Creepy Crawly Chaos Read online

  About the Book

  You are on a school excursion at the Entomology and Arachnology Research Centre when things go very wrong. It starts with a gigantic new breed of spider. Soon, there are insects everywhere. Whether it’s moths swarming all over you or an army of vengeful praying mantises, the creatures are on the attack!

  Will you exterminate the bugs, or will you find yourself in the middle of creepy crawly chaos?

  You Choose …

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Dedication

  You Choose 11: Creepy Crawly Chaos

  Collect them all

  Copyright Notice

  For Darcy Thyer, who lives in North Queensland, home of the bird-eating spider! Darcy, you could have your own creepy crawly adventure right at home. Eeek! – G. I.

  You are petrified with fear! Your eyes are wide with panic and your hands are shaking.

  You watch the massive spider as it twitches and quivers before you. It’s about the size of a cat. It’s black and hairy. It has fangs dripping with venom.

  And it’s about to jump!

  All your classmates are watching.

  What will you do?

  If you want to stand your ground and show that you’re not afraid, go here.

  To back away, go here.

  The spider launches itself into the air … right at you.

  You inhale sharply, your heart pounding. But you manage to keep yourself still. You don’t even flinch.

  The other kids gasp. A couple of them jump back.

  The spider hits the glass wall that separates you from it. It presses itself up against the pane, venom pumping through its system, streaming from its fangs and sliding down the glass.

  You put your hand to the pane, right where the spider is clinging on. Somehow, you manage to keep your palm steady.

  There’s a murmur from the other kids. They’re impressed. So is the tour guide.

  ‘Wow,’ she says, coming to stand next to you. She’s dressed in a uniform of blue shorts and shirt, with an Entomology and Arachnology Research Centre logo on the pocket. She has a black clipboard in one hand and a pencil tucked behind her ear. ‘Most people take a step back at least. This newly discovered species of spider is the deadliest in the world.’

  You swallow hard, but keep your cool exterior.

  The guide looks at her clipboard, then up at you from under her fringe of blonde hair. She smiles slyly. ‘Perhaps you’re ready for the ultimate test of courage.’

  Your school group crowds around in anticipation. The guide puts down her clipboard and squeezes between the students.

  ‘How would you like to actually hold …’ She pauses, glancing around at the eager faces before turning back to you. ‘A bird-eating spider?’

  All the kids stare at you.

  A bird-eating spider? Your throat goes instantly dry.

  If you agree to hold the spider, go here.

  If you refuse, go here.

  The spider launches itself into the air! You step back, lose your footing, trip over your own feet and land hard on your backside.

  The spider hits the glass wall that separates you from it. It presses itself up against the pane, venom pumping through its system, streaming from its fangs and sliding down the glass.

  You’re breathing hard, your heart thumping overtime. But your fear turns to embarrassment as you realise that the other kids are laughing at you. You hear them saying:

  ‘What a wuss!’

  ‘Wimp!’

  ‘Such a baby.’

  ‘First-class scaredy-cat.’

  Even the tour guide is sniggering. ‘All right, we’ve had our fun at this poor kid’s expense,’ she says, extending a hand to help you up. She’s dressed in a uniform of blue shorts and shirt, with an Entomology and Arachnology Research Centre logo on the pocket. She has a black clipboard in one hand and a pencil tucked behind her ear. ‘I think we’ve had enough of spiders. Let’s move on to the insect area.’

  She heads off with the class group following behind her, still chuckling and making jokes about you and your reaction to the spider.

  You’re feeling humiliated. And you’re not sure if you want to continue with the tour.

  To ditch the group and explore on your own, go here.

  But you might get into trouble if you don’t stay with your class. To stick with the tour,

  go here.

  You hang back as the tour group goes on. You take one last look at the spider, hoping to regain some self-esteem by facing the creature that scared you so much. But it’s down the back of the enclosure now, mostly out of view behind some plants. You notice that there’s a smaller window into the enclosure at the far end of the right-hand wall.

  Stepping back, you see that there’s a STAFF ONLY door to the right of the enclosure. Perhaps you could go in there and take a quick look through that other window.

  To enter the STAFF ONLY door, go here.

  But maybe it would be better to just move on. Go here.

  You half-heartedly follow the tour group. They stop at the entrance to the insect area.

  ‘Okay,’ announces the guide, ‘we can start with the Deadly Insects display, or go see the Lepidoptera.’

  ‘Lepi-what-era?’ asks one of the kids.

  The guide smiles. ‘Lepidoptera refers to butterflies and moths.’ She directs her gaze at you. ‘Why don’t we let spider-kid decide. Lepidoptera or killer bugs? Which do you think will be less scary for you?’

  You can feel the heat rise to your face. You don’t like this guide. Why does she have to make you the centre of attention?

  But there’s no escape – you have to choose.

