Secret Agent Grandma, Page 4

Turn to PAGE 8.

  “This would be a good chance to find out more about Grandma,” you tell Sophie and Andrew. “Let’s search her room.”

  “Right, chief.” Sophie salutes you.

  You all trudge up to Grandma’s room. The door is shut.

  Glancing around, you quickly turn the doorknob. Then the three of you slip inside.

  You gaze around the room. It just looks like an ordinary bedroom.

  Andrew fidgets beside you. “We should hurry,” he urges. “I don’t want to get caught in here.”

  He’s right.

  But where do you begin?

  To search the closets, turn to PAGE 62.

  To look under the bed, turn to PAGE 76.

  “Is something wrong?” a voice asks behind you.

  You turn and face your grandmother standing on the platform. She and the woman on the train could be twins! What’s going on?

  Is this woman really your grandmother? Or is your real grandmother in terrible trouble on the train?

  “Shouldn’t we be getting a taxi, Cookie?”

  You stare at her. Could you have made a mistake?

  “All aboard,” the conductor shouts. The train lets out an exhausted wheeze, then slowly pulls forward.

  You could jump on the train now and find out if the woman in danger is your real grandma. Or you could assume the woman standing in front of you is the right woman. After all, she recognized you — and you didn’t get a good look at the woman on the train.

  It’s now or never. What are you going to do?

  If you leap aboard before the train pulls out, turn to PAGE 110.

  If you believe you found the right Grandma, go to PAGE 26.

  “Stay away from her!” the new Grandma warns. “She’s evil!”

  “Don’t listen to her,” the other Grandma yells. “She’s an impostor!”

  Your head spins. Ginny’s gaze shoots back and forth between the identical Grandmas. Chuck stares with his mouth open so wide you can see the rubber bands on the inside of his braces.

  Grandma #1 — the one who fought the three creatures — leaps into her martial-arts stance again. “Don’t mess with me,” she snarls.

  The new Grandma — Grandma #2 — cowers by the door to the baggage compartment. “Oh, no!” she whimpers. “She’s going to get me. She’ll get all of us!”

  “Shut up, you fake!” Grandma #1 snaps. “These kids are too smart to fall for your act. Right?”

  She gazes straight at you.

  Which Grandma is your grandma?

  If you think Grandma #2 is your real grandma, turn to PAGE 23.

  If you choose Grandma #1, turn to PAGE 52.

  “Refrigeration is the way to go,” you decide.

  You, Sophie, and Andrew gather up the eggs. It takes you each three trips to get them all into the house.

  By eating the leftover plate of chicken, throwing out the brussels sprouts, and rearranging the milk and juice, you manage to fit all the eggs into the refrigerator. By the time you’re done, it’s dark outside.

  “Uh, guys,” you say to Sophie and Andrew. “Not that I’m scared or anything, but would you mind sleeping over?”

  They must understand how you’re feeling. They don’t even tease you. They just exchange a nervous look and say yes.

  The next morning the sun streams through your bedroom window. You stretch, wiggling your toes and fingers.

  Then you freeze. Your heart pounds hard in your chest.

  Noises. Noises downstairs.

  Turn to PAGE 60.

  “I’ve got an idea,” you whisper.

  You outline your plan to Chuck and Ginny. “Wait for my signal,” you say. They nod.

  You grab a small box lying beside you and toss it to the other side of the compartment. The creatures’ heads whip around. Their bodies tense and they move toward the noise.

  “Now!” you shout. You and Chuck jump up and grab the rungs of the overhead luggage rack. With a grunt, you swing up onto the rack. Bags and boxes tip over, landing on top of the thugs.

  Chuck clambers up beside you. Together, you bury the creeps with luggage. Ginny pelts them with parcels and bags.

  “We’re winning!” you cry. “Keep throwing!”

  Suitcases burst open as they hit the ground. Clothes fly everywhere. Bottles shatter and tubes ooze, spilling their contents all over the floor. But even in the chaos, your grandma sits staring straight ahead, imprisoned by the orange light.

