CHAPTER TWO

Jack observed the girl, and looked her over from head to toe for the millionth time. She had white skin, as white as Jack's bones, her hair was straight as sticks and pitch black, and the only color on her was her dark, red lips. She was wearing a black hoodie, black skinny jeans, and her black converses looked brand new. Her eyes were colorless, save for the black and white. When she stood up, she was about Sally's height.

The girl had been sitting at the table Jack had downstairs, for the past half hour now, and hadn't said a word, but she had stared at him without blinking, and still was. Ever since he had found her hiding under the spiral hill, and walked the kid to his house, and had her sit down at the table, she hadn't stopped staring. Or starting to talk.

"Who are you?" He asked for the ninety-ninth time. Silence.

Jack frowned, and walked around, trying to think of a conversation starter.

"So, how did you find this place?" Question number 672. Again, silence, but she did blink.

The girl squinted at the skeleton, then blinked again. "Am...I...dreaming? I mean..I'm not dead, am I?" She looked up at him with big eyes. Then she frowned and shook her head at her own question. "I'm not sure if it really matters, anyway." She said, more to herself then Jack, and gazed at the ghost dog fast asleep in her lap.

Jack suddenly wondered what the rest of the town would think if they found he had brought a human in Halloween town. He would have to call a town meeting to tell everyone, but he was pretty sure that they would not like the news.

The girl studied Jack for a moment, then asked, "What's your name?"

Jack was tempted to say ladies first, but thought better of it. "Jack. Jack Skellington. And, you are?"

The girl was quiet for a moment. "Emily," she said finally.

Silence. A long, silence.

"Um, how old are you?" Jack asked.

"13. I'm a bit small for my age, but dad says I'll get bigger."

Jack frowned. She didn't seem to small for her age, and she actually seemed a little to tall. He decided not to worry about that, and instead, tried to figure out how he could explain to the town she was harmless.

She stared at him again for a moment. "You know, I'm pretty harmless," she reassured Jack. He smiled, then frowned again. He hadn't said anything out loud, so how did she know he had been thinking that?

She noticed his confused expression. "Oh, um, your face pretty easy to read."

More silence. They watched as Zero made funny grunts in his sleep; he was dreaming of chasing a zombie cat, and he suddenly barked himself awake.

"So...where am I exactly?" Emily asked, after Zero started to get back to sleep.

"Halloween Town."

"Halloween?!" Emily's face lit up, and she smiled at him for the first one. "That's my favorite holiday! And my dad's, too! Well, right next to Christmas. My dad and I always hid in the bushes where we know the teenagers with lots of candy pass by, and we'll scare them so hard they drop all of their bags. Then we get the goods, and stay up late watching scary movies, and when midnight comes, we'll go on the roof of the house, and tell each other scary stories. Sometimes, we'll gamble for certain pieces of candy, but dad likes to cheat. It's still fun, though. We end up stuffing ourselves up with candy, and if the day after Halloween is a school day, then dad will call and say I can't go cuz I'm sick, but I'm usually not. And we'll keep on having fun until I need to get to school the next day."

Her smile slowly faded, and she pretended to be interested in the table for a moment, then she continued.

"We always wanted the day to last a little longer, just a few more minutes longer."

Well, at least she liked Halloween. Jack was glad he could stop worrying about that. But he couldn't help but notice that something was missing.

"Who's your mother?" He asked.

Emily was really quiet again, then spoke so soft and low, Jack almost couldn't hear her.

"She died. Trying to give birth to my baby brother. I was seven. My brother didn't make it, either."

"I'm sorry," Jack said, and quickly decided to change the subject.

"So, who is your dad?"

Emily froze for a second. "My dad? Well, umm, he's a...a business man. You know, always wearing a suit and tie." She hesitated, then added, "I'm gonna be just like him one day."

Jack smiled, and looked at the clock. 6:45. Almost seven. He decided to go see the mayor and get him to round everyone up at the town hall. They were going to have a meeting.