CHOOSE YOUR OWN

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RISK YOUR LIFE ARCADE

BY KEN McMURTRY
Wenvfflf ,1'brary
New Jersey
ManviHe Public Library
M&nvflfe, New Jersey
RISK YOUR LIFE ARCADE
 CHOOSE YOUR OWN

titles in Large-Print Editions:

#1 NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF

#2 BEWARE THE SNAKE'S VENOM

#3 ISLAND OF DOOM

#4 CASTLE OF DARKNESS

#5 THE HALLOWEEN PARTY

#6 RISK YOUR LIFE ARCADE

 #6

RISK YOUR LIFE ARCADE

BY KEN McMURTRY

ILLUSTRATED BY BILL SCHMIDT

An R. A. Montgomery Book

•""MB*Zon'

Gareth Stevens Publishing

MILWAUKEE
For a free color catalog describing Gareth Stevens' list of high-quality books,
call 1-800-542-2595 (USA) or 1-800-461-9120 (Canada).
Gareth Stevens' Fax: (414) 225-0377.

Libraiy of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McMurtry, Ken.
Risk Your Life Arcade / by Ken McMurtry; illustrated by
Bill Schmidt.
p. cm. — (Choose your own nightmare)
Summary: The reader's decisions control the course of an adventure
in which an evil arcade owner lures players to his home, where he
engages them in the ultimate life-or-death game.
ISBN 0-8368-1515-7 (lib. bdg.)
1. Plot-your-own stories. [1. Videogames—Fiction. 2. Plot-your-
own stories.] I. Schmidt, Bill, ill. II. Title. III. Series.
PZ7.M47879283Ri 1996
[Fic]—dc20 95-39817

This edition first published in 1996 by

Gareth Stevens Publishing
1555 North RiverCenter Drive, Suite 201
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212 USA

CHOOSE YOUR OWN NIGHTMARE™ is a trademark of Bantam Doubleday Dell Books

for Young Readers, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

© 1995 by Ganesh, Incorporated. Cover art and illustrations © 1995 by Bantam Books.
All rights reserved. Published by arrangement with Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for
Young Readers, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights to this edition reserved to Gareth Stevens, Inc. No part of this book may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written
permission of the publisher except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an
acknowledged review.

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 99 98 97 96
 This book is dedicated to my son
Gabe McMurtry,
friend, advisor, and computer genius.
You have probably read books where scary
things happen to people. Well, in Choose Your
Own Nightmare, you’re right in the middle of
the action. The scary things are happening to
you!

You’ll do just about anything to get your good-

luck baseball cap back. . . but what does scary
Mr. Sticks have in mind?

Fortunately, while you’re reading along, you’ll

have chances to decide what to do. Whenever
you make a decision, turn to the page shown.
The thrills and chills that happen to you next
will depend on your choices.

Make sure you choose carefully. After all, you’re

playing for your life.
 1
“Yes!” you shout, pumping your fist in the
air.
It is 4:00 p.m. Thursday, and you and your
friends Sara and Joey are at the Risk Your Life
Arcade at the Bristol Pines Mall. The place is
filled with colored lights, bells, and buzzers.
Kids jam in two and three deep playing the
various machines, and loud music screams
from the speakers scattered around the room.
You hang out here a lot. That’s because this
is the only arcade in town that has your fa¬
vorite game—Worm Wars. “It’s totally cool-
kind of like the pinball machines you guys
used to play when you were kids,” you ex¬
plained to your parents. “But much better.”

Turn to page 2.
2
Worm Wars looks something like a regular
pinball machine. It has a lit-up, glass-enclosed
table. And there’s lots of cool stuff to bounce
the balls off—worm lairs, fishhooks, little
metal chutes. But instead of being a one-shot-
only game, Worm Wars has a real story to it.
Blurgon is the king of worms. His huge, wormy
body is pictured on the machine’s backboard.
The thing about Blurgon is that he’s hungry.
Real hungry. The point of the game is to try to
satisfy his appetite by scoring lots of points.
The more points you score, the more worms
Blurgon gets to eat. And Blurgon remembers
you. You type in your initials—your code
name—and Blurgon says things like “Give me
more fishbait, tuna breathV’ or “It took you fif¬
teen minutes to fill me up last timeV’ The voice
is kind of scary. And it’s loud—it’s in digital
stereo.

Go on to the next page.

 3
It’s important to fill Blurgon up, because if
you make him happy, he’ll give you extra balls.
And sometimes if your ball slips past the flip¬
pers, Blurgon will shoot it back out to you. You
get three balls per game, but if you rack up
enough points, you get a speed ball—a super¬
fast pinball that looks like a ball of worms. It’s
just about the best arcade game ever invented,
you think.
And right now you’re playing the best
you’ve ever played.
One reason you’re doing so well is your
lucky hat. It’s a blue baseball cap with gold
lightning bolts on either side. Just above the
bill it says worm wars. No one else in the ar¬
cade has one like it. You wrote to the company
that makes the game to tell them how much
you liked it, and as a present, they sent you the
hat. Now you never play a game without it. No
one can beat you at Worm Wars when you’re
wearing your lucky cap.
“C’monI” shouts Sara, jumping up and
down. “You’re doing it! You’re beating your
best score!”

Turn to page 4.
4
Joey slugs her in the arm. “Pipe down!” he
says. “Do you want to make the Flipstar lose
the game?” Flipstar is what Joey calls you
when you’re playing really well.
“Don’t hit me!” says Sara, giving Joey a
shove. The two of them begin to argue back
and forth. You try not to watch. You’re on your
third ball—just a few points away from getting
a super speed ball.
You focus on the Lair of the Worm—every
time the ball goes there you get a ton of points.
You’re going to try to aim the ball there when
it hits the flippers.
Waiting, waiting . . . Bam! Suddenly Joey
falls against the machine.
“Hey!” you shout, accidentally jamming
your finger down on the flipper. The ball hits
the flipper, shoots up, and smoothly enters the
Lair of the Worm.
“Good work, FSRV’ Blurgon grumbles. “A
whole mouthful of worms to enjoy. ” FSR is your
code name. It stands for Flipstar.

Go to the next page.

 5
You shoot a quick glance at Sara and Joey.
“Would you two knock it off?” you snap. You
really like your friends, but sometimes they
joke around too much. “You’re lucky you two
losers didn’t make me lose! Don’t bump the
machine!”
“Sorry,” Joey says sheepishly.
“Yeah. Sorry,” says Sara.
Joey looks at your score. “You are playing
excellent!” he shouts. “The Flipstar strikes
again!” He and Sara huddle around you.
Taking a deep breath, you stand poised at
the flippers. “Okay. Catch and pass. Catch and
pass,” you chant, waiting for the ball to come
down and hit the left flipper. Catching and
passing is your secret weapon. Instead of hit¬
ting the ball upward, you’re going to stop and
catch it with one flipper, pass it to the tip of the
other flipper, and shoot. It’s a flawless way to
score—and it’s taken you months to perfect it.
“Catch and pass, catch and pass, catch
and—”
WhishJ Suddenly you feel something pull at
your hair. Your cap! Your good-luck baseball
cap has been stolen!

Turn to page 6.
6
“What—” you shriek, spinning around.
Lefty, the weird guy who hands out tokens and
fixes the arcade machines when they break
down, is standing behind you. He is very
short—not more than five feet tall. And he has
only one arm—his right. Dangling from his
right hand is your cap.
“What did you do that for?” you cry, touch¬
ing your head where the cap used to be. “Game
over, Worm Head/’ gurgles Blurgon. Helplessly
you watch as your last ball slips past the flip¬
pers. new player flashes on the blinking score-
board.
Lefty stares at you. “You were tilting the ma¬
chine,” he says. “You shouldn’t have been do¬
ing that.”
“I was not!” you protest. “Joey bumped it by
accident! That doesn’t count as tilting!”
Just then Eddie Wrigley, the biggest bully in
Bristol Pines, saunters over. “Hey, Lefty. Some¬
one lose their hat?” He tucks a piece of his
dark, oily hair behind his ear.

