Holly's spirit

Chapter 1

A chilly breeze signals the beginning of a snow storm. A small girl laughs as a fragile snowflake falls glistening down  from the sky. She joins the other children dancing on the ice with a cheerful glee.
  
A few blocks away in a bakery a young boy works. The fresh scent of bread wafts through the air from the oven as the dough warms and rises. The ding of the door brings cold customers into the heat.

"Hello, how may I help you?" a boy,named Jackson, asks. His black hair standing out from the golden browned bread.
  
Many of the customers  that came in ask for fresh bread and biscuits. These of course are for their evening Christmas dinners. However, as business began to slow a strange old man asked for leftover burnt bread and offers three wrinkled dollar bills. This man was quite wrinkled with ghost white skin, and sunken gray eyes.
   
He whispered in a chilling voice, "Be-beware boy or you will die!"
Jackson perplexed, shook his head and waved the man goodbye. The wave of customers slowed down even more and he finished the rest of his orders and grabbed his jacket and phone.

"Good luck with the rest," he yelled as he ran out of the bakery, "I'll be back for dinner!"

He crossed the street and went a few blocks up to the abandoned library. He felt eyes on him, but unbothered he continued. He stood on the library doors large and weathered, opened them with a gloved hand. The library was old and worn-down so when he opened the door it let out a loud creak and startled him.

Jackson had visited the library many times in the past year, but it still felt too desolate for him. As if not a single soul lived or visited here. The library was built in mid-1700's and was remodeled but unused for the past 100 or so years. Thousands of ancient, dusty books lined the shelves and a large fireplace was in the center across from the door. Miraculously none of the books or wood walls have caught on fire.

On the right side by a door leading into a bedroom sat the only living person in the library, a girl, Holly. She glanced up at Jackson her blue eyes the only real color in the room besides a lamp, but only to resume her reading.

"Hey," he said trying to get her attention but feeling ignored, "Could you at least say 'hi' back."

She glared at him with an icy gaze, annoyed.

"Just kidding, nevermind," he replied chuckling trying to avoid her stare. Then remembering she was mute and not very fond of that joke.

Then she looked straight at him but her focus was on something behind him.

"What? Is there something on my face," he asked confused, "Hey, what's wrong."

She continued looking, her gaze leaving a cold feeling in the air. Then 'Creak' the library door opened and an uninvited guest walks in.The silhouette of a girl,  her pale curls covering a wicked gaze and sly smile. Jackson immediately knowing who it is, stands in front of Holly.

"Little Holly, how have you been. You've disappeared in to this old dusty library. Again. Why don't you go out and talk to more people." she spoke as she saw the duo, "Oh that's right, you have no friends, no parents and your mute. How sad it is to be you. Am I right Jackson?"

Jackson, still standing in a defensive pose, stayed silent not willing to give her the satisfaction of a reply. Displeased with their reaction she walked over to a section of books and with a single hit knocked all of the books to the ground anger fully showing on her face. Then without saying anything else walked out. The doors banging closed behind her.

"How does that girl get any pleasure in messing with you?" Jackson asked genuinely upset. Holly looks away not wanting to answer his question. "Well, whatever. By the way we got another case. Or at least I think we do, a weird old man told me something creepy. Also since its the holidays I think it might relate to Christmas."

She then points to the pile of books the other girl knocked down. Jackson picked up the most likely book, Christmas Horror Tales, the authors name was blurred. Holly raised her hands holding five fingers up. Jackson flipped to page five where the ghost of mistletoe was being described.

He then glanced at Holly, "Hey be serious, he was really creepy."  Holly smiles and raises her hands and holds nine fingers up. "Thank you," he replies.

He turned to that page, it was a short story about a type of spirit that hides in christmas gifts and when the kids open them up they pop out and kill them.

"Is this it?" he asked not fully convinced this was what the man was warning about. Holly shrugs her shoulders, and looks back to her book. "Come on help me here don't you remember last year when we started this and we almost died?"

Holly looks conflicted but ultimately gets up and goes behind a shelf of books. When she returns she carries a massive stack of books, mostly relating to horror stories around ghosts. She flips open the first book in the stack and moves to the table of contents. Her  brunette hair covering her face as she looked for another more relevant story. Her expression was very difficult to read and when she did find the page she pointed at what it was and handed the book to Jackson.

Then she picked up the other book in the stack and did the same thing. He read what she found, it was a story called Saint Devil. A story about a 65 year old ghost that was a demon in disguise, he would lure children into a fireplace pretending to be santa and light it buring the child alive.

Jackson's face contorted to a grim face, could this spirit really be what that man warned him about. No he thought, it doesn't sound right and there are plenty more books to go through This couldn't be it. Jackson and Holly spent the rest of the evening researching and reading.