The Attack of the Aqua Apes
Author: R. L. Stine
Date: 1995-11-01 08:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Horror; Childrens; Young Adult
Description: When Scott and Glen decide to use water from Fear Street Lake to grow their Aqua Ape, they had no idea that the tiny little creature would keep growing...and growing...and growing. And its teeth keep getting sharper…and sharper…and sharper. Will Scott and Glen be able to contain their destructive new pet before it’s too late?
Publisher: Aladdin

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

About R.L. Stine

LOOKING FOR MOPE SPOOKY ADVENTURES

ON FEAR STREET? DON’T MISS:

HIDE AND SHRIEK
—AND—
WHO’S BEEN SLEEPING IN MY GRAVE?

1

“You have the power to create life!” That was what the ad in the back of the comic book claimed.

“Pretty cool,” Scott Adams said as he studied the ad carefully.

Scott sat on the porch steps in front of his house, reading comic books with his best friend, Glen Brody.

“Check this out!” Scott handed Glen the ad. It showed a picture of a mad scientist. He was peering into a giant tank of water full of strange-looking creatures. Creatures called “aqua apes.”

“ ‘Aqua apes?’ ” Glen laughed. He pulled off his glasses and polished them on his flannel shirt. “What are those? Swimming monkeys?”

“I don’t know.” Scott shrugged. “They look more like lizards to me.”

“Well, what are you supposed to do with them?” Glen asked.

“You grow ’em. That’s what’s so cool. They come from magic crystals. See?” Scott pointed to the packet of magic crystals in the mad scientist’s hand.

“Oh, right.” Glen rolled his eyes. “Swimming monkeys from magic crystals. I don’t think so.”

“Yeah, well, they say it’s guaranteed. Or you get your money back,” Scott said. “They wouldn’t say that if it didn’t work.”

“Maybe.” Glen didn’t sound convinced.

“You want to send away for them?” Scott asked.

“No way,” Glen replied.

“Come on. What have we got to lose?”

“Three dollars and ninety-five cents,” Glen answered. “Plus postage and handling.”

Scott knew it would be hard to convince Glen to spend the money—but he had to. You see, almost all the kids in school could tell creepy stories—stories about totally weird things that happened to them. Like being chased by ghosts in the Fear Street Cemetery. Or getting attacked by half-human, half-animal creatures in the Fear Street Woods.

But Scott didn’t have a single story to tell. Not one. Which, when you think of it, was the weirdest thing of all. Because everyone knew that if you lived near Fear Street, scary things happened to you. Period.

But Scott had lived near Fear Street his entire life. And he didn’t have a single creepy story to tell.

Until—maybe now. If he could just convince Glen to send away for the magic crystals. . . .

“Such a small price to pay for ‘the power to create life.’ 𔄭 Scott repeated the ad’s promise in his best mad scientist voice. He wished he looked more like a mad scientist. It was hard to be really scary with blond hair, blue eyes, and freckles.

“Forget it,” Glen declared. “First of all, I’ve never seen a swimming monkey. Not even in the zoo. And second of all, it’s impossible to grow a living animal from a ‘magic crystal.’ In case nobody told you this yet, you need a mommy monkey and a daddy monkey to get a baby monkey.”

“They’re not monkeys!” Scott protested. “They’re . . .” Scott struggled to come up with an answer. “They’re . . . something else.”

“Yeah, apes. Aqua apes.” Glen pointed to the words. “Same thing as swimming monkeys.”

“Well, I’m getting them,” Scott insisted, grabbing the comic book out of Glen’s hands.

“So get ’em,” Glen answered. He shoved his curly brown hair off his forehead.

“I will,” Scott assured him. “As soon as you lend me some money.”

“I’m not paying for some stupid water monkeys. You’re the one who wants them.”

“I’m not asking you to pay for them. Just the postage and the handling,” Scott said. “And I wouldn’t even ask you for that. But you did eat up half of my allowance yesterday at the Ice Cream Castle. Remember—your sundae to celebrate the last day of summer vacation?”

“Okay. Okay,” Glen said. Then he stuck his fingers in his mouth and made gagging sounds. “I’ll give it back to you.”

“You’re so gross!” Scott slid away from Glen as fast as he could. The last time Glen pulled this stunt he really did throw up. “Just forget it,” Scott said miserably.

“Oh, all right,” Glen groaned. “I’ll pay for half.”

Glen reached into his pocket and pulled out his money. He counted out three dollars and shoved it into Scott’s hand. “Go ahead. Order the swimming monkeys. But when the magic crystals don’t come to life, I’m not waiting for this stupid company to send my money back. You’re gonna give it to me.”

“Fine,” Scott agreed. “But what if they do come to life?”

“Then I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.” Glen cracked himself up. “Get it?”

“Ha, ha,” Scott said, not at all amused by Glen’s lame joke. “You’ll see.”

In a few weeks I’ll finally have a cool story to tell at school, Scott thought. And maybe even scary, too.

Scott had no idea just how scary his story would be.

2

“No!” Scott shouted. “No!”

Scott couldn’t believe his bad luck. It was the first day in three weeks that he hadn’t been home to wait for the mailman. And sure enough, that was the day his package arrived.

But that wasn’t the bad part. The bad part was that the mailman had just handed over Scott’s package to Scott’s older sister, Kelly.

Kelly thought she was the coolest thing on earth. She constantly reminded Scott she was almost thirteen. Almost a real teenager. Not a baby like Scott—even though Scott was only a year younger.

Scott and Glen chased Kelly around the kitchen table.

“We can do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way,” Scott said, closing in on Kelly.

He shoved his open hand out. “Now, give it to me.” But he knew she wouldn’t. Kelly never did anything the easy way.

“How do you even know this package is for you?” she teased.

Scott inched closer to her. “Because my name is on it,” he said as he ripped the package from her grip.

“Jerk!” she huffed, punching him in the arm.

Scott ignored her. He couldn’t wait to open the package. The minute the brown wrapping was off, Glen held out an open palm.

“What?” Scott said, staring down at it.

“You might as well just give me my three bucks back right now,” Glen answered. “I told you it was gonna be a total rip-off.”

Scott hated to admit it, but Glen was probably right. The box didn’t look anything like the ad in the comic book.

There was no picture of a mad scientist.

No magic crystals in his hand.

Only lots of goofy-looking creatures. With antennae popping up from their heads. And pink and blue bows tied to them. They swam around in a fishbowl, wearing silly grins.

“Maybe they sent the wrong box,” Scott suggested, turning it around in his hands.

Kelly snatched it from him. “Ooooh, ‘the power to create life,’ 𔄭 she read from the box.

“Give that back to me,” Scott demanded.

But Kelly just laughed. “You two are such losers. What’s the matter? Can’t find any real friends to play with so you have to grow some?”

Then she tossed the box on the table and strolled out of the kitchen.

“So are we going to make these things, or what?” Glen asked, opening the box.

“I guess.” Scott sat down at the kitchen table and watched Glen slide a small round tank from the box.

Another disappointment. The tank was nowhere near as big as the one the mad scientist held in the ad. It was too small for even a goldfish. And it was made of plastic.

The only cool thing about it was that it had a lid with a light you could turn on and off. And the bottom of the tank looked like the surface of the moon—with a big crater in the center of it.

Next, Glen pulled out some aqua ape food and the package of magic crystals. It was smaller than a packet of sugar.

This is going to be a total failure, Scott thought to himself. Then he asked, “How big are the ape things supposed to get anyway?”

Glen flipped through the instructions. “It says that happy, healthy adult aqua apes can grow up to half an inch long.”

“A half an inch?” Scott moaned. “The ones in the ad were monsters.”

“The instructions say we need distilled water,” Glen said, continuing to read. “Got any?”

“No,” Scott answered. “And I am not going to spend any more money to buy some either.”

“Then you’re not going to grow any aqua apes,” Glen informed him. “Because it says right here that you have to use distilled water.”

“I have a better idea,” Scott said, suddenly feeling more enthusiastic. “Let’s go down to the Fear Street Woods and scoop some water from the lake.”

“Are you crazy?” Glen exclaimed. “Haven’t you heard about the gross things that live in Fear Lake? I know a guy who drank some of the lake water on a dare—he had to go in the hospital. Who knows what we’ll get if we use that water?”

“Exactly!” Scott smiled his mad scientist smile. “Who knows what we’ll get!”

3

The moment Scott came to the end of Park Drive, his heart started to beat a little faster. With just one step he would cross the imaginary safety line into dangerous territory—Fear Street.

Even in the middle of the day, Fear Street was dark and scary. Enormous old trees lined both sides of the street. And as the sunlight tried to sneak between some of the huge branches, it cast strange shadows on the ground below. Shadows that looked like they could swallow you up.

Once you’ve walked down Fear Street, Scott thought, you know all the creepy stories you’ve heard about it are true.

“The adventure is about to begin!” Scott announced to Glen. He took a deep breath and started toward the Fear Street Woods. They were creepier than Fear Street. Scarier, too.

The trees in the woods grew thick and gnarled—with black twisted branches that seemed to reach out. Reach out to strangle you.

Glen hesitated.

“Well, are you coming, or what?”

“This is a really stupid idea,” Glen replied.

“It is not. You’re just chicken,” Scott taunted. Then he started flapping his arms and squawking at Glen. “Bawk, bawk, bawk!”

“I am not chicken,” Glen insisted.

“Then come on.”

“There.” Glen stepped into the woods. “Are you happy now?”

“This way.” Scott pointed to the path ahead. The path that led directly to Fear Lake. “We’d better hurry. These woods get real dark, real early.”

As they followed the trail, Scott noticed how quiet the woods were. He couldn’t hear any birds chirping or bugs humming. Or any sound of life at all. Creepy. Really creepy.

Scott kept his eyes glued to the trail. He had to make sure they stayed on the right path. No way was he getting lost in the Fear Street Woods.

“Can we hurry it up?” Glen asked. He followed Scott so closely that he stepped on the back of one of his sneakers.

“Do you have to walk on top of me?” Scott complained, yanking his sneaker back up. “The lake’s right through there,” he added, pointing straight ahead. “Relax.”

“I’m telling you, this is a big mistake,” Glen muttered as they reached the muddy banks of the lake.

“Just give me the tank,” Scott ordered.

Glen pulled the little plastic tank out of his backpack and shoved it into Scott’s hands.

Scott pulled off the top and handed it to Glen. Then he stepped up to the edge of the lake and dipped the open tank into the icy cold water.

Other than being really, really cold, Scott didn’t notice anything weird about the Fear Lake water. It wasn’t gross, or smelly, or anything. In fact, it was clear. And Scott couldn’t help feeling a little bit disappointed.

Scott held the tank out in front of him. “Okay, now pour in the magic crystals,” he instructed Glen.

“I don’t see why we can’t do this part back at your house,” Glen complained. “It’s starting to get dark.”

“Bawk, bawk, bawk,” Scott replied.

Glen fumbled around in his backpack for the little packet of crystals. When he found it, he carefully tore the corner open.

“What do they look like?” Scott asked.

“Like sugar grains,” Glen answered. He held the packet under Scott’s nose for him to see.

“Pour ’em in,” Scott ordered. He held the tank steady.

“Here goes nothing,” Glen said. He shook the magic crystals into the tank.

The moment the first crystal hit the water from Fear Lake, Scott felt the tips of his fingers start to tingle.

Then the tiny tingling turned into a surge of electricity. It raced up his arms and snaked through his entire body.

He began to shake. Slightly at first. Then wildly.

He tried to loosen his grip on the tank. But his fingers were stuck.