Turn to page 61.

8
A jerk like Eddie isn’t worth messing with. If
you got the high score once, you’ll be able to
do it again.
“Go ahead. Play,” you tell him. “I’ve got to
catch up with my friends, anyway.” You pick
up your backpack and start to head out the ar¬
cade door. But you can’t help feeling a little cu¬
rious—you do want to watch Eddie play. You
know he’s pretty good—but he’s never beaten
your score.
Quietly you move behind Eddie. He doesn’t
even notice you—he’s already wrapped up in
the game.
Eddie is not very good-looking to begin
with. But right now he looks worse than he
ever has, you think. His face has taken on a de¬
monic look. His beady little eyes have nar¬
rowed, and the veins are bulging on his neck.
Even his greasy hair looks greasier.
To your dismay, Eddie is playing really well.
You watch as he zealously flips and zings the
pinballs, sending them smashing toward more
points. “Good food. Good food!” gurgles Blur-
gon. The giant worm can hardly keep up with
all the points Eddie is scoring.

Turn to page 38.

 9
“You two are my very best Worm Wars play¬
ers. The tournament, then, has to be the very
best as well—the ultimate Worm Wars tourna¬
ment!”
“Yo, Mr. Sticks—it’s me, Eddie. Remember?”
Eddie yells out worriedly. “You can’t mean that
I have to play this. You and I are tight—we’re
friends, right?”
“Eddie, Eddie, Eddie,” says Mr. Sticks. His
voice is loud and clear on the speaker. “The
only friend you have here is yourself. Now I
suggest you get ready to play ... for your life.”
Suddenly the lights come back on. There’s
no time to run. Mr. Sticks would definitely
catch you. You look at Eddie. He doesn’t look
so mean right now. In fact, he looks kind of
frightened.

Turn to page 35.

10

You can’t sit and watch Eddie die. “Eddie,

you’ve got to let go of that worm. That’s the
poison worm—the one you’re not supposed to
touch!”
Eddie gives you a funny look. “You think I’m
going to fall for that?” he asks. “I know Worm
Wars. There’s no poison worm.”
You shake your head. “There is! I found it
out when I scored two hundred and fifty thou¬
sand points. We must have that many now.
You’ve got to let go! Here!” You reach out your
arm to help pull him up.
“No way!” he laughs. Suddenly the worm’s
head begins to move. Soon its whole body is
shaking.
You watch Eddie’s face fall. “Aieeeel” he
shrieks, letting go of the worm. You try to
reach out to him, but it’s too late. He slides
down the floor of the machine, banging into
various sensors and lights.

Turn to page 12.

 11
You, Joey, and Sara hurry out' of the arcade.
Looking over your shoulder, you see Lefty
standing in the middle of the arcade, fingering
the tokens in his right hand.
“Man, that guy is strange,” says Joey. The
three of you walk along the sidewalk that leads
from the mall to your homes. Bristol Pines is
pretty small—everything is within walking dis¬
tance. The sky is overcast. It looks as if a big
storm is brewing.

Turn to page 64.

12
Bang! Eddie crashes headfirst into a
flipper—and the flipper hits him. Hard. You
cringe as he’s sent flying past you. Your cap
soars off your head. You reach out and man¬
age to grab it as it falls. Setting it back on your
head, you watch helplessly as Eddie is sucked
down the Worm Tunnel.
“Good food,” gurgles Blurgon. Your heart is
racing as you cling to the metal chute. Is Eddie
really worm food?
“We have a winner!” a voice announces.
“Please let go of the chute and slide feetfirst to
the bottom of the machine.”
You have no choice but to comply. Ner¬
vously you let go of the chute and slither down
to the bottom of the machine. The flippers
open up, and you find yourself falling through
the ball drop.

Turn to page 52.

 13
A few minutes later, Mr. Sticks hurries past
you, your cap tucked under his arm. Lefty is
right behind him. “I’m going to put this in my
house for safekeeping,” you hear Mr. Sticks tell
Lefty. “Then I’ve got to run some errands. I’ll
be home late tonight if you need anything.”
Mr. Sticks shakes Lefty’s right hand and turns
to glare at you. Before you can muster up the
courage to say anything to him, he’s gone.
“He shouldn’t have taken your hat,” Joey
says.
“He won’t have it for long,” you say. “It’s my
hat and I’m getting it back.”
“How?” asks Sara.
“I’ll just wait a few minutes until I know he’s
had time to drop it off. Then I’ll go to his
house, get it, and leave before he even knows I
was there. Easy,” you say.

Turn to page 84.

14
Mr. Sticks drops the worm and bends down,
his smelly breath hitting you smack in the
face. “I’m many things to many people,” he
says. “The worm of Worm Wars. That’s me.
And this is my home. The wormhole.”
“Let me go!” you shriek.
Mr. Sticks laughs. “No one’s holding you. But
don’t bother struggling. Now that you’ve found
this place, you’ll never leave. Worm Wars
sought you out. I needed a new guardian for
my home. Someone who would understand
the worm world as I do. And I’ve found that in
you. And now that you’re here, we’ll never let
you go.”

Turn to page 85.

 15
You make sure you’ve got a tight grip on the
chute. There’s no telling what would happen if
you fell into the Lair of the Worm. Or worse
yet, if you hit the flippers.
“Ahhhhhhh!” screams a terror-filled voice.
You look frantically around the machine, try¬
ing to see who screamed. In a flash of lights,
something shoots by you. It’s not a pinball—
it’s Eddie!

Turn to page 62.

16
“Bye,” you say, continuing down the street.
“Do you have a lot of homework tonight?”
asks Sara.
“Nah, not really,” you say truthfully.
“Well, why don’t you come and stay over?
You can practice on the Sega—and besides,
we’ve got the Frankenstein.” Sara grins.
Sara’s house has always been fun to hang
out in, but it’s even better since the Franken-
stein arrived. The Frankenstein is the name of
the pinball machine Sara’s dad has in the
basement family room. When the Bristol Pines
Diner closed last year, they had a big auction
to get rid of all sorts of stuff. One item was the
Frankenstein. Sara’s dad loves pinball ma¬
chines almost as much as you do. The
Frankenstein was in pretty bad shape, but he
got it repaired, and now it works perfectly.
“Well. . . ,” you say, thinking for a minute.

Turn to page 49.

 17
A panel in the wall slides open. Inside, on a
wooden shelf, are a mask and a sack made out
of black cloth. You pick them up.
“You have three seconds to put the mask on
and take the bag,” says the voice. “Three sec¬
onds.”
You quickly put on the mask and sling the
black bag over your shoulder. The panel slides
shut. The lights lower, and soon you are in to¬
tal darkness. You stand there nervously, won¬
dering what will happen to you.
The wall in front of you slides open. Behind
it lies what looks like a gigantic maze.
“I’m getting out of here,” you say. The sound
of your footsteps echoes off the high walls of
the maze. You move forward cautiously, ex¬
pecting some sort of surprise.
“You are the chosen one,” says the voice.
“And now, for the ultimate Rat Race player,
here is the ultimate game. A life-size version.”
“Huh?” you say. “The ultimate Rat Race
player? I’ve never played that game in my life,”
you protest. “There must be some kind of mis¬
take! I’m a Worm Wars Warrior, not a Rat
Racer!”

