THE SECRETS OF MILL

VALLEY
 5

Chase woke up screaming. He had another nightmare. It was getting worse every day his fifteenth
birthday was getting closer which, for the record, was only 5. ‘Shit’ he said. He had overslept and was
late for school. He rushed to his closet, put on a grey sweater and some jeans and ran downstairs. His
mother wasn’t up yet of course even thought it was already 11 a.m. Everyone who was already taken
by the Witch woke up the exact same time as she did, which was usually around 2 o’clock. He gulped
down his breakfast, put on his coat and ran to school. Mill Valley was a small town in England. It was
always cold, grey and very quiet. At the end of Main Street there was a house on top of a hill which
was visible from every point in the entire town. This was where the famous Witch lived. Rumour has
it that she sometimes takes kids into her house, and they are never seen again. People do go missing
but usually they are found dead in a ditch by the end of the week. When people don’t turn up
however, they do think they got taken by her, but there is nothing to confirm it. Chase gives the
teacher a note saying he was late and sits down in his seat. “Psst” the girl next to him whispered. It
was Lyndsey, the girl who lives next to him and was also his best friend. “What?” he asked. She
pointed to a boy at the back. He had this weird kind of blank gaze in his eyes, but Chase knew that
look way to well. “Another one?” “Yes, they told me he tried to hide from the Witch but that she
found him, killed his parents and took his will early.” “Jeez...” “Yeah, I know” “Mister Eastwood and
Miss Drake, would you please stop talking and start paying attention to this lesson? And especially
Mister Eastwood since you entered class late.” the teacher said at a monotonous level. Everyone who
didn't had their soul anymore talked like that. They got quiet and continued writing down notes.
The bell rang for the first break, and they all got up and left the classroom. Chase and Lyndsey
decided to eat outside. “Do you think this will ever end?” Chase asked “I don’t know. It has been like
this as long as I can remember and she’s not someone you can just play with Chase, she’s dangerous.”
“I know that I wasn't planning on challenging her anytime soon.” he said with a grin “But you we're
thinking about it.” Lyndsey said. Chase kept quiet. “Come on Chase this is insane! I don’t want to
lose you to.” Her brother had tried to hide a couple of years ago when she was only five years old. He
manged to stay hidden for 2 entire years, but the witch found out, she always does, and killed him
right before her eyes. It was something she rarely spoke of and when she did, she almost cried. Chase
knew how much it hurt her only thinking about it again. “Anyway...” she said wiped away an
oncoming tear. “Promise me you won’t do it unless your life is in serious danger.” “I promise” He
said. Break was over so they went back inside. “Which class next?” He asked “History” “Oh no...”
History was the most boring subject of the entire school. It was always about the same thing, the story
of the witch and her popular past actions, so not just the fact that she collects the will of every person
in a jar but the massive ones. Like the one in their books: She had killed all men on the battlefield of
World War II, or she made all the slaves in the world by taking their will. No one knew if it was true,
they only knew the things that happened in our village and not the outside world.
They got trough history alive and that meant school was finally over. “Would you like to go home
with me and that we make some homework at my place?” Chase asked, “Sure but I have to be home
at eight, you know because of the curfew for girls” “I know but its bullshit, just because your girls
doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have equal rights.” “I know but what can we do about it right?” They
arrived at his house and the lights were out. “Thats unusual” Chase said, “The lights are never out
around this time.” “You think something happened?” Lyndsey asked, “I don’t know but let's be
careful.”. He opened the door, and it made an awful creaking sound. “That’s just creepy” Lyndsey
whispered. They entered the hall and saw one light above the dining table flickering. Chase grabbed
his father's cane from under the coat rack to be ready to defend them. Chase never really knew his
father, all he remembered is that he left him, and his mom alone and just disappeared in thin air. Since
then, it was just always him and his mom.“On three were going to jump into the room, okay?” Chase
said “Okay” she answered “one, two, three”. They both jumped into the room to find no one standing
there. “This is just getting weirder and weirder” she said. Chase spotted a note on the table. “Did you
put this here?” he asked. “No...” “So, someone was here, and put that note right there under the table
with scary flickering light above?” “Uhm yeah guess so...” he grabbed the note from the table. It was
folded up, and on the front, it said: For Chase Eastwood. He opened it and read: “Save them all...
Save them all? What’s that supposed to mean?” Lyndsey shrugged her shoulders. “Oh, I see your
home.” His mother was standing behind them. “U-uhm yes. I brought Lyndsey as well so we could
make some homework.” “Ah I see, and what is that in your hand?” “Uhm nothing just some note with
a list of homework we need to do” His mother was acting really off. “Right, well you should head
upstairs while I try to fix this light.” He nodded to Lyndsey and they both dissolved into the darkness
of the stairs.
 4

“What’s the matter with her?” Lyndsey asked.

