Toy Terror: Batteries Included Read online

  A silver key dangles in the lock.

  “Awesome!” you shout, pumping your fist in the air. “I found it!”

  You reach up to take the key.

  That’s when you feel something that makes your blood run cold. Something small and strong … gripping your leg …

  And starting to climb up your jeans!

  Please don’t let it be a Zorg! you think.

  A Zorg or not a Zorg? That is the question. Find out the answer on PAGE 103.

  “Okay,” you agree nervously. “Tell me how to save him. But please hurry! It sounds like they’re killing him!”

  “You’ve got to find the key to turn us off,” the pig says. “To turn off all the toys.”

  “Huh?” You stare at him, your mouth open.

  Did the pig just say there’s a way to turn off all the toys?

  “Wait a minute,” you reply. “Why are you trying to help me?”

  “Because it’s a nightmare here,” the pig whispers. “Every night, the army starts fighting. The monsters stalk us. The cars and trucks roar up and down the aisles. It’s very scary.”

  The pig sniffles and swipes at its eyes with its foot.

  “And do you know what else?” it continues. “I don’t like Nasty Kathy. Once, she called me a putrid porkface.”

  You bite your lips, trying not to laugh.

  “Laugh if you want,” the pig declares. “But Nasty Kathy is very dangerous. She’s got a secret plan.”

  Listen to the pig on PAGE 78.

  You have to call 911. Or the toy factory. Or someone. Anyone!

  You get ready to make a run for it. To another phone. The one in the living room.

  Let it be working! you pray.

  WHHHIRR …

  The Annihilator studies you coldly.

  You swivel your head slowly, judging the best way to run.

  If you go right, around the counter, you’ll have a straight shot to the living room. But you’ll have to pass inches from the Annihilator.

  If you go left, you’ll have to dodge the recycling bin and jump a stack of newspapers. It’ll take some fancy footwork. But it seems safer. You’ll stay farther from the robot.

  And you’ll probably make it … if you’re not too clumsy.

  Well? Are you? Clumsy, that is? Be honest, now.

  If you’re usually clumsy, go to the right on PAGE 61.

  If you’re not usually clumsy, go left on PAGE 17.

  Benny runs toward the video games.

  A kid-sized red sports car catches your attention. You climb in. But before you can turn the key, all the lights in the warehouse shut off. And everything goes black!

  “Hey!” Benny screams. “What’s going on?”

  You grope your way toward his voice. “Maybe the factory is closing,” you suggest. “It’s Saturday — and it’s after five o’clock.”

  “So we’re stuck in here for the rest of the weekend?” he whispers, sounding scared.

  “No way. Bobaloo will come back for us,” you declare.

  Just then, dim emergency lights flicker on.

  “Um, I forgot to tell you,” Benny says. “Bobaloo got called away for some kind of emergency. He told me to find you and then — well, we were supposed to leave.”

  Oh, great! you think. Then you remember your other problem.

  “That doll must still be in here with us,” you whisper.

  “Aw, you made that up,” Benny says.

  “No I didn’t,” you insist. “She was —”

  You stop talking when you hear a thump. It’s coming from a shelf above Benny’s head. Was it that doll?

  You brace yourself — and look up.

  Turn to PAGE 118.

  Weird, you think. He hung up so fast. And what did he mean by “good luck”?

  Still, you can’t wait for the Annihilator 3000 to arrive.

  You rush in to tell your mom about the phone call.

  She frowns. “Just don’t get your hopes up,” she says.

  “Wait until Monday, Mom,” you tell her. “You’ll see.”

  “That reminds me,” she says. “Monday afternoon I’ve got to pick up your brother, Geoffrey, at day care. I won’t be here when you get home from school.”

  In your heart, you’re afraid that your mom might be right. That the prize won’t arrive.

  But you rush home on Monday after school, hoping she’s wrong. Hoping the package will be waiting….

  From the street, the porch looks empty.