Turn to page 82.

18
Your hat sits several feet in front of you. All
you have to do is grab it and run. Slowly you
move toward it. It seems to take you forever to
get there. Now you’re only a foot away. You
reach out your hand to grab the hat—'but then
you stop.
A wave of curiosity washes over you. You
know that Mr. Sticks won’t be home for a
while. You’ve secretly wondered what kind of
house the weird arcade owner lives in. Now
you’ve got the perfect chance to explore.

If you decide to explore Mr. Sticks 's house,

turn to page 24.

If you decide to grab your hat and leave

immediately turn to page 74.
 19
Sara shares a room with her younger sister
Abby. You sleep in the guest room, which is
next door.
After a good night’s sleep, you wake up to
bright sunshine. A hand-lettered poster is
tacked up on the bedroom door. It reads future
worm wars champ slept here. Below the words is
a drawing of your face—it looks pretty accu¬
rate. How did Sara sneak in and do that while
you were sleeping? you wonder. She must
have been really quiet.
Then you notice some Gummi Worms
draped over the doorknob. Several more are
hanging over a picture frame. There are even a
few scattered on your bed.

Turn to page 78.

20
“Good morning, everyone!” says a loud
voice. It’s Mr. Lewis. He’s the vice president of
the Bristol Pines Bank. But instead of wearing
his normal suit and tie, he’s dressed in a plaid
cotton shirt, fishing hat, khakis, and thigh-
high yellow wading boots.
“What a great day for fishing!” he says in a
singsong voice. “Abby, what’s the progress?”
he yells out the back door.
“Great!” yells Sara’s little sister. She bursts
into the room, holding a large rusted coffee
can. She walks over to you.
“See?” she asks, showing you the can. It’s
swarming with worms. “It’s a perfect day for
worm hunting.”
“Nice.” You nod slowly.
Mr. Lewis pats you on the back. “Nothing’s
too good for our little Worm Wars Warrior.”
You smile weakly. The Lewis family is acting
pretty strange this morning—and they are one
of the most normal families you know. What
has gotten into them?

Turn to page 25.

 21
“Uh . . . are you going to call the police?”
you whisper. You try to avoid staring into his
eyes. But it’s not easy—they’re only a few
inches from yours.
“No,” says Mr. Sticks. “No, that won’t be nec¬
essary. I’ve been looking for someone to help
me out. And I think you’re just the person.”
Help him out? You don’t want to help him
out—you want help in getting out! There is no
way you’re helping this weirdo. He probably
wants to trap you in his house and hold you
prisoner! He probably wants to torture you!
What have you gotten yourself into?
“Now,” says Mr. Sticks. He moves back a few
inches, and you take a deep breath. “I’m trying
to think what you’d like most. Being trapped
in a room with invisible biting bugs, or fighting
your way through a forest of mutants.” He
studies your face for a few moments.
You are frozen with fear. “In-In-Invisible bit¬
ing bugs?” you croak. How can he do this to
you? You wish he would call the police. Any¬
thing would be better than being trapped in
this horrible old house with this madman.

Turn to page 56.

22
“It’s almost closing time, anyway,” Joey says
persistently.
“My mom will be mad at me if I hang out
too late,” Sara says. “Besides, we’re out of to¬
kens. Joey’s right. We should head for home.”
“I’m not leaving,” you say. Flip!Flip! The ball
shoots up into the Worm Tunnel. “Cool!
Twenty-five thousand extra points!” you yell.
Your friends shake their heads. “Well, we’re
leaving,” Sara says. “See you tomorrow.”
You stay glued to the machine, losing all
track of time. Your score is growing and grow¬
ing. Not only have you beat your highest score,
it looks as if you’re going to beat the all-time
greatest Worm Wars score, too! The initials
NLA have been at the top of the screen for
months. You don’t know who NLA is—the only
person you’ve ever seen play Worm Wars as
well as you is Eddie Wrigley, and his code ini¬
tials are EWW.
Carefully you try to nudge the ball around
the machine. “Thanks for all the food!” bellows
Blurgon in digital sound.
“You’re welcome!” you say happily. “Gettin’
ready to feed you more!”

Turn to page 28.

 23
“Negative. I want to get home before the
storm hits,” you say, pointing up at the sky
“All right,” Sara says. You’ve arrived at your
turnoff. “Call me later.”
“Yep,” you say, waving good-bye. As you
walk, a slight drizzle rains down on you. You
wish you had listened to your mom—she
wanted you to wear your rain slicker today.
You hate getting wet. Luckily you have your
umbrella—it’s nice and big.
Slap, slap, slap. Your sneakers splash
through the puddles. For such a little drizzle,
the puddles certainly are forming quickly, you
think. Maybe it rained over this part of town
already.
Soon the rain begins to come down harder.
It’s raining at a slant, and the water is spraying
you in the face every few seconds. It has also
grown very, very foggy. It’s almost impossible
to see more than a few feet in front of you.
“Darn this rain!” you say, picking up speed.
You can’t wait to get home to a cup of your
mom’s hot chocolate.
Without warning, a gust of wind blows your
umbrella inside out.

Turn to page 26.

24
Now that you’re here, you suppose it
wouldn’t hurt to have a look around. The
house is much bigger than it looks from the
outside. To your right is a hallway. Near the
end of it, stairs curve up to the second floor.
The living room has a couch and a few shabby
chairs. In the back is a doorway.
You walk across the living room and
through the door. It looks like some sort of
study. A large mahogany desk sits in the cor¬
ner. A tiny desk lamp on it throws a pale white
cast across the room. Bookshelves containing
old, dusty books line the walls. You notice that
a lot of them have to do with games—their
rules, inventions, that sort of thing. And you
notice another door.
Walking through it, you find yourself in
some kind of game room. Several large ceiling
lights shine brightly. Along one wall are soft,
comfortable-looking chairs, much nicer than
the ones in the living room. Opposite them is
a row of arcade games—about five or six. They
are all lit up, waiting.

Turn to page 76.

 25
“Here—have a bowl of cereal,” says Mrs.
Lewis, putting a bowl of cornflakes in front of
you. “Oops! Forgot the topping.”
Mrs. Lewis is great. She always remembers
to put banana slices on top—just the way you
like it.
To your horror, she reaches into Abby’s can
and pulls out a handful of worms.
“Here,” she says, dropping them in your
bowl. “This ought to taste really good!”
You push your chair back from the table.
What is going on here? The Lewises were fine
last night—but now they’re worm-obsessed!

Turn to page 72.

26
“Hey!” you shout, trying to pull the nylon
down over the spokes. The wind howls around
you as you struggle with the umbrella. But it’s
no use. The umbrella is worthless.
“Great. Just great,” you mutter. You realize
the fog has gotten even thicker. Even though
you’ve walked this way millions of times, it’s
now impossible to see. You can’t tell which
way to go.
Trying to regain your sense of direction, you
decide that your house must be to your left.
Clutching your broken umbrella, you begin to
run, splashing through puddle after puddle.
“Almost there! Almost there! Almost—
Ahhh!” Your foot slips, and you fall into the
biggest puddle you’ve ever seen.
“Gross!” you say, pulling a fat purple worm
off your arm. Before you can get up, someone
yanks the back of your shirt, and you fall back
into the puddle.
“Welcome home,” says a low whisper. You
try to turn around, but something is holding
you down.

Turn to page 55.