“I have no idea; all I do know is that she was really interested in this particular note.” He pulled out
the note from his pocket.
“But the biggest question is why...” Lyndsey whispered.
“Well, I suggest we'll try to find out tomorrow at school”.

The next day at school, they went to the library during the break. The place was huge, and some might
even wonder how it fits inside of the school. “So, what are we looking for exactly?” Lyndsey asked.
“A book with the history of the Witch.” Chase said.
“Right, and where do you think to find one that is true and not full of made-up crap?”
“In the restricted section of course.”
“Chase I'm starting to think you really are going insane.”
They sneaked up to the gate that led to the restricted section. “You don’t happen to have a crowbar, do
you?” Chase asked
“No...?”
“Oke well...” He took a run and kicked the lock, which immediately chunked since it was so old.
“Come on” he waved his hand at her to sign she had to follow him.
“This is a really bad idea...” she said as they wondered around the bookshelves looking for the W for
Witch.
“Over here!” she called. “I found it.”
Chase rushed to her and found her, indeed, with the book. It was looking like it was thousand years
old, most of their teachers probably didn’t exist by them and so did their schoolbooks, so this most
likely wasn’t going to be full of crap.
“Let’s put it on the table and read it.” He suggested.
They opened the book and started to read. He found out she once just was a normal person that helped
people with giving them healing potions, but that people began calling her a witch and weren’t being
kind to her for helped them, but instead wanted to burn her on the stake. He also found out they took
away her child, to a place no one knows and that her husband was killed. After that she joined the
dark side and made all the lives of the people in the village miserable because she believed they
couldn’t think for themselves and just made the wrong decisions, so she would make them for them,
and collect their will in jars. On the last page of the book there was a photo of her with her husband
and child. Chase had a weird déjà vu, like he had seen this photo before... but of course that was
bullshit, because he never even saw this book and he never even went into the restricted section. Then
he remembered, this was the exact same photo that his grandma owned before she died in a house fire.
She always told him it was the only thing she had left from her family, since both her parents died. He
had always admired her since she was one of the few women that managed to age so much that the
spell of the Witch had worn off. But if this meant she was the Witches daughter and his mother was
her daughter and, of course, he was her son, then that meant... The Witch was his great-grandmother?!

“Uhm Lyndsey...” He started. “I think uhm...”

“You what?”
“I uhm, I think I am the great-grandson of the Witch...”
“I'm sorry but now you really ARE going insane. As you clearly read her family died so many years
ago.”
“No, they didn’t, yes, her husband died but her child didn’t. It was just taken away from her and as it
turns out, her child was my grandmother...”
“WHAT? But you’re not evil at all!” she almost screamed out.
“Shhh, keep it down will yea?” He said angrily. Let’s just keep this for ourselves for now, okay?”
“Fine, but please don’t kill me.”
“I won’t, I promise.”
He decided to take a picture of the photo in case he ever needed it, since he also had a picture of the
photo his grandmother had owned. The bel rang to indicate the break was over
“Let’s just put this back then were we got it from, and get to class before we're too late” Lyndsey said
They put the book back and headed for class.

3
When they got back in class everyone was gathered in one massive group. All of them looked up
when they saw Chase and Lyndsey walking in and were immediately quiet. “What's going on?”
Lyndsey asked to break the silence.
“She's looking for you” someone in the middle of the crowd said. “The Witch, she's looking for you.”.
It was the boy that they lost at her hand yesterday that stood there. No one doubted him, because he
was under her will, and she hated lies so he couldn’t make it up. Also, her so called ‘Puppets’ noticed
when something was off with her.
“But why we-” Lyndsey stopped and looked at Chase “Have done nothing wrong...” she finished
whispering. They both knew exactly what had caused her to look for them.
“Uhm well in that case, I uhm... I suggest we go to my home Lyndsey, and figure something out to
misled her or something...” Chase said. Lyndsey gave him a weird look but eventually followed him
out anyway. When they got out of the school she finally began to talk.
“But Chase, why go to your house? We can’t hide, you'll know what she’ll do when she finds us!”
“Who said anything about hiding?” Chase answered.
“But what else are you going to do then?”
“As I said before, we're going to make a plan.”
“For what exactly?”
“Oh Lyndsey, you're so curious. Just wait till we get home, alright?”
“Fine” she said, with still some uncertainty in her voice. They started walking to his home and both
stayed very quiet. He could see she was very nervous and couldn’t deny he was a feeling a bit anxious
to. He knew the plan was going to be risky and he hadn’t told Lyndsey yet for a reason because he
knew she would start to freak out. After a long walk, they finally arrived at his house. Chase
suggested to go in first, but he wasn’t prepared for what he found inside. Everything was littered:
glass shards, pieces of fabric from torn clothes, pillows pulled apart; it was scattered throughout the
house. He just stood there speechless. He called for his mother, but no one answered. He rushed up
stairs and even there it was a mess. He walked to his mother's room where he found no one. Even
though she was under the control of the Witch, that didn't mean she could just disappear, they still had
their conscious to leave notes or anything like that. Chase had begun searching for one when Lyndsey
entered the room.
“I don’t think she’s here Chase.” She said with a creepy voice. She had a big wide scary smile on her
face that didn’t seem very natural. She was just trying to be funny right? Chase thought as he was
slowly turning around to look for some clue again, but then he heard it; footsteps. They were slow but
loud. Someone was inside the house and there could be only one explanation for Lyndsey's behaviour
AND the footsteps, it was her... He scanned to room for an escape route and spotted a window which
led into the woods. He walked towards Lyndsey and slapped her in the face. She woke up out of the
trance with a very confused face.

