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Chapter One <figure> ONE
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.’” 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 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 them 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.