  “Rrrraaagghhhhhhh!” With a deafening roar the creatures explode out of the pile of luggage. They head straight for Ginny.

  “Oh, no!” you shriek. Your eyes dart along the empty luggage racks. “We’ve run out of ammunition!”

  Hurry to PAGE 35.

  “Look at this!” you whisper.

  Sophie and Andrew pop their heads up over the side of the tree house.

  Grandma holds up another throbbing purple egg. She puts her free hand in her mouth. When she pulls it back out her index finger has turned lime green! A metal tip as sharp as a pin extends where her nail should be.

  That’s not a human finger, you realize.

  Grandma sticks the metal tip into the pulsing egg. It throbs faster. Then it glows, as if it were lit up from inside.

  Satisfied, Grandma lays the egg back down on the ground. Then she moves onto the next rose bush. Soon she makes her way through the entire garden and heads back to the house.

  Andrew and Sophie stare at you.

  “I hate to have to say this …,” Andrew begins.

  “Your grandma is — she’s, I mean, I think —” Sophie tries.

  You nod miserably. “I know,” you say. “My grandma is an alien!”

  Turn to PAGE 69.

  “No way are we going to miss out on an adventure like this!” Ginny finishes for Chuck.

  “Great!” you cry. You quickly explain that you were about to check out the train cars in the direction the thugs dragged your grandma. Or the Grandma-impostor. Whoever.

  “What are we waiting for!” Chuck urges. “Let’s go!”

  The three of you hurry into the next car. And then the car after that. And then the car after that.

  “Are you sure of what you saw?” Ginny asks. “I mean, why would two tough guys go after somebody’s grandmother?”

  “Maybe it was just a coincidence that the two ladies were wearing the same clothes,” Chuck adds.

  “No! I know what I saw!” you insist. But inside, you wonder the same thing.

  You arrive at the last car. On the door is a yellow sign with large black letters: NO ENTRY.

  You notice Ginny and Chuck exchange a worried look. Before they can change their minds about helping you, you yank open the door. The three of you pile into the car.

  You gasp, stunned by the shocking sight in front of you.

  What’s going on? Find out on PAGE 50.

  You leap out of bed, trying to avoid stepping on Sophie and Andrew in their sleeping bags. “Wake up!” you whisper. “There’s something moving around downstairs.”

  Sophie’s eyes widen. “Grandma!”

  “The eggs!” Andrew gulps.

  You, Sophie, and Andrew sneak downstairs. You huddle outside the kitchen door. “On three,” you instruct them. “One. Two.” Your voice shakes with fear.”

  You gulp. “Three!”

  With a shout, the three of you charge into the kitchen.

  Who’s there? Turn to PAGE 90.

  Wham! Your landing knocks the wind out of you. You roll several yards. You can feel every rock through your clothes.

  As you struggle to get up, you notice Grandma is already on her feet. She’s speaking into her watch! You dash over. She smiles.

  “We’ll be out of here in no time!” she tells you.

  Within minutes a helicopter is hovering over you. Your hair whips in the wind created by the rotating blades.

  A rope ladder is tossed down. Grandma grabs a rung and scrambles up. You follow a few feet behind her.

 
; As Grandma nears the helicopter door, she stops.

  “Uh-oh,” she mutters.

  You don’t like the sound of that.

  Turn to PAGE 121.

  You stride to one of the closets. “This seems like a good place to start,” you announce. You fling open the door.

  And gasp!

  “What is it?” Sophie asks, her voice trembling.

  You turn to her, a terrified look on your face. “Grandma’s other clothes are even uglier than her purple-and-yellow outfit!”

  Sophie punches your arm. “That’s not funny!”

  Andrew laughs. “Yeah, it is!” He steps into the closet and pushes aside the row of clothes hanging from the rod.

  And gasps.

  You snort. “Andrew, we’re not going to fall for that now!”

