind. It’s a great day for a walk in the woods.

  Up ahead, Zombie Mountain is in view. The top is sharp and craggy. But it doesn’t look too steep.

  As you tramp through the woods, the trail twists and turns. You come to a fork in the road. You choose the branch that turns toward the mountain. After an hour, you reach another fork.

  You listen for other hikers. All you hear are birds singing.

  Which way should you go?

  You reach in your pack for your map. You study it, searching for the trail you’re on.

  Hey. What’s going on?

  This map is totally confusing. There are three trails on it. And none of them looks like the one you’re on.

  You’re lost!

  Try to find your way to PAGE 109.

  Coach Rex points to a large ant farm on his desk. Pasted on it is a handwritten label. It says CAMP FARM.

  Coach Rex lovingly pats his ant farm and waves at the little occupants.

  “See the ants doing their job?” he barks at you. “They don’t talk back. And they don’t have food fights.”

  You nod your head numbly.

  “This camp is like the ant farm. And the campers are like ants. Do I make myself clear?”

  You think: Earth to Coach Rex. Kids aren’t ants! But out loud, you say, “Crystal clear, Coach Rex.”

  “I’m sorry, but you are not Selection material,” Coach Rex declares. “But we’ll see how you do as a team player.”

  Oh, man! It’s only your first day at Camp Running Leaf, and already you’ve been axed from the Selection!

  What a bummer!

  You leave Coach Rex gazing at his ant farm and slink back to the cafeteria.

  Get going to PAGE 51.

  “We’ll follow the river,” you declare.

  You and Kim set out along the bank. The river flows swiftly next to you. Zombie Mountain stands tall above you. It would be a perfect hike, you think — if it weren’t for Kim.

  “My feet hurt,” she complains. She punches you in the shoulder. “This was your dumb idea!”

  The path starts getting muddy. “I’m ruining my new sneakers!” Kim whines.

  “Tough,” you reply. What a baby! you think.

  The path grows muddier and gunkier. And Kim’s complaints grow louder and more obnoxious. She starts blaming you for the slow going.

  Please, you think, let us reach Zombie Cave. Soon!

  Your thoughts are cut off by Kim’s terrified scream.

  Quick! Turn to PAGE 83!

  Why go for a boring old rib when you could impress all the other hikers with a skull?

  You place your hands around the skeleton’s head. A shiver runs along your spine.

  You’re holding a human skull in your hands!

  Slowly, gently, you begin to pull. At first nothing happens.

  Then, suddenly, the skull pops off the neck bones.

  And begins to vibrate in your hands!

  “What’s happening?” Kim cries.

  “I don’t know!” you exclaim.

  A red glow appears in the skull’s bony eye sockets.

  Then its jaw moves. And it begins to speak!

  “Many thanks!” it booms.

  You nearly drop the skull. “Are — are you alive?” you gasp.

  “I was once,” the skull replies. “An evil spell made me into what I am now.”

  “Who cast the spell?” you ask, wide-eyed.

  “The person I replaced. He left me here to guard the cave. My freedom comes only when someone else takes my place.”

  Takes his place?

  “What do you mean?” you demand.

  Go on to PAGE 66 — if you can handle it!

  Kim comes up behind you. “What’s wrong?” she asks.

  “A-a zombie!” you stammer.

  “Oh, please,” Kim snaps. “I mean, do I look that stupid?”

  You’d like to answer that question. But you’re speechless. Because the creature in the cave is the nastiest thing you’ve ever seen. Gashes cover its colorless face. Its eyes are dead.

  It smells dead!

  “No!” you cry. “It really is a zombie!”

  The thing takes several steps toward you. “UUURRGH!” it moans.

  “Eeeeeeeeee!” Kim screams.

  “Sorry — we … uh … we took a wrong turn,” you tell the undead monster. You begin backing out the way you came.

  The zombie staggers toward you.

  “Run!” you order Kim.

  The zombie lumbers along after you. It doesn’t run fast. But it doesn’t tire, either. How can you escape? you wonder frantically. Then you have an idea.

  “Climb up the cliff!” you shout at Kim.

  “Are you crazy?” she cries. “It’s a cliff!”

  “Would you rather get caught by the zombie?” you ask.

  Enough said! The two of you start scrambling up the cliff.

  Scramble up to PAGE 80.

  Desperately, you try to think of a way out.

  That’s when you remember the old man down the road. The one who gave you directions to the camp.

  He might let you use his phone. The trouble is, it’s the middle of the night. Can you convince him to let you in?

  You snap your fingers as you remember something else. The old man said there was a gas station near the camp. A gas station would probably have a pay phone. You could call Uncle Ed from there.

  You dash up the driveway leading out of the camp. Out to the main road.

  Now you have to decide: Should you go right to the service station, or left to the old man’s house?

  Which way do you turn?

  If you try to get help from the old man, turn to PAGE 84.

  If you go to the service station, turn to PAGE 24.

  “I’ll guard the goal for a while,” you tell Antoine.