  To choose the Lepidoptera, go here.

  To choose the deadly insects, go here.

  All your classmates are watching you, expecting you to say yes. So what else can you do?

  You agree to a close encounter with a bird-eating spider.

  The guide snatches up her clipboard and chortles softly to herself as she leads you and the class to an empty room. She ducks out and then returns with a carry case about the size of a loaf of bread.

  ‘Okay,’ she says, ‘hold out your hand.’

  You reluctantly stretch out your arm so that your hand is as far away from the rest of you as possible. The guide holds the case up to your palm and opens the hatch.

  You peer into the darkness, hoping that nothing comes out.

  ‘She’s a bit shy,’ says the guide.

  As the guide gives the case a little shake, you can hear something moving around inside.

  And then a long, brown, hairy leg extends from the opening. A shiver runs up your arm as the leg touches your hand.

  A few of the other kids step back.

  Another leg emerges.

  And then another.

  You can see the head … and eight glistening eyes staring at you! Cold, black.

  The other kids have all stepped away now.

  Can this get any worse?

  Yes … it can!

  More legs emerge, bringing the rest of the body.

  The bulbous abdomen is huge, furry, grotesque.

  There are gasps and frightened whispers from everyone.

  The spider is standing on your hand.

  You are SCREAMING on the inside, but your mouth is clamped shut, teeth clenched tight.

  It tickles as the spider starts walking up your arm.

  A whimper escapes your lips.

  By the time the creature has reached the crook of your elbow, your panic has almost reached its limit.

  As the spider continues along your upper arm towards your face, you can bear it no longer.

  But how do
you deal with this?

  If you want to calmly ask the guide to remove the spider, go here.

  If you can’t wait and want to shake it off straight away, go here.

  You’ve had your fill of spiders. There’s no way you’re letting one crawl on you.

  You shake your head to decline the offer. The guide seems vaguely irritated. Your classmates are disappointed.

  ‘Well, what do you want to do?’ the guide asks huffily.

  You shrug your shoulders.

  ‘How about scorpions?’ she suggests.

  You nod, and the guide heads off, the group following. Noticing that she has left her clipboard behind, you scoop it up.

  The guide brings you to a circular room with glass panels looking in to various types of scorpions. A giant fibreglass scorpion with a silly cartoon grin across its face hangs from the ceiling.

  ‘Where’s my clipboard?’ the guide suddenly snaps, looking around. She spots you. ‘Oi, you’ve got my clipboard.’ She sounds angry. ‘Give it back, now!’

  Everyone is staring at you again. You’re annoyed with the guide and see this as an opportunity to have a bit of fun. So you draw your arm back in an exaggerated way, lift one foot off the ground and sling the clipboard towards her.

  Unfortunately, you lose your footing just as you release it. You stumble forward and fall flat on your face as the clipboard zooms out of control. Instead of heading for the guide, it flies up to the giant scorpion and slices through one of the supporting wires.

  The fibreglass figure swings back and forth on its remaining wire before that, too, snaps and sends the creature flying.

  You look up from where you have fallen to see the model arachnid about to land on you. You scream and cover your face, thinking you’re going to be flattened, but instead the scorpion claws embed into the floor on either side of you, pinning you down.

  You are still screaming when the rescue workers arrive to free you.

  You and your school are banned from ever returning to the Entomology and Arachnology Research Centre. And your parents are far from amused when they are sent the bill for damages.

  You enter the STAFF ONLY section.

  It’s a laboratory. There are workbenches covered in test tubes, vials, petri dishes and assorted bits of equipment. There’s a door at the far end marked RESTRICTED.

  You head to the window that looks into the spider enclosure. It has a latch and hinges. Maybe this is how the handlers pass in the food? You wonder what this horrid creature eats.

  There’s also a control panel set into the wall beside the window. The switches and dials don’t make much sense to you, but you do notice a red button with a lightning bolt on it. The symbol for electricity? You wonder if pressing that button will give the spider an electric shock. It might be your opportunity for revenge.

  You look through the window, and immediately the spider launches itself at you. Instinctively, you jump back as it hits the glass. Your heart is pounding and you feel the urge to test out that lightning-bolt button.

  Do you? Or would you prefer to explore?

  To press the button, go here.

  To check out the RESTRICTED area, go here.

  You slowly open the door marked RESTRICTED and enter.

  It’s another lab, although this one looks a little more high-tech. Benches against one wall are strewn with electronic equipment, while the opposite wall is embedded with computer screens showing technical specifications and diagrams. At the far end is a sliding metal door with a yellow and black radioactive symbol.

  In the centre of the room is a raised metal dais. Beside it is a touchscreen console. You approach the console. There’s a screensaver running with the words ‘DNA Manipulator’ bouncing around the black monitor.

  You can’t help yourself – you reach out a hand and touch.