The tank began to crackle with electricity. Scott could see tiny lightning bolts shooting through the water. The water bubbled and churned.

Scott’s heart pounded so hard and so fast, he was terrified it would explode.

He opened his mouth to scream.

To scream for Glen to help him.

But no sound came out.

4

“Glen!” The name finally burst free from Scott’s throat. “Help me!”

But the moment Scott screamed, the shock stopped.

His arms and legs grew still.

The water in the tank settled quietly.

“What’s wrong?” Glen asked. “What happened?”

“I’m not exactly sure,” Scott tried to explain. “When you poured in the crystals, a horrible shock raced through my whole body. It was the worst thing I’ve ever felt.”

“Let’s put the top on the tank and get out of here!” Glen cried.

Glen shoved the top on. Then he turned and charged into the woods, back toward the street.

“Wait for me!” Scott screamed, dashing after him.

They didn’t stop until they made it back to Scott’s house and up the stairs to his room.

Scott carefully placed the tank in the center of his desk.

Then they both sat down on Scott’s bed. Panting.

When they finally caught their breath, Scott bent down to peer into the water. “Oh, wow!” he shouted. “They’re alive! It worked! We created aqua apes!”

Scott studied the aqua apes in the water. They were just little white specks. No bigger than dust specks in a beam of sunlight. But they were alive.

At first they appeared to be floating aimlessly. But when Scott squinted for a better view, he could see that they were actually wiggling. Wiggling in different directions.

The aqua apes didn’t look anything like the picture in the ad—or even the picture on the box. But they were alive. And maybe they would grow into something cool.

“I don’t see anything,” Glen complained.

Glen was sitting on the middle of Scott’s bed. “You have to get closer,” Scott told him. “They’re real small.”

Glen didn’t budge.

“You’re not going to get a shock,” Scott told him. “I carried the tank all the way back here and nothing happened.”

Glen stood up and crossed over to the tank. “I still can’t see them,” he insisted. “Where’s your magnifying glass?”

Scott pulled a magnifying glass out of the top drawer of his desk and handed it to Glen.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Scott asked, as Glen studied the little creatures.

“Yeah,” Glen agreed. “They are pretty cool. But wh—”

Glen’s voice trailed off as he watched little air bubbles suddenly start floating up from the bottom of the tank.

“What’s going on?” Scott asked. He grabbed the magnifying glass from Glen and peered into the bottom of the tank. The bubbles were shooting up from a crystal. A large black crystal.

“What is that?” Glen asked. “I didn’t see it when we poured the packet in.”

“I don’t know,” Scott answered.

The black crystal continued to fizz.

Scott and Glen watched it for a long time, waiting. Waiting for something more to happen.

But nothing did.

The black crystal simply continued to fizz.

*   *   *

The black crystal was still fizzing when Scott went to bed that night. He left the light on in the tank so he could watch it as he dozed off.

But the aqua apes were way too small for him to see from his bed. He couldn’t even make out the black crystal from that far away. But he could see the air bubbles rising from it. Scott began counting the bubbles as they rose to the surface.

The numbers raced through his head faster and faster. His vision blurred as he focused on the bubbles.

Then the light in the tank went out. Scott figured the bulb in the tank lid had blown. He’d check it out in the morning.

Scott pulled the covers up to his neck. As he rolled over to go to sleep, the light in the tank flashed on. And this time it glowed much brighter than before.

Scott turned toward it. I should just get up and turn it off, he thought. But before he could even throw back the covers, the light blinked off by itself again.

Then on.

Then off.

It continued to blink on and off until Scott slid out of bed. The moment his feet hit the floor, the light in the tank flared on and stayed on.

He walked toward the desk slowly. Cautiously. As he stepped closer, he noticed that the black crystal at the bottom of the tank was bubbling furiously. The water began churning. It turned from clear to murky. Then dark.

Scott reached out to turn off the light in the tank. But before his finger touched the switch, he jerked his hand away. What if he got another shock?

The light clicked on and off again. Scott stood by the tank. Waiting. But this time it didn’t flash on again.

Scott stood in total darkness. He wanted a light on in his room—now.

He stumbled over to the wall. As he felt his way toward the switch for the ceiling light, a short burst of light flooded the room—as bright and as quick as a streak of lightning. And then a loud bang exploded in the room—as loud as a clap of thunder.

Scott whirled around to face the tank. He could hear the water churning.

Another flash of lightning shot through the water.

Then the lid began to rumble. And before Scott could move, the lid blasted from the tank and shot up to the ceiling with a crash!

5

Where is it? Where is it? Scott ran his hands up and down the wall, feeling for the light switch. Glen was right, he thought. Using the water from Fear Lake was a big mistake.

Scott’s fingers finally hit the light switch. He snapped it on.

He scanned the room. The lid of the tank lay on the floor. But from where he stood, everything else seemed normal. The water in the tank appeared calm and clear again. Nothing was out of place.

Scott stooped to pick up the lid. There had to be a logical explanation for what had happened.

Maybe something was wrong with the batteries, Scott thought. He pried open the lid of the tank to check. Sure enough, the batteries were oozing an oily liquid.

Scott crossed over to his desk to check on his aqua apes. The little creatures seemed to be alive and well. Only they were all huddled together at one end of the tank—as if they were trying to hide.

And the black crystal that had been bubbling and fizzing all day was gone.

Scott stared into the water. Searching for it.

He sat up for what seemed like hours, waiting for it to reappear. But it never did. And so, finally, Scott turned off his light and went to sleep.

*   *   *

“Scott! Wake up!” His mother nudged him hard.

Scott rolled over and pulled the blankets tighter around himself. He couldn’t wake up. Not yet. He felt as if he’d just closed his eyes.

“Come on, Scott.” His mother nudged him again. “You’re going to be late for school if you don’t get a move on.”

“I’m up,” he mumbled. “I’m up.”

“Your eyes aren’t even open,” she scolded.

Scott rolled over and opened them for her. “Happy?” he grumbled.

“No,” she answered. “I want to see you up.”

Scott pulled himself to a sitting position.

That seemed to satisfy his mother.

“Good,” she said as she headed for the door. “Now hurry up and get dressed so you can have a decent breakfast before you leave.”

The moment Scott’s mother left the room, Scott plopped back down and closed his eyes again.

“Mommy said move it, you little twerp,” Kelly growled as she passed his open door. “Ma,” Kelly screamed loudly over her shoulder. “The little twerp is still in bed.”

“I am not!” Scott screamed back as he jumped out from under the covers. He stumbled over to check on the aqua apes.

They were still really small. But they didn’t look like tiny little white dust specks anymore. They looked like bigger little white dust specks!

They’re growing. Cool! Scott grabbed a sweatshirt from his dresser. When he had it halfway over his head, he heard a faint tapping sound. What is that? he wondered. He yanked the sweatshirt down.

Probably just some tree branches blowing against the side of the house, he figured. He peeked out the window next to his desk. The tree outside was still.

But Scott kept hearing the sound. Tap, tap, tap.

He listened to it carefully—and realized it wasn’t coming from outside.

It was coming from inside.

Right next to him.

Scott leaped away from his desk. Then he stared into the tank. And he couldn’t believe what he saw.

An aqua ape was pressed against the side of the tank. And it was tapping on the plastic!

This aqua ape was big—bigger than all the little white dust speck aqua apes put together. Scott figured it was about the size of a tadpole.

Scott grabbed the magnifying glass and studied the creature. Up close, it looked even better than the picture in the ad. And it really did look like a monkey, too—all brown and kind of fuzzy. It even had arms and legs.

It stood there, at the bottom of the tank, staring back at Scott. Without a doubt this was the coolest thing that Scott had ever seen!

“Scott! Now!”

Scott could tell by the tone of his mother’s voice that she meant business.

“I’ve got to go,” Scott explained to his brand-new pet. “But I’ll see you later. Okay, little guy?”

The minute the words came out of his mouth, the most amazing thing happened.

I’m imagining it, Scott thought. This just can’t be.

Scott blinked hard. Then looked again.

No. He wasn’t seeing things.

The brand-new aqua ape was waving at him.

*   *   *

“I’m telling you, he was waving at me,” Scott insisted for the ten thousandth time as he and Glen parked their bikes in Scott’s garage after school. “And he really does look like a monkey.”

“Yeah, right.” Glen laughed. “The whole tank exploded last night, and now we have a giant swimming monkey who waves.”

“I didn’t say he was a giant,” Scott protested. He climbed off his bike and shoved the kickstand down.

“You did too,” Glen shot back. “In the cafeteria you told Randy and Zack he was a giant aqua ape.”

“Oh, right,” Scott agreed as he headed toward the door that opened into the house. “Well, he is a giant compared to all the other aqua apes in the tank.”

The moment they reached Scott’s room, Glen pushed past Scott to get to the tank first. “Whoa!” Glen gasped.

“I told you he was big,” Scott said smugly.

“Big? He’s like the size of King Kong!”

Scott laughed. He knew Glen was exaggerating, but he was happy that Glen finally believed him. “Is he waving at you?”

“Yeah,” Glen answered as he picked up the tank. “He’s waving like crazy.”

“Let me see,” Scott demanded.

“Wait a minute,” Glen whispered. He put the tank to his ear. “Hey! You’re not going to believe this.”

“What?” Scott asked excitedly.

“I think he’s singing to me, too!”

“You’re such a jerk,” Scott replied.

“No, you’re the jerk,” Glen shot back as he returned the tank to the desk. “There’s no giant monkey in here.”

Scott stared into the tank. It was true. The waving aqua ape was nowhere to be seen. Where could he be? Scott wondered. I know he was there. I know what I saw.

“I’m telling you, Glen. He was in there this morning.”

“All right, all right,” Glen muttered. “I believe you, okay?”

Scott could tell Glen wasn’t really paying attention to him. He was studying one of the little aqua apes.

“Check this one out,” Glen told Scott. “This little guy is pretty neat.”

“Yeah,” Scott said grudgingly, glancing over Glen’s shoulder. “He’s okay.”

“Look! He’s got teeny, tiny little flipper arms,” Glen said.

“Yeah, kind of.”

“Hey, cheer up. This is much better than I thought it would be,” Glen declared. “At least it’s not a total rip-off.”

“But the little guy I saw this morning was really cool.”

“This one is, too. Only he’s more like some kind of fish thing than a monkey,” Glen pointed out.

“Watch how he swims,” Glen continued. “See him there?”

Scott nodded.

“He’s almost at the top of the water. Now watch this. The minute he reaches the top, he’s going to turn around and go all the way back to the bottom again, right next to the crater. And then, after he touches the bottom, he’s going to turn around and swim all the way back to the top. It’s like he’s doing laps or something,” Glen explained.

“Maybe he’s training for the Aqua Apes Olympics,” Scott joked. Scott watched the tiny little aqua ape turn around at the top of the tank, just the way Glen said he would. But he couldn’t stop wondering what had happened to the giant aqua ape he had seen that morning.

Scott didn’t have to wonder for long. Because just as the little guy reached the bottom of the tank, Scott saw a big brown hairy fist shoot out from inside the crater and grab it.

Then it tightened its grip around the little creature.

And crushed it.

6

“Did you see that?” Scott asked excitedly. “That was him!”

“Him?” Glen asked, staring at Scott like he was crazy or something. “You mean it, don’t you?”

“No,” Scott answered as he stood up straighter. “I mean him! I told you we had a giant swimming monkey who waves!”

“Yeah, well he wasn’t swimming,” Glen pointed out. “And I don’t think he was trying to wave at us either. All I saw was a hairy arm that creamed the little guy.”

