The Beast from the East
| File:Beast From the East Cover.jpg | |
| Author | R. L. Stine |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Tim Jacobus |
| Language | English |
| Series | Goosebumps |
| Genre | Horror fiction, Children's literature |
| Publisher | Scholastic |
Publication date | May 1996 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 118 |
| ISBN | 0590568809 |
| OCLC | 34521538 |
| LC Class | CPB Box no. 2029 vol. 19 |
| Preceded by | Egg Monsters from Mars |
| Followed by | Say Cheese And Die - Again! |
The Beast from the East is the 43rd book in the Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine.
Plot
Our heroine Ginger Wald, a former nature camp survivor, is on a vacation with her family in the woods. Besides her mother and father, there are her two twin brothers, Pat and Nat, who are both more interested in playing videogames than nature. Ginger's father tells her to go "lose" her brothers in the woods, and sure enough she and her brothers find themselves lost in the woods.
While lost in the woods, Ginger and her brothers encounter some strange plants, some of which rub off different colors on Ginger's hands. They also spot some strange animals, like a small creature that resembles a squirrel and a dog. The ground begins to shake in a clearing and the kids hide behind some bushes just as a Beast appears. The Beast is an eight foot tall blue furred bear-like creature with a long snout and beaver-like tail. He sniffs around, then leaves, then re-enters, then leaves again, and continues to behave in this manner. Finally the Beast leaves and the kids decide to make a run for it, but only Pat manages to escape, leaving Nat and Ginger trapped by an entire community of Beasts. The main Beast approaches Ginger and slaps her back and declares that she is "It".
The Beasts explain that they are playing a game called "Beast from the East" and Ginger is now "the Beast from the East." She has until the sun sets to tag another player or she gets eaten. Ginger tries to get the Beasts to explain the rules to her but of course the Beasts act as though this request is an absurd one. We are also introduced to several of the Beasts. One's named Fleg, another Gleeb, and a third is called Spork. Spork is missing an eye. The creatures also speak in a sort of Pidgin English that is combined with made-up words like "trel.” Again, Ginger attempts to get the Beasts to tell her the rules, but they are under the impression that these kids have played before. However, the Beasts do manage to spell out a few rules, such as how if they rest on a Free Lunch square, which is a brown square in the woods, they can be eaten.
The Beasts give the two kids a head start and then a series of misadventures occurs. First Ginger is wrapped around a tree by a bunch of snakes. Fleg appears and frees her by tickling the snakes. She is also awarded 20 points for being wrapped in snakes. Fleg tells her she could get 60 points if she was bitten. She is also awarded points for all those colors she rubbed off on her hands from the strange landscape. He tells her that she missed her chance to tag him and that sets in motion Ginger's determination to tag one of the beasts. After this happens, Nat climbs a tree but the tree comes to life and tries to kill him. Ginger stops the tree from killing her brother by tickling it.
Nat spots a group of Beasts hiding behind a large boulder. When Ginger approaches the boulder, she finds the Beasts have all scattered away. Nat touches the boulder and it splits open at the top and smoke comes out and the Beasts appear to tell her that her brother has touched a Penalty Rock and must now face the penalty. Ginger follows the Beasts to a large wooden cage where her brother will be kept until he is eaten. Ginger tags one of the Beasts, but the Beast informs her that the game is paused so it doesn't count. Ginger is on the run again, and night is closing in. If she doesn't tag another Beast by nightfall, she will lose and be eaten. She falls into a Free Lunch pit and the Beasts gather around, prepared to eat her. However, a cloud appears overhead and the Beasts tell her that she was lucky; according to the rule of "Made in the Shade", she can't be eaten. They help her out of the pit.
Ginger spots a child Beast and assumes that there's an adult Beast, perfect for tagging, hiding nearby. And sure enough, there's Spork, hiding behind a boulder. She tags him and is victorious until Spork tells her that it doesn't count because she didn't tag him from the east. Ginger tricks the Beast into pausing the game to play another game with her. He agrees to this. She tells him the two of them are going to spin around and around as fast as they can and then stop and the first person to fall down loses. As he's spinning, Ginger declares the game unpaused and tags Spork. It worked; Spork is now the Beast from the East. He tells her that he still has a little time before the sun sets to tag her back, and Ginger is given another head start.
Ginger runs through the woods and finds Pat, her other twin brother, who escaped earlier in the book. The two of them make their way through the strange jungle and are approached by one of the squirrel-dogs, who tells them they can hide in "the Hiding Cave." The two kids go into the cave and then the squirrel-dog tells them that the cave is also used by bugs to hide. They are soon covered with millions of different insects, and Ginger wants to scream but at that very moment the Beasts walk by the cave. Seeing nothing but insects inside, the Beasts pass on their way and the two kids exit the cave. The squirrel-dog wishes them luck, but tells them that according to the rules, they can only use the Hiding Cave once.
The two kids find the strange tree that is the home base for the game, just as the sun sets. Ginger has made it! She's won! She's tagged. Ginger is the Beast from the East, she loses. And Pat, as her "Helper," thus also loses. The two are brought before a big fire, where they are informed that it's barbecue night. As the Beasts prepare a cooking dish for stewing the two kids, Nat appears in the clearing! He has escaped the cage and came back to rescue his siblings. But instead he is captured fairly quickly by the Beasts. Seeing the two twins together, Fleg gets furious. The kids did not tell the Beasts that they were going to double, thus using the move called "the Classic Clone"! That's a Level Three move; these Beasts are only Level One players! The Beasts let the kids go, with apologies. The kids are told which way through the woods will lead them back to their parents, and all is well. On the path, they are stopped by a Beast. Ginger informs the Beast that he must not stop them, for they are Level Three players. The Beast is quite pleased to hear this, as so is he! He tags Ginger and the game starts again.
Tagline
He's a real animal!