Anaconda Adventure Read online

  Books in the

  S.W.I.T.C.H. series

  #1 Spider Stampede

  #2 Fly Frenzy

  #3 Grasshopper Glitch

  #4 Ant Attack

  #5 Crane Fly Crash

  #6 Beetle Blast

  #7 Frog Freakout

  #8 Newt Nemesis

  #9 Lizard Loopy

  #10 Chameleon Chaos

  #11 Turtle Terror

  #12 Gecko Gladiator

  #13 Anaconda Adventure

  #14 Alligator Action

  Text © Ali Sparkes 2012

  Illustrations © Ross Collins 2012

  “SWITCH: Anaconda Adventure” was originally published in English in 2012.

  This edition is published by an arrangement with Oxford University Press.

  Copyright © 2014 by Darby Creek

  All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

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  Main body text set in ITC Goudy Sans Std. 14/19.

  Typeface provided by Monotype Typography.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Sparkes, Ali.

  Anaconda Adventure / by Ali Sparkes ; illustrated by Ross Collins.

  pages cm. — (S.W.I.T.C.H. ; #13)

  Summary: At the zoo, twins Josh and Danny willingly try out Petty Pott’s new REPTOSWITCH formula and enjoy being snakes until they are spotted by a group of girls on a field trip, including their camp friend, Charlie.

  ISBN 978–1–4677–2116–5 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper)

  ISBN 978–1–4677–2415–9 (eBook)

  [1. Zoos—Fiction. 2. Anaconda—Fiction. 3. Brothers—Fiction.

  4. Twins—Fiction. 5. Science fiction.] I. Collins, Ross, illustrator. II. Title.

  PZ7.S73712Anf 2014

  [Fic]—dc23

  2013019717

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  1 – SB – 12/31/12

  eISBN: 978-1-4677-2415-9 (pdf)

  eISBN: 978-1-4677-4028-9 (ePub)

  eISBN: 978-1-4677-4027-2 (mobi)

  For Tobey Cole

  With grateful thanks to

  John Buckley and Tony Gent of

  Amphibian and Reptile Conservation

  for their hot-blooded guidance on

  S.W.I.T.C.H.’s cold-blooded reptile heroes

  Getting Legless

  In the Bag

  Charlie About

  Pocket Problem

  Desperate Trouble

  Current Fun

  Twiglet, Anyone?

  Leaf Me Alone

  A Touch of Glass

  Top Secret!

  Recommended Reading

  “Slithery, slithery, slithery …” Petty Potts pushed her face up against the glass, steaming it up with her breath and bending her nose sideways.

  “She’s going wrong again,” muttered Danny.

  “Ahem! Who’s she?” demanded Petty Potts, stepping away from the glass and shoving her thick spectacles up the bridge of her nose so she could glare at him. “The cat’s mother? I was merely trying to build the excitement.”

  “You don’t need to build any excitement!” Josh pointed to the enormous snake on the other side of the glass. “You’re just about to S.W.I.T.C.H. Danny and me into one of those. It doesn’t get more exciting than that!”

  “Although we’re not sure why you want to do it here,” Danny added. They were in the reptile house at The Wilderness Zoological Park. “I mean—surely it would be safer to do this S.W.I.T.C.H. in the lab?”

  “It would,” Petty said. “But I’m working on a new theory. Will your behavior patterns be affected if you S.W.I.T.C.H. in proximity to a real snake?”

  Josh and Danny stared through the glass and shivered with excitement … and a little fear. On the far side, a yellow and black scaly face rose up, staring back at them through almond-shaped eyes. A black forked tongue waved in the air, trying to scent them.

  “A yellow anaconda,” read Danny, peering at the little information plaque next to the display. “Grows up to two or three yards in length and eats birds, reptiles and mammals. Non venomous. Kills prey by constriction. Not large enough to kill humans. Aaaw!” He turned to Petty. “I want to be large enough to kill humans! Why can’t I be large enough to kill humans? It’s not fair.”