“I’m telling you. It was him,” Scott insisted.

“Maybe he just wanted to play with him or something.”

“Play with him?” Glen gasped. “He crushed him!”

Scott studied the tank. But all he could see was some of the other tiny little aqua apes swimming around. “He must be hiding down in the crater,” Scott decided.

“Maybe he’s planning another attack,” Glen shot back.

“Uh-oh,” Scott said, a horrible thought coming to mind. “What if he’s hungry? And what if he thinks that little guy was his food or something? I mean, he’s so big compared to the rest of them—maybe he thinks they’re all his food.”

“Oh, gross!” Glen exclaimed.

“Well, let’s see if he’s hungry,” Scott suggested.

Scott lifted the package of aqua ape food from his desk drawer and poured a little into the tank. It looked exactly like fish food, only the flakes were a whole lot smaller.

“He’s not coming out,” Glen observed. “Maybe you should dump a little more in.”

Scott poured more than half the packet into the tank.

“Not that much!” Glen cried. He grabbed the packet away from Scott.

Scott stared into the tank. He couldn’t even see the tiny little aqua apes anymore. There was too much food floating around.

Then something big and dark and hairy shot straight up from the center of the crater.

The water in the tank started swirling. Swirling like a whirlpool. And splashing out onto Scott’s desk.

“Get the lid!” Scott shouted as they both jumped away from the desk. “And hurry! He’s climbing out of the water!”

7

Scott and Glen stared in horror as a brown furry arm shot out of the bowl.

The water churned and splashed as the animal hauled itself to the rim of the tank. The creature had sharp nails, and they screeched against the glass.

Scott and Glen backed away.

Suddenly the churning stopped. And the aqua ape slid back into the water.

Scott approached the tank. Slowly. He peeked inside.

All the food was gone.

All the aqua apes were gone, too.

All . . . but one.

The hairy brown aqua ape floated lazily in the water. He was much bigger now—the size of a goldfish.

“This guy is like three times the size he was this morning,” Scott told Glen.

“Yeah, well maybe that’s because he just ate twenty pounds of food,” Glen answered. “And everybody else in the tank along with it!”

“I really don’t think he wanted to eat all those other little guys.” Scott hoped that was the truth. “With all that food floating around the tank, how was he supposed to tell which ones were the flakes and which ones were the apes?”

“Yeah, well, I don’t care if he didn’t mean to do it,” Glen declared. “He still ate everybody in there. And that makes him a disgusting little pig-monkey.”

“A pig-monkey?” Scott laughed.

“Yeah.” Glen started laughing, too. “We’ve got a swimming, waving, disgusting little pig-monkey for a pet. And all for three dollars and ninety-five cents!”

“Plus shipping and handling!” Scott reminded him. Then they both cracked up.

“So what are we going to call him?” Glen asked.

“Well, we can’t call him pig-monkey,” Scott said. “That sounds too dumb.”

“How about Oinker,” Glen suggested.

Scott rolled his eyes. “I don’t think so.”

“What about Hercules?” Glen asked.

“That’s stupid,” Scott told him.

“Well, what do you want to name him?” Glen asked, sounding a little annoyed.

Scott thought about it for a minute. He didn’t really have a good name for a swimming, waving monkey who ate like a pig. But he did have a really good name for a dog. Only his creepy sister Kelly was allergic to dogs. So he was never going to be allowed to have one. I might as well give my dog name to this aqua ape, he thought.

“Mac,” Scott told Glen. “We’ll name him Mac.”

Just then, Kelly passed by his bedroom door.

Yes! Kelly would have to take back every mean thing she had said to Scott about the aqua apes—and how stupid he was to order them.

“Hey Kel,” Scott called out, trying to sound nice. “You want to see something really cool?”

Kelly popped her head in the doorway. “There couldn’t possibly be anything really cool in this room,” she answered.

“Obnoxious as always,” Scott mumbled under his breath.

“Oh yeah,” Glen jumped in. “Have you ever seen a giant, swimming, waving pig-monkey before?”

“Yeah,” Kelly shot back. “I’m looking at one right now.”

“Whoa, Kel,” Glen taunted. “You’re almost as funny as you are ugly!”

Scott watched as Kelly strutted across the room. She sneered at Glen as she walked by. Then she leaned over the tank. Yeah, even Kelly would have to admit that Mac was about the coolest thing on earth.

“So what is it?” Kelly sounded bored. “An imaginary cool thing?”

“No,” Scott said. “It’s Mac, the giant swimming monkey!”

“Not in this tank,” Kelly declared. “What jerks!” Then she turned away and headed for the door.

Scott quickly peered into the tank. Mac was nowhere in sight.

“I’m telling you, he really is in here. If you just wait a minute, I’m sure he’ll come out!”

“I don’t have time to sit here and wait for your imaginary friend.” Kelly laughed her squeaky, mean, horrible laugh. “I’ve got real friends waiting for me.”

Scott could hear Kelly laughing all the way down the stairs. He stared into the water again, searching for any sign of Mac. Glen moved around the desk, studying the tank from different angles.

Finally Scott spotted a tiny little air bubble rising from deep inside the crater. Then he saw another bubble rise. Only this one was a whole lot bigger, and it was rising a whole lot faster.

“Hey, Glen, look over here,” Scott said, pointing.

Glen stared down at the crater, too. The water started bubbling so fast and so hard that it looked like it was boiling.

Scott reached out and touched the side of the tank with the tip of his finger to see if it was hot. It wasn’t. In fact, it felt icy cold.

The crater at the bottom of the tank started pulsating and vibrating.

Scott’s pulse began to race. What was happening now?

As Scott stared into the tank, the crater cracked right down the middle. Right in half. And there was Mac. Standing between the broken halves.

“Wow!” Glen exclaimed. “It’s Mac! And look at the size of him!”

“He’s the size of a mouse now!” Scott exclaimed.

“Do you think he is going to grow any bigger?” Glen asked.

“How should I know?” Scott answered. “But this tank is too small for him now. We’ve got to find a bigger place for him.”

“How about that aquarium you used to keep turtles in? Do you still have it?”

Scott hurried over to the closet and checked the shelves. Yep. There it was! He brought it over to the desk.

Then Scott stretched out on the floor and felt around under the bed. He pulled out a bag of blue gravel, a little plastic treasure chest, a plastic skeleton, and a plastic palm tree.

Glen grabbed the gravel and poured it into the aquarium. Then he carefully arranged the toys, planting them firmly in the gravel.

“Don’t be afraid,” Scott told Mac. He slowly poured the water from the tank into the aquarium.

Mac plopped into his new home and instantly began swimming around.

“Hey, great!” Glen cheered. “I think he likes it!”

“Let’s go fill up one of the big pitchers my mom has in the kitchen,” Scott said. “Mac needs more water.”

They headed out of the room. “We’ll be right back, Mac,” Scott called.

Scott led the way into the kitchen and found a pitcher.

“You know what Mac looks like?” Scott asked as he filled the pitcher with water. “He looks like one of those monkeys in The Wizard of Oz. He’s even got little wings on his back.”

“Yeah, water wings,” Glen joked.

They hurried back to Scott’s room. On the way in, Scott stopped so suddenly that Glen slammed right into him.

“Hey, watch where you’re going,” Glen complained.

But Scott didn’t reply.

He simply pointed.

And gasped.

8

Scott and Glen stared in horror at the floor.

It was littered with blue gravel. The gravel that Glen had carefully poured into the aquarium.

And the little plastic treasure chest he had positioned so securely in the gravel sat upside down on Scott’s desk.

Scott searched the room for the palm tree. There it was—in two pieces. Half on the dresser and half on the bed.

The bones of the pirate skeleton were scattered everywhere.

It looked as if someone had picked up the aquarium and hurled its contents out. Except . . .

The carpet wasn’t soaked.

And the aquarium still sat on Scott’s desk.

And it still had the same amount of water in it.

And Mac—now the size of a gerbil!—was still happily swimming around inside it.

“Did you do this?” Scott asked Glen.

“Are you crazy?” Glen shouted. “How could I have done it? I was with you the whole time.”

“Well, it didn’t just happen by itself.”

“Gee, Scott,” Glen mocked. “Really?”

Scott moved toward his desk. The gravel crunched under his feet.

He stooped down and peered closely into the aquarium.

“Hey! What’s going on!” he cried.

On the bottom of the aquarium sat one of Scott’s most prized possessions—a real silver dollar, dated 1879. And right next to it was his watch—the watch his parents had given him for his last birthday. Good thing it was waterproof.

Some pennies, a pencil sharpener, a pack of gum, and a glow-in-the-dark rubber ball were in there, too.

“I don’t believe this!” Scott said, over and over again. “I just don’t believe this!”

As Scott and Glen stared in amazement, Mac swam under the rubber ball. He pitched it right out of the water. The ball flew from the bowl, bounced once on the desk, then fell to the floor.

“Wow!” Glen exclaimed. “Mac must be really strong. Throwing that ball would be like us throwing an elephant!”

“Do you think he did all this?” Scott asked, motioning to the toys scattered around his room.

“No way!” Glen replied. “No way!”

“But you just said he was strong,” Scott reminded him.

“Well, maybe he did throw this stuff out,” Glen answered. “But he couldn’t get the other stuff in there. There’s got to be another explanation.”

“Yeah? Like what?” Scott asked.

“Kelly?” Glen suggested.

“Nope. Kelly went out. We’re alone here.”

Glen couldn’t come up with one explanation, Scott realized. And neither could he.

They both stared down at the aquarium.

“You know wh-what this means, don’t you?” Scott stammered.

“No. What?”

“It means Mac can get out!”

9

Scott grabbed the aqua ape instruction booklet off his desk and flipped through it. Are aqua apes supposed to leave their tanks? he wondered. He didn’t think so.

“Does it have a section on what happens when idiots don’t use distilled water?” Glen demanded.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that we have no clue what Mac’s going to turn into. All because you had to use water from Fear Lake.”

“Yeah, well Mac’s way cooler than those little white specks!” Scott insisted. “And that’s all we would have had if we had followed the instructions the way you wanted to.”

Scott stared down at Mac, his eyes growing wider at what he saw.

The aqua ape was busy stacking all the pennies on top of the little pencil sharpener. “I can’t believe what he’s doing!” he cried. “But we’ve got to get my stuff out of this bowl.”

“You get it out,” Glen said. “It’s your stuff!”

Scott didn’t want to stick his fingers in the water. He didn’t know what Mac would do. But he wanted his watch and his silver dollar out of there. So he had no choice.

He decided to go for the watch first. Mac wasn’t too near it.

Scott took a deep breath and shot his hand down. He grabbed the watch and jerked his hand back.

Scott grinned and shook the watch in front of Glen. Drops of water splashed across Glen’s face. “Your turn,” he said. “Unless you’re too scared!”

Glen wiped the water off his face with his sleeve. “I’m not the one who wants the stuff, so why should I get it?” he asked.

Scott reached for the silver dollar, feeling a lot less nervous.

He dipped his hand into the water—and snap!

A sharp, fierce pain shot through his fingers as Mac clamped down on them. Hard.

Stabbing them.

Stabbing them with his razor-sharp teeth.

10

“Help! He’s got me!” Scott screamed.

Mac clawed his way up Scott’s hand. It felt like hot needles jabbing into his skin. Tiny drops of blood spurted out of his skin.

Scott shook his hand back and forth. Furiously. Trying to fling Mac off. But Mac just dug his teeth in deeper.

He slithered under the sleeve of Scott’s sweatshirt. Scott could feel Mac moving. Moving up. Leaving a burning trail on his bare arm.

