Creepy Crawly Chaos Read online

  Walking along the corridor is difficult, as the feet of your hazmat suit keep sticking to the web. But you persevere.

  You hear something.

  You stop and listen.

  It’s a muffled cry for help.

  You look around and see lumps of webbing on the walls and ceiling. You walk on, wondering what they are.

  ‘Help!’

  That call is not muffled. Up ahead, you find a young man trapped in a cocoon, his face only just protruding through the fibres. Those aren’t lumps of web you’ve been passing. They’re people – encased in webbing, stored as food.

  ‘Over here!’ calls the young man.

  Should you stop to help him, and all the other people? Or should you first go and deal with the creature that did this?

  To free the man, go here.

  To continue on with the hunt, go here.

  You decide to follow Brundle.

  You make your way into the mist-filled laboratory, just in time to see the metal door leading to the Metebelis Generator sliding open. Intense searing light streams from the doorway, silhouetting the scientist as she enters.

  You race to the doorway to see Brundle fighting her way through a mass of merging, mutated creatures – a chaotic, creepy crawly mess. Thousands of insects and arachnids have gathered around the generator, forming an organic shield as their bodies melt into each other, creating some kind of compound superbug. You can see spider legs and mantis antennae, beetle shells and butterfly wings, scorpion pincers and bee stingers all massed together into a seething, pulsating wall of YUCK!

  Brundle has her spray wand in one hand, pumping bug poison from her backpack, and her electric swatter in the other. She’s zapping and spraying a tunnel through the bug-mass into the room.

  You draw your own spray wand, hold up your swatter and follow. As Brundle moves forward, the bug-mass starts to close up behind her and you’ve got to zap and spray in order to keep it at bay.

  Up ahead the light intensifies as Brundle reaches the generator. It’s a cylindrical device about waist-high, and light is spilling from the top of it. Brundle gets to work, shutting it down.

  You step forward, your hazmat-covered feet squelching over bug bits, when suddenly you feel a pain in your leg.

  Looking down, you see a massive stinger has pierced your suit, tearing a gaping hole in the material. A slug-like creature with dozens of tiny feet detaches itself from the bug-mass, races along the stinger and through the rip in your suit.

  You panic as it starts crawling up your body. You dance around like a maniac, smacking your hand along your suit, trying to squish the invading creature. But the slimy thing is too quick. Within seconds it’s up on your face, oozing around to your ear. And then it’s gone, disappearing into your ear canal. Heading for your brain.

  New thoughts enter into your mind, controlling your body.

  Radiation. More radiation. More mutation.

  You try to fight these alien thoughts … but they are too strong. Despite your best efforts, you find yourself ripping the giant stinger out of the bug-mass and moving forward to the generator.

  ‘What are you doing?’ screams Brundle as you stab the point of the stinger into the Metebelis Generator, releasing all the remaining radiation in one massive surge.

  KABOOM!

  ZAP!

  Every living thing within a ten-kilometre radius is instantly mutated.

  Creepy Crawly Chaos is unleashed!

  You unlock the door. It creaks open, smoke billowing and obscuring your vision. Everything is silent. You call out.

  Suddenly a gigantic pincer looms from within the haze and clamps on to your arm. You struggle against it, but it is too strong and you are dragged into the room.

  You are astonished to see that the pincer is connected to the end of the scientist’s arm.

  ‘Starting … to … mutate …’ she gasps.

  You look her up and down. Her face is orangey-red. Two extra sets of arms have ripped through her lab coat. And she has a tail with an enormous stinger.

  OMG! She’s turning into a giant scorpion.

  ‘Your fault,’ she growls. ‘All … your … fault.’

  The last thing you see is her stinger heading straight at you!

  You leave the scientist locked up and run off.

  Out in the main part of the Centre, everything is in chaos. The alarm is still blaring and people are running around everywhere.

  You make it out of the building and into the school bus. Some of the other kids are already there, as well as your teacher, Ms Finch.

  KABOOM!

  Suddenly, the Centre is rocked by an explosion.

  To your utter horror, all manner of bizarre, mutated creatures come pouring out of the wreckage – giant spiders, flying armoured cockroaches, oversized ladybugs with pincers and stingers, and other things just too weird to describe.

  You and the other kids cower in the bus.

  A person-sized scorpion emerges from the debris. It heads straight for you. As it comes closer, you see that it has the scientist’s face.

  ‘Look what you’ve done!’ screeches the scientist-scorpion. ‘You have unleashed doom upon the world!’

  Behind her, more and more creatures surge from the building remains.

  Is this the end of the world?

  You interrupt the guide to tell her about your bite.

  ‘Seriously?’ she says, looking at you with disdain. ‘It’s just an ordinary mozzie bite. The mosquitoes here don’t have malaria. You are not going to die.’

  But what if one of the tsetse flies escaped … and bit you?

  The guide doesn’t even bother to give you an answer. She just laughs. Your class group joins in. They’re all pointing at you and sniggering.

  You get upset, now convinced more than ever that you’ve been bitten by something dangerous. You grab the guide by the arm and demand to see a doctor.