  The screen springs to life, text and images scrolling across it. You recognise pictures of various insects, spiders and scorpions.

  BANG!

  The sound of a slamming door makes you whirl around. Footsteps are approaching.

  There’s someone in the outer laboratory. If whoever is coming sees the screen, they’ll know you are in here. But you don’t know how to shut it off. What should you do?

  To try switching off the screen, go here.

  To just hide, go here.

  You can’t help yourself. Seeing the spider pressed up against the glass, its fangs drip ping with venom, you reach out and stab at the lightning-bolt button.

  You were right! There’s a crackling sound of electricity and the spider arches with pain before falling from the glass.

  With a self-satisfied smirk, you look in through the window again. The spider is quivering on the ground, but its eight eyes appear to be staring straight at you. Again it launches itself, this time with greater ferocity. Its fangs are banging against the glass. This thing just doesn’t know when to quit.

  You reach out for the lightning-bolt button again, but …

  CRACK!

  The glass is splintering. You take a step back. This spider seems determined to get you.

  You turn and run.

  Racing out of the STAFF ONLY door, you smack straight into the guide. She is furious.

  ‘Can’t you read?’ she bellows at you. ‘That is off limits to everyone except staff!’

  You shrug.

  ‘That’s it,’ she declares. ‘You’re out of here.’

  She gets your teacher, Ms Finch, to escort you away. She too is furious with you and banishes you to the school bus.

  You settle down in the seat feeling sorry for yourself, ready for an hour or two of boredom while you wait. But as you glance out of the window, you see something scuttling across the ground towards the bus.

  It’s a huge spider!

  In fact, you’re pretty sure it’s the spider from the enclosure. When it gets close enough it launches itself at you, hitting the window. You see its fangs – still dripping with venom, still hoping to sink into your flesh.

  You back away, falling off the seat and onto the floor. You continue to watch. It can’t get through the window. Maybe it was the shock of electricity that helped it escape its enclosure. You can feel yourself calming down.

  You’re safe.

  After a while the spider jumps off. You breathe a sigh of relief as you get to your feet and look out the window.

  Your eyes widen with horror.

  The spider is on the ground, staring up at you. And behind it are hundreds and hundreds of smaller ones. Everything from tiny jumping spiders, to coin-sized daddy-long-legs to fist-sized huntsmen.

  The big spider launches itself at the window again, and the other spiders follow – leaping on, scuttling and crawling to the bus.

  While the huge spider is too large to squeeze itself in, the regular-sized spiders quickly find cracks and crevices, and gaps and spaces to crawl through. Pretty soon, the bus is filling with spiders.

  You race to the bus door, but Ms Finch has locked you in.

  You are trapped!

  You ask the guide to remove the spider.

  ‘Are you sure?’ she asks, deliberately delaying.

  You nod, trying to stay calm.

  The guide slowly holds out the case and scoops the spider in, just before it reaches your face.

  You take a deep breath, hold it and release it slowly. You survived! It was pretty scary, but you’re rather proud of yourself.

  ‘Time for some deadly insects,’ the guide announces. And then with a sly smile in your direction, she adds, ‘But I won’t let these guys crawl on you.’

  She leads your classmates out of the room and down the corridor.

  You’re getting sick of this guide and you’re not sure you want to go with the group.

  To sneak off on your own, go here.

  To stick with the group, go here.

  The panic overtakes you and you can’t hold back. You shake your arm vigorously and the spider is flung across the room. Your legs give way and you
slump to the floor.

  The spider lands right on Alex’s face. Alex is the tough-guy class bully, but now he’s screaming at the top of his voice. Thrashing his arms about, he runs around the room in hysterics.

  All the other kids head for the door. But it’s locked!

  The guide chases after Alex. ‘Careful!’ she yells. ‘That’s a very rare specimen! You don’t want to hurt her. I’ll get in big trouble if she’s injured.’

  Alex collapses into a corner of the room, a dribbling mess.

  Everyone else crowds at the opposite side, as far away from the scene as they can get.

  The guide reaches out for the spider … but it jumps.

  It bounces from her head onto a set of controls by the door. Its legs brush across the buttons and switches.

  You’re half-expecting the door to open. But it doesn’t. Instead, a little hatch slides up at the other end of the room. And through that hatch cascade dozens and dozens of other bird-eating spiders.

  You scream!

  Alex screams!

  All the kids scream!

  Even the guide screams!

  The spiders pour into the room. As the furry legs skitter across your face, you pass out from pure fear.

  You can’t just leave the screen on. You tap at it with your fingers. Random words are highlighted, then a photo of a housefly appears. You tap at it, hoping to get rid of the picture, but instead it’s overlaid with swirly DNA images.

  You tap the screen again and a whining sound fills the room. A ball of brilliant green light appears on the dais.

  The door behind you opens and you whirl around.