“Help! Get him out! Get him out!” Scott jumped up and down, whacking at Mac through his shirt. “I feel like I’m on fire!”

“What’s wrong with you?” Glen shouted back.

“Mac!” Scott screamed. “He ran up my sleeve!”

“He ran up your sleeve?” Glen repeated in total disbelief. “Gross!”

“Get him out!” Scott yelled.

“Take your sweatshirt off,” Glen snapped back.

Scott yanked his sweatshirt up over his head.

He glanced down at his arm.

No Mac.

He figured that Mac had to be somewhere in his sweatshirt. But he was wrong.

“Don’t move,” Glen instructed him. He stared at a spot on Scott’s chest.

Scott looked down and saw Mac clinging to the front of his T-shirt. Mac stared straight up at him. “Get him off me!”

Glen moved closer. But only to get a better look. “Cool,” Glen said, inspecting Mac from safely behind Scott’s shoulder. “Oh, wow. He’s smiling at me!

“This is totally amazing,” Glen went on. “He sure has sharp teeth. They could do some real damage. I’m not touching him.”

Scott couldn’t stand having Mac stuck to him for one more second. It was like having a big creepy insect—like a tarantula—on him.

Scott inched his hand toward the aqua ape. Mac watched carefully, but remained still.

When Scott’s fingertip finally touched Mac, he was surprised by what he felt. Mac’s fur was just like any other animal’s fur. Even though it was wet and matted from the water, it was still soft. And Scott could tell that if it were dry it would be fluffy, too.

Suddenly, Scott wasn’t so grossed out anymore. He ran his finger gently down Mac’s back, petting him. And Mac really seemed to like it. He leaned into Scott’s finger and rubbed against it, making little squeaking noises.

“Let me pet him,” Glen butted in.

“Oh, sure. Now you want to touch him.”

Scott watched as Glen petted Mac.

“He’s really neat,” Glen had to admit. “I never thought we’d get anything like this when we ordered the aqua apes kit.”

“You didn’t think we’d get anything at all,” Scott reminded him.

“Are you sure he’s okay out of the water like this?” Glen changed the subject.

Scott shrugged. “He seems okay. Besides, it’s not like we took him out. He came out all by himself.” With Mac still attached to his shirt, Scott gently lowered himself to the floor. He continued to stroke Mac’s fur.

Glen sat opposite him. Mac jumped off Scott’s shirt and stood on the floor between the two boys.

What is he going to do? Scott wondered. But all Mac did was glance back and forth at the two of them, as if he expected them to do something first.

“Maybe he wants to play,” Glen suggested.

“How do you play with an aqua—?” But before Scott finished, he had an idea.

Scott spotted the glow-in-the-dark ball that Mac had tossed out of the tank earlier. He picked it up from the floor and rolled it gently toward Mac.

The ball came to a stop right in front of Mac. Mac stared at it for a second. Then he peered at Scott. Then he did just what Scott hoped he would—Mac picked up the ball and tossed it back.

Scott wasn’t quick enough to catch it. The ball hit him in the chest with a thump and fell to the floor.

“I can’t believe how strong he is.”

“Yeah,” Scott answered, rubbing his chest. “That hurt!”

“It was an accident,” Glen defended Mac.

“I know,” Scott said, “but it still hurt.”

Glen reached for the ball and rolled it back to Mac. Mac picked it up and tossed it back to Glen.

“This is great!” Scott exclaimed.

Mac seemed to love playing ball. Sometimes he threw it right to Scott or Glen. And sometimes he threw it past them so that they would have to go fetch it. But when Scott or Glen tried to make Mac fetch, Mac refused. He simply sat down and waited for one of them to get it.

“Hey, do you think Mac is shrinking?” Scott asked as he fetched the ball for the little ape.

“Gee. I think he is. He looks smaller—and sort of flatter.”

Scott rolled the ball gently to Mac. But Mac ignored it. He slowly crawled back to Scott’s desk. Then, just like a bug, he climbed right up the side and pulled himself into his aquarium.

Scott stood and stared at Mac, who was now floating in the water. “Look!” he called to Glen. “He’s starting to puff up again. I guess he can’t be out of the water for too long. It wears him out.”

“We should let him rest,” Glen suggested, picking up his jacket. “Why don’t we go to the mall and play Thunder Racer at the video arcade?”

Scott grabbed his jacket off the bed. “Why would you want to do that? You stink at Thunder Racer. It can’t be much fun for you.”

“You’re the one who stinks,” Glen shot back, heading for the door.

“You crash and burn every time you step on the gas pedal,” Scott insisted. He glanced around the room for his baseball cap. He found it hanging on the back of his desk chair near Mac’s tank. He grabbed it and stuck it on.

“Yeah, well, the only reason you don’t crash is because you drive five miles an hour,” Glen told him as they leaped down the stairs.

“First one to the bus stop gets the first turn!” Glen yelled. He shoved through the front door ahead of Scott and took off down the street.

“The only way you can beat me is by cheating,” Scott called, racing after him. Then he stopped. “Hey, wait. Mac’s aquarium doesn’t have a lid! We have to go back and cover it with something.”

Glen turned around and trotted backward toward the bus stop. “Don’t worry,” he shouted. “Mac’s resting. Besides, what could happen?”

11

“Watch out!” Glen yelled. “You’re gonna get creamed!”

But it was too late. Scott had already lost control of the video race car. He closed his eyes just as he was about to hit the wall. The sound of the crash echoed all around him.

Thunder Racer was the coolest game in the arcade. The seats of the car bounced around as if the car were actually speeding around a racetrack. The video screen in front of the car was gigantic. And huge speakers made everything sound totally real.

“Give me another quarter,” Scott said to Glen. He was having so much fun that he had almost forgotten all about Mac.

Almost.

He couldn’t help wondering if he should have used distilled water to grow the aqua apes. He was afraid using the Fear Lake water had made Mac turn out . . . wrong.

“No way,” Glen answered. “It’s my turn.”

“Come on,” Scott pleaded, refusing to budge from the driver’s seat. “I let you go twice.”

“Yeah, but this is my last quarter,” Glen said. “And it’s my turn!”

“If you got to go twice in a row, I get to go twice in a row,” Scott insisted.

Scott dug through the pockets of his jeans, searching for change. No luck. He tried his jacket pockets next.

But instead of quarters, Scott found something else. Something he hadn’t put there.

And whatever it was, it definitely did not belong in his jacket. It felt damp and yucky, like a wad of wet tissues.

And then it moved!

“Aaaagh!” Scott screamed, yanking his hand out of his pocket.

“What’s wrong?” Glen asked, startled.

But he didn’t have to wait for an answer.

Mac leaped out of Scott’s pocket and landed on the steering wheel!

Scott’s jaw gaped open. “Hey! How did you get in there?”

He was quite a bit smaller—but they had been at the arcade for an hour now. Scott figured Mac shrunk because he’d been out of the water all that time.

Scott reached down to pick Mac up. But Mac was too fast. He jumped onto the side of the car and dived into the coin return slot.

“Uh-oh,” Glen gasped. “How are we gonna get him out of there?”

“I don’t know,” Scott groaned, peering down into the slot.

“Maybe this will work,” Glen said. He pushed the coin return button.

Mac didn’t come back out. But a quarter did.

“Cool,” Glen said, reaching for the quarter. But before he could pick it up, another quarter dropped out.

And then another.

And another.

Then quarters started pouring out of the machine.

“Oh, no,” Scott moaned, trying to shove the quarters back in. “It looks like Mac broke the machine.”

Glen pushed Scott’s hands out of the way so the quarters could keep coming. “So what’s the problem? This is great!” Glen exclaimed as he scooped up a handful of change.

“Hey! You!” a really deep, really mean voice called from behind them. “What do you two clowns think you’re doing over there?”

Scott and Glen turned toward the voice.

“Uh-oh. It’s the manager—Big Bruno,” Scott whispered. “And he’s heading this way!”

12

“We’ve got to get out of here!” Scott cried.

The manager stomped through the crowds of kids. Getting closer and closer.

“What about Mac?” Glen asked. “We can’t just leave him here!”

As if he heard Glen, the aqua ape popped out of the coin slot as quickly as he’d jumped in.

“Here he is,” Scott cried, spotting Mac. He reached out for him but Mac was too fast. He sprang from the top of the coin slot to the floor. Then he scurried away.

Scott and Glen charged after Mac. Scott glanced over his shoulder—and breathed a long sigh of relief. The manager wasn’t chasing them. He was too busy picking up all the quarters they’d left behind.

That was the good news. The bad news was that Mac was lost in a sea of sneakers. Sneakers attached to kids who were playing video games—yelling, screaming, and jumping. Jumping up and down in excitement. Pounding the floor. Narrowly missing Mac as he weaved in between them.

Nobody seemed to notice Mac as he zigzagged through the crowd.

“Look out!” Scott yelled as a tall, stocky kid with major muscles almost smashed Mac flat.

Mac dove over the shoe and escaped. But Scott ran right into the kid. “Look out, yourself,” the kid snarled, shoving Scott hard.

Scott fell backward into Glen. Then they both tumbled to the floor. By the time they scrambled to their feet, they had lost sight of Mac.

“Oh, no!” Scott cried. “Where is he?”

“I don’t see him anywhere,” Glen answered.

Then, suddenly, a pinball machine near Scott came alive—all by itself.

The balls started zinging around inside.

The lights flashed on and off.

Bells clanged.

Buzzers buzzed.

Scott had the terrible feeling that he knew exactly where Mac was.

And he could tell Glen was thinking the same thing. Glen leaned over and peeked into the coin return slot.

“Can you see anything?” Scott asked. The balls began zipping around the machine faster and faster. Bouncing off the bumpers. Disappearing down secret traps, then popping out again. The bells clanged louder as more balls flew—flew around the machine, which was shaking madly now. It looked as if it were about to blast off!

Glen tried to peer into the coin slot, but the machine wouldn’t stand still. A crowd of kids had gathered to watch, as smoke started to pour out of the top.

“It’s going to explode!” one of the kids yelled.

Then, suddenly, all the pinball lights popped off. The metal balls stopped rolling. The bells and buzzers wheezed into silence. And, from the bottom of the machine, Mac dropped to the floor.

As Scott started to reach for Mac, a big hairy hand clamped down on his shoulder. Hard. It was Big Bruno.

“What’s going on here?” he boomed. Then he glanced down and spotted Mac. Mac’s claws were wedged in the wooden floor. He was struggling to free himself.

Big Bruno squinted. Scott could tell he wasn’t exactly sure what he was looking at.

Bruno lifted his face and shoved it inches away from Scott’s nose. His hot, stinking breath filled Scott’s nostrils as he roared, “No pets allowed!”

Then he lifted his huge foot.

Scott glanced at Mac. He was twisting and turning. Frantically trying to free himself from the wooden planks.

Scott watched in horror as Bruno brought his black boot down.

Down.

Down on Mac.

To grind him into the floor—forever.

13

Scott shot out his hands and plowed right into Big Bruno. The manager stumbled backward, trying to keep his balance.

Glen quickly scooped Mac up from the floor. “Got him!” he yelled to Scott. He stuffed Mac into his jacket pocket. Then the two boys ran.

As they raced out of the arcade, they could hear Big Bruno hit the floor with a huge thud.

“Guess we can’t go back there again!” Scott shouted as they dashed to the bus stop.

“That’s for sure,” Glen replied, panting.

Scott couldn’t stop trembling on the bus ride home. He didn’t feel much like talking, and Glen didn’t either.