“Later” Chase said as he grabbed her arm and rushed to the window. It was then when he saw it. A
perfectly folded up note with the words, For Chase, I'm sorry on top. It was lying on the windowsill.
He put the note in his pocket as he was struggling to open the window. The footsteps were getting
closer and closer when it finally popped open.
“Hurry” he said as he helped Lyndsey trough. When she got down, he followed. His heart was beating
extremely fast. He jumped down, grabbed her arm and run. There was only one place where they
would go which she would never expect...
Her own house.

2
They were running as fast as they could, up the hill toward the house. When they finally got
up, they took the time to look around. It’s not every day that you have the privilege to see
something as beautiful as this. It was absolutely stunning; you had a view over the entire
town and beyond. In the far distance Chase could see mountains, actual mountains with snow
on top!
“It’s stunning” Lyndsey said
“I know, no wonder she chose to live here, now let’s get inside and find a good place to stay
low for a while and actually make a plan now instead of doing the stupid and obvious thing,
hiding.” While he was saying this, he realised they didn’t have that much time since
tomorrow was his birthday. So, whatever they were planning to do, better worked out before
she got the chance to ruin everything. He was born at exactly 5:01 a.m. so they had little time
to implement it.
“I agree” she said
“Sorry what?”
“I agree that we shouldn't be hiding.”
“Oh yeah right
“What else did you think I was agreeing to?”
“Oh nothing, I was just lost in thought”
“Ah, we let's get inside, it’s getting cold, and we need to find a spot to prepare everything
before she gets home.” He nodded and they both turned around and opened the door, which
was, to their surprise, not locked.
“Strange...” she said
“Strange indeed...”
They walked inside and to their surprise it was quite a cosy home. It was still from the time
when she was a normal person. Nothing had changed since then. As they walked trough the
house, they heard kids chattering. It looked like the noise was coming from the basement.
Chase walked over there and put his ear to the door.
“It is coming from over here...”
He opened the door, which led to a very dark basement. He waved at Lyndsey to follow him
and as the went down the stairs the chatting got louder, but once they were at the bottom of
the stairs it was completely quiet. It took some time for his eyes to adjust to the dark but then
he saw it. Over more than a hundred children were sitting down here, with anxious looking
faces. While some looked like they have been here for years, others looked like they had only
been here a couple of days. He wondered around the basement and just found more and more
kids, until he bumped into a wall with glowing jars. Every jar had a name on it: Mary
Thompsen, Andrew Carter, James Winslow. It were the names of the people who’s will were
in the jars.
“Chase?” a girl behind him asked. He turned around to see a familiar face looking at him.
“Anne? What are you doing here, everyone thought you were dead.”
“No, I tried to run away but she caught me and brought me here. I've been in here for 2 years
now. How is the outside world and are you going to save us? We're all dying to know.”
“Uhm the outside world hasn’t changed, at least for the village. For what’s beyond the
borders of Mill Valley, I don’t know.”
More heads were turning his way now.