28
Just as you’re ready to pull back the plunger
on your next ball, somebody shoves you.
Hard. You lose your balance and fall against
the Monster Squasher machine to your left.
“You’ve hogged the machine long enough,
Chickenhead!” It’s Eddie Wrigley. He puts his
hand on the plunger, as if he’s about to pull it.
“No!” you shout, scrambling up. “You’ll
screw up my score!”
“What are you going to do about it?” Eddie
asks. “No one’s here to help you now.”
You look around. He’s right. Somehow the
arcade has emptied out without your even
knowing it. You guess you were too wrapped
up in the Worm Wars game to even notice.
One thing’s for sure—you’re tired of Eddie
bullying you around. And you don’t like get¬
ting shoved. More than anything you’d like to
shove him and regain your position at the con¬
trols. But he is a big bully—he’ll probably try
to start a real fight.

If you decide he’s too mean to mess with,

turn to page 8.

If you push Eddie out of the way

turn to page 51.
 29
It doesn’t seem as if you’re ever going to
find your way out of the maze. You have found
quite a bit of cheese, though. In fact, your pack
is bulging with it.
“If only I had some crackers,” you say to
yourself, trying to make a joke. But you don’t
feel much like laughing right now. Stopping to
take a breath, you sit on the ground. You feel
as if you’ve been collecting cheese for hours,
yet you don’t feel any closer to getting out.
In the distance you hear what sounds like
someone running. You listen more closely. No,
it doesn’t sound like one person running—it
sounds like a hundred!
You know you should probably run, but you
feel frozen with fear. Gripping the cheese bag
as tightly as you can, you force yourself to
stand up. Then you dash to your left, away
from the sound.
Must be Mr. Sticks and Lefty. Got to get out of
here. Got to make it out alive!
You race down the maze—and then come
screeching to a halt.

Turn to page 70.

30
But you can’t quit yet—you’ve earned not
one but three super speed balls. Confidently
you pull the plunger, your fingers poised on
the controls. Your left arm is starting to ache.
You try to ignore it, but you can’t. It really
hurts.
“Too much playing, I guess,” you say reluc¬
tantly. “Maybe I should quit.” You try to pull
your arm up to rub it, but you can’t. It’s as if
your fingers are glued to the flipper.

Turn to page 60.

 31
“So, you’ve lost your hat,” Eddie sneers.
“I didn’t lose it,” you answer. “Lefty stole it.
He just wants you to have a chance in the
Worm Wars tournament.”
Eddie frowns. “Hey, I can beat you with or
without your lucky hat.”
“I don’t think you can,” Sara says. “You’re al¬
ways doing odd jobs here for Lefty and Mr.
Sticks, trying to be their friend. I bet you asked
Lefty to take the hat, just so you could win!”
Eddie glares at Sara. “I can beat Chicken-
head here, hat or no hat.”
“Sara’s right,” Joey says, moving closer to
Eddie.
“Who are you?” Eddie says, pointing a finger
at Joey. “Chickenhead’s shadow?”
“Stop calling me Chickenhead,” you say.
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll—” You break off as Eddie turns away.
Mr. Sticks is signaling to him from the back of
the arcade.
“I have to go now. But don’t think I’ve for¬
gotten about you,” Eddie says menacingly.
“Chickenhead.” He turns and pushes his way
through the crowd of kids.

Turn to page 39.

32
You can’t believe it. Mr. Sticks has actually
turned his house into a living arcade game.
Suddenly the pole you’re holding on to
lights up. Startled, you let go and tumble for¬
ward, falling headfirst down the slippery ma¬
chine floor. Below you flashes a dark brown
hole.
“Oh no!” you cry. The Lair of the Worm is
waiting to devour you! You’ve got to stop your
fall. Quickly you reach out and grab hold of
the metal chute that cuts across the machine.
The chute is always a good place to send a
ball—it really makes them fly.
Heaving a sigh of relief, you take a look
around you.
It’s incredible. Every detail of Worm Wars,
down to the exact colors, is here. You wonder
how Mr. Sticks did it. And why.
Bing bingl Diloop! FeeeeeloopI The sound is
so loud you have to cover your ears. You know
what that sound means—a ball has just been
released into the game.

Turn to page 15.

34
“Can you give me a clue?” you yell, leaning
against the maze. Ouch! The maze must be
electrified—it gives you a big shock.
“Your job is to pick up as many accessories
as you can, and to find your way out of the
maze before you are attacked.”
“Attacked?” you shriek.
“You are wasting precious time. Remember
to keep your mask on. Begin!” says the voice.
There’s no time to argue. You race down the
maze, glancing left and right. You spot some¬
thing yellow in the corner. What is it? You race
over and discover that it is a hunk of cheese—
about the size of your fist.
You remember Joey saying something about
collecting cheese. That must be it! You must
need to collect cheese to win! You pick up the
hunk and throw it in the bag. Then you race
on.
It’s hard to know which way to go—some¬
times you go left, sometimes right. You guess
you must be the only player in the maze. A few
times you hear what sounds like someone
scratching on the other side of the maze wall,
but you don’t run into anyone.

Turn to page 29.

 35
“Listen, I just came for my hat,” you say “I
haven’t paid the fee for entering the tourn¬
ament, so I guess I should be going.” You try to
sound confident.
Mr. Sticks’s laugh crackles through the
speaker. “I would have been very disappointed
if you hadn’t come. And for a champion player
like you, the tournament fee is waived.”
“What kind of sick joke is this?” Eddie yells.
“It’s no joke. It’s just what I said,” says Mr.
Sticks. “A game. If you lose, you die. It’s simple.
Now, I want both of you to shake hands and
walk through the Start door.”
To your right is a bright red door that you
somehow missed seeing earlier. A sign on it
says Start in thick white letters.
You really don’t want to do this, but you
don’t have a choice. Warily you stick out your
hand to Eddie. “Well, good luck,” you say.
“Yeah. Good luck,” Eddie says, sticking out
his greasy hand. He looks very scared. Just as
you’re about to shake his hand, he whips it up
and snatches the cap off your head. “Get ready
to lose!” he yells, racing to the door.

Turn to page 36.

36
You try to catch him, but he’s too fast. You
run through the Start door. A long, narrow
hallway lies ahead of you. Eddie and your cap
are nowhere in sight. You wonder where he is.
A draft of wind blows through the hallway.
PowJ Something really hard punches you in
the back, shooting you down the hall.
“Whoaaaa!” you scream in terror. You curl
your body up in a ball to avoid hitting the wall.
You can’t believe how fast you’re moving.
Then, just as fast, you find yourself in a gi¬
gantic arcade. Everywhere you look, lights are
flashing, and sirens are buzzing. It’s so loud it
makes you want to cover your ears. You can’t
quite put your finger on it, but something
about the arcade looks really familiar.

Turn to page 47.

 37
You had to write to the head of the Life-or-
Death arcade manufacturing company to get
that hat, and you are not about to give it up so
easily.
“I’m going to get my cap back,” you say “Are
you guys coming or not?”
Sara and Joey look at each other nervously
“Well ... I really shouldn’t. I’m going to
have to get going soon anyway,” Sara tells you.
“My parents will be sending out the National
Guard if I’m not home soon.”
“And I’ve been waiting to play Rat Race all
afternoon,” says Joey, pointing to his favorite
game. A kid is just getting up from the seat.
“I’m not going to leave now just to get your
dumb old cap.”
“My cap is not dumb,” you say angrily.
“What’s dumb is that game.”
“Whatever. Good luck,” says Joey, running
over to Rat Race.
Sara gives you a worried look. “Are you sure
you want to go alone?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I’ll just get my cap and get out
of there before Sticks ever returns.”
“Okay,” says Sara. “But be careful.”

Turn to page 69.