  Until you run up the front steps.

  A huge brown cardboard box is sitting near the front door.

  “Yes!” you cry the minute you spot it.

  Open it on PAGE 84.

  “What secret plan?” you ask, wide-eyed.

  The pig glances around to make sure no one is listening.

  “All I know is, they’re making human-sized dolls in there,” he whispers, nodding toward the factory. “They have some kind of a plan to change the world. But they won’t tell us baby toys what it is. I don’t trust them. So you’ve got to get the key and turn us off. It’s the only way.”

  “All right.” You nod solemnly. “But where’s this key?”

  The pig leans forward. You can feel his pink fur tickling your ear.

  “She has it,” he whispers so quietly, you can hardly hear him. “It’s in Nasty Kathy’s play trunk.”

  “Did someone call my name?” a nasty voice growls.

  You whip your head around — and gasp.

  It’s Nasty Kathy. She’s standing right behind you.

  And she has a Laser Blaster in her hands!

  Turn to PAGE 116.

  The Annihilator studies the fire truck. Then it switches the toy on.

  WHEEEEEEE! goes the truck’s siren. The Annihilator seems to jump a little. Then it leans down and rolls the truck back and forth on the floor.

  The Annihilator is playing! you think. All the lights on its face are pulsing brightly. It whirs excitedly.

  Then the truck’s siren peters out. Its lights go off.

  Uh-oh. The batteries are dead!

  Turn to PAGE 137.

  “Thanks for your advice. But no thanks!” you yell at the hand on your shoulder.

  You reach up and hurl it to the ground. It lands with a plop and then skitters under a shelf.

  You pocket the silver key and race toward the glass wall at the end of the aisle.

  The Zorgs are only a few steps behind you as you rocket around the corner into Aisle Two.

  “Whoa!” you gasp when you see what’s at the end of the doll aisle.

  Soldiers. Dozens of them!

  Except these aren’t two inches tall and green.

  They’re big wooden soldiers! Nasty Kathy’s size!

  They’re milling around, telling stupid jokes and comparing weapons. You slink rapidly down the aisle, next to the shelves. Hoping the soldiers don’t look your way.

  Turn to PAGE 22.

  The walkie-talkie in your waistband! It has batteries. You could pretend they’re yours. You’re saved!

  The problem is, how can you reach the walkie-talkie with your arms tied?

  Meanwhile, one of the ninjas takes off your shoes and socks. He moves his little fingers around on the bottom of your feet. It tickles!

  But you don’t feel like laughing.

  “The kid lied!” the ninja shouts. “There’s nothing here but skin!”

  “Wait!” you yell. “I am a toy! I keep my batteries in a different place. If you cut one of my arms free, I’ll show you!”

  “ENOUGH!” the army captain commands. “Shut the kid up!”

  One of the soldiers aims a web-gun at you. It only takes one squirt. Right over your mouth. The sticky spiderweb spray oozes down your cheeks and silences you. You can barely breathe.

  Nasty Kathy walks back over. She flips the ON switches for the conveyor belt and the hair-planting machine.

  TWHACK. KA-CHUNK! THWACK KA-CHUNK!

  Turn to PAGE 114. If you
dare!

  “So, anyway,” she says, completely ignoring you. “Jason got sent to the principal again last week. And his parents were so mad, they decided to send him to military school! So he ran away from home, but he only went to the park, really. Then a squirrel bit him, and now he has to get rabies shots, so he can’t go to military school for at least a month, and …”

  WHIRR …

  Oh, no. The Annihilator is here!

  “Becca!” you cry desperately. “I’m hanging up n —”

  ZZZZTTTT! A blue laser beam zips out of the Annihilator’s chest and works its way up your body, from your toes to your head.

  Becca’s voice goes on and on. And there’s nothing you can do. You just stand there with the phone frozen to your ear. Really frozen. As in ten below zero.

  Guess Becca’s story about Jason left you cold!

