The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies by David Lubar

he’d defeated the seventh wave, he hadn’t even taken one hit. Definitely my kind of game, he thought.
    As he cleared wave thirty and waited for the bonus points to add up, he glanced around. The arcade was almost empty. He wondered whether the owner was going to make him leave before his game was finished.
    At wave fifty, he heard someone walk up behind him. When he had a chance, he glanced over his shoulder. There was a guy there with a broom.
    â€œAre you closing?” Jimmy asked.
    â€œYeah, but that’s okay. I have to clean up the place and count the change. Keep playing. I understand.”
    â€œThanks.”
    Jimmy kept playing. His arms started to hurt, but the game was so much fun—and he was so good at it—that he didn’t mind.
    Wave seventy-five came and went. The game grew harder with each round, but Jimmy got better.
    When he cleared wave 127, he was startled to see a GAME OVER message flash on the screen.
    â€œHey—why did it end?”
    The man walked over to him. “That’s as hard as it would ever get.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œDuring the real invasion.”
    â€œHuh?” Jimmy had no idea what he was talking about.
    â€œThis isn’t a game,” the man said. “It’s a simulator. We need to find kids who have what it takes to defeat an invasion of the Krellex.”
    If this is real, it’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me, Jimmy thought. He pictured himself leading an army of gamers in a space war against some hideous enemy. But he was still pretty sure the guy was just playing around. “You aren’t serious,” Jimmy said.
    â€œI sure am. The Krellex armada is on its way. Let me show you.” He went behind the counter and pressed a button. A three-dimensional image formed in front of Jimmy, showing a scene from deep space. The man pressed other buttons, and the image zoomed toward a fleet of ships that looked just like the ones Jimmy had blown out of the sky in the game.
    â€œThat’s them?” he asked.
    The man nodded.
    â€œAnd that’s who I’ll be blowing out of the sky?” He figured the real thing would be a thousand times better than the game.
    â€œNot exactly,” the man said. He flipped a switch, and the image vanished.
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œThat’s who I can’t let you blow out of the sky,” the man said. “You’re far too good. Your reflexes are perfect for battling us.” As he walked toward Jimmy, his face seemed to flicker like it was a projection.
    For an instant, Jimmy saw the real face of the Krellex. Then the man put his hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. Something stung him.
    â€œThere are so many of you,” the man said as the world around Jimmy started to grow fuzzy. “It’s a good thing you are so easy to find. And so easy to defeat. If your brains were as sharp as your reflexes, my people would be in trouble.”

THE TASTE OF TERROR
    S he keeps us in cages. Seven of us. Three boys and three other girls. There were eight of us, but the little boy in the cage next to me screamed himself out this morning. He’s gone. I don’t know where she took him, but I know we’ll never see him again.
    She’ll find someone else to fill the cage. She has to. There’s no end to her hunger. And there’s no shortage of us. I was foolish enough to walk into the woods beyond our village in search of mushrooms, even though I’d heard a thousand tales of the dangers that lurked among the ancient oaks. I had no choice. Our family was hungry.
    The witch caught me in a snare trap and dragged me to her cottage with the help of a pair of bloodred foxes. I know my father looked for me. He must have. But this place is hidden. I think it is protected by magic. That was a month ago. Maybe longer. I tried to scratch a mark on the wall for each day, but sometimes I forget.
    It wouldn’t be so bad if