38
“I did it!” Eddie screams as the flashing
point scorer goes over the top score, beating
NLA. “I did it!” Blurgon’s whole body has taken
on an eerie glow, and sounds you’ve never
heard before—-almost like sirens—peal out
from the machine.
You feel sick to your stomach because Eddie
has played so well. Now you’ll never hear the
end of it.
“Dumb luck,” you say, shaking your head.
You look up at the score box one more time.
To your surprise, the score has disappeared.
Small boxes have opened up somehow on the
backboard. Hundreds of tiny grayish-blue
worms are spilling out of the machine—and
all over Eddie!

Turn to page 66.

 39
There is a brief moment of silence. “Thanks
for sticking up for me,” you say finally
“That Eddie is such a loser,” Sara says.
“Yeah,” says Joey. “What a moron.”
You shrug. “Who cares about Eddie? I just
want my hat!” You kick the bottom of the
game next to Worm Wars. “Can you believe
that Lefty? He’s the moron! How can he do this
to me? There’s only two days left!”
This coming Saturday is the day you’ve been
preparing for for weeks—it’s the National
Worm Wars Tournament. You and forty-nine
other players from around the country have
been selected to compete. Lucky for you, the
tournament is being held right here in Bristol
Pines. “I’m going to get that hat back—even if
I have to go to Mr. Sticks myself!” you say.
“No hat is worth risking a run-in with Mr.
Sticks,” Joey says.

Turn to page 68.

40
The Risk Your Life Arcade is next to the Twin
Cinemas, just off the mall’s food court. The ar¬
cade used to be called the Playtime Arcade.
That was until Mr. Sticks moved to town and
bought it and changed the name. It sounded
weird to you at first. But you’re used to it now.
Even though you don’t like Mr. Sticks, you love
his games. He’s replaced a lot of the old, out¬
dated stuff with cool, new, exciting games—
games that no other arcade in town has.

Turn to page 13.

 41
Lefty shakes his head. “No can do. Mr. Sticks
wants to examine it. When he’s through, you’ll
get it back.” He reaches into his right pocket.
“Let me give you a few tokens to make it up to
you. On the house.” Lefty winks at Sara and
Joey. “And I’m sure you two won’t tell if I reset
the game to where the Flipstar was before he
lost his cap.”
Sara’s and Joey’s mouths fall open in shock.
You don’t know what to say. Why is Lefty
being so nice to you? Can you trust him? Nor¬
mally you would say no. But you have run out
of tokens . . . and you really need to practice.

If you accept Lefty's offer of tokens,

turn to page 42.

If you refuse the tokens,

turn to page 63.
42
“Uh . . . thanks, I guess,” you say, reaching
for the tokens. You’re careful not to let Lefty’s
hand touch yours. The tokens fall into your
palm. They feel sleek and cool.
“Enjoy,” says Lefty. He smiles and merges
into the crowd of kids surging through the ar¬
cade.
“Hey, look at these,” you say, examining the
tokens. The regular Risk Your Life tokens are
gold. The ones Lefty has given you are shiny
purple. They have a little worm imprinted on
them.
“Cool!” says Joey. “Personalized Worm Wars
tokensl ”
“I wonder if they have them for Queen Be-
header,” Sara says. Queen Beheader is her fa¬
vorite game.
“Why don’t you go ask Lefty?” you ask.
“I don’t think so,” says Sara, giving a shiver.
“He’s too weird. I’ve got one token left I can
use.” She heads across the room toward
Queen Beheader.

Turn to page 54.

 43
A worm like Eddie deserves to be attacked
by a worm, you think. Why should you help
him out?
Bing bing! Diloop! Feeeeeloop! Peeroooop! An¬
other ball has been released. You can hear it
rattling through the machine—it sounds really
fast. With a start, you realize it’s the super
speed ball.
The ball is getting closer and closer. It
sounds as if it’s right above you. It is! Like
lightning, the ball comes hurtling over the
chute—and right over your hands.
“Ahhh!” you scream, letting go of the chute.
The pain is intense. As you fall, you catch a
brief glimpse of Eddie holding on to the worm.
Nothing’s happened to him yet.
“So long, loser!” he yells.
You plummet toward the waiting flippers.

The End
44
He laughs. “Glad you stopped when you did,
huh?” he asks.
You try to answer him, but nothing comes
out. Your mouth moving wordlessly, you push
past him and break into a run. Within seconds
you’re standing in the food court of the Bristol
Pines Mall.
Sara and Joey will never believe it, but it’s
true—you will never, ever play Worm Wars
again.

The End
 45
Turning to face the porch, you cross to a
narrow window. It’s open, and a slight breeze
is blowing the lace curtains outward. You
stoop down and peek in. For an instant you
think you see a flicker. But you decide it’s just
your head playing tricks on you. There, on a
small wooden end table, sits your cap. Light¬
ning bolts glimmer in the near-darkness.
“Okay,” you say, trying to reassure yourself.
“I’ll just crawl through the window, go over to
the table, grab my cap, and leave.” Making sure
no one sees you, you crawl through the open
window and step into what seems to be the
living room. Even though you’re sure you’re
alone, you try not to make any noise. Looking
around, you see that the house has very high
ceilings. It smells musty inside, like something
very old and damp. Maybe that’s why Sticks
left the window open—to air it out.

Turn to page 18.

46
You stifle the impulse to scream. No sense in
drawing attention to yourself. But you can’t
control the wild beating of your heart. It
sounds so loud you can’t believe no one else
hears it. Suddenly you think you hear a noise
from the living room. Has Mr. Sticks returned
already? you wonder, your stomach tying itself
into knots. And if he has, does he know you’re
here? It’s time for you to get out. . . fast!

If you want to go back the way you came in,

turn to page 57.

If you decide to look for another exit,

turn to page 65.
 47
To your surprise, you discover that the floor
of the arcade is tilted. Now that the force of
whatever it was that hit you has lessened, you
grab on to a large pole to steady yourself—and
to keep from slipping down the arcade floor.
To your surprise, you see your cap! It’s dan¬
gling from a nearby silver pole. Quickly you
grab the cap and stick it firmly on your head.
“Human worm. Fifty thousand points,”
booms a voice. You realize the voice belongs to
Blurgon! Slowly it hits you.
You aren’t in an arcade. You’re in a life-size
version of Worm Wars.

Turn to page 32.

48
“I wanted to make sure you didn’t pull any
funny stuff about getting the cap back,” Eddie
mutters. “So when you left the arcade, I fol¬
lowed you here. And then I got kind of curious.
I snooped around and found a room full of
games. It’s unreal.”
“So did I!” you say.
“Well, there must be more than one game
room then, because I never saw you,” Eddie
says. “Thank goodness.”
“So how’d you know where I was?” you ask.
“Easy,” Eddie says. Even though you can’t
see him, you can tell he’s smirking. “I heard
the goofy little noise the Doom 800 makes
every time you cut someone off. I knew the
only Chickenhead who’d ever play that lame
game was you.”
“You can make fun of me all you want,” you
say. “But I just want to get out of here.”
“Yeah, me too,” says Eddie. For once the two
of you agree on something. You are heading
for the door of the game room together when
the voice of Mr. Sticks thunders across the
room.

Turn to page 59.

 49
“Oh, come on,” Sara says. “It’ll be fun.”
You would like to practice your game. But
Lefty has made you feel kind of uneasy. Maybe
you should go home. You know your mom is
fixing your favorite food—spaghetti—for din-
ner.

If you decide you’d better go home,

turn to page 23.