  ‘Oh, would you just relax,’ she says. ‘No need to get hysterical.’ And she’s laughing at you again.

  Since she won’t help you, you decide to get someone who will. You stand in the middle of the room and start yelling for help. The guide tries to calm you down. She apologises. But all you can think of is the poison that might be running through your system … killing you. You continue to shout.

  Pretty soon, other Centre staff come running. You are bundled off to the first-aid office and then to the local hospital. You are put through all sorts of tests … and they come back negative. You are perfectly fine. It was just an ordinary mosquito bite.

  You are utterly humiliated.

  But, hey, at least you’re still alive!

  You examine the bite again and take a deep breath. It’s probably just a mozzie bite. Best to ignore it. But that’s going to be hard with the guide going on and on about killer bugs.

  You decide to sneak off on your own.

  Go here.

  You can’t just leave this guy hanging. You stop to help.

  You put down the electrified swatter and jump up to grab the cocoon, pulling it from the ceiling. You fall to the ground, the guy in the cocoon on top of you. Some rescue – you are now stuck to the cocoon.

  You struggle with the webbing and slowly start to peel yourself from it. If only you had a knife.

  You freeze as you hear a screeching sound. What was that?

  You look down the web tunnel to see something approach – a massive, black, hairy shape. Eight legs, multiple eyes, fangs dripping with venom and a gaping mouth.

  It’s a GIANT SPIDER!

  You renew your struggles to get free of the web as the young man begins screaming. But you’re not quick enough.

  The spider pounces, pinning you down with one hairy leg as it points its spinneret at you. Strands of sticky web shoot out, and you are quickly encased.

  You can’t see. You can’t hear. You can barely breathe.

  And there’s nothing you can do but wait until the giant spider decides to have a snack.

&n
bsp; You really need to hunt down this mutant creature before you can free all the trapped people. So you continue along the web tunnel.

  Up ahead, it widens out into a room. Cautiously, you enter.

  The walls, ceiling and floor are covered in webbing. In the far corner is a crisscrossed lattice of silky strands. And in the centre is a massive, black, hairy shape with eight legs, multiple eyes, fangs dripping with venom and a gaping mouth.

  It’s a GIANT SPIDER!

  You swallow hard, trying to hold back your fear.

  The spider quivers in its web as if getting ready to strike. You need to get in there first. But do you charge at it with your electrified swatter or squirt it with your bug spray?

  To use the swatter, go here.

  To use the bug spray, go here.

  You head for the gift shop. As soon as you enter, you wonder if it was such a good idea to come here. It’s full of toy creepy crawlies!

  But, really, what did you expect from a gift shop at the Entomology and Arachnology Research Centre? Still, it is very unnerving to see shelves stacked high with fluffy toy spiders, baskets full to overflowing with wind-up bugs and piles of rubber scorpions.

  You decide this isn’t really your thing, but before you can head for the exit, the shop attendant pops out from behind the counter. She’s unnaturally tall and skinny, with tight brown clothes that make her look even more stick-like. Her jet-black hair is swept back into a severe ponytail away from her pasty face, pulling her skin into a permanently surprised expression. As she bends down to look at you, you notice a greenish tinge to her face. Her appearance makes you think of a stick insect.

  She holds out a large plush spider toy.

  ‘Buy this!’ Her voice is hissy and high-pitched, like the sound of fingernails down a blackboard. ‘On special today. Only five dollars. You’ll love it!’

  You back away, shaking your head. The last thing you want is a toy spider.

  ‘Nice kid-ling,’ she says, bending down further so that her face is close to yours. Her breath smells like decomposing leaves. ‘You can have for free. Here! Take! Kid-lings should play.’

  She shoves the spider into your arms.

  This is just too weird and creepy. But how do you get out of this?

  If you want to take the spider and get out of there, go here.

  To refuse the spider, go here.

  You shove the toy spider towards the shop attendant and back away.

  ‘Ungrateful creature!’ she screeches, advancing towards you. ‘No respect!’

  You continue to back up until you bump into some tall shelves, toys raining down. Battery-operated insects and spiders, skittering and chittering, fall onto your head. You collapse under them as their little plastic claws and pincers catch on your clothing and hair.

  ‘Arghhh!’ The attendant is screaming now. ‘You horrid child-thing. You make such mess. Such disaster. GET OUT!’

  You scramble to your feet, mechanical critters still clinging on to you, and run. The attendant throws toys at you as you go. Spiders and scorpions hit you in the back as you race out of the shop and across the car park to the school bus. She follows you outside, still chucking toys your way.

  There are two boys up ahead near the bus. The big one seems to be pushing around the smaller one. As you run past, a large battery-operated scorpion hits the big kid in the face, its mechanical pincer clamping onto his nose. He screams and runs off.

  The smaller kid yells his thanks and scarpers as you take shelter in the bus. A few more toys slam against the window before the attendant loses interest and disappears into the gift shop.

  You’ve had enough. You decide to stay on the bus until the rest of your school group has finished their tour.