“What are we going to do with Mac now?” Scott finally asked when they were safely back in his room.

“What can we do?” Glen shrugged. “I think we’re stuck with him.”

“Well, from now on he’s staying in his aquarium,” Scott said firmly. “And we’ll definitely have to make a cover for it.”

Glen reached into his pocket and pulled Mac out.

“What happened to him?” Glen cried. “He looks horrible!”

He really does, Scott thought. Mac was all shriveled up. And wrinkled—like a prune. He had shrunk to the size of a tiny bug.

Scott stared at his face. His eyes were sunken in. And his lips were cracked and curled back so that his jagged teeth jutted out. He resembled a dry sponge with baby fangs.

His little chest heaved up and down. And he was wheezing. Gasping for breath. Scott couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. He took him from Glen and gently slid him inside his aquarium.

Then, the instant Mac hit the water, it happened.

Mac started to change.

Into something no one—not even the kids who lived on Fear Street—would believe.

14

“Nooooo!” Glen shouted.

Scott practically knocked the aquarium over as he leaped back. “No way!” he gasped.

Mac was transforming.

He was growing darker. Because the hair all over his body was growing longer and thicker.

His arms started to bulge, getting bigger and stronger. His legs throbbed as they grew, too.

Even the tiny little wings on Mac’s back began to expand—looking more and more like the wings on the monkeys from The Wizard of Oz.

When Mac finally stopped growing, he was bigger than a hamster. Much bigger. Now he was about the size of a rabbit.

“What if he keeps growing?” Glen asked. “What if he grows as big as a real monkey? Or even a gorilla?”

“That’s not going to happen,” Scott said, trying to convince himself as well as Glen. “But I’ll tell you one thing. I sure don’t want him running around loose in my room.”

“I don’t blame you,” Glen replied.

Scott pulled a huge dictionary off his bookshelf and placed it down on top of the aquarium. He slid it over slightly to leave a sliver of space for fresh air to enter. “That should hold him,” he declared,

“Uh-oh,” Glen said.

“What?” Scott shot a frightened glance at Mac.

“Look what time it is!” Glen said. “If I don’t get home right now, my mother will have a fit.” Glen headed for the door.

Scott followed him down the stairs. As they reached the landing, they spotted Kelly. She was twirling around the living room in a poofy pink dress, pretending to be a model or something.

“My mother’s making her a dress for that stupid school dance she’s going to,” Scott whispered to Glen.

That’s all his mother had been talking about lately. Kelly’s first dance. Kelly’s first dance. His mom made a big deal about first anythings, like Scott’s first home run. But that was okay, Scott thought. That was important.

“Like anybody is gonna dance with her,” Glen interrupted his thoughts.

“Yeah, really.”

“I’ll see you later, Mrs. Adams,” Glen called to Scott’s mom as he headed out the door.

“Be careful going home.” She didn’t glance up. She was struggling to pin the bottom of Kelly’s dress while Kelly swished around. “Stay still, Kelly,” she ordered.

Kelly stopped swishing—and started twirling. She twirled her long blond hair into a bun on top of her head. “How do you think I should wear my hair?” she asked. “Like this, Mom? Or like this?” she asked, twirling it into yet another style.

“I think you should wear it down. You have such beautiful hair. It would be a shame not to show it off,” Mom said.

“Oh, puke,” Scott muttered as he headed back through the living room.

“Shut up,” Kelly snapped back. “You immature little twerp!”

Immature. Scott hated it more than anything when Kelly called him immature. She was only a year older than he was. One lousy year. But she was always treating him like she was a grown-up and he was a baby.

“Witch,” he screamed at her.

“Scott,” his mother scolded. “Enough!” She stuck one more pin in Kelly’s dress. “Okay. I’m finished. Go upstairs and change,” she told Kelly.

“You always take her side,” Scott complained to his mother.

For a minute she looked as though she was going to explode. But she didn’t. “Look,” she said calmly. “I know I’ve been paying lots of attention to Kelly lately. But this dance is really important to her. And if she doesn’t have the dress she saw in the mall, she’s going to make everybody’s life miserable.”

That was the truth. Kelly had dragged their mother to the mall a million times, trying to find the perfect dress. And they had finally found it. But their mom refused to buy it. She said it cost practically as much as a new car. So she decided to try to make it.

The timer on the stove in the kitchen went off. “Oh, shoot,” his mother said as she jumped up off the couch. “I almost forgot about dinner.” She headed for the kitchen.

Scott charged up the stairs, taking them two at a time—before his mom had a chance to ask him to set the table or something.

“Kelly thinks she’s so cool, ‘cause she’s going to some stupid dance. In some stupid dress,” Scott muttered as he entered his room.

He walked over to his dresser mirror and started imitating Kelly, using his best bratty-sounding Kelly voice. “Which way should I wear my hair?” Scott tried twirling the hair on top of his head the same way Kelly had. “This way?” He made a face at himself in the mirror. “Or this way?”

He would have gone on complaining, but something in the mirror caught his eye. Something that reminded him that he had bigger things to worry about than Kelly.

The dictionary on top of Mac’s aquarium was gone.

15

Scott’s eyes darted around the room.

There it was.

The dictionary.

Pages open and rumpled. On the floor.

Scott picked it up and placed it back on top of the aquarium. “I don’t believe this,” he mumbled to himself.

Then he reached for the thickest volume of his encyclopedia and stacked it on top of the dictionary. He made the small opening for air even tinier.

Mac will have to be a magician to get out now, Scott thought.

Scott walked backward to his bed. He didn’t want to take his eyes off the aqua ape.

He propped himself up against the headboard and stared at Mac. When his mom called him for dinner, he told her he wasn’t feeling well. Upset stomach, he said. There was no way he was leaving this room—not until he was sure Mac couldn’t escape.

Scott decided to stay awake all night and check Mac’s tank every fifteen minutes. Even if he had to use toothpicks to keep his eyelids open to do it.

Every time Scott got up and peered into the tank, Mac waved at him. The aqua ape looked harmless. But Scott wasn’t taking any chances.

He glanced at the clock on his nightstand. It was 11:45. At midnight Scott would get up to check on Mac again. But he was growing sleepy. Very sleepy.

He didn’t feel really safe all alone with the aqua ape. He thought about all the trouble Mac had caused at the mall. That was pretty weird. Then he remembered how Mac had suddenly sprouted all that hair—and had grown twice as big, right before his eyes. That was really weird.

When Scott checked the clock again, it was well past midnight. I fell asleep, Scott thought as he shot up in bed. But he didn’t go check on Mac. He didn’t even glance at the aquarium.

Scott threw on his clothes and sneaked out of the house. He was headed for Fear Lake. He didn’t want to go. But he couldn’t seem to stop himself. It was as if the lake were somehow calling to him, somehow controlling his every move, his every thought.

He walked through the woods as if he were in a trance. It was dark. And silent. Totally silent.

This is too scary, he thought. No one should be out here. In the middle of the night. Alone.

He tried to turn back. But every path he took seemed totally unfamiliar to him. And all of them led to the same place. All of them led to Fear Lake.

“You have the power to create life!” The words echoed through the darkness as Scott found himself moving closer and closer to the lake.

Was he imagining the voice? Was it simply echoing in his own mind? Scott couldn’t be certain. But he was sure of one thing—he did not have the power to turn back. Something was forcing him to continue onward.

Then, suddenly, without warning, the entire sky lit up with lightning. And the sound of thunder roared above him.

“You have the power to create life!” There was the voice again. Only this time it was much louder. And seemed to be coming from . . . the lake!

Scott whirled. To head back. But the invisible force turned him around. And propelled him forward. He felt as if someone—or something—were pushing him from behind.

“Stop!” Scott screamed. “Stop!” But the louder he yelled the faster he was shoved toward the lake.

Faster. Faster. He was sure he was going to be pushed right into the dark water.

But just as he reached the water’s edge, the force stopped pushing.

Scott stood still. Trying to catch his breath. That’s when he noticed the water in Fear Lake. It was bubbling and churning—the same way the water had bubbled and churned in Mac’s bowl.

And then it happened.

A huge monster rose from the inky water directly in front of Scott.

Scott thought about closing his eyes. Closing his eyes tightly so he wouldn’t have to look at the monster. But he was afraid that if he did that the monster would grab him and pull him down. Down into the evil water.

So he forced himself to stare at the creature. And his heart nearly burst in his chest—the monster looked just like Mac! It was Mac. Only worse.

It was dark and hairy and huge, with giant wings on its back. And its teeth were pointy—as sharp as sharks’ teeth.

Scott could hear screams in the distance. They sounded familiar. Scott hoped it was someone coming to rescue him.

Mac reached down and grabbed Scott around the neck with one huge, slimy, hairy paw. He yanked Scott six feet off the ground.

Scott tried to struggle free. But it was hopeless. This monster-Mac was stronger than twelve weight lifters.

Scott opened his mouth to yell, but the monster swatted his other huge paw over Scott’s lips, nearly knocking his head off.

The screams in the distance grew louder.

Closer.

But if someone was out there—trying to save him—it was too late.

Because Scott knew there was no way anyone could help.

There was no way he would ever escape Mac.

16

Mac suddenly released his grip.

Scott crashed to the ground. Hard.

His eyes popped wide open.

It took him a minute to realize that he wasn’t lying in the mud by the side of Fear Lake. He was lying on the floor. In his bedroom. He had tossed and turned himself right out of the bed.

Just a dream, thought Scott. Just a horrible dream.

Scott closed his eyes. But they flew wide open when he heard the scream.

A high scream.

Kelly’s screams—the screams he had heard echoing in his dream. Only he wasn’t dreaming anymore.

Scott saw his parents race past his door. “What’s going on?” he called.

“I don’t know,” his mother answered, without stopping.

Scott scrambled to his feet. But just as he was about to dash after her, he spotted something terrifying. And he wished he were still dreaming.

There on the floor lay the dictionary and the encyclopedia.

Please, oh please, let Mac be in there, Scott prayed as he cautiously approached the aquarium.

But Mac was gone.

Scott rushed out of his room and down the hall. As he reached the door to Kelly’s bedroom, he half expected to see Mac standing six feet tall, looming over her.

Scott didn’t see Mac. But he was pretty sure Mac was responsible for what he did see.

Kelly stood at the foot of her bed. Her long blond hair was twisted together in front of her face and tied in a million little knots. Scott could barely even see the tip of her nose sticking out.

“How on earth did this happen?” Scott’s father asked, trying to untie some of the hair in front of her face.

“I don’t know!” Kelly answered hysterically. “I just woke up like this!”

Scott knew he had to find Mac before anyone else did. He glanced around Kelly’s room, checking the floor, the curtains, the desk. Then he spotted Mac crawling out from under Kelly’s pillow.

Scott slid past his parents and sat down on Kelly’s bed, right in front of Mac. To hide him.

“Oooooouch!” Kelly screamed. “You’re hurting me!”

“I hate to tell you this, Kel,” their mother said apologetically. “I think we’re going to have to cut it.”

“Noooooo!” Kelly screamed and burst into tears.

Scott felt like screaming, too—when he saw Mac clap his hands with joy. Then the little ape leaped off the bed and darted across the floor—in plain view.

“Maybe you should go down in the kitchen and put some peanut butter in Kelly’s hair,” Scott blurted out. He had to get everyone out of there—fast.

Kelly cried harder and his mother frowned at him. “Really,” Scott said. “Glen got some gum in his hair once and that’s how his mom got it out.” No one bothered to answer.

Mac stood between Kelly’s bare feet, grinning up at Scott.

