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

Andrea and Max were watching with their mouths half open, their eyes sparkling excitedly. Diane's eyes too were shining, but Jill couldn't tell if it was from excitement or fear. Only Nick was scowling. He shook his head and turned away from Gabe.
    As for Jill, she wasn't sure what she felt. A part of her was sympathetic to Nick and agreed that fires were dangerous and stupid. But another part was excited and waited eagerly to see if Gabe would really do it.
    Gabe slowly stepped forward, then bent down and lit the debris inside the shack. Instantly it blazed up and he jumped back.
    "Whoa!" he said. "That stuff was dry!"
    "We'd better get out of here!" said Max. "This shack's going to really burn."
    "Right," said Gabe. "Come on!"
    Laughing like a wild man, he led the others back through the cemetery and down to where the car was parked.
    "That was awesome!" said Max, turning back to watch the shack, which was now blazing brightly.
    "I didn't think you'd really do it," said Andrea, putting her hand on Gabe's arm. "I should have known that you mean exactly what you say."
    "You bet I do," said Gabe. "Now there's only one detail that needs to be tied up."
    "What's that?" said Andrea.
    "Nick," said Gabe. "Hey, buddy, now it's definitely your turn!"
    They stood for a moment watching the glow of the fire from behind the cemetery wall. Jill found herself thinking it wasn't that big a deal. As Gabe pointed out, they hadn't hurt anyone. And the shack itself was so run-down it was useless.
    Even Diane seemed relatively relaxed about what had happened.
    Only Nick was still uptight. He was standing off by himself, facing away from the cemetery, his hands in his pockets. Jill was about to walk over to him when a siren began to wail.
    "Uh-oh," said Andrea. "Someone called the fire department."
    "Too bad," said Gabe. "Hey, Nick, you're going to have to drive past the fire trucks now. Or are you too chicken for that too?"
    Nick acted as if he hadn't heard Gabe, but he did head for the car.
    The sirens were louder now. They all scrambled quickly into the car. Jill found herself in the front between Max and Nick, while Gabe was in the back between Andrea and Diane.
    "Drive carefully, Nick," Gabe said sarcastically as they started back down Fear Street. "You wouldn't want to do something illegal and get a ticket."
    The others all laughed, except for Nick. Jill thought Gabe was being too hard on him. He didn't realize how sensitive Nick was. If I could just talk to Gabe alone, she thought. Maybe Saturday night when we go out.
    She still hadn't told anyone she was going out with Gabe, and she wondered if he would say anything.
    "Here they come!" cried Max jubilantly.
    Nick pulled over while the fire trucks passed, their blaring sirens shattering the quiet of Fear Street.
    "I still haven't seen any of the undead," complained Gabe.
    "They were probably afraid of you," said Max.
    "Could be," said Gabe.
    "You never know," said Diane. "Maybe they put a curse on you."
    "Come to think of it, I scraped my hand when I was piling stuff up inside the shack," Gabe said. "Think that's the curse?"

    "Let me kiss it and take the curse off," said Andrea. While the others whistled and hooted, she took Gabe's hand in hers and put it to her mouth.
    What would she say if she knew Gabe asked me out? Jill wondered.
    "Hey, Andrea," teased Max, "you never did that for any of us."
    Everyone laughed. Jill had never seen Andrea act so flirtatious. It was as if the fires brought out a side of her no one knew existed.
    "Say, Gabe," Andrea said huskily, "when are you going to come watch my gymnastics routine?"
    "I haven't had much time this week," said Gabe.
    "How about Saturday night?" Andrea said.
    "I'm busy that night," Gabe said smoothly. "How about next Thursday?"
    "You're on," said Andrea.
    Nick turned south on Old Mill Road, heading around the woods. He switched on a heavy-metal tape and cranked it up loud. For a few minutes no one spoke as the music reverberated inside