Chapter 3:
I opened my mouth to scream, but only a squeak came out.
I heard people laughing.
The big claws slid off my waist. Plastic claws.
I saw two dark eyes staring out at me from behind the wolf mask. I should have
known that it was a man in a costume. But I didn’t expect him to be standing there.
I was surprised, that’s all.
I blinked at a white flash of light. A man had just taken a picture of the creature. I
saw a big red and yellow sign against the wall: SEE THE MOVIE—THEN PLAY THE GAME ON CD-ROM.
This is the scariest thing that I’ve read in Goosebumps yet. A reminder of a time before Steam existed! When you had to play games on CD-ROM AND USE THE TERM CD-ROM!
“Sorry if I scared you,” the man inside the wolf-crab costume said softly.
“She scares easily!” Marty declared.
I gave Marty a hard shove, and we hurried away. I turned back to see the creature
waving a claw at me. “We’ve got to go upstairs and see my dad,” I told Marty.
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
He thinks he’s so funny.
I lied. The scariest thing is actually the terrifyingly accurate depiction of frenemies.
The kids head upstairs to Erin’s father’s office (side note: I found this detail that his office is upstairs from the theater weirdly distracting and confusing even though I guess it’s not that wild that this is the case?). He designs theme parks and builds robots. He sounds amazing and is obviously the unsung hero who should have been the protagonist of this book.
Erin’s father looks upset, and when he catches sight of Erin, he tells her he’s got some bad news.
Chapter 4:
In what has to be one of the oddest ‘gotchas!’ in Goosebumps cliffhanger history, Erin’s father is like, “JK LOL I DON’T HAVE BAD NEWS.’
He smiled at me. “Actually, I’ve got good news.”
“Good news? Is this another joke?” I demanded suspiciously.
He shook his head. He picked up something from his desk. “Check this out, guys.
Do you know what this is?” He held it in his palm.
Marty and I came closer to examine it. It was a little, white plastic vehicle with four wheels. “Some kind of train car?” I guessed.
“It’s a tramcar,” Dad explained. “See? People sit on long benches inside it. Here. It’s motor-driven.” He pointed to the front of the model to show where the engine went. “But do you know where this tramcar will be used?”
“Dad, we give up. Just tell us,” I insisted impatiently. “Stop keeping us in
suspense.”
“Okay, okay.” His cheeks reddened. His smile grew wider. “This is a model of the tram that will be used at the Shocker Studio Tour.”
The kids are delighted to learn that they’re going to be the first two kids in the world to go on this tour and provide feedback. I’m starting to understand why Matthew was so afraid of this book. That’s a lot of responsibility to place on the shoulders of a child!
Suddenly Marty stopped leaping. His expression turned serious. “Maybe Erin shouldn’t go,” he told my dad. “She gets too scared.”
“Huh?” I cried.
“She was so scared during the movie sneak preview, I had to hold her hand,” Marty told Dad.
What a liar!
“Give me a break!” I cried angrily. “If anyone was a scaredy-cat wimp, it was you, Marty!”
Dad raised both hands to signal halt. “Calm down, guys,” he said softly. “No arguing. You have to keep together. You know, you two will be the only ones on the tour tomorrow. The only ones.”
The only mystery greater than why Erin and Marty are friends is why they are being sent on this tour COMPLETELY ALONE?? The dad better be evil otherwise this makes no sense.
“Wow! That’s great!” I cried. “It’s totally great. It’s going to be the best!” Then I had an idea. “Can Mom come too? I bet she would really enjoy it.”
“Excuse me?” Dad squinted at me through his glasses. His whole face turned bright red. “What did you say?”
“I asked if Mom could come too,” I repeated.
Dad kept staring at me for a long time, studying me. “Are you feeling okay,
Erin?” he asked finally.
“Yes. Fine,” I replied meekly.
I suddenly felt very confused and upset. What had I done wrong?
Was something wrong with Mom?
Why was Dad staring at me like that?
I was genuinely excited by the creepy factor here until I realised that it’s the end of the chapter so the big reveal will be that Erin forgot her mother has lunch plans already.
Chapter 5:
I AM DELIGHTED TO REPORT THAT I WAS WRONG! Instead of revealing a totally innocuous reason Erin’s mother can’t go, Dad doubles down on the weird and insists that Erin and Marty will have more fun alone.
“Do you mean you’re not coming with us?” Marty asked Dad. “We’re really going by ourselves?”
“I want you to go by yourselves,” Dad replied. “I think that will make it more exciting for you.”
Marty grinned at me. “I hope it’s really scary!” he declared.
“Don’t worry,” Dad replied. A strange smile spread over his face. “You won’t be disappointed.”
THE BIGGEST SHOCKER ON SHOCK STREET IS DEFINITELY GOING TO BE THAT DADDY-O IS THE BIG BADDY-O!
We then jump ahead to the kids going to the tour. Dad insists that the kids don’t leave the tram no matter what. Place your bets now on whether the kids will instantly leave the tram or wait at least one chapter.
A young, red-haired woman wearing a black uniform was seated on the first bench in the front car. She waved to us as the tram rolled up to the platform. She was the only passenger.
She hopped out as the tram stopped. “Hi, I’m Linda. I’m your tour guide.” She smiled at my dad. Her red hair fluttered in the wind.
“Hello, Linda,” Dad said, smiling back at her. He gently shoved Marty and me forward. “Here are your first two victims.”
Can Linda be trusted???
Linda proceeds to hand the kids red plastic guns that she calls “Shocker Stun Ray Blasters”. She says they should only be used if absolutely necessary. These guns are so powerful that they can freeze a monster from twenty feet away!
She handed the blaster to me. Then she reached into her bag to get one for Marty.
“Don’t fire them unless you have to.” She swallowed hard and bit her lower lip. “I sure hope you don’t have to.”
I laughed. “You’re kidding—right? These are just toys—right?”
She didn’t answer. She pulled another blaster from her bag and started to bring it to Marty.
But she stumbled over a cord on the platform. “Ohh!” She let out a startled cry as the blaster went off in her hand.
A loud buzz. A bright ray of yellow light.
And Linda stood frozen on the platform.
Tune in next time to find out what happens to Linda!!
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