If you decide to go to Sara’s house and practice,

turn to page 50.
50
“Okay,” you tell Sara. “I’ll come.”
“All right!” she says. “Race you!”
You’re only a few blocks away from her
house. In a flash you and Sara speed down the
sidewalk. You beat her—but only by a few sec¬
onds.
“Hi, Mom,” pants Sara, barreling through
the front door.
“Hi there,” says Mrs. Lewis. “A little late,
aren’t you?”
You and Sara look at each other. “Yes,” says
Sara. “But we were just getting ready for the
big Worm Wars tournament.” She points to
you. “We have the future champion here in
our midst!”
After calling your parents to make sure it’s
okay, you eat dinner with Sara’s family. Her
mom’s chicken casserole is not as good as
spaghetti, but it’s not that bad. After you help
with the dishes, you and Sara head down to
the family room.

Turn to page 77.

 51
Before he can pull the plunger, you shove
Eddie out of the way. “No one is going to push
me around!” you yell. “Now back off!”
To your surprise, Eddie listens to you. A
funny look spreads across his face, but it’s
gone within a second. He moves behind you to
watch.
Quickly you pull and release the plunger.
“Yes!” you shout. “I’m going to knock you off
the top, NLA!” Flip! Flip! Your fingers tap
lightly on the flippers. “Come on, come on,”
you say, coaxing the ball through the Worm
Wars maze. The machine is lighting up like
crazy—the Lair of the Worm, the Worm Tun¬
nel, all your favorite parts.
Then you’ve done it! You’ve beaten NLA!
“The number-one scorer is now FSR/’ intones
Blurgon. The exhilaration you feel is incredi¬
ble. You wish your friends were here to see
this.
“Total Worm Wars domination!” you shout,
slapping the sides of the game with your
hands.

Turn to page 30.

77467
Pufefe««.
52
The ball drop opens directly above Mr.
Sticks’s living room. With a hard thud, you
land on the floor.
You’re just about to run out the front door
when Mr. Sticks walks into the room. “Please
turn in your cap,” he says. You don’t argue—
you give it to him. From his pocket he pulls
out a bright green cap. worm wars champion, it
says in bright pink, yellow, and blue embroi¬
dery. The letters are shaped like worms.
“You earned it,” says Mr. Sticks, handing it to
you.
“But. . . but. . . what about Eddie?” you ask.
“He’s making Blurgon very happy right
now,” Mr. Sticks tells you. “Very, very happy.”

The End
1
54
You drop one of the tokens into the coin
slot. The game lights up. “Well, it works,” you
say. Carefully you pull back on the lever, send¬
ing your first ball careening forward. Bing
bingJ Diloop! The ball smashes from one target
to the next. The points begin to rack up on the
flashing scoreboard. Flip! Flip! Expertly you
press on the left, then the right flipper.
Your heart beats faster as you continue to
pile up points. This ball has lasted you a long
time!
“You’re playing fantastic!” shouts Joey.

Turn to page 83.

 55
“Who are you?” you ask, frightened.
A laugh rings out. “I am the worm.” You
struggle to turn around and look up into the
yellowed, wrinkled face of Mr. Sticks.
Using all your energy, you try to fight your
way out of the puddle, but all you manage to
do is slip and slide. The puddle is really oily.
“Mr. Sticks!” you gasp. He picks up an earth¬
worm and begins twirling it between his fin¬
gers. “Why do you call yourself the worm?”
you scream.

Turn to page 14.

56
“When would you like to start? Say next
week?” he asks you. “After the Worm Wars
tournament? You’ll need to get your parents’
permission, of course.”
“What?” you say. “What do you mean, my
parents’ permission?” You are very confused.
“You mean you’re not going to torture me to¬
day?”

Turn to page 80.

 57
Sticking with what you know, you decide to
go back the way you came.
You’re groping your way through the dark¬
ened game room when you bump into some¬
one. You break out into a sweat. “Who’s
there?” you finally ask.
“Shhh!” says the person. “It’s me. Eddie.”
“Eddie Wrigley?” you squeak.
“No, Eddie Munster. Of course Eddie
Wrigley! Now shut up!” he says, hitting you in
the face with something. You cringe, but the
object is soft and smells like shampoo. Your
cap!
“What are you doing here?” you whisper,
grabbing the cap from him. You can’t believe
you’re stuck in an old spooky house with the
biggest bully in Bristol Pines!

Turn to page 48.

58
“I guess I’ll stay and play,” you say, sighing.
You put your last token into the machine. But
your heart really isn’t in it. The whole scene
with Lefty and Eddie has left you feeling un¬
easy about the tournament. And you feel prac¬
tically naked without your hat.
The result is you lose in a matter of minutes.
"You’re a loser; FSRJ” gurgles Blurgon. His huge
worm body begins to glow a deep green.
You’ve never seen him turn that color—usu¬
ally he turns red or orange.
“Wow. Even Blurgon is down on you,” says
Joey.
“Thanks,” you say. “That makes me feel
much better.”
“Don’t let it get to you,” says Sara.
“Yeah, don’t let it get to you,” says a nasal
voice. It’s Lefty! “Sorry about the cap,” he says,
smiling. “Just doin’ my job.”
“Well, can you get it back for me, please?”
you ask, surprised at Lefty’s change of attitude.

Turn to page 41.

 59
“Welcome!” he says. You realize he isn’t ac¬
tually in the room—his voice is coming
through some kind of speaker, like the ones at
the arcade. “Welcome to my house.”
His voice sends shivers up and down your
spine. “But it’s not a home,” he adds. “You
thought the Worm Wars tournament was in
the arcade!” He gives a sinister laugh. “But you
both thought wrong. The real tournament is
right here, right now!”
With a sickening feeling in your stomach,
you realize Mr. Sticks has lured you to his
house with your cap. If only you hadn’t come
to get it! Why didn’t you listen to Sara and
Joey?

Turn to page 9.
60
“Hey! What’s going on?” you say.
From out of nowhere Lefty appears. He hur¬
ries over to you.
“My hand! I can’t move it!” you tell him.
Lefty smiles. “Don’t worry. The same thing
happened to me when / was the all-time
scorer.” Your eyes widen.
“You’re NLA? But I thought your last name
was Rogers,” you say.
“I use a code name just like you. NLA—No
Left Arm. Get it? Anyway, about your arm.
Don’t worry. It’s easy to fix.” Lefty gives a long,
hard look at your left arm. Then he takes his
right arm and rubs the stump where his left
arm used to be.
“Now there’ll be two of us,” he says. Eddie
laughs.

The End
 61
Lefty leans on the machine with his right
hand and eyes you. “I knew you couldn’t be
that good a Worm Wars player. Eddie here told
me and Mr. Sticks to keep an eye on you. He’s
right. You are a cheater. And now we’ve got
you.” He runs his tongue across his chapped
lips.
“Yeah, you little worm,” Eddie says. Eddie is
about six inches taller than you, and about fif¬
teen pounds heavier. He’s always been a bully.
In school you try to avoid him.
You don’t even glance at Eddie. “Look,” you
tell Lefty, “I am not a cheater. I know tech¬
niques. I know what to go for,” you add hotly.
“And I’m going to prove it when I win the
Worm Wars tournament.” You take a deep
breath. “So give me my hat. Now!”
Lefty laughs. “A real champion shouldn’t
need a lucky hat,” he says, fingering the cap’s
brim. “I’ll give you your hat on Saturday. After
the tournament.” Before you can protest, he
hurries off to the rear of the arcade.

Turn to page 31.

62
“Hellllllp!” he screams, banging into a neon
yellow sensor on the side of the machine. "One
hundred thousand pointsI” gurgles Blurgon.
The sensor glows and sends off a shock that
propels Eddie to the other side of the machine.
You watch as he slides down toward the bot¬
tom. Eddie manages to grab on to a big orange
worm that’s stuck to the ground. He’s only
inches from the right flipper.
“Okay, now what do we do?” whispers Ed¬
die, looking at you. He’s holding on to the
worm for dear life. Lights and buzzers flash
and sound around him.
You stare at him. You realize Eddie isn’t as
great a player as you. If he were, he would
know that touching that worm is forbidden!
It’s one of Blurgon’s rules.
You’re not sure what to do. Should you tell
Eddie to let go—and try to help him up to you?
Or should you be quiet? After all, Mr. Sticks did
say this game was life-or-death. And you want
the life part. But how long can you hang from
the chute?