“For the second question, I didn’t even know you were all held captured down here, we only
came here to hide and make a plan to take out the Witch, but yeah now that I know of you, I'll
try to save you.”
“Chase” Lyndsey said, “I know you want to, I want that to, but without a plan nothing is
going to happen.”
“Right... Do any of you have any ideas which we can take her on?” He asked the children.
“Have you ever heard of the prophecy?” a boy in the back asked.
“What prophecy.”
The boy began the speak: “A hero will rise, only to release us all, a family relative will mark
her downfall.”
“Chase, you are a family relative of her!” Lyndsey said.
Multiple gasps went around the room.
“They also spoke of a weapon” The boy said, “One that should be in her own house.”
“Then that’s what we're going to find.” Chase said, “Does anyone have any idea where we
can find it?”
“You could try her attic.”
“Right, meanwhile you'll just stay here, okay? The kids nodded.
When Lyndsey and Chase got upstairs again it was already dark.
“Lynds, we might want to hurry up, since tomorrow is my birthday.”
She looked back at him and said: “I know, but everything will be alright. I know you, you’ll
fix this, and no one will ever have to worry about their 15th birthday ever again.”
“Thanks, Lynds.” she smiled.
They got to the attic save without any Witch following them. Once they got into the room
they saw a weird flying object, which didn’t at all look like a weapon. It had this strange
purple glow around it, and it looked like some sort of power source. Chase, the stupid curious
boy as he was, decided it was a good idea to just walk up to the thing and touch it.
“CHASE NO!” Lyndsey screamed out, but it was already too late. The weird glowing thing
had sucked into his body and now Chase had full control over it.
“I think this was the weapon, it feels like it was waiting for me...” he said.
Just then the Witch appeared in the doorway.

“Got yeah.” she said as she was powering up some spell, that would probably or take their
will or kill them. Chase on the other hand was moving a lot quicker. He had powered up in no
time and was already casting some sort of stunning spell. The Witch got hit and just lied there
on the ground. Chase and Lyndsey both were shocked at what just happened but soon realised
they had to get out of here. They rushed downstairs to the basement to tell the kids, but when
they got there, they were all ready to go.
“We heard the noise and established that you had found the weapon.” The Anne said. “Can
we see it?”
Chase holds out his hand and a purple glowing ball appeared. Ooh and Aah’s spread across
the room.
“So, what’s the plan going to be?” Anne asked.
“I casted a stunning spell on her, so we should be good for a while when I'll try to figure out
how to use this.” He pointed at his hand.
“And what if she wakes up?” Another girl asked.
“I know it will be scary but you're all very strong so if you all combine it, you'll sure be able
to take her on for at least an hour.” he said. “Lynds, will you help me try to figure this out?”
“It would be my pleasure, Chase.”
“Okay let’s do this. For Mill Valley!”
“For Mill Valley” everyone shouted.
They all got to work; Lyndsey helped Chase with his powers while the kids were trying to
find the best weapons they could use against the Witch. Chase had told him how she was
getting really slow with powering up, so they got the advantage. While they were ad it, they
all heard rumbling coming from above. The kids knew this was their que and they all rushed
upstairs, leaving Lyndsey and Chase alone in the basement.
“So, this one will stun, with this one you'll be able to move and throw thing and this one will
kill, which you'll have to use at the end. Know that she has a lot more knowledge and knows
a lot more spells.” Lyndsey said. “So be careful please.”
“I will and thank you Lyndsey, may this end badly, for everything.” he said which made her
smile. After that he rushed upstairs to join the fight. Once he got their all hell had broken
lose. Things were thrown so he had to be careful while moving around. A spell came his way.
He ducked just in time. It hit the mirror behind him which shattered in a million pieces.

He got back up and casted a fire spell at the Witch, which she blocked and, on her turn,
recanted only trice as powerful. He had to use all his strength to block it and fell on his knees.
A couple kids around him helped him up and with their help he managed to throw a brick
with 5 times as much strength as a normal person would throw. It hit her right on her left
shoulder, which only made her angrier. She summoned a tornado and sent it straight at him.
He used a spell to regain power so he could stand on his on and shouted at the kids to run.
The tornado hit him right in the face and he was tossed around roughly as the tornado
suddenly filled with water. he managed to evaporate the water so he would not drown and
cast a spell to make it windless. When he was finally out of the tornado, he was momentarily
dizzy but recovered and focused on the Witch, who was on the other side of the room. He
raced towards her and cast the death spell. For a moment, he thought he saw fear in her eyes,
but it was already too late. The spell had an immediate effect. She fell lifeless to the ground.
Everyone stood still and from the basement sounded a mix of breaking glass and laughter, not
hysterical laughter, but laughter of genuine happiness. The free wills of everyone she had
ever taken rose up and disappeared through the front door. It actually looked quite pretty.
They were several shimmering-coloured lines flying through the air. Everyone followed them
outside were families stood and people were reunited with their kids. Chase also followed,
hoping to find his mother out there, but she was nowhere to be found. When he turned
around, he saw Lyndsey standing behind him.
“Someone is asking for you inside. she’s looking quite strange” she added
He looked past her, and she was right with both things. There was indeed someone, a girl,
waiting for him inside, and she also had quite the look. She had big curled up horns coming
out of her head and was wearing a multiple blue coloured dress.
“Uhm hello?” Chase said
“Hello Chase Eastwood, I’m here to pick you up. Your father, King of Hilamnea needs your
help.”

The End