  “It wasn’t funny the first time!” Sophie adds.

  “I’m not being funny,” Andrew tells you. He points to the back of the closet.

  You peer beyond him. There, sitting on the shelves, is a shoebox overflowing with … hands.

  Human hands!

  Turn to PAGE 118.

  “She’s seen us!” you yell. “We’ve got to get out of here!” You grab Andrew’s hands and help him out of the snarl of roses. Sophie crawls out from under a bush.

  “Everybody okay?” you ask.

  “No permanent damage,” Sophie replies. Andrew nods.

  “Then let’s move it!”

  You turn to run. And trip over a tangle of roots. The bushes are so thick that you can’t see Grandma. But you can hear her. She’s come out of the house. She’s just outside the garden.

  You scramble to your feet. You push aside a clump of roses.

  And come face to face with a pair of eyes.

  Eyes in the middle of a big fat rose!

  Yikes! Hurry to PAGE 103.

  You land on the small platform between train compartments. You flail your arms as you struggle to regain your balance. Once you feel steady on your feet, you fling the door open.

  Everyone stares at you as you enter the car. You nervously run a hand through your hair. You try to act as if jumping between the cars of a moving train is the most natural thing in the world.

  You have a feeling you’re not very convincing.

  You hurry into the next car.

  The struggling woman was several cars ahead. You head through the swaying train, planning to pick up the woman’s trail from where you’d last seen her.

  But maybe you’re in over your head. Those thugs in dark glasses looked dangerous. Maybe you need help.

  If you think you should tell someone what you saw, turn to PAGE 70.

  If you want to follow the woman’s trail yourself, turn to PAGE 80.

  Grandma said she planted the roses during a meteor shower. But she never mentioned that a meteor landed in the garden!

  Didn’t she notice?

  “Let’s look for pieces of the meteor,” Sophie suggests.

  “I don’t think we’ll be able to recognize meteor fragments,” you caution her. “They’ll just look like regular rocks.”

  “We should search anyway,” Sophie insists.

  You know better than to argue with Sophie.

  You, Andrew, and Sophie head out the back door.

  You’re surprised to see Grandma kneeling in the rose garden. She’s changed out of her purple-and-yellow outfit into an even stranger one — a shiny silver jumpsuit.

  “I thought she was taking a nap,” you murmur.

  “Is that your grandmother?” Andrew asks.

  “I think so …,” you answer uncertainly.

  Sophie laughs. “What do you mean? Don’t you know your own grandmother?”

  Right now, you’re not so sure….

  Turn to PAGE 75.

  There’s barely room under the bed for all of Grandma’s things and the three of you. But somehow you fit.

  “You’re squashing me!” Sophie complains.

  “Shh!” you hiss.

  From under the bed, you can see Grandma’s shoes enter the room. She kicks them off. Then she moves to a corner of the room you can’t see. But you can hear her humming to herself.

  A moment later you see a bizarre sight!

  You still hear Grandma. But what you see is a long, purple, scaly tail!

  You’re so startled, you gasp.

  Sophie and Andrew immediately clap their hands over your mouth.

  Did Grandma hear you? Turn to PAGE 11.

  No way! You’re not putting that slimy tentacle in your mouth. Instead, you punch the creature’s face with all your strength.

  “Yeeoowwwwww!” you yelp. That hurt!

  The creature doesn’t even blink. It wraps you, Ginny, and Chuck even tighter in its tentacles.

  “Alien being,” one of the other yellow-eyed creatures addresses you. “We have come to destroy your evil grandmother’s eggs. We have tracked her through the galaxy for thirty years, hoping she would lead us to her nest.”

  Ginny gasps. “‘Through the galaxy’?” she echoes. “They—they’re saying that they’re aliens!”

  Your head spins. That’s not all. They’re saying something even more unbelievable!

  “Wh-what?” you sputter. “Are you saying my grandmother is an alien?”

  Turn to PAGE 37.