  Antoine glares at you and stalks away.

  The soccer game starts again. The powerful players kick rockets. You hope your defense keeps the ball away from you.

  But they don’t. A kid from the other team breaks free and takes a shot — BOOM!

  No way are you going to try to stop that. You dive out of the way of the speeding ball.

  It tears the net in half!

  The soccer coach, Goodrich, comes running over. “Your job is to stop the ball — even if it kills you!”

  “Death by soccer kick?” You laugh. “No way!”

  You glance around. Whoa. No one else is laughing.

  “Okay,” you promise. “I’ll stop the next shot.”

  But you don’t stop the next one, or the one after that. Some of the shots whiz by so fast, you never even see them. Finally, Coach Goodrich tosses you out of the game and calls back Antoine.

  You slink back to your bunk.

  So maybe you’re not quite ready for the World Cup.

  Dribble to PAGE 91.

  “Fooooo!” the zombies groan. “UUUUURGGGHHHH!”

  “What do they want?” Kim asks in a trembling whisper.

  “I think they want to eat us,” you whisper back.

  The zombies circle you. Their putrid flesh smells like a combination of rotten eggs and car exhaust — only stronger. “UUUUURGH!” they moan. “FOOOOOO! UUURGH!”

  The one-armed zombie reaches toward you. A worm slithers over his oozing, rotting palm.

  “No!” you scream. You swat his arm away.

  SPLUMP! The arm falls right off his shoulder! It hits the ground with a sound like a wet sponge.

  “UUUURGH!” he bellows. The other zombies p
ress closer. And now they sound angry, too.

  Great move. Now you’re really in trouble.

  Think fast. You have no weapons. And besides, what could kill a thing that’s already dead?

  Wait! You have that survival kit. The one Krump gave you at the start of the hike. You have no idea what it contains.

  There might be something in there that could help you.

  Or you might waste precious time checking it out.

  See what’s in the survival kit on PAGE 92.

  Try to fight your way out on PAGE 85.

  The alligator is sitting on a rock in the middle of the lake, trying to get the crowbar out of its mouth.

  “So what?” Brad smirks. “You still lost the race.”

  Coach Karla peers at the alligator. You expect her to call in an alligator catcher immediately. Or at least look shocked.

  But instead, she does some calculations on her clipboard.

  Then she raises your arm in the air. “You get bonus points for the alligator. That means you tied with Brad for first!”

  Your mouth falls open. Is she kidding?

  Coach Rex claps you on the shoulder. “Good work fighting that alligator.”

  You finally find your voice. “Good work?” you sputter. “How can you let kids swim in a gator-infested swamp?”

  Coach Rex’s smile fades. He gives you a chilling glare. “Just get ready for the next event!”

  You and Brad walk into the stadium. Dozens of campers watch silently from the stands.

  Coach Rex strides right behind you. You hear him tell one of the other coaches, “Watch those two. I have a feeling they didn’t eat the eggs.”

  You shiver. Now you want to win the bike more than ever — so you can escape from this horrible camp!

  Turn to PAGE 7.

  You wait for the workers to leave the kitchen.

  Because of that, you see something you wish you hadn’t.

  The blue-skinned worker places a plastic tube in the hole on top of his head. Slowly, blue fluid begins to seep down the tube. The fluid flows out the tube and into the vat.

  So that’s what makes the eggs blue!

  Alien brain fluid!

  Gross!

  After the vat is refilled, the blue-skinned worker coils the tube and puts it in a drawer. Then all the cooks troop out of the kitchen by the far door.

  “Now’s our chance!” you exclaim.

  Cautiously, you open the door to the kitchen.

  The coast looks clear.

  You make your dash.

  But just as you reach the doors, someone barges through them going the other way. The swinging doors knock you and Pat flat on your backs.

  Uh-oh! Better go to PAGE 100.

  You cut right on the road, making for the service station. In the distance, you hear the sounds of the campers searching for you. You hear Coach Rex screaming, “Find that traitor!”

  Oh, no! If Coach Rex gets hold of you, you’ll end up in the infirmary. The place of no return!

  Thank goodness! There’s the gas station. And there’s the pay phone. You search your pockets for a quarter. You can’t find one!

  That’s okay, you can call collect.

  Uncle Ed answers the phone groggily. “Wha —?” he mumbles.

  When you relate the story, he sounds disbelieving.

  “I mean it, Uncle Ed,” you insist. “Camp Running Leaf — hah! It should be called Camp Run-for-Your-Life!”

  “All right, all right. I’ll come get you,” Uncle Ed promises. “Just wait out in front of the gas station.”

  As soon as you hang up the phone, you hide in the back of the station. The searchers are coming closer.

  Peeking around the corner, you see them. An army of glassy-eyed kids.

  “Hurry, Uncle Ed,” you whisper. “Hurry!”

  Turn to PAGE 89.

  Coach Krump is gone!

  You glance back at the person with the water gun. He’s now bent over Kim. The embers of the campfire give off just enough light for you to see his face.

  It’s Coach Krump!