  Josh thwacked the back of his twin brother’s head with a rolled-up Wilderness Zoological Park souvenir guide, briefly flattening Danny’s spiky blond hair. “You’re not planning to kill any humans, are you? So it’s not really a problem!”

  “I know …” pouted Danny. “I’d just like to know we could if we wanted to …”

  “Which is precisely why you’re getting this S.W.I.T.C.H. spray,” Petty said, holding out a small, white plastic bottle with a spray nozzle on the top. The letters “Y A” for yellow anaconda were written on it in permanent marker. “I do have a green anaconda spray too, and they’re the huge, human-eating size. But that’s for later. For now, I don’t want you getting overexcited and deciding to crush me to death on a whim. And in any case, you’re only going to be S.W.I.T.C.H.ed for half a minute. This bottle has a very precise spray button, and I’ve calculated the dose for exactly thirty seconds and no more.”

  When Josh and Danny had first been S.W.I.T.C.H.ed, it was by accident—into house spiders. It had been utterly terrifying to be the unwitting guinea pigs for Petty’s Serum Which Instigates Total Cellular Hijack—and it would never have happened at all if Piddle, their dog, (named after a rather unfortunate habit he had when he got excited) hadn’t run into their neighbor’s back garden. It was while rescuing him that they’d stumbled into Petty’s secret underground laboratory—and right into a jet spray of S.W.I.T.C.H.

  Now, months later, it was hard to imagine how they’d resisted getting involved with Petty’s S.W.I.T.C.H. Project. Since they’d helped her find the missing code to the Reptile S.W.I.T.C.H. formula, they’d been more and more excited about taking part in the experiments. Being S.W.I.T.C.H.ed into reptiles was going to be amazing!

  Even so, today Josh felt a twinge of worry—a zoological park was a bit public for a brand new S.W.I.T.C.H.. “Are you sure about this?” he asked Petty. “It will definitely only last thirty seconds?”

  “Certain!” Petty said. “Now—check there’s nobody coming and we’ll give it a blast.” While Josh and Danny poked their heads out past the door of the reptile house—a humid hexagonal building filled with large glass-fronted displays containing all kinds of exotic cold-blooded creatures—Petty put her bag down on a table in the center of the room. It was used as an education center too, so there were tables and chairs and benches along one wall.

  “Nope—nobody around,” Danny said, coming back in. “Good thing we’re off school on a teacher training day. This place would be full of kids on the weekend.”

  “Yes—but school groups sometimes come in too,” Petty said. “And I saw one back by the entrance gate. Still—if nobody was anywhere near the bottom of the path, we know we have a minute or more. It’s a long walk up here. So—climb on the table please. As soon as you S.W.I.T.C.H., pay attention to the yellow anaconda. Look at it. And let it look at you. I will be filming to see if there are any differences in behavior. A
nd you’ll S.W.I.T.C.H. back in half a minute—so no chance to get chummy with my windpipe!”

  Danny and Josh sat cross-legged on the table, grinning with excitement. They’d been looking forward to this moment for weeks and weeks—ever since they’d found the last REPTOSWITCH cube and Petty had begun working on the new formula. Josh decided to stop worrying and just have fun.

  He fixed his blue eyes on Petty and said, “Ready!” Petty sprayed him in one short burst—then Danny.

  Three seconds later, two yellow anacondas were coiling on the table, black and yellow scales gleaming in the soft light, diamond-shaped heads swaying back and forth and black forked tongues flickering in the air.

  “YESSSSSSSSSSSS!” hissed Danny.

  “This is SSSSSSSSSSO cool!” hissed Josh.

  Although it was weird to have no arms or legs, Josh could feel the immense strength and agility of his sleek body. He lifted his head, feeling the muscles contract and relax in waves just under his beautiful gleaming scales, and rose up majestically to stare at Danny.

  “Look at my toooongue!” Danny poked out his forked tongue and waved it around. It was like a tiny snake in itself—strong and agile.

  “We’re quite small,” Josh said, eyeing his tail. “About three feet, I think. Not big enough to kill much more than a mouse. Oooh—quick—look at whatsisface! We’ve only got about ten seconds left.”