  THE END

  “Benny!” you gasp. “What are you doing here?”

  Benny gulps and gives you a nervous smile.

  “Uh, hi,” he blurts. “I came here looking for you. I figured you’d run to Amy’s house.”

  “Come in,” Amy calls. She steps around Benny, drags you into the living room, and quickly closes the door.

  She peeks out the front window nervously. As if she’s watching to be sure no one followed you. Or saw you come in.

  “What’s going on?” you ask. Your head spins with questions. Is Benny in on the toys’ plot? And Amy?

  “Nothing’s going on,” Amy tells you. “Benny just came to find you. That’s all. What’s the big deal?”

  Your eyes narrow. You stare at Benny. “How did you get away from Officer Murphy so fast?”

  “Oh, I told him that we were lost and didn’t know how to get home,” Benny declares. “He believed me.”

  Hmmm. You find that story kind of hard to swallow.

  Especially since the phony policeman saw Benny hiding with you in the toy factory!

  You wonder if you should believe a word Benny says. He is your friend — but you haven’t known him very long.

  If you believe Benny’s story, turn to PAGE 101.

  If you’re suspicious of him, turn to PAGE 126.

  The box is so heavy, you can’t lift it.

  You toss your jacket and backpack aside. Then you drag the box through the door and into the living room. You never imagined it would be so heavy!

  Something whirs softly inside the sealed box.

  Weird, you think. It sounds as if the Annihilator is already turned on….

  You’re so excited, you rip the carton open.

  WHIRRRR!

  The motor inside the robot sounds like it’s spinning.

  You tilt the carton onto its side. Slide the heavy purple and black robot onto the living room rug.

  You crawl halfway into the box, but all that’s in there is the stupid instruction sheet. Who needs that? You toss the folded sheet behind you and back out of the box.

  “Hey — where are the spacemen?” you mutter.

  When you turn around, the robot is standing.

  It got up on its own! So it was already on!

  The huge toy walks forward, turns a corner — and heads straight for your room!

  Follow the Annihilator to PAGE 95.

  You can’t grab the wheel. You don’t even know how to drive!

  Besides, Bobaloo seems to be slowing down. Bringing the car to a halt.

  You peer through the window into the dark. You’re in the woods somewhere. You can see that much. Miles and miles from any lights.

  Even if you could scream, no one would hear you.

  “Let’s go,” Bobaloo says, yanking open the back door. You step onto the soft ground. Strange animals rustle in the leaves.

  Benny switches on a flashlight, lighting up a dirt path to a shack.

  “Hurry up,” Bobaloo urges, giving you a nudge.

  You stumble along the path, with Bobaloo and Benny right behind. Bobaloo opens the shack door. Inside, you see nothing. Nothing except a dark hole in the ground.

  Bobaloo pulls the sock out of your mouth. Then he removes the duct tape so you can use your hands.

  “Climb down,” Benny orders you, shining his light at the hole.

  Do what Benny says on PAGE 106.

  A jagged flash of lightning brightens the sky.

  When it’s gone, you notice the sky is a dark greenish gray. While you were putting out fires, a storm was moving in.

  CRACCKKK! KA-BOOM!

  Thunder!

  It’s right over the house. Then the wind and rain start. The storm is so loud and violent, it sounds like a freight train outside your door.

  WHHHIRRRRR …

  The Annihilator doesn’t seem to care about the storm. It’s still watching you. Standing guard. As if it’s trying to keep you from leaving the kitchen….

  Every cell in your body is telling you to run for your life. To get out of the house. To run to your neighbor, Mrs. Carlyle.

  But you’re sure that if you leave, you’ll never see your home again. The Annihilator will destroy it.

  The red lights that serve as its eyes are dim, barely glowing. What is it thinking? Can it think?

  You start to wonder if there’s a way you could trick it.

  If you try to trick the robot, turn to PAGE 51.

  If you run to Mrs. Carlyle’s house, turn to PAGE 97.