  You wait.

  Nothing happens.

  Phew! You let out your breath. The creatures must have left. You’re safe.

  “Are you okay?” Chuck asks, rushing over. You sit up and untangle the packing twine that wraps around your ankle.

  “We better move fast,” Ginny warns. “That crash was really loud. Someone might come to see what it was.”

  “Yeah,” Chuck agrees. He helps you lift the mirror back upright. Luckily, it didn’t break. “So how are we going to break through the orange force field and grab your grandma?”

  You scratch your head. “Hmmmmm,” you murmur. Then the mirror gives you an idea.

  How will a mirror help you? Find out on PAGE 71.

  You sit in silence, too stunned to think.

  “Shouldn’t we do something?” Sophie asks finally.

  “Yes!” Andrew chimes in. “Let’s call the police!”

  “And tell them what?” you demand. “There’s an alien in my yard digging up purple eggs and poking them with a green fingernail?” You snort. “Would you believe that story?”

  “I guess not,” Andrew admits.

  “I know what we have to do!” Sophie says. “We have to capture your grandma. Then we’ll torture her until she spills her guts!”

  Whoa! Is Sophie serious? Turn to PAGE 114.

  Those thugs looked dangerous, you decide. You need help.

  You glance around the train car. Three kids reading comic books. A fat man sleeping. A teenage girl doing homework. Not much to choose from.

  You approach the teenage girl. “Excuse me,” you whisper. “I need your help.”

  The girl doesn’t look up. “I’m busy!” she snaps.

  You try again. “I saw a fight. And I —”

  “Look!” She sighs. “I have an A average. I’m not going to blow it by messing up on this exam. Go away!”

  Well, that was useless.

  “Did you say you saw a fight?”

  You turn at the sound of the deep voice. Looming over you is a man in an overcoat and sunglasses.

  “Fight? Fight?” you babble. “Oh, uh, yeah. Last night. A boxing match on TV!”

  You can’t see the man’s eyes behind his sunglasses. You’re not sure if he believes you. But he nods and walks away.

  You head toward the end of the car, searching for someone to help you. As you pass the bathroom, the door pops open. An arm reaches out and yanks you inside.

  Turn to PAGE 72.

  “Help me with this thing,” you instruct Chuck and Ginny. Together, the three of you unwrap the large mirror. Then you carry it over to your frozen grandma.

  “If we find the right angle,” you explain, “we shou
ld be able to deflect the beams of the force field.”

  “What are you doing in here?” a voice demands behind you.

  Your head whips around.

  They’re back! The two thugs in overcoats and sunglasses!

  Think fast! Turn to PAGE 128.

  You’re shocked when you discover who dragged you into the tiny bathroom.

  “Grandma!” you exclaim.

  She claps her hand over your mouth. “Shhhh!” she hisses.

  You struggle to breathe. She’s incredibly strong.

  “I’m going to take my hand away,” she tells you. “Do you promise to be quiet?”

  Your lungs feel as if they’re about to explode. You nod.

  “Good.” Grandma releases you. “Sorry about that. But we can’t risk being found.”

  “Who are those guys?” you demand. “Why are they after you?”

  Grandma sighs. “I guess you need to know. You’re in up to your neck, right along with me.”

  Yikes!

  Listen to Grandma on PAGE 91.

  “We better try to capture the alien,” you decide. “It’s the only way we’ll be able to get someone to believe us.”

  “And help us,” Andrew adds with a shudder. “But how?”

  “There are three of us and only one alien,” Sophie points out. “Maybe we can knock her out and lock her up.”

  It’s the best idea anyone can come up with. “You two hide in the garage,” you instruct your friends. “I’ll find some way to lure Grandma there. Then you’ll jump her. That way, we have surprise on our side.”

  “Sounds good,” Andrew says. Sophie nods in agreement.

  The three of you rush to the garage. You drum your fingers on the door, trying to think of a way to get Grandma to follow the plan.