Free Fear Street 5 - The Fire Game by R. L. Stine

to her. He turned the key, and to Jill's surprise the car started right up.
    "It wouldn't start before. Honest," she said, feeling like an idiot.
    "Probably you flooded it," he said. "While I was checking the engine it had enough time to dry out."
    "Well, thank you very much," said Jill.
    "My pleasure," said the officer. "I hope you get where you're going soon.
    This isn't the best neighborhood to be driving around in alone."
    "I know," Jill agreed. "Thank you, Officer."
    In her fright Jill had almost forgotten why she was there. She waited for the officer to get back into his patrol car and drive away, then resumed her search for Nick and Max.

    She had almost reached the cemetery, with no sign of them, when suddenly she spotted their station wagon parked in the yard of a run-down, deserted-looking house just at the edge of the woods.
    What in the world could the guys be doing there?
    She cut the engine and sat watching the house for a few minutes. They had to come out sooner or later.
    But then what? Would she confront them, or follow them again? She reminded herself that she'd followed them to find out what they were up to. She'd never have a better chance than now.
    She took a deep breath, then unlocked the door and climbed out. The air was cool, and she realized with a start that she wasn't wearing a jacket.
    Somewhere off in the woods an animal howled.
    Shivering, she began to make her way toward the deserted house.
    In the dark it was hard to keep her footing, and she had to move slowly to avoid being tripped by a rock or overgrown vine. There was no sign of life in the house, and as she got closer she could see that most of the windows were broken, jagged shards of glass hanging from their frames like icicles.
    What are the boys doing here? she wondered again.
    She heard a loud thumping from inside the house and stopped in fright.
    She was about to start moving toward it again when there was a sudden brilliant flash and the house erupted into flames.
    Squinting against the sudden brightness, she saw Nick and Max running at top speed toward the car parked out front.

Chapter 15
    As Jill watched, horrified, the fire spread until the house seemed to be the center of one large flame. She could hear the crackling and popping of burning wood, and she felt the heat, even out there by the street.
    Through the smoke she saw the brown station wagon pull out of the yard, and then roar off down the street. There was too much smoke for her to see her friends' faces, but she imagined they both were laughing.
    Jill pulled into the garage but didn't make a move to get out of the car.
    In her mind's eye she could still see Max and Nick running away from the fire on Fear Street--the fire they had set.
    She was pretty sure that they hadn't seen her there. Maybe they didn't care if she had seen them. Obviously, they had gotten out of control as far as the fire game was concerned.
    After Nick and Max had driven off, Jill had gone directly to the fire box on Old Mill Road and pulled the alarm. Then she drove around for a while until she finally decided she had to go home to figure out what to do next.
    Part of the reason she was so upset, she realized, was that the fire game had changed her relationship with all her friends. There wasn't even anyone she could discuss it with. Max and Andrea both acted as if there were nothing wrong with setting fires. And because of Gabe, she didn't feel comfortable confiding in Andrea anyway.
    Diane was completely irrational on the subject of fire. And Nick--Nick was the biggest problem of all. He had been the one who had seemed completely against the fires from the start. Now he had just set two fires.

    She locked the car and went in. Her parents were out, so she poured herself a glass of tomato juice, then took Mittsy up to her room. She hugged her pet for a while, then decided to study to take her mind off the fire game--and her feelings of guilt about it.
    But when she sat down at her desk, the first