  Coach Krump is the one making your friends into zombies.

  And now he’s moving toward your sleeping bag!

  You’ve got to get out of this nightmare! You scuttle toward the woods. But a voice calls out, “UUURGHHH!”

  It’s Kim. Only Kim is now a zombie. She stands by the fire. Her eyes are lifeless. Flies buzz around her putrid flesh.

  She points straight at you. “FOOO!”

  Time to boogie.

  You zig through the trees. You zag through the bushes.

  In the distance, you hear Coach Krump shouting, “Head for Camp Running Leaf! We’ll get the rest of them there!”

  You’d like to warn the campers. Except there’s no way you can find your way back to camp. Unless you follow the zombies.

  It seems risky. Maybe you should just run away.

  To follow the zombies to camp, turn to PAGE 135.

  To run as far from the zombies as possible, go to PAGE 56.

  Unfortunately, Brad is also a star gymnast. A hotshot.

  Without even breaking a sweat, he pulls a 9.9, too.

  You’re still tied for first place.

  You expect the audience of campers to send up a big cheer. But they’re all moving silently to the exits. The stadium loudspeaker blares a message: “All campers not in the Selection, report to the infirmary immediately.”

  “Why are they going to the infirmary?” you ask one of the coaches.

  “Just a routine check for, uh, poison ivy,” she answers.

  All at once? You’re confused. “How can such a small building hold so many people?” you demand.

  “No time for chitchat,” Coach Rex barks, striding up to you. “Next up is the javelin.”

  You follow him to the javelin pit. But what you see makes you feel like forfeiting.

  Get the point on PAGE 8.

  You want to move that runner to second. So you drop down a good sacrifice bunt.

  “Way to go,” cheers the coach.

  You smile. Then you hear him say, “You must be eating your eggs. Be sure to eat them three times a day.”

  What’s the story? you wonder. Why are the coaches pushing eggs on every camper?

  Over the loudspeaker, the bugle sounds. Like clockwork, all the kids drop their balls and gloves and march to the cafeteria. They move like robots, you think.

  The lunch menu: blue omelette sandwiches. This time you just hide yours in your napkin. Pat gobbles his down.

  Doo-doo doot-a-doot, doo-doo doot-a-doot! There goes that bugle again. Everyone jumps up and runs back out to the fields.

  “C’mon,” calls Pat. “You mustn’t be late for an activity.”

  You stare at Pat, puzzled. When did he turn into such a stickler for rules?

  One minute, he was normal. Then …

  Wait! Didn’t he change after eating the eggs?

  Turn to PAGE 98.

  “Later, Kim!” you call. With a burst of speed, you dash down the trail.

  You look fearfully over your shoulder. The zombie has stopped chasing you. It’s bending over Kim.

  Poor Kim.

  Now she’s really got something to complain about!

  But you’ve got your own problems. The main one being, it’s five minutes to midnight and no campsite is in sight.

  Four minutes …

  You keep running. Still no sign of the camp.

  Three minutes …

  You can barely see the trail. You aim your flashlight down the path. But the batteries go dead!

  It’s midnight. No way are you going to get that medal now.

  Besides which, you’re alone in a forest full of zombies.

  You’re lost. The only thing you can do is lay down your sleeping bag and wait for morning to come.

  Camp for the night on PAGE 131.

  Is Coach Rex really saying what you think he’s saying?

  That you went through the whole, horrible Sel
ection just so you could become a slave to an alien overlord?

  And die a gruesome death?

  “Come on,” Coach Rex booms. “Time to transport you!”

  You’re in a tight spot. But you don’t give up easily.

  You’ve got one last chance to save yourself. If only you can get to that mountain bike….

  You leap off the victory platform and race to the cafeteria.

  Coach Rex runs after you. “There is no escape,” he shouts.

  Unfortunately, he’s right.

  The mountain bike is gone.

  Someone stole it. And that person is now pedaling it furiously across the stadium grass.

  It’s Brad! He’s leaving Camp Run-for-Your-Life.

  So are you. For an all-expenses-paid, lifetime vacation to Xentron.

  Luckily for you, a slave’s lifetime is mercifully short!

  THE END

  You’ve got to try the pole vault, you decide. You might not get another chance to escape.

  Casually, you start toward the water fountain. It happens to be right next to the vaulting pole. “I’m just getting a drink,” you call to Coach Rex.

  You jog up to the fountain. When you’re sure no one is looking, you seize the long pole. You back up a few yards, balancing the pole in your hands.

  Then you start your run toward the stadium wall.

  “Hey!” Coach Rex bellows. “Where are you going? Somebody stop that kid!”

  But he’s too late. You have already planted your pole in the soft ground by the wall. You leap into the air.

  Up you soar, clutching the pole. Up, up. The stadium wall rushes toward you.

  Will you clear it?

  Or will you splat against it like a runny blue egg?

  Get your results on PAGE 38.

  Coach Krump wheels around and stands obediently before Uncle Ed. The zombie kids follow.

  You let out your breath.