Thursday, March 18, 2021

Los Angeles is melting in the dark

Screengrab from
Judgement - Mutant Enemy
Productions / 20th Century
Fox Television
(The Host steps up to the mike)

Hey kids, I’m so glad you could join us this evening at Caritas. You know, this city is a madhouse, and it seems like everyone’s out to get you. A quick judgement call is sometimes the only choice we have. But things aren’t always as they seem at first, are they? It’s like the heroes and the villains all melt into each other sometimes.

(Orchestral music starts to play)

So I’ve put together a little song, to remind us all of why we don’t judge the walking, talking books we meet every day by their somewhat predictable covers.

(The host begins to sing, to the tune of MacArthur Park as recorded by Richard Harris)

Cordie’s acting class thinks she’s the best
At darts our Wesley’s great
It’s approval they both seek

But they both heed the beeper’s siren call
Angel needs them once again
They’re protectors of the meek

Human sacrifice down at the gym
Just another day for our brave team
Behind the glass the victims are restrained
So they break it down and rush in
Slay the demon, free the humans
And that trainer’s gonna need to be retrained
Oh yeah!

Angel thinks he’s ready to be free
He can see the light
But it’s farther than he knows

Cordie’s vision sends him on a quest
One more giant step now t’ward the goal

The Prio Motu has to be destroyed
Gotta save the lady, hero’s work
Surely this time he will prove himself
Angel’s fate seems close to turnin’
From the dark side to full human
Just one more good deed, a demon sent to hell
One more!

(The music slows to ballad speed)

Prejudice runs fast and it runs deep
And Kamal’s dead now

How to serve his penance, how to sleep?
Protect the mom now

Out there waiting now, two judges, cold
But how to find them, now a consult must be made
Oh no, he’ll have to sing for the host
Yes he’ll have to sing for the host
It makes a fair trade

Angel’s grief is real, but has he learned the lesson found there
Following the long redemptive path, the only answer

You know judgement comes before a fall
And it’s how we use it that defines us all
So will he let his fear bring him down
Oh, will he let his fear bring him down
To dark depths of hate
Or will he then fly

(The Host performs an over-long interpretive dance on the nature of judgement)

In the end our heroes will prevail
Our boy realizes he must wait
Not all demons need to just be slain
Some are kind and some are fluffy
Even though they can get scruffy
Yeah, and once they’re dead they can’t come back again
Oh no!
Oh no!
Oh nooooooooo!

(The music reaches a crescendo and then ends)

Thanks everyone! Now I think our friend Snarfalak wants to tell us about how it’s only rock and roll, but he likes it!

- HEATHER MURRAY will never have that recipe again, oh no.

Los Angeles is melting in the dark was my fourth book-published piece, part of Outside In Gains a Soul: 127 New Perspectives on 127 Angel and Firefly Stories by 127 Writers, published by ATB Publishing and available online and in bookstores. I’m among some wonderful writers here, and they’re not all simple reviews — included are crosswords, plays, insurance reports, comic strips, and even a Choose Your Own Adventure. And a percentage of each sale goes to charity. A lot of fun, pick it up!

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