“I promise you, it’ll grow back,” their mother said, trying to comfort Kelly.

Scott picked up one of the stuffed animals on Kelly’s bed and hurled it at Mac. He missed. Mac waved at him.

“Leave my stuff alone!” Kelly wailed.

Scott’s father glanced at him with angry, narrowed eyes.

“I can’t even begin to imagine how this happened,” Scott’s father began, trying to break the tension. “What were you doing? Having a wrestling match in your sleep?” he asked. He was trying to make Kelly smile. It wasn’t working.

Scott gasped as Mac strutted toward his father’s pajama leg.

“What?” Scott’s father asked.

“Nothing,” Scott lied. He watched Mac crawl closer to his dad. “I just can’t believe that Kelly’s got to get her hair cut off, that’s all.”

“Drop dead!” Kelly screamed. Then she shoved Scott off the bed.

This was his chance.

His only chance.

Scott fell to the floor. He sprawled out at his father’s feet and stretched his hand out to grab Mac.

His eyes met Mac’s for a moment.

Scott swore Mac winked at him. Then he scampered to the wall and slithered right down one of the large, open air vents.

Oh, no, Scott thought. Mac is running loose in the house—and I don’t know what he’ll do next.

He’s out of control!

17

“He’s running loose in my house!” Scott told Glen for the hundredth time. “We’ve got to get him out of there!”

Scott turned his bicycle into his driveway and hurried into the garage. Glen was right behind him.

All day at school Scott had asked himself the same question over and over: What is Mac doing now?

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell your mom about Mac,” Glen said, parking his bike.

“Do you know what kind of trouble I’d be in if she knew about Mac?”

“Yeah.” Glen nodded. “But what if she saw Mac running around the house today? Or what if he did something even worse? Just think how really mad she’ll be. What are you going to say then?”

“We’re going to play dumb,” he told Glen. “If something bad has happened, let me do all the talking.”

“Let’s start looking for Mac in the den,” Scott suggested. “That’s where the air vents in Kelly’s room lead to.”

Scott turned the doorknob to the den. He hesitated for a moment. Okay, he thought. Now I’m ready—for anything.

But he wasn’t ready for what he saw when he opened the door. Kelly stood in the den. Her hair was cut shorter than he’d ever seen it. It was almost as short as his hair.

“Doesn’t Kelly’s hair look nice?” his mother asked in a tone of voice that told Scott the only acceptable answer was yes.

But Scott couldn’t speak.

Glen picked up the slack. “Nice hairdo, Kelly.”

“Yeah. Nice hairdo, Kel,” Scott repeated.

That seemed to satisfy Scott’s mother. “See,” she said to Kelly. “Didn’t I tell you?”

Then she turned her attention back to Scott. “Kelly and I are going out for a few minutes,” she told him. “We have to go to the fabric store to pick up a little more material for Kelly’s dress. We shouldn’t be too long. Please behave while I’m gone.” She always said that last part before she left the house.

“Okay,” Scott answered. He couldn’t wait for his mother to leave. He needed time to search for Mac.

When Scott’s mother opened the door, she hesitated. “It looks like it’s going to rain,” she said. “Maybe we shouldn’t go now.”

“Mom,” Kelly whined. “We have to go. Puh-lease.”

“Okay, okay,” their mom gave in.

Kelly turned back to them before she stepped into the hall. “My dress is on the couch,” she said. “Don’t you dare touch it while we’re gone.” Then she slammed the door behind her.

Glen crossed over to the couch and touched the dress. “There. I touched it,” he said.

“It doesn’t seem like my mom knows anything about Mac,” Scott said, relieved.

“If you’re lucky, she’ll never find out,” Glen replied. “At least he hasn’t done anything bad since this morning.”

“We’ve got about an hour before my mom gets back. We’ve got to find him.” Scott headed out of the den. “Let’s start with my room.”

As they passed the kitchen, Scott heard a noise. A loud, crunching noise. Glen heard it, too.

“What is that?” Glen asked.

“I don’t know.” Scott walked slowly into the kitchen toward the sound. It came from one of the cabinets.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

“What is that?” Glen repeated.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Scott answered. He reached out and grabbed one of the cabinet handles.

He really didn’t want to open it.

He knew that there was trouble behind that door. Big trouble that started with the letter M!

But he had no choice.

He had to open that door.

18

Scott slowly swung the cabinet door open.

And Mac tumbled out—in an avalanche of cereal, pasta, beans, sugar, and flour.

“Look what he did!” Scott cried.

Every box in the cabinet had been clawed to shreds. And half-eaten food littered the cabinet everywhere—chewed-up cookies, gnawed macaroni, crunched Cruncho-Crispies—Kelly’s favorite cereal—nibbled lima beans, chomped crackers, munched potato chips.

“He opened every single box and tasted everything,” Glen noted. “Except the prunes.”

It was true. The box of prunes remained untouched on the cabinet shelf.

Scott glanced around the kitchen. The food had tumbled out of the cabinet, onto the counter, and had spilled onto the floor.

And there was Mac. Standing in the middle of it. Covered in flour. He looked like the Abominable Snowman.

As he stomped around the crumbs, picking out cracker pieces, little clouds of flour puffed from his furry body.

“My mom’s going to go crazy when she sees this!”

“Don’t worry,” Glen told him. “We’ll clean it up before she gets home.”

Scott hoped they would have time to do that. But first he had to figure out a way to get Mac under control. And he didn’t have a lot of time to think about it.

There was only one thing for Scott to do. He was going to have to grab Mac quickly and find something to put him in. Something with a lid.

Scott knew that he had to move fast. He couldn’t give Mac time to escape again. So, without any warning, Scott dove right at Mac, sliding on some flour and rice.

But, as usual, Mac was quicker than Scott. In fact he was so quick it took Scott a minute to realize that he didn’t have Mac in his grip.

“Get him, Glen!” Scott shouted as Mac tore across the kitchen floor.

Glen lunged for Mac. Only Mac was way too fast for Glen. He dodged him. And Glen went sailing across the floor right smack into one of the legs of the kitchen table. Head first.

“Oooooouch!” Glen moaned. “I think I broke my head!”

“You did not break your head,” Scott groaned.

“Yeah, well it sure feels like it,” Glen shot back, rubbing his forehead. “My whole head is pounding.”

“If we don’t catch Mac and clean this place up before my mother gets home, it’s going to be pounding even more,” Scott said as he pulled Glen to his feet. “Because she’s going to be screaming at us at the top of her lungs.”

Glen bolted out of the kitchen. “Come on,” he shouted. “If Mac ran straight when he left the kitchen, he should be in your father’s study.”

Scott nearly choked at the sight in his father’s study. Glen was right. Mac was in his father’s study. Or at least he had been.

Papers and files and books covered the floor. The old-fashioned inkwell his father kept in the center of the desk had been knocked over. And ink was dripping all over his father’s fancy leather blotter.

“Your mother’s not going to be the only one screaming at the top of her lungs,” Glen said as he stood staring at the mess.

“Tell me about it.” Scott’s heart sank. He knew that there was no way in the world they would be able to clean up his father’s study and the kitchen before his mother returned home.

“Wh-what are we going to do?” Glen stammered.

“First we have to find Mac,” Scott answered. “And we’d better find him fast—before he destroys the whole house!”

Scott took off down the hallway, with Glen right behind him. If Mac was still moving in a straight line, he was probably headed for the one room that was off-limits to everyone—the dining room!

“Hurry up,” Scott urged Glen. All of his mother’s expensive china and crystal were displayed in the dining room. And if something happened to any of her “good stuff,” his mother would kill him. It was as simple as that.

Scott rushed into the dining room and glanced around frantically.

It took him a minute to realize that everything was okay.

Nothing was broken.

Mac hadn’t been in the room.

“At least he’s not in here,” Scott said, feeling incredibly relieved.

Only he wasn’t relieved for long.

When he left the dining room and headed into the den, he saw something so horrifying that he wished Mac had broken all of his mother’s fine crystal instead.

A pile of smashed crystal would have been a whole lot easier for his mother to forgive.

19

Kelly’s dress. The dress for the dance.

The one that Scott’s mother had been working so hard on for weeks . . . was ruined.

Scott covered his face. He couldn’t stand to look at what Mac had done.

Both sleeves had been torn off. One of them was on the floor, ripped to shreds. The other was stuck to the side of the couch with pins.

There were gold beads tossed all over the room. But there wasn’t a single one on Kelly’s dress anymore. It had taken his mother days to sew on all those beads!

Worst of all, horrible stains covered almost every inch of the material. Stains that looked like they had come from a thick black marker.

“Your mom is going to go ballistic if she sees this!” Glen shrieked.

“Yeah.” Scott uncovered his face and stared, dumbfounded, at the disaster. “And she’s going to blame us.”

“Not if we fix it before she gets home. That’s what we’ll do. We’ll fix it. You’ll see. Everything will be okay. We’ll fix everything.” Glen ran around the room trying to collect all the beads.

Scott slowly walked over to the couch and peered down at the remains of Kelly’s dress.

It wasn’t going to be okay. And Scott knew it. There was no way in the world the two of them could ever fix what Mac had done now.

“It’s no use, Glen,” Scott said numbly, too shocked to panic. “There’s nothing we can do.”

Then Scott spotted Mac—climbing up the side of the curtains behind the couch. “There he is!” Scott screamed.

Mac scurried up the curtains and ran across the top of the curtain rod before Scott could grab him.

“Mac!” Scott screamed. “Get back here!”

But Mac jumped off the top of the curtain rod and tore across the room.

Glen tore after him. And so did Scott.

“Stay with him!” Scott ordered Glen as they chased Mac down the hallway and back toward the kitchen. “If we lose him again, who knows what he’ll do!”

“He’s too fast.” Glen panted. “We’re never going to catch him!”

Then Scott had a brilliant idea. If they couldn’t catch Mac, maybe they could just chase him right out of the house.

“Glen,” Scott called as they ran through the kitchen and into the hallway. “Forget about Mac, and go open the door in the den that leads out to the garage.”

“Why?” Glen asked.

“Because I’m going to try to chase Mac right out into the garage. Then we can get rid of him,” Scott whispered. “Forever!”

“Good thinking!” Glen trotted toward the den, while Scott raced after Mac.

Mac led Scott through every room on the first floor of the house. Finally the furry creature darted back into the den.

“Get away from the door!” Scott screamed as he chased Mac across the room. “You’ll scare him and he’ll run the other way!”

Glen quickly jumped aside. And Mac dashed through the open door, just the way Scott hoped he would.

“Come on!” Scott yelled. “I’ll chase him outside. You get ready to hit the switch that closes the garage door.”

Scott and Glen darted out the den door and slammed it behind them—just as a bucket of nuts and bolts crashed down from a shelf that ran along the left side of the garage wall.

Scott peered up and spotted Mac zipping across the shelf.

“Oh, no!” Scott gasped as Mac stopped to push a can of paint off the shelf. As it hit the floor, the lid blew off.

Splat!

Red paint flew everywhere—the walls, the floor, the workbench. And worst of all, a big blotch splashed across the side of Scott’s father’s white car.

Scott stared at the car, horrified. “Why couldn’t Dad have been driving the car pool today?” he moaned.

“If your father sees this, we’re dead meat.”

Mac jumped down from the shelf and landed on top of the car.

“You’re going to be the dead one!” Scott screamed at Mac. Then he lunged for the hood of the car. But Mac escaped once more.

Only this time Scott was happy. Because this time Mac ran straight out of the garage. And straight down the driveway.