  You raise the swatter above your head and take a deep breath. It’s now or never.

  You charge at the giant spider, swinging the swatter. Crackles of energy fill the air as you smack the creature over the head repeatedly. It curls up into a ball and you step back.

  You are about to congratulate yourself when the spider unfurls, glaring at you with its numerous eyes.

  Well, that didn’t work.

  Now what?

  To use the bug spray, go here.

  Or maybe you should try the double whammy – swatter and spray at the

  same time. Go here.

  You grab the plush spider toy from the shop attendant and race for the exit.

  ‘Enjoy toy! Nice kid-ling,’ the attendant calls after you. ‘Kid-lings play together soon. Play nice!’

  Out of the shop and in the car park, you breathe a sigh of relief as you walk towards the school bus.

  There are two boys up ahead near the bus. The big one seems to be pushing around the smaller one.

  ‘What are you looking at?’ growls the bully as you approach.

  The smaller kid looks pleadingly at you, his eyes begging for help.

  How do you respond?

  If you want to help the smaller kid against the bully, go here.

  But it’s not your problem, is it? To put your head down and walk on to the bus, go here.

  You step up to the cage, waiting for the guinea pigs to come out so you can pat them. But none of them moves. They’re staring at you with unblinking eyes.

  ‘No, no,’ says Mr Pigworzle. ‘You’ve got to get in there with them.’

  You’re about to protest when he shoves you from behind. You stagger into the cage and he slams the door shut, latching the old rusty padlock.

  None of the guinea pigs reacts.

  You rattle the cage door and demand to be let out.

  ‘No, not yet,’ says the old man, waggling a finger at you. ‘You need to let the piggy-wiggies get to know you. I’ll leave you alone for a while so you can get acquainted.’

  Mr Pigworzle shambles to a door beyond the foot of the stairs and disappears.

  The guinea pigs continue to sit as still as statues. If not for their watching eyes, always on you, you’d wonder if they were alive.

  You look around and see that there’s a run leading from the cage that disappears up into the cement wall. It appears as if it might just be large enough for you to squeeze through. But you have no idea where it might lead. Perhaps you’d be better off trying to break open the cage door.

  To follow the run, go here.

  To try breaking open the door, go here.

  You take hold of the bars and shake the door with all your might. No luck!

  You manoeuvre your fingers through the cage and tug at the padlock. Despite being old and rusty, it holds fast.

  You look out at the basement through the cage, hoping to see something that might help you. But there’s nothing.

  You sit on the floor with your back to the door and gaze at the guinea pigs. They continue to stare at you unblinkingly. You shudder.

  And this is how you pass the next couple of hours until Mr Pigworzle returns.

  He glances from you to the guinea pigs, then back at you. ‘You didn’t play with them,’ he says sadly. ‘You are such an incredible disappointment.’

  He unlocks the door and lets you out. You race to the stairs.

  ‘Don’t come back,’ the old man calls after you. ‘You’re a bit useless.’

  You take the steps two at a time, burst through the door and slam into your teacher, Ms Finch. You are in heaps of trouble. She’s been searching for you for ages. She’s not interested in hearing your explanations.

  What she is interested in is …

  giving you extra homework

  putting you on yard duty at school to collect litter for all of next week and

  sending a note home to your parents.

  This has not been a good day. You vow never to have pet guinea pigs.

  A career in insect entertainment? Why not? You accept the offer to become Barnbug’s apprentice.

  Creepy crawly fame and fortune await!

  You decide to stay.

  You approach the oversized insect and ask why it bit th
e head off the scientist.

  ‘Why?’ asks the mantis. ‘Why does a mosquito suck blood? Why does a dung beetle gather poo? It’s in their nature. The human part of me is almost gone. I’m mostly mantis.’

  You ask if there’s anything you can do to help.

  ‘Help?’ says the mantis thoughtfully. ‘Yes, you can help.’

  It leans forward, looks into your human eyes with its insectoid eyes, and bites your head off.

  The bullying isn’t your problem and you don’t want to get involved. You put your head down and walk on past.

  ‘That’s right,’ growls the bully. ‘Keep going, wimp.’

  You scurry to the school bus and get on, plonking yourself onto one of the seats. You’re about to toss the plush spider onto the floor when it twitches in your hands. You almost jump out of your skin. You calm yourself and take a closer look at the toy. Perhaps it’s battery-operated? Did you accidentally switch it on?

  The toy quivers in your hands.

  You lift it up and squint at it.

  The fluffy round abdomen is bulging. You poke it with your finger.

  Big mistake!

  Your finger tears through the fabric and plunges into the sticky webbing of a spider’s nest. Dozens of little baby spiders come pouring out of the ripped abdomen.

  You scream as they scuttle along your hand and up your arm. They scoot under your clothes, their tiny legs scurrying against your skin, their spinnerets leaving silky threads of webbing. They’re up to your face in seconds, zipping up your nose, scampering into your ears and hopping into your mouth. You can feel them scrambling down your throat and spinning their webs, choking your screams and blocking your airway.