mr linden's library

It was the book, it had taken yet another victim. Her name was Francis Jones. She had been warned. Mr Linden himself had warned her. Yes, he'd told her that the book had possessed certain powers. She'd laughed at him like all the others - now she was dead. The book was pure evil. People were drawn to it without being consciously aware of it. The book chose it's victims carefully and waited silently fo the right monment... then drew it's victim toward it in a trance like state.

Mr Linden had read the book without being killed by whatever had killed the others. He hadn't been drawn to the book as the others had been, he was totally indifferent to it. Some say it was because he was indifferent to it he survived, some say he possessed the same evil as the book and came away unharmed. Most people didn't discuss it at all, they were afraid of the book and the power it possessed.

The book fed on their fear, the more they feared it, the more powerful it became - but no one ever knew this; no one living that is.

When Francises' body had been discovered the police had buzzed around making enquiries and taking notes. They never came up with any solid evidence - the only thing they did know was that Francis had been reading just before she died.; They knwe this because a book had been resting against her undisturbed body. The police hadn't bothered with this trivial details. Why should they? What could a book do?

The book was back. It was in the lihrary again, waiting for its next victim. No one ever knew how it always got back into the library, it just did.

It was Monday afternoon, not much had been happening in the library, that was until a young woman walked into the library in a trance like state. Mr Linden, seeing her, knew she was going to be the next victim of the book. He tried to distract her from her mission, that was to get the book, she ignored him and continued walking toward the book. There was nothing Mr Linden could do, not at the moment. He'd warned the other and they hadn't taken any notice. No, he'd wait and follo her home and then...
"Mr Linden. Mr Linden. It's the book. She's got the book. Oh please do something. please." Mr Linden calmed the hysterical librarian and followed the yong woman out of the library. She had the book cradled in her arms, as though it were a precious object and like the victims before her she had a reckless gleam shining from her eyes.

Mr Linden followed her home. He needed to know why the book killed and how the book killed, but most of all he wanted to prevent the young woman from dying, he'd watch her read the book - he was sure it wouldn't strike why someone was watching.

He'd been watching the woman for an hour now, scrunched up in a small bush outside of her bedroom window. Now at last she was picking up the book. Mr Linden pushed his face closer to the window. The woman was reading the book now and seemed totally engrossed in what she read.

She had been reading for a while now, and Mr Linden has become bored and relaxed, then something caught his eye, the womans eyes had grown large and fearful, Mr Linden tensed, his relaxed state vanished. The woman's eyes relaxed and closed, to Mr Linded it seemed as if she had wanted to keep her eye's open but something had forced her to close them, in the next instant the woman fell back on to the bed, for one fearful moment, Mr Linden thought she was dead, but he saw the teady rise and fall of her chest, he drew a sigh of relief. He may as well not wasted his breath on the sigh as the book which lay open along side of her seemed to be growing some form of plant life. Mr Linden blinked sure his imagination was getting the better of him, then looked again. The plant which had previously only been small had grown and was covering the somans face, it was suffocating her. She moved once, then her body went limp and the plant vanished as if it had never been there. Mr Linden stood waiting, he was sure there was more to come - he was right.

Mr Linden had just decided that nothing more was going to happen when he looked back into the room again. The young woman sat up - Mr Linden felt chills run through his body - she was dead for Christ's sake!

Her eyes opened for a moment they gleamed coal red, she gave him a cruel smile, then her eyes rolled back leaving just the whites showing, slowly her head turned and now she was even more face on to him, she winked at him, her eyes closed once more, then the body fell unmoving back on to the bed. Mr Linden's blood chilled, he felt all strange and creepy, then he turned and ran blindly home.

That night when Mr Linden finally did get to sleep he dreamt of the young woman's coal red eyes and cruel smile, she was clutching the book as she spoke to him, "You're next Linden. You're next. No one escapes the book. No one. It will get you in the end ... Linden! Are you listening? NO ONE escapes the book!". Her voice grew shrill and Mr Linden woke up wish sweath pouring off his face, he clicked on his bed light. There was something on his feed, he thought he'd locked the cat out. As he glanced toward the end of the bed, he went pale. He weight on his feet wasn't the cat, it was the book. Some how it had got into his room.

Mr Linden finally surrendered to the curiosity, that had been gnawing at him since he had woken with the book on his feet and picked up the book and opened it to page one.

The thunder roared and outside his bedroom window, he heard a howl, he took no notice, and would take no notice until next morning when he found a mangled cat, then he'd wonder, he'd take notice, he'd know then that it meant business.

Mr Linden slammed the book shut, it seemed to be mocking him. In the next minute he saw why. Outside where it had previously been okay weather, a crash of thunder came booking out of nowhere, then Mr Linden heard his cat howl, an eerie sound. The book was telling hm that it meant busienss. Mr Linden knew that in the morning he'd find his cat mangled and he knew he'd be taking notice of the book, he had to fight it, he couldn't lose to it. Not him.

[Incomplete... the end of this story seems has been lost, misplaced or separated from the rest.]

about the story

This story was written as a school English assignment.

The assignment was to write a story based on a picture. This picture is commonly used in classrooms and if you do a search on the Internet on 'Mr Linden's Library' you will find a number of stories with this title, all inspired by the same picture.

Picture Description: A girl is on her bed and appears to have gone to sleep while reading, as there is a book open that rests on her arm. The book has what appears to be a vine growing out from the middle binding. The caption of the picture was 'Mr. Linden's Library - He had warned her about the book. Now it was too late.'