The Beast from the East Read online

  “Quiet!” Fleg demanded. “Dinner—stop talking!” He stared at Nat.

  Fleg’s eyes narrowed. He tilted his head. He whispered to Spork and Gleeb.

  The other beasts moved closer. They were all moving their eyes from Pat to Nat. They began murmuring to each other, shaking their big, furry heads. Their snouts waved up and down as they talked.

  “You doubled!” Spork said to Pat. “You did a Classic Clone!”

  I stared at the beasts. Studied their startled expressions. Hadn’t they ever seen twins before?

  “You doubled yourselves!” Fleg declared. “That’s a Classic Clone. Why didn’t you tell us?”

  “Uh … tell you what?” I asked.

  Fleg glared at me. “Why didn’t you tell us that you are Level Three players?”

  My brothers and I exchanged confused glances.

  “You’re in the wrong game,” Spork announced, shaking his head.

  “If you can double yourselves, that means you belong in Level Three,” Fleg said. He slapped his furry forehead. “I’m so embarrassed! Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

  “Well, I told you we didn’t want to play,” I replied sharply. “But you wouldn’t listen.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Fleg apologized. “We’re only Level One players. We’re just beginners. We’re not experts like you.”

  “Experts?” Pat muttered. He turned to me and rolled his eyes.

  “That’s why we have to play in the daytime,” Fleg explained. “We’re not ready to play at night.”

  All around us, the beasts were muttering and shaking their heads.

  “Of course, we’ll have to let you go now,” Fleg said. He scratched at his flabby chin.

  “Well, of course,” I cried. I wanted to jump up and down and shout for joy. But somehow I kept myself in control.

  “That’s it?” Nat cried to Fleg. “We’re free?”

  “Yes. Good-bye.” Fleg scowled. He rubbed his belly. I heard it growl.

  “Don’t ask again,” I told Nat. “Let’s just get out of here!”

  “Good-bye,” Fleg repeated. He waved his paws as if he were trying to shoo us away.

  I jumped to my feet. I didn’t feel tired or scared or itchy or dirty anymore.

  This time the game was really over!

  “How do we find our parents?” I asked.

  “That’s easy,” Fleg replied. “Follow that path.” He pointed. “Follow it through the trees. It leads back to your world.”

  We shouted good-bye—and took off. The narrow dirt path twisted through the trees. Silvery moonlight danced over the ground.

  “I am so glad you guys are twins!” I exclaimed.

  I had never said that before! But I really meant it. They had saved our lives!

  The trees thinned out. I could see a full moon climbing up over the dark treetops. I felt as if we were running to it, running into its warm, white light.

  “Mom and Dad will never believe this story,” I said. I planned to tell them every gory detail.

  “They have to believe us,” Pat declared. “It’s all true.”

  I put on a burst of speed. My brothers ran harder to keep up with me.

  I couldn’t wait to get back. Mom and Dad must be so worried.

  “Oh!” I gasped and skidded to a stop.

  Pat and Nat stumbled into me. All three of us struggled to stay on our feet.

  A huge beast had stepped out from behind a tree, blocking the path.

  He crossed his furry arms over his enormous chest. His snout flared as he stared down at us with cold marble eyes. He opened his lips and growled, exposing his long fang.

  I wasn’t afraid. Not this time.

  “Step aside,” I ordered him. “You have to let us go by. My brothers and I are Level Three players.”

  “You’re Level Three? Hey—that’s great! So am I!” the beast exclaimed. “Tag! You’re It.”

  R.L. Stine’s books are read all over the world. So far, his books have sold more than 300 million copies, making him one of the most popular children’s authors in history. Besides Goosebumps, R.L. Stine has written the teen series Fear Street and the funny series Rotten School, as well as the Mostly Ghostly series, The Nightmare Room series, and the two-book thriller Dangerous Girls. R.L. Stine lives in New York with his wife, Jane, and Minnie, his King Charles spaniel. You can learn more about him at RLStine.com.

  GOOSEBUMPS®

  MOST WANTED

  #1 PLANET OF THE LAWN GNOMES

  #2 SON OF SLAPPY

  #3 HOW I MET MY MONSTER

  #4 FRANKENSTEIN’S DOG

  #5 DR. MANIAC WILL SEE YOU NOW

  #6 CREATURE TEACHER: FINAL EXAM

  #7 A NIGHTMARE ON CLOWN STREET

  #8 NIGHT OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE

  #9 HERE COMES THE SHAGGEDY

  #10 THE LIZARD OF OZ

  SPECIAL EDITION #1 ZOMBIE HALLOWEEN

  SPECIAL EDITION #2 THE 12 SCREAMS OF CHRISTMAS

  SPECIAL EDITION #3 TRICK OR TRAP

  SPECIAL EDITION #4 THE HAUNTER

  GOOSEBUMPS®

  SLAPPYWORLD

  #1 SLAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

  #2 ATTACK OF THE JACK!

  #3 I AM SLAPPY’S EVIL TWIN

  #4 PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE WEIRDO

  #5 ESCAPE FROM SHUDDER MANSION

  #6 THE GHOST OF SLAPPY

  GOOSEBUMPS®

  Also available as ebooks

  NIGHT OF THE LIVING DUMMY

  DEEP TROUBLE

  MONSTER BLOOD

  THE HAUNTED MASK

  ONE DAY AT HORRORLAND

  THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY’S TOMB

  BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

  SAY CHEESE AND DIE!

  THE HORROR AT CAMP JELLYJAM

  HOW I GOT MY SHRUNKEN HEAD

  THE WEREWOLF OF FEVER SWAMP

  A NIGHT IN TERROR TOWER

  WELCOME TO DEAD HOUSE

  WELCOME TO CAMP NIGHTMARE

  GHOST BEACH

  THE SCARECROW WALKS AT MIDNIGHT

  YOU CAN’T SCARE ME!

  RETURN OF THE MUMMY

  REVENGE OF THE LAWN GNOMES

  PHANTOM OF THE AUDITORIUM

  VAMPIRE BREATH

  STAY OUT OF THE BASEMENT

  A SHOCKER ON SHOCK STREET

  LET’S GET INVISIBLE!

  NIGHT OF THE LIVING DUMMY 2

  NIGHT OF THE LIVING DUMMY 3

  THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN OF PASADENA

  THE BLOB THAT ATE EVERYONE

  THE GHOST NEXT DOOR

  THE HAUNTED CAR

  ATTACK OF THE GRAVEYARD GHOULS

  PLEASE DON’T FEED THE VAMPIRE!

  THE HEADLESS GHOST

  THE HAUNTED MASK 2

  BRIDE OF THE LIVING DUMMY

  ATTACK OF THE JACK-O’-LANTERNS

  ALSO AVAILABLE:

  IT CAME FROM OHIO!: MY LIFE AS A WRITER by R.L. Stine

  Goosebumps book series created by Parachute Press, Inc.

  Copyright © 1996 by Scholastic Inc.

  Cover art by Tim Jacobus

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, GOOSEBUMPS, GOOSEBUMPS HORRORLAND, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition first printing, 2017

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-32876-9

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any fo
rm or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.