If you decide to warn Eddie, turn to page 10.

If you don’t say anything, turn to page 43.

 63
“Thanks, but no thanks,” you say, looking at
the tokens. Even though it sounds appealing, a
little voice in your head is telling you not to ac¬
cept Lefty’s offer. “I think I’ve had enough for
today. C’mon,” you say to Joey and Sara. “Let’s
go.”
The three of you start to walk out of the ar¬
cade, but Lefty blocks your way.
“You can’t just walk away like that,” he says.
“It’s not that easy.”
“Huh?” you say, trying to sidestep him. In¬
stead, he moves so that you’re forced to turn
around and face the Worm Wars game.
Lefty points to your high score. “It’s too
late,” he whispers.
“Yeah, big deal. I can get another high score
anytime I want,” you say, pushing past him.
Lefty is really giving you the creeps today, and
for once all you want to do is leave this place.

Turn to page 11.

64
“I’ll say,” Sara agrees. “With a guy like him
in the arcade, kids are going to stop hanging
out there.”
“I don’t know about that,” you say. “The
games there are way cooler than at any other
arcade.”
Sara kicks a branch lying across the side¬
walk. “I guess,” she says. “But I think I’m going
to stop going there for a while. My parents
keep bugging me that I never play the Sega
Genesis they got me for Christmas. And I need
to keep up with my homework.”
You nod. With all the tournament hoopla
going on, you’ve kind of ignored your own
homework.
Soon you come to Maple Grove Road, Joey’s
turnoff.
“Bye, guys,” he says, giving both you and
Sara high fives. “No prison tomorrow!” There
is an in-service day tomorrow, so school is
canceled. Joey hates school.

Turn to page 16.

 65
There’s probably a shortcut out, you think.
Hurriedly you exit by the rear door of the
game room and find yourself in another game
room. More games line the wall. Some you’re
familiar with, some you’re not. But there’s no
time to play them now.
You race through the game room . . . but it
only leads to another. In a panic, you run to
the next room, and the next, but all you find
are games.
“There must be some way to get out of this
place!” you cry. You hurry through the next
doorway and find yourself in a room about the
size of a large closet. In the center of the room
are a desk and chair. On top of the desk is a
computer. Type in your name flashes on the
screen.
You hesitate for a moment, then type in
your name.
“Welcome to the Risk Your Life Home Ar¬
cade,” says a computerized voice. “You will be
playing at the ultimate risk level. At this level
the only prize offered is your life. Good luck.”

Turn to page 17.

66
“Ohhhh!” you gasp, stumbling backward.
The worms are really long—about ten inches
each—and there are thousands of them. In
seconds they’ve wrapped around Eddie’s
arms, pulling him tighter and tighter against
the machine.
“Noool” screeches Eddie. The slimy worms
are now crawling on his chest, around his
waist—they’ve even wrapped around his ears.
It’s totally disgusting.
Half fascinated, half repelled, you stare in
shock as the giant worm image of Blurgon dis¬
appears from the backboard of Worm Wars.
Another image, faint at first, begins to appear.
It’s Eddie’s face, screaming in terror. In his hair
is an entire nest of writhing, glowing worms.
His skin looks almost transparent—you can
see his bony skull underneath!
“Got to get out of here. Got to—” you gasp,
spinning around. Boom! You run smack into
Lefty.

Turn to page 44.

68
“It’s the Flipstar’s good-luck cap,” Sara re¬
minds him. “A champion needs all the luck
they can get. The tournament starts in two
days.”
You and your friends look toward the back
of the arcade. At first all you see are kids in
jeans and T-shirts milling around. Then you
see Lefty talking with Mr. Sticks. The two men
look over at you.
Mr. Sticks is Risk Your Life’s creepy owner.
He is the thinnest, ugliest man you have ever
seen. His face is like a thin wedge of wrinkled
lemon pie. His skin is yellowed with age. A cir¬
cle of black hair, stiff as a brush, shoots
straight up from his head like a dark halo. It
frames his bald spot at the top. But most un¬
usual of all are his ears—they’re long and
pointed on top. They make him look like a
goat.
Mr. Sticks wears a lot of weird jewelry. Rings
with strange symbols—triangles, circles, lazy
eights—adorn every finger of each liver-
spotted hand. You think he looks like a skele¬
ton draped with skin.

Turn to page 40.

 69
You nod. After waiting ten minutes to make
sure Mr. Sticks has had time to go home, you
leave the arcade and head for his house. It’s
dark out now, and you’re glad the house is not
far from the arcade. When you get there, you
notice it is the only house on the Village Green
that is totally dark. A full moon hangs in the
night sky, lighting it up. The house is one of
the oldest in Bristol Pines. And, you think, one
of the spookiest.
Good. The fact that there are no lights on
must mean Mr. Sticks isn’t home.
You feel the rotting wood of the first step
give a little as you tiptoe up the stairs to the
front porch. This place could use some major
renovations, you think. A noise startles you,
and you turn around. But nothing is there—all
you see are the other large homes that line the
Village Green. In the distance you can make
out the roof of the mall.

Turn to page 45.

70
The sound of footsteps is much closer. In
fact, the footsteps are on both sides of you
now.
Now you remember how you get killed.
Rats. Hundreds of them. Fat, furry, dirty rats
surround you. Their beady red eyes stare at
one thing. Your cheese bag.
You’re more than willing to feed them.
Will cheese be enough?

The End
72
“Look, I don’t know what’s gotten into you
all, but you are worming me out!” you yell.
“The joke’s over.”
“Joke?” Sara says.
“What joke?” asks Mr. Lewis.
“Is there something wrong with my
worms?” asks Abby.
Mrs. Lewis holds up the bowl of cereal. “I’m
going to call your mother if you don’t finish
this,” she warns.
The four of them begin walking toward you.
“Worm Wars! Worm Wars! Worm Wars!” they
chant. “Eat! Eat! Eat!”
You take the bowl. The worms are squirm¬
ing in the milk. The thought of putting even
one worm into, your mouth makes you sick to
your stomach, but. . .
“It’s the breakfast of the brave,” says Sara.
She plucks one of the worms out of the cereal
and pops it into her mouth. “Yummy! Now it’s
your turn.”
You can’t believe what’s happening.

Turn to page 19.

74
You decide the best thing to do is to get your
hat and run. Why take chances? You wonder
what could happen to you for entering Mr.
Sticks’s house without permission. Well, you
tell yourself, at least you didn’t break in. The
window was open, after all. And it is your hat.
It’s not as if you’re stealing or anything.
Leaning forward, you grab the hat. Ahhh,
you think, putting it back on your head. It feels
great.
And then something grabs you.
“I thought I would find you here,” says a
nasal, whiny voice.
It’s Mr. Sticks! You turn around, feeling your
stomach fall to your knees.
“Breaking into my house, destroying prop¬
erty—that’s all very, very serious,” he tells you.
“I didn’t break in,” you say. “And I didn’t
touch anything! The window was open. I ... I
just wanted to get my hat back. That’s all,” you
tell him nervously.
He puts his face very close to yours—his
nose almost touches your own. The creepy ar¬
cade owner looks even uglier up close. He
doesn’t say a word. He just looks at you.

Turn to page 21.