  Your knees shake as Nasty Kathy marches you through the dim warehouse.

  She takes you through a gray steel door in the warehouse. Then down a pitch-black staircase. You’re frightened as you stumble down the steps in the dark. But you’re even more frightened of the Laser Blaster in Nasty Kathy’s hands.

  At the bottom of the stairs, she pushes you through another door. From the glow on Nasty Kathy’s Laser Blaster, you can see you’re in a cement block basement room. It’s like a dungeon.

  “Try to ruin our plans from in here!” Nasty Kathy cackles. She slams the door — and locks you in the dark!

  Turn to PAGE 29.

  There’s got to be some way to get the Annihilator back into its box, you decide.

  But how? You stare at the box for a minute, racking your brain for a good idea.

  WHHIRRR …

  The robot is moving again. It walks over to its cardboard box. It flashes its lights.

  Hey — what’s it looking at? you wonder.

  Then you see it. The spacemen! It’s looking at a picture of the spacemen that were supposed to come with it in the box. That’s what it’s programmed to destroy.

  You race to your little brother Geoffrey’s room and dig around in his toy box. You know he’s got an old plastic spaceman in there somewhere. It’s his favorite toy.

  Finally you find it. A red plastic space pilot. One of its arms is missing. But it will have to do.

  You hurry back to the living room.

  “Hey — robot!” you call. “Look what I have!”

  The Annihilator lurches toward you. Its eyes light up and start flashing when it sees the spaceman in your hands.

  Quickly you toss the spaceman into the cardboard box and stand back.

  Turn to PAGE 16.

  Instantly you know what those glowing eyes belong to. You’ve seen them on TV. They’re horrible monster toys. Monsters called Zorgs.

  On the toys, the claws are plastic and the teeth are rubber.

  But, now, in the dim emergency light, you can see that these Zorgs are different — because they’re alive.

  Their claws and teeth are steel. Their mouths drip with green slime and purple ooze. Their eyes glow with a hideous green light.

  You know what they want. Beyond any doubt. You saw the movie Zorg Revenge and you know what Zorgs do. They claw their way to your face — and rip it to shreds!

  Zorgs swarm your face because it’s the fastest way to get … to your brain!

  The six Zorgs creep toward you. Their slimy feet make sucking noises as they grip and release the floor.

  SQUISH. FLAP. SQUISH. FLA
P.

  You back up slowly. Watching them. Praying there aren’t any more Zorgs behind you.

  The six creatures sense your fear. They close in steadily.

  Without warning, they all LEAP AT YOU!

  Quick! Turn to PAGE 58.

  “What?” you sputter. “You’re a doll?”

  Benny pulls off his shoe and shows you his foot.

  There, in his heel, you see a battery pack!

  You’re so amazed, you can’t speak. You just stare at him.

  “If you had put the key in IT’S TIM while I was still inside the factory, I would have died,” Benny explains. “By the way, I’m the one who put your name on the list for the factory tour. I wanted you to see how cool the live toys were. I didn’t realize how dangerous it would be. Nasty Kathy turned so mean!”

  You open your mouth, but for a few seconds you can only manage a faint croak. Finally your voice works.

  “Okay, so you’re a toy. But what about this secret plan?” you ask him. “Why life-sized dolls?”

  Benny gives you a small smile. “Oh, that’s a story for another day,” he tells you mysteriously.

  He’s right, of course. It’s a story for another day — or another page. But for now, you’re happy to know that you’ve had some fun — and came out of it alive in

  THE END.

  That sucking sound. It can mean only one thing.

  The Zorgs are on your trail!

  Frantically, you scan the shelves near you. Hunting for a Laser Blaster — or anything. Some kind of weapon so you can defend yourself against the face-rippers.

  You fling aside boxes of video games. There’s lots of cool stuff you’d love to try out.

  But you can’t find a weapon!

  The Zorgs scuttle forward, their green eyes glowing in the dark. They’re close enough to leap….