  Whatsisface, the real anaconda, was now staring at them through the glass with interest. He’d risen up higher, and his tongue was going crazy … but he couldn’t hope to get much information through it, thought Josh. Not with that thick glass between him and them. Petty’s experiment would have worked better if he and Danny had been able to get in with the other snakes, behind the glass. But as anacondas occasionally ate each other, it was probably just as well they hadn’t.

  “How are we talking this time?” asked Danny, writhing around in great excitement, his scales rubbing together with a soft whispery noise.

  “Oh, like most reptiles—through scent and body language and a bit of hissing,” explained Josh. “You’re smelling through your tongue!” Josh was mad about wildlife and knew a lot of this stuff. “Ooh—I can’t wait to do this back in Petty’s garden. We can go into the stream at the back. You know anacondas are brilliant swimmers, don’t you? They spend more time in water, in the wild, than on land!”

  “Hmmm—but will she let us?” asked Danny. “Since she’s moved her secret lab to the attic above Princessland, she’s not doing any experiments in the old lab at home anymore, is she? In case government spies are watching her!”

  “Well … we’ll just have to go off down the park and have a swim in the lake,” Josh said.

  “Um … shouldn’t we have S.W.I.T.C.H.ed back by now?” asked Danny. “It’s been more than thirty seconds, hasn’t it?”

  Josh turned to look at Petty and saw that she was legging it out of the room. “WRONG SPRAY BOTTLE!” she shouted, as she went. “GETTING ANTIDOTE FROM CAR! HIDE!” The last they saw of her was the back of her purple beanie hat—and even that looked quite panicky.

  “Oh, great!” Danny stared back at Josh. “She’s done a runner!”

  “We’ll be fine.” Josh gulped. “She’ll be back soon. We just have to hide in case anyone else comes in.”

  The real anaconda was swaying about even higher now, behind the glass. Its eyes glimmered, and its tongue was still dancing. It seemed to be laughing at them.

  “Come on …” Josh said. “Get down!”

  They worked their way down the table legs, coiling around them to reach the floor. Under the table wasn’t a good hiding place. They might easily be seen by someone walking in. “This way!” Danny hissed, sliding across the cold tiles and under one of the long wooden benches against one wall of the reptile house. Soon Josh and Danny were hiding in the shadows.

  “She won’t be long,” Josh said. “She’ll be back any minute. It’ll be fine! Hey—I can feel her vibrations now.” And he could feel the vibration of steps back up the path outside. Of course, snakes were excellent at picking up vibrations—sometimes from far, far away. Josh knew that it was one of the things that helped them hunt.

  “Erm … isn’t that quite a lot of vibrations for one genius scientist?” Danny queried.

  And then the door crashed open, and two dozen sets of feet pounded into the room.

  And not one of them was Petty’s.

  Josh and Danny flattened themselves right against the wall as the stampede thundered across the floor. The shoes were mostly black and shiny with silver buckles across white, lace-trimmed socks. They crashed around in all directions … some rushing toward the glass displays, some coming to rest by the tables, and some, alarmingly, stomping down right by the benches.

  “Girls! Girls!” called a shrill voice. “Don’t forget to make notes on your worksheets!”

  It was a school group. A girls’ school group. Keeping his head low, Danny could see girls in maroon and gray checked skirts, white blouses, and maroon blazers—and straw hats!

  “What are we going to do?” he whispered to Josh.

  “Just keep very still!” Josh whispered back. “They won’t stay long. There’re loads of other things to see around the park. They’ll only be here five minutes. And Petty will be back any time …”

  Danny kept very still. He found it quite easy to keep his reptilian body motionless. And of course, snakes were good at that. Josh had told him they could keep incredibly still—and then strike, out of nowhere. But he couldn’t help his tongue continually sliding out from his lipless mouth and flickering in the air. Gathering information through scent glands, according to Josh.

  The noise of the girls was head-splitting. They were constantly babbling and squeaking and even screaming when they saw a reptile they didn’t like the look of. But one girl was sitting quietly on the bench just above them. Her feet were not moving. Her shoes were spattered with mud. She didn’t say anything to any of the others.