“Close the door!” Scott yelled at Glen. “Close the door!”

Glen hit the button on the side of the wall that controlled the automatic garage door.

And as the door started to move down, Mac turned around and started running back up the driveway.

“Hurry up! Hurry up!” Scott jumped up and down and hollered at the door, as if that would make it move faster.

He held his breath as the door came down. Closer and closer to the floor.

The door was only inches away from the floor now.

Mac was only inches away from being gone forever.

We did it! Scott thought. We did it!

And then Scott heard the cry.

A terrifying cry.

20

“We squashed him!” Glen screamed.

Scott could see that for himself. Poking out from under the closed garage door were one of Mac’s arms and one of his legs. And they weren’t moving. The rest of Mac had to be smashed under the door.

Scott felt sick to his stomach. He never really wanted to kill the creature. He just wanted to get rid of it.

Scott hit the button to make the door go back up again. Outside, a fine drizzle had begun to fall.

Well, he thought. It doesn’t look as though Mac is going to be a problem for us anymore.

Scott moved closer to take a better look. Mac’s head was almost flat. His body was surrounded by a puddle of slime. Little raindrops splattered in the goo.

“He’s totally smushed,” Scott announced.

“Too gross,” Glen said.

“Yeah,” Scott agreed, peering down at Mac. “We probably ought to bury him or something,” he said to Glen.

Glen nodded. “We’re going to have to scrape him off the floor first,” he pointed out. He nudged Mac with the tip of his sneaker—and one of Mac’s legs fell off.

“Oh, gross!” Scott shouted. He turned his head away.

“Come on. We’d better move fast,” Glen said. “It’s starting to rain hard now.”

Mac was getting wet. Raindrops bounced off his squished head, his pancake body, his crushed arms and legs.

But now . . . he seemed to be . . . changing.

He wasn’t so flat anymore.

He seemed to be puffing up.

“Oh, no,” Scott gasped. “Not again!”

21

“The water is bringing him back to life!” Scott screamed.

“And look at his leg!” Glen cried. “It’s growing back!”

“That’s impossible,” Scott shouted. But as he bent closer, he realized Glen was right. Mac’s leg was growing back.

A piece of jagged bone stuck out from the place where Mac’s leg should have been. And it was growing longer and longer. Then strands of muscles and veins sprouted around the bone.

Scott noticed that the old leg, the one that had fallen off, was shriveling up as fast as the new one grew. “This is the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen,” Scott said, backing away from Mac.

“How can this be happening?” Glen backed away from Mac, too.

“It must be the water,” Scott answered. “Remember when we came home from the arcade and he was all shriveled up? Once we placed him back in the water he was fine. Better than fine. It made him grow. It looks like water can cure Mac of anything!”

“Yeah,” Glen gasped. “Even death!”

Scott watched in horror as Mac jumped to his feet, looking as big as before—and stronger than ever!

We’re never going to get rid of Mac! Scott realized. Never! He’s totally indestructible!

“What are we going to do now?” Glen asked in a nervous little whisper.

Mac stood there, with his eyes glued to the two of them.

Scott’s mind raced. He had no idea what to do.

“Maybe if we just leave him alone out here, he’ll go away,” Glen suggested hopefully.

Scott thought about that for a second. He wished with all his heart that Mac would just go away. But that wasn’t going to happen. And Scott knew it.

There was only one thing to do. Somehow, someway, they had to catch Mac and keep him locked up forever.

Without a word Scott started inching toward Mac.

Mac didn’t move.

“What are you doing?” Glen asked.

“Just shut up,” Scott told Glen. He took another step toward Mac.

Mac still didn’t move.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Mac,” Scott said in a gentle tone. He didn’t want Mac to tear off again. “I just want to pet you,” Scott lied. “That’s all.”

“Are you crazy, or what?” Glen asked in disbelief.

Scott reached out to snatch Mac. Mac screeched in fury, and swiped at Scott’s face with his sharp claws.

Scott jerked his head back, but Mac dug his claws right into the top of Scott’s hand. “Ow!” Scott screamed.

Mac screeched again. Then he leaped from Scott’s hand onto one of the shelves in the garage.

As Scott cradled his hand, Mac picked up a hammer and sent it hurling right for Scott’s head.

“Look out!” Glen screamed.

Scott ducked just in time. The hammer missed his head by an inch.

Then Mac picked up a screwdriver and threw it—like a spear—at Glen.

“He’s trying to kill us!” Glen screamed. He barely escaped being hit. “Let’s get inside!”

They both ran for the door.

“Hurry up!” Scott yelled as Glen struggled with the doorknob. “Hurry up!”

Glen finally pushed the door open, and he and Scott rushed into the den.

Scott tried to slam the door behind them. But it wouldn’t shut.

Because Mac was pushing on it from the other side.

“Help me, Glen!” Scott called. He pushed the door with all his might.

Glen threw his weight against the door, too.

But Mac was stronger than both of them combined. Scott and Glen fell on their backs as Mac burst through the door, tore through the den, and disappeared into the house.

22

“Come on.” Scott jumped to his feet. “We have to call the police.”

“And tell them what?” Glen demanded. “That we’ve got a giant killer aqua ape running loose in the house? Like they’re really going to believe that.”

“So we’ll tell them that a burglar broke in or a wild animal or something. Anything to get them over here,” Scott answered.

“They aren’t—” Glen began.

“Mac thinks we tried to crush him with the garage door,” Scott interrupted. “He’s mad—and he’s going to come after us. I’m calling 9-1-1 right now.”

Scott and Glen rushed to the kitchen phone. Scott started to dial. And then he heard the screams coming from the den.

“Scott!” The sound of his mother’s voice was almost more terrifying than anything Mac had done. “You get in here right this second!”

Scott’s stomach clenched. Now he felt really sick. As he and Glen trudged into the den, Scott’s mind raced to find a way to tell his mother about Mac.

“What have you done!” Scott’s mother shrieked at him the moment he stepped into the room.

“Mom, I didn’t do it,” Scott said. “I swear I didn’t.”

Scott’s mother glared at him as she stood holding the shreds of Kelly’s dress. “Then who did?”

“We grew an aqua ape,” Scott blurted out. “He got way bigger than the instructions said. Now he’s loose in the house. He’s destroying everything. And he’s after me and Glen! You’ve got to help us.”

“Oh, Scott.” His mother shook her head in disgust. “Do you really expect me to believe that story?”

“Mom, please,” Scott begged. “I’m telling the truth. Right, Glen?”

Glen nodded his head, looking terrified.

“I don’t want to hear one more word of this nonsense,” Scott’s mother yelled. She was angrier than Scott had ever seen her. She threw the ruined dress onto the couch.

“I hate you!” Kelly screamed at Scott. “I hate you both!” Then she burst into tears.

“Don’t cry, Kelly,” her mother said soothingly. She gently stroked Kelly’s hair—well, what was left of it—as she glared at Scott. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay!” Kelly wailed. “My dress is ruined! Now I can’t go to the dance!”

“We’re just going to have to go out and buy the dress in the mall,” her mother said. “And you, young man, are going to pay for it,” she said to Scott. “Out of your allowance. Even if it takes the rest of your life!”

Scott stood silent.

“In fact,” his mother continued, “Kelly and I are going to go out right now to get it. I will deal with you and this mess when I get back!”

Scott’s mother and Kelly left without another word.

“I wish I’d never heard of aqua apes,” Scott moaned. Then his head dropped to his chest—and Mac sprang out from between the sofa cushions.

“There he is!” Glen screamed. Mac screamed back even louder, baring his teeth.

“Get him,” Scott yelled.

Mac grabbed a handful of the beads from Kelly’s ruined dress and hurled them at Scott and Glen.

Three of the beads hit Scott in the face. “Ye-ouch!” Scott cried, trying to rub away the stinging pain.

Mac grabbed one of the sleeves of Kelly’s dress and raced out of the den.

“We’ve got to find him,” Scott said. “He’s not going to stop until he gets us.”

“Let’s split up,” Glen suggested. “You take the upstairs. I’ll look for him down here.”

“Good idea!” Scott agreed.

Scott charged up the stairs. The first door he came to was the hall linen closet. He peeked inside. No Mac hiding in the bedsheets. He bent down on his hands and knees to check the closet floor—when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Scott sprang up and screamed.

“It’s just me,” Glen whispered.

“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be checking the downstairs.”

“I—uh—decided we shouldn’t split up after all,” Glen stammered. “It’s, um, not safe. . . .”

“Sshh!” Scott interrupted. “Listen.” Scott stared into the closet, expecting to see Mac jump out at them.

Then he realized the sound he heard wasn’t coming from the closet. It was coming from down the hall.

“It sounds like water running,” Glen said.

“Come on!” Scott grabbed Glen and tugged him down the hall. “He’s in the bathroom!”

The moment they reached the bathroom door, Scott gasped. Water was spilling over the sink, flooding the bathroom floor.

“Look at this! The whole place is soaked!” Scott quickly turned the water off. “Get some towels!”

Glen jerked a cabinet open, yanked out some towels, and threw them down on the floor.

As Scott and Glen soaked up the water, they noticed even more water pouring out onto the floor.

Only it wasn’t coming from the sink.

It was coming from under the lid of the toilet bowl.

“What is going on?” Scott lifted the lid of the toilet to peer inside.

And there was Mac.

Glaring up at him.

His eyes were jet-black now. The centers were red and glowing.

Mac bared his ugly teeth. They were longer and sharper than ever. Even his fur looked sharp, like porcupine quills.

Scott slammed the toilet shut. “He’s in there. And he’s bigger and meaner than ever!”

“Flush him!” Glen screamed. “Flush him!” He sat down on the top part of the lid. “Hurry up!”

Mac shoved hard against the lid. The lid flew open with a bang. Glen crashed to the floor.

“Get up!” Scott screamed, trying to hold the lid down by himself. “Help me!”

Glen jumped up and sat on the lid again. But Mac snapped it open—just enough to shoot out a furry claw. And jab it into Glen’s leg.

“Oooow,” Glen wailed, grasping his thigh.

“Stand up a little so I can shove his hand back inside,” Scott cried.

Glen stood up and Scott tried to push Mac’s hand down into the toilet, but Mac swiped at Scott’s arm. Scott let out a shriek as blood trickled from the cut.

Now both of Mac’s arms were hanging out of the toilet. Then he popped his head out, too. He was grinning. An evil grin.

Scott leaned over, picked up the toilet bowl brush next to the sink, and batted Mac with it.

The hairy creature slid from the rim and plopped into the water.

Glen slammed the lid down once again. The two boys leaped on top of it together.

“Flush it!” Glen screamed. “Flush it! Now!”

Scott reached behind him and pushed the handle down hard.

From inside, they heard Mac screech—long and loud.

Scott froze as he heard the water swirling around the inside of the bowl.

Then he heard the sound of the water being sucked down through the pipes.

Then everything went silent.

23

“You look.”

“I don’t want to look,” Glen said. “Why do we have to look, anyway?”

“We have to make sure he’s really gone. That’s why.” Scott sighed.

“Well, it’s your toilet bowl, so you look.”

It took all the courage Scott had to lift the toilet lid and peek inside.

He lifted it slowly.

He stared into the water.

There was no sign of Mac. One flush had sent Mac swirling out of their lives for good. As Scott closed the lid, another sigh escaped his lips—this one a sigh of relief.

Scott glanced around the bathroom. “We’d better start cleaning up this mess before my mother gets home. Go downstairs to the kitchen and get a mop so we can sop up all this water from the floor.”

Glen headed out.

