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From: Firestarter
Morning of Nov 1, 1999:
“Come on, let’s do. I don’t think anyone even lives there. Look at the front door, it’s all bricked up and everything.” Resplendent with unused Halloween pranking goodies, the youths quickly crunch over the grass of the Tudor house. Not that they realized it was a person named Tudor who had lived there, but both knew enough history to recognize an actual Tudor-style house, ill kempt in this well-to-do neighborhood. “Where did your brother get these things?” One lad asks of the other.
“Oh, he is in the military, you know. He says it is just for crowd control or something, and thought they might be fun for us on Halloween, but I was too busy gettin’ candy.” The two boys grin with a still-present sugar high as they scope out the house for a good spot to toss the magnesium cartridges.
“Hey, that tree hangs over the roof,” they both peer up at the all but dead tree, which must have at one time been quite lovely. “Maybe there is someplace up there to slip these things in.” Abandoned house, tree climbing, and mischief: What more do two boys need on a lovely autumn morning? Up they go, finding one lone pipe sticking out of the roof. Both youths grin. Pop go the levers indicated by the giver of these treasures, and down the pipe they slide, thick smoke wafting up behind them.
One boy blinks. “Um, I think I saw a spark of orange.”
“Na,” says the other boy, eyes widening as a lick of flame creeps up the pipe for a moment. “Oh shi…” the two boys practically dive off the roof and fly out of the yard as the flames start to smolder from within.
----
The evening of that same day:
“That should be about it, ma’am,” the police officer comforts the weeping Soon-Li. “You were lucky to have not been in there,” his attempt at soothing her sadness only makes her almost collapse with grief. “You’d better get her someplace. You two ladies have a place to stay?” The officer asks of Elizabeth.
“Yes, yes. We…” she stutters, looking at Soon-Li with worry,” We will be fine. We can stay in a hotel,” Elizabeth, too, seems not comforted at all by the fact that no one was apparently injured.
“Guess this place was finally condemned, eh, by the look of them bricks.” The Officer looks puzzled by the shoddy sealing off of the doorway, one of the only things left standing of the Tudor house.
“Just did not want the neighborhood kids to get hurt in there,” Elizabeth idly replies, leading her roommate away.
The police officer narrows his eyes. “There’s more to this than meets the eye,” he mutters to himself, if only because he had always wanted to do so.