Homoween 2019: Hollywood Coven

Day 21: Mummy, My Daddy

Jude worked a lot of little jobs around the Strip to make ends meet. That was how Derek and Luke had ended up lock picking into a dark stage night at the Coliseum. Even for Luke, who had worked in theater as a younger man, the Coliseum was a cavernous and dark place without the energy of people. There was something abnormal about seeing it like this. The stage itself and the lowered lighting had the affect of a cave with a great metallic dragon lying in wait. 

It was cool here too. Cooler than it should've been. As though somebody had turned on the AC while waiting for them to appear and set it to a dangerously low temperature.

Derek shivered and Luke put his arm around him.

"It's okay, pup. We won't stay here long."

"Something is wrong here Luke."

"I know love, but this is the path we've chosen. So we'll walk it bravely."

Luke didn't leave sound prints much when walking (except when riding around on his scooter between takes) but now he felt he could hear even the beating of his absent heart. There was a suffocation to this- this silence.

The orchestra pit was locked and wasn't nearly as pickable as the door. Knelt down, it felt much better here. Low to the ground, you didn't have a sense of the scale of the place. It had that same round amphitheater design as the Coliseum itself. Here, dressed in Shakespeare, you could be seen. But likely not heard. Derek looked around.

"I smell someone."

"Is it a security guard?"

"No. They smell- what is that?"

The lights sprang to life all at once. Luke popped up to standing. The great light dragon was coming to life, hovering and moving up into the air. The darkened room staged dark but the stage began to light up. Usually, light was comforting. Not in the case.

There was a spotlight in the center of the stage. Luke sighed and then moved toward the steps to get up. Derek grabbed at his jacket.

"Come on, pup. There's no point."

Derek followed Luke up the stairs and into the light.

"On tonight's episode of supernatural trial court-" the voice began, an unseen body from the darkness of the wings. Luke squinted. Even with vampiric vision the darkness clawed at itself into nothingness.  "- we present the case of the werewolf and vampire who simply can't keep their hands to themselves and have to stick their wet puppy noses in where they don't belong."

A second spotlight clicked on and then a third. 

"My name is Justin Willman and this is Supernatural Trial Court."

There was the sound of music as though it was a reality tv show intro. 

"The magician-" Derek said in a hushed tone.

"Oh, not just me." Channing moved into the second spotlight, dancing. Magic sparks flew off of his body. "He's keeping the lights up. Now, shall we meet your judge and jurors for your trial?"

"Aren't we supposed to have a fair and impartial trial?" Luke asked.

"You're not from America so you tell me, Luke." Justin smiled at Luke although it struck Luke that there was no warmth in the smile. It was humorless. Almost like he was trying to smile and only could do it based on facial memory.

"As I was saying- we have three mummies from this year's very popular Ra exhibit- Hortense, Magritria, and Dellion!" Another light. The mummies were stoic in their seat, their eyes glazed over and unblinking.

"Hortense?"

"That's what the name translates to from the hieroglyphs. Open your mind vampire."

"Don't we- get a lawyer?" Derek asked.

"No," Justin said and he disappeared in the blink of an eye and reappeared next to the mummies in their theater chairs just on their left hand side. "We'll hear evidence and then you'll be sentenced and taken out to the desert to dig your own graves by our illustrious Las Vegas Literariet Head- Tom!" 

Justin motioned and a light beam hit the aisle that Luke and Derek had traveled down. Tom stood there in a fake sheriff's uniform and bicycle shorts holding a shotgun that practically screamed 'supernaturally modified'.

"So let's begin the trial!"

Luke's entire body tensed. 

"First, we call to the stage- the witches three."

They were bewitched. Or possibly asleep. Still in their Sanderson drag but dirtied, as though they'd been buried in coffins and reanimated for this particular purpose. 

"Tell us ladies, what did you see?"

"The vampire stark raving mad. He tried to drink our blood. He is unhinged." They said in one voice, monotone. Sarah's head moved upwards and she let out a blood-curdling nonhuman scream as her entire body exploded. Winifred and Mary had no response. A snap of his fingers and they disappeared beneath a trap door.

"And our second witness is the corpse of young Jude Lawless. A magical protege-"

"We have seen enough-" Hortense's voice rang out, hollow but like a million years of dust. Much like the proceedings of the impromptu court- there was a Mel Brooks quality to how Hortense spoke. "we pronounce them guilty."

"As you should. Literariat Tom, lead them to the desert and bury them."

"Gentlemen," Tom said as he strode up, weapon in hand. "It's best if you don't struggle. I have an itchy trigger finger."