Scott lifted the soaking wet bath mat off the floor and dropped it into the bathtub. He sat on the edge of the tub and started wringing what seemed like gallons of water out of the mat.

Crack! The lid of the toilet blew open!

24

Scott watched in horror as Mac burst out of the toilet and flew straight at him.

Scott screamed as Mac hovered above him.

Mac had the wingspan of a bat now. He flapped his wings wildly and let out a bloodcurdling shriek.

Scott couldn’t take his eyes off Mac’s glistening yellow teeth. They had grown to the size of fangs.

Mac dove down, claws stretched out at Scott.

“Get away from me!” Scott covered his face with one arm.

Mac retreated. Then he swooped down again, his mouth open wide—ready to bite.

Scott dashed out of the bathroom. He ran down the hallway. Mac flew after him. Screeching and swooping.

“Glen!” Scott screamed as he reached the top of the stairs. “Help me!” Scott barely got the words out of his mouth before Mac attacked, diving straight for his face.

Scott felt Mac’s razor-sharp claws scratch his cheek. Scott jerked away. His feet slipped on the carpeted stairs. Slipped out from under him. And he tumbled down the stairs.

When he reached the bottom, he scrambled up—before Mac could swoop down on him again.

He raced through the living room toward the kitchen. Mac hovered right over him. Screeching and diving.

Glen headed out of the kitchen with a mop in one hand and a cookie in the other. At the sight of Mac, he dropped both. “Where did he come from?” he screamed, dashing back into the kitchen.

“He came back out of the toilet!” Scott yelled. “And now he’s trying to kill me!”

Mac swooped down at Scott’s face again. This time, Scott tried to grab him. But Mac’s fur jabbed into Scott’s palms. “Don’t touch him!” Scott told Glen. “His hair feels like needles!”

“I don’t want to touch him!” Glen hollered as he dove under the kitchen table.

Scott’s eyes darted around the kitchen—searching for something he could use for protection. He thought about grabbing the flyswatter, but no way would that stop Mac.

Mac swooped under the table and headed for Glen. “Watch out!” Scott screamed. Glen rolled out of the way before Mac could claw him.

Mac circled the kitchen and landed on top of the refrigerator. And for a minute he just perched there—cackling at Scott and Glen.

“We’ve got to do something!” Glen cried. “Or we’re going to die!”

Scott noticed the frying pan sitting on top of the stove. It gave him an idea.

With one eye on Mac, Scott edged over to the stove and grabbed the pan. He hid it behind his back.

“Come on, you stupid pig-monkey,” Scott called angrily. “Come and get me!”

“Are you out of your mind!” Glen jumped to the other side of the room.

“Come on, Mac!” Scott yelled again, ignoring Glen. “Come get me, you dumb aqua ape!”

Mac fluttered his wings. He bared his teeth. He let out one, loud, angry screech. And then he dove from the top of the refrigerator—straight at Scott.

Scott swung the frying pan and prepared to slam Mac the same way he would a fast ball. Just as Mac came about an arm’s length away, Scott swung as hard as he could. A direct hit!

Mac sailed across the kitchen and slammed into the opposite wall with a splat. Then he crumpled to the floor, stunned.

“We’ve got to put him in something quick—before he wakes up,” Scott told Glen.

“Then what are we going to do with him?” Glen asked. He bent down and started digging through one of the lower cabinets.

“Nothing. You know how he gets all dry and wrinkly when he’s out of the water too long?”

“Yeah,” Glen answered, moving on to the next cabinet.

“Well, I bet if we keep him trapped out of water, he’ll dry up completely. He’ll turn back into one of the crystals.”

“Maybe,” Glen answered. He didn’t sound convinced.

Scott noticed the cookie jar on the counter.

“We’ll put him in this,” he said as he grabbed the jar.

Mac started to moan.

“Hurry up! Hurry up!” Glen warned.

Scott quickly opened the jar and dumped all the cookies out onto the counter. Then he tiptoed over to Mac. “Just pick him up and put him in here,” Scott whispered to Glen.

“I’m not picking him up,” Glen said.

“I smashed him,” Scott insisted. “You pick him up!”

“I’m not touching him!” Glen screamed.

“Fine.” Scott grabbed the aqua ape by the tip of one wing and dropped him in the jar.

“Now what?” Glen asked.

“Tape!” Scott answered. He grabbed a roll of heavy-duty tape from the junk drawer. “Hold the lid on,” Scott ordered. Then he used the whole roll to tape the top on the jar.

“I’m going to get some more tape,” Scott announced. “Just to make sure.”

“Well, hurry up!” Glen screamed after him. “Before he wakes up and chews through this thing.”

Scott dashed out to the garage and came back with a roll of clear tape, a roll of electrical tape, and two rolls of masking tape.

“I thought I heard him scratching around in there,” Glen said. “He’s waking up.”

Scott and Glen wrapped the entire cookie jar in tape. They didn’t hear another sound from Mac.

When all the tape was gone, they took the jar up to Scott’s room and stuck it all the way in the back of his closet. They piled some old clothes in front of it. Then they shut the closet door behind them.

25

“Listen,” Scott said to Glen three days later. He shook the cookie jar near Glen’s ear.

Glen listened. “I don’t hear a thing,” he told Scott.

Scott shook the jar again, closer to Glen’s ear. “Do you hear it now?” Scott asked.

Glen started to shake his head no. But he stopped himself. “Yeah,” he answered. “It hardly sounds like anything at all.”

“I think it worked,” Scott said. “I think Mac’s dried up into a little crystal again.”

“I don’t know,” Glen replied nervously.

“It’s been three whole days since he’s been out of water.” Scott was trying to convince himself as much as Glen.

“Why can’t we just throw this stupid cookie jar in the garbage and forget about it?”

“Because we’ve got to make sure that he’s really gone,” Scott told Glen. “And we’ll never know for sure unless we look.”

“I don’t want to look!” Glen insisted.

“We’ve got to do it, Glen,” Scott said, even though he didn’t want to look either. “If we don’t, we’ll always be afraid Mac’s going to come after us.”

Scott took a deep breath and started peeling off the tape.

Glen jumped off the bed in a panic. “What if he isn’t a crystal, huh? What if he’s in there just trying to psych us out?”

“What do you mean?” Scott stopped peeling the tape.

“What if he’s clinging to the sides of the stupid thing so we can’t hear him moving around when we shake it?”

“There’s nothing in there for him to cling to,” Scott answered. And just to make sure he shook the jar again—as hard as he could.

Scott started peeling off the tape again. And with every layer he unwrapped, he could see Glen turning whiter and whiter.

What if Glen was right? What if opening the jar was a big mistake?

Scott’s hands were trembling as he pulled off the last piece of tape.

“If you open that up,” Glen warned, “and he’s in there—we’re dead.”

Scott knew that was true. But he had to do it. He had to know once and for all that Mac was out of their lives for good.

Scott held his breath. But as he pulled the lid off, the air that was trapped inside of his chest escaped in a huge sigh of relief.

“Glen!” Scott cried out excitedly. “It worked!”

“We did it!” Glen exclaimed. He high-fived Scott. “We got rid of Mac!”

For a minute the two boys sat on the bed, staring into the jar. Scott couldn’t believe that it was finally over. He couldn’t believe that the only thing left of the monster they had created was a tiny little black crystal.

“So what are we going to do with it?” Glen asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Nothing,” Scott answered, as he reached for the lid of the jar. “We’re never going to do anything with it ever again.” Scott closed the cookie jar. “Until the day we die, Mac is staying a crystal. And he’s staying right here.”

Scott buried the jar in the back of his closet.

The battle was finally over.

The swimming, waving, disgusting little pig-monkey of a monster was definitely out of their lives for good.

26

“Don’t even think about it!”

“Aw, come on, Glen,” Scott begged. “Look how cool this is.” Scott bit the inside of his lip so he wouldn’t crack up in Glen’s face.

Glen didn’t even bother glancing at the ad Scott was waving in front of his nose. He just stared at Scott—as if he were insane.

“Wonder worms, Glen,” Scott said, as he pointed to the ad in the comic book. “We’ve got to get them!”

“Are you out of your mind?”

Scott cracked up. He couldn’t keep a straight face any longer. “Gotcha!”

“Not funny.” Glen sighed. “Are we going to the mall or what?” he asked.

“Yeah. Yeah.” Scott laughed as he threw the comic book down on his bed. “We’re going. Just let me get my jacket.”

Things are finally back to normal, Scott thought as he made his way to the closet. The video game place at the mall even had a new manager, so he and Glen could hang out there again.

Scott pulled open his closet door.

“Nooooo!” Scott screamed.

Nothing in his closet was where it had been when Scott took off for school that morning. All his clothes were hanging neatly. And all the shoes were lined up on the floor.

And the cookie jar was nowhere to be seen.

“What? What?” Glen yelled.

“My mother cleaned my closet!” Scott exclaimed. He didn’t have to say another word for Glen to know exactly what the problem was.

“Mom!” Scott hollered, as he and Glen raced out of the room and down the stairs. “Mom!”

“I’m in the kitchen,” she called back.

“Mom!” Scott ran into the kitchen with Glen right behind. “Mom,” Scott repeated, trying to sound calm. “Did you by any chance clean my room today?” He already knew the answer.

His mother laughed. “So you noticed,” she said over her shoulder as she bent down to get something out of the cabinet under the sink. “Maybe you can try to keep it that way for a while, huh?”

“Yeah.” He told her what she wanted to hear, just so she would answer his next question. “When you were cleaning my room, did you find a cookie jar in my closet?”

“Yes,” she answered, pouring detergent into the dishwasher. “As a matter of fact, I did. And do you mind telling me what my cookie jar was doing in the bottom of your closet?”

Scott ignored his mother’s question and asked another one of his own. One that was much more important. “You didn’t open it, did you?”

“Yes. I did.” His mother stared at him as if he were nuts. She closed the dishwasher door. “But there was nothing in it.”

“Are you sure?” Glen asked.

“I didn’t see anything,” she told him. “Just some crumbs. What are all these questions about?”

Scott ignored her again. “Well, what did you do with it?” he asked. “What did you do with the cookie jar?”

“It’s in the dishwasher,” she answered, pushing the button to turn the dishwasher on.

“No!” Scott and Glen screamed. But it was already too late. They could already hear the sound of water spraying inside the machine.

“You two definitely need a hobby,” Scott’s mother said, as she turned and headed out of the room.

Scott and Glen stood frozen in horror.

They stared at the machine.

They stared as a giant monkey claw slammed out of the door of the dishwasher. Mac’s giant monkey claw.

And he was definitely not waving.

R.L. STINE IS ONE OF THE BEST-SELLING AUTHORS IN AMERICA AND HAS SOLD MORE THAN 300 MILLION BOOKS. HIS SERIES INCLUDE FEAR STREET, GHOSTS OF FEAR STREET, FEAR STREET SAGAS, GOOSEBUMPS, AND GOOSEBUMPS HORRORLAND. HE LIVES IN NEW YORK CITY WITH HIS WIFE, JANE.

ALADDIN

Simon & Schuster, New York

Cover designed by Karin Paprocki

Cover illustration copyright © 2009 by Owen Richardson

Ages 8–12
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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This Aladdin paperback edition October 2009

The Attack of the Aqua Apes copyright © 1995 by Parachute Press, Inc.

The Attack of the Aqua Apes written by A. G. Cascone

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Designed by Karin Paprocki

Library of Congress Control Number 2009928750

ISBN 978-1-4169-9136-6

ISBN 13: 978-1-4424-8619-5 (eBook)

These titles were previously published individually by Pocket Books.