Drabble Meme 8 - Special Collections (Fandom High)
Fic for absolutesnark
Prompt from here reads: "Janet and Piper get into trouble in Special Collections."
Sorta-kinda contains another fandom. Heh.
***
"I hate ancient Egypt," sighed Janet. The torches in Special Collections were burning brightly, but the heavy stone and oppressive gloom caused by shelves of papyrus surrounding mummified animals was getting to her anyway.
"Oh?" Piper frowned. "Did you have a bad experience in Archaeology last semester?" She put her hands on her hips and glared down the endless corridor. "And is it just me, or have we been stuck in the hallway for the past hour and a half?"
Janet shook her head vehemently. "I didn't take Archaeology," she said. "I had--" She paused for half a second, searching for a plausible lie. "--a teacher at my last school who taught mythology. It was a really bad class."
"I see," said Piper, though she really didn't. She frowned. "How are we supposed to get out of here?"
"You've got me," said Janet. "I think the Library's mad at us. I don't usually have any problems in Special Collections." She started forward again. If they had to pull in the Archaeology professor to rescue two lost students out of Special Collections, she was going to be really embarrassed.
"So what now?" asked Piper.
A quick shrug of her shoulders was Janet's initial reply. "Hope the Library is nice?" she asked.
"Great," said Piper.
Several moments passed in silence as they continued to walk. Piper spotted a side room, and paused. She touched Janet's shoulder to get her attention, and nodded at the open doorway. "At least it's something different," she said. They walked in. The room was large and cavernous, lined with shelves full of books. Some of the bindings were modern, with English text, but more were older. Janet recognized Greek, Hebrew, and Latin from the hours of Classics she'd studied with Professor Dream, and there were more in languages she didn't recognize.
"I think it's a burial chamber," said Janet. There was a giant sarcophagus in the center of the room. It didn't look to have any Goa'uld writing on it, and Janet relaxed with an imperceptible sigh.
"Mummies?" asked Piper warily. She took a step back.
"There couldn't be," said Janet, disregarding the fact that Piper was a witch and magic was real here. Mummies were simply dead, disemboweled corpses lacking certain vital organs and who were prepared by immersion in natron and wrapped in linen bandages. Nothing else. "Well, there could be, but not a live mummy." For one, no human being could survive the procedure. She'd never had the opportunity to study a mummy firsthand. It would probably be medically fascinating to see the effects of climate and the mummification procedure up close. "I do wonder what's in there, though."
Piper flicked her hands forward and the lid of the sarcophagus exploded. Janet started coughing and flapping her hand in front of her face. "That's useful," she said over their loud hacking. "Messy. But useful."
"Uh-oh," said Piper. She started forward, and Janet followed along. This was starting to get seriously creepy. "Did he sit up when I blew up the lid?"
"I think so," said Janet. They weren't clutching at each other for comfort. Nope. They were adult, mature, responsible types. Right. It was just that the light was dim, and they didn't want to lose track of each other.
They reached the edge of the sarcophagus, and Janet peered at the mummy. "He's awfully...squishy," she finally pronounced.
A wind slowly blew through the underground chamber, and Janet shivered. "Uh-oh," she said.
They heard chanting, presumably in Egyptian, in a woman's voice, and suddenly, a man, shouting, "You must not read from the book!"
The wind swirled again, and the mummy shifted and groaned. The torches blew out.
"Run," said Janet, grabbing Piper's hand and aiming for the door.
Prompt from here reads: "Janet and Piper get into trouble in Special Collections."
Sorta-kinda contains another fandom. Heh.
***
"I hate ancient Egypt," sighed Janet. The torches in Special Collections were burning brightly, but the heavy stone and oppressive gloom caused by shelves of papyrus surrounding mummified animals was getting to her anyway.
"Oh?" Piper frowned. "Did you have a bad experience in Archaeology last semester?" She put her hands on her hips and glared down the endless corridor. "And is it just me, or have we been stuck in the hallway for the past hour and a half?"
Janet shook her head vehemently. "I didn't take Archaeology," she said. "I had--" She paused for half a second, searching for a plausible lie. "--a teacher at my last school who taught mythology. It was a really bad class."
"I see," said Piper, though she really didn't. She frowned. "How are we supposed to get out of here?"
"You've got me," said Janet. "I think the Library's mad at us. I don't usually have any problems in Special Collections." She started forward again. If they had to pull in the Archaeology professor to rescue two lost students out of Special Collections, she was going to be really embarrassed.
"So what now?" asked Piper.
A quick shrug of her shoulders was Janet's initial reply. "Hope the Library is nice?" she asked.
"Great," said Piper.
Several moments passed in silence as they continued to walk. Piper spotted a side room, and paused. She touched Janet's shoulder to get her attention, and nodded at the open doorway. "At least it's something different," she said. They walked in. The room was large and cavernous, lined with shelves full of books. Some of the bindings were modern, with English text, but more were older. Janet recognized Greek, Hebrew, and Latin from the hours of Classics she'd studied with Professor Dream, and there were more in languages she didn't recognize.
"I think it's a burial chamber," said Janet. There was a giant sarcophagus in the center of the room. It didn't look to have any Goa'uld writing on it, and Janet relaxed with an imperceptible sigh.
"Mummies?" asked Piper warily. She took a step back.
"There couldn't be," said Janet, disregarding the fact that Piper was a witch and magic was real here. Mummies were simply dead, disemboweled corpses lacking certain vital organs and who were prepared by immersion in natron and wrapped in linen bandages. Nothing else. "