  “Righto, girls!” said the teacher. “Let’s have our packed lunches while we’re here. Sit down and get your food out.” There was another short stampede as the girls rushed to get a decent seat.

  “Move up, new girl!” said one of them in a sneery voice, and the girl sitting above Josh and Danny was shoved abruptly along the bench. She didn’t say anything, but she lifted her muddy shoe and stepped down hard on the shiny neat shoe of the girl who’d arrived next to her. The new arrival screamed in a very melodramatic way. “Miss Biffle! Miiiss! Charlotte just stamped on my foot! Charlotte just broke my toes! Miiiss!”

  “Shove me again and I’ll make you some toe jam,” promised Charlotte in a sweet voice. Josh and Danny snorted with amusement. They liked the sound of Charlotte.

  But the teacher wasn’t paying attention amid the racket of twenty-four girls settling down to a picnic. Above their heads Danny and Josh could hear the pop, crackle, and rasp of plastic tubs opening and food being freed from paper or tinfoil.

  “Oooh, look!” said the crushed toe victim. “Charlotte’s got Marmite on white bread again! Is that all you can eat, Charlotte? Oh—and a bag of corn puffs! What a lunch! So yeasty and cheesy …”

  Several girls tittered around the room.

  “Or is that just your disgusting socks?” went on the voice.

  There was a small crackle of a packet and then a loud scream. “Miiiiiss! Miss Biffle!” Amid the new screaming there was also laughter—hoots of it. “Miiiiisss! Charlotte just stuck two corn puffs up my nose!”

  “It’s a good look, Isobella,” Charlotte said. “They match your eyes.” More girls laughed. It looked as if this Charlotte was winning the match.

  Josh and Danny were laughing helplessly too, their scaly heads rocking from side to side. They only wished they could have seen it. Miss Biffle called for calm and told Charlotte off, and things settled down again.

  “I’ll get you back for that!” Isobella whispered. “Just you wait!”

  “Whenever you’re ready
,” Charlotte said.

  A few seconds later an orange rolled under the bench. Then a face with a neat blond fringe and two wide gray eyes peered into their hiding place.

  And that’s when Isobella really started screaming.

  “AAAAAAAH! SNAKES! SNAKES! MISS! THERE ARE SNAKES!!”

  Immediately there was a mad cacophony of shrieks and yelps, and all the feet were running to the far end of the room and jumping up on chairs and tables. “What do you mean, Isobella?” bellowed Miss Biffle. “Of course there are snakes in here! It’s a reptile house!”

  “No! Escaped snakes! Under the bench!” More hysterical shrieking shook the air, and the teacher walked hesitantly across to the bench and peered under. She gasped and called out, “Stay back, everyone! Stay back! Isobella—Jemima! Run and find a member of the zoo staff right away.”

  “What do we do now?” hissed Danny, the cool blood in his veins pumping hard around his lengthy body as panic started to creep through him.

  “Just keep really still!” hissed back Josh. “And stop hissing!” It was all he could think of … and it wasn’t much. Any minute a zookeeper would be along with a snake hook and a bag—and they’d be caught! Unless they S.W.I.T.C.H.ed back to boys first—and that would also be a catastrophe. How would they ever explain themselves? Petty Potts—of course—was nowhere to be seen.

  “What is going on?” A new voice rang out amid all the squeaks and shrieks.

  “Oh, Miss Butcher!” breathed Miss Biffle. “Thank goodness you’ve come! It’s snakes! Under the bench! We’re waiting for the staff to come and catch them.”

  “Well—shouldn’t you be evacuating the girls?” demanded Miss Butcher.

  “Oh, yes—I suppose so,” agreed Miss Biffle. “Come on, girls—we’d better wait outside.” And the girls all ran for the door in a heaving mob.

  “Girls! Girls!” called Miss Butcher. “Don’t push! It’s unladylike. Charlotte! Why are you coming back inside? You’ve only just gone out!”