It's My Life • Shawn Hunter

94| The Witches of Pennbrook

••••

Later that night, Zoey and Blake were cuddled up on the couch with a blanket covering them while Eric was in the kitchen getting the popcorn. They were in the middle of watching a movie a movie.

"And now we return to the frightening conclusion of Halloween, Part 9." The TV presenter announced.

Eric raced back to the couch, sitting between the siblings as he held the popcorn bowl. The three shared the popcorn, constantly digging into it and popping a piece in their mouths.

When the movie played, every time a victim would scream it would make both Blake and Eric scream. Zoey just rolled her eyes and continued to eat the popcorn.

The front door open and Millie walked in. "Hi."

"AAH!" Blake and Eric yelled in fear.

"How did you get in here?" Blake demanded, pausing the TV.

Millie raised her hand to reveal a set of keys. "Jack made me a set. Bug ya?"

Jack walked into the living room and greeted Millie. The two approached each other and hugged.

Eric sighed. "Jack, we have to talk."

Both Blake and Eric stood up from the couch, placing their food and drinks on the table and walked over to Jack.

"Fine. Talk to him. He belongs to me now." Millie said before kissing Jack.

Zoey grabbed her soda from the table and watched as Millie rushed back outside to the balcony.

Jack smiled widely. "Boy, she really loves it out there."

"You made her keys?" Blake questioned in disbelief.

"She's my girlfriend." Jack explained.

"Oh, yeah? What's her last name, Jack?" Eric wondered.

Jack hesitated for a moment. "I don't have to answer that. What do you two have against her?"

"I don't know, man. It's hard to find the words." Blake replied honestly. "Uh... mean, creepy, evil, cold-hearted. Actually, once you get started, it just kind of-"

Jack looked at his best friends in shock. "What is your problem? I meet someone. I'm happy."

"You are not happy! You're just a sweet, dumb farm kid who picked up the first pretty girl who flashes him a smile." Eric told him.

"I'm from New York City!" Jack informed.

"That town ain't so tough!" Eric shouted.

"Look, Sweetie, we're just trying to look out for you. All right? We're trying to make sure you're not gonna get hurt. We're just trying to be your friend." Blake explained.

"If your idea of being my friends is to stop me from having a girlfriend, maybe you two should stick to being my roommates." Jack responded harshly.

"Fine!" Eric and Blake agreed in union.

"Fine!" Jack shouted as he walked up the small flight of stairs and went to the balcony with Millie.

"You know.... this is better than any Soap Opera." Zoey admitted.

••••

It turns out that Millie was staying at the apartment for a few days, which made Eric and Blake extremely uncomfortable as the both of them came to a realization of Millie being a witch.

Witchcraft was a crime in Europe during what is generally referred to as the early modern period: that is, the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Different countries enacted different laws to deal with witches but, for the most part, by the mid-16th century witchcraft was a secular crime, one that could be punished by imprisonment, pillory or execution. During this period, approximately 90,000 people were formally accused of witchcraft and about half of this number were executed. That's 45,000 deaths.