76
“Wow!” you say, walking over. “Here’s Apple
Pie Man. And the Doom 800! My favorite
games!” Well, former favorites, you think, cor¬
recting yourself. Back in the old days of the
Playtime Arcade, you loved playing Apple Pie
Man and especially the Doom 800—where
you play a character in a death-defying car
chase. But Mr. Sticks got rid of those games
when he opened Risk Your Life.
Or so you thought.

Turn to page 81.

 77
You play a few games of pinball—the
Frankenstein always makes you feel happy “I
feel really lucky,” you say pulling back the
plunger for the third time. “I just hope I can
pull it off on Saturday”
“Well, you’re the best Worm Wars player in
Bristol Pines,” Sara reminds you. “Everyone is
rooting for you.”
“Everyone but Mr. Sticks and Lefty,” you say
glumly. “I wish they’d give me my hat back.”
Sara flops down on the couch. “So what?
You’ll get a new hat after you win the contest.
It’ll say worm wars champion. That’s even better
than the hat they took.”
“You’re right,” you say. “But I still don’t like
it.”
“Stop thinking about them!” Sara says.
“You’ve got to start thinking positively about
the tournament. Worm Wars should be your
life!”
You and Sara play for a little longer and then
do some homework. Before you know it, it’s
time for bed.

Turn to page 19.

78
“I guess Sara wants me to get in the spirit,”
you say to yourself. You pop one of the worms
into your mouth. It’s a lime one. Then you get
dressed and head downstairs for breakfast.
“Hi, Mrs. Lewis,” you say, sliding into a chair.
“Hey, Sara—you really went to town last night
in my room.”
Sara is pouring herself a glass of orange
juice. She turns around. Hanging from her ears
are long Gummi Worm earrings. “What are
you talking about?” she asks, her face blank. “I
was never in your room last night.”
“Sure, you know,” you say, laughing. “The
Gummi Worms, the poster.”
“Gummi Worms? Poster?” Sara repeats. She
doesn’t laugh. “Beats me. Maybe you dreamed
it.”
“No . . . I—” Your words are interrupted
by heavy footsteps.

Turn to page 20.

 79
Gulping, you take a spoonful of cereal and
bring it to your lips. Two big, fat worms rear
their heads. You gulp again and close your
eyes.
Before you chicken out, you put the high-
protein spoonful in your mouth. You chew.
Your taste buds tingle. Forget bananas—your
cereal has never tasted so good. And you know
why: It’s the worms!
Hungrily you finish the entire bowl. Then
you look up. Sara, Abby, and Mr. and Mrs.
Lewis are staring at you with their mouths
wide open.
“I—I didn’t mean for you to really eat that,”
says Sara. “I didn’t eat a real worm. I planted
one of these in your bowl.” She pulls off one
of her Gummi Worm earrings.
“We just wanted to help you get in the worm
spirit,” says Mrs. Lewis. “I’m really sorry. It was
a bad joke.”
You point to your cereal bowl and smile.
“I’m in the spirit all right—in the spirit for a
second bowl, with extra worms, please.”

The End
80
Now Mr. Sticks is the one who looks con¬
fused. “Torture you? No, no, no! Ever since I
moved to Bristol Pines, I’ve been looking for
the right kid to test out my games. In addition
to owning the arcade, I work on game devel¬
opment for the Life-or-Death game company.
You know, the company that makes Worm
Wars. And I need someone to play some of the
games I’ve come up with. To get all the kinks
out of them. Someone who likes to take risks.
And by coming here to get your hat, you’ve
proved that you’re that kind of person.” He
smiles at you. “Are you interested?”
The offer comes as a complete surprise. “I’ll
think it over,” you say.
“Free Worm Wars tokens for life,” Mr. Sticks
says.
“Well, then—you’ve got a deal!” you say.
“But my parents have to okay it first,” you add.
“Great,” says Mr. Sticks. “Now I’ve finally
found my two testers.”
“Two testers?” you ask. “Who else is doing
it?”
“That nice boy from the arcade. Eddie. I’m
sure you’ll like him.”

The End
 81

Within minutes you’re playing the Doom

800. It’s better than it ever was—the colors are
really vivid. And the machine doesn’t accept
money—you can play as much as you like for
free!
“Haven’t lost the old touch,” you say
proudly, blowing on your fingertips. Although
it feels like mere minutes, when you check
your watch you find out you’ve been playing
for more than an hour.
It might be a good idea to head home. Your
parents will wonder where you are. And Mr.
Sticks will probably return any second now.
No telling what he might do if he found you
messing around with his video games.
You give the Doom 800 a loving tap good¬
bye.
Then the lights go out.

Turn to page 46.

82
There is silence for a few minutes. “We al¬
ready have a player for Worm Wars. Mr. Eddie
Wrigley. You have been selected as the player
for Rat Race. No exceptions.”
Small beads of sweat are starting to form on
your forehead. Rat Race is Joey’s game. He
loves it, and he’s always asking you to play. But
you’ve never bothered to—you’re always too
busy with Worm Wars. Desperately you try to
remember how the game is played. More im¬
portantly, how are players killed?

Turn to page 34.

 83
“What’s so hard about pinball?” asks a kid
waiting to play Monster Squasher at the ma¬
chine next to you. “All you do is hit that little
ball around. It’s just luck if you get a good
score.”
“Luck?” says Joey, rolling his eyes. “Skill is
more like it. Have you ever seen a person play
like this?” He points to you.
You give a quick smile but stay focused on
the game. Even without your lucky cap, you’re
doing great! After playing for more than ten
minutes with your first ball, you’re on to your
second. But already your score is higher than
it has ever been.
Before you know it, an hour has gone by. At
first kids were gathering around, encouraging
you. But now they have started to leave—it’s
getting close to dinnertime.
“Okay, okay. Enough already,” Joey says im¬
patiently. He pulls your arm. “You’re gonna
break the machine if you don’t stop soon.”
“Back off!” you say, sounding angrier than
you mean to. Without taking your eyes off the
machine, you say, “My best score can get even
better. How can I quit now?”

Turn to page 22.

84
“Don’t go doing something stupid,” says
Joey. “You’re a great player. Forget the hat and
stay here with us. You could use the practice
before the tournament.”

If you decide to go to Mr. Sticks ’s house,

turn to page 37.

If you decide to stay and brush up on your skills,

turn to page 58.
 Despite what he says, you continue to strug¬
gle in the slippery puddle. You can’t figure out
why you can’t get up. Then, to your horror,
you realize that the puddle isn’t oily—it’s filled
with fat purple earthworms. They feel like
Jell-O. And they stink like rotting meat. The
worms squish and squirm under your cold,
frightened body.
With every squish you hear a soft moan.
“We’ll never let you go. We’ll never let you go.
We’ll never let you go.”
They mean it.

The End
 J 77467
McMurtry, Ken. I2.y5
Risk Your Life Arcade.

MANVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY

MANVILLE, NEW JERSEY
PHONE: 722-9722

DEMCO
ManviHe Public Library
Mcmville, New Jersey /
 HE DOESN’T PLAY BY THE RULES_

Video games are your thing. In fact, you're one of

the highest scorers at the Risk Your Life Arcade.
But Mr. Sticks, the arcade's mean-spirited new
owner, has come between you and Worm Wars,
your favorite game. The big creep took your good-
luck baseball cap — and he won't give it back.
Unless you play his favorite game. Too bad the loser
has to die ... .
What happens next in this bone-chilling story? It all
depends on the choices you make. How will your
nightmare end? Only you can find out! And the best
part is that you can keep reading and rereading,
getting new chills and thrills — until not one but all
of your worst nightmares have come true!

Give yourself goosebumps . . . choose your own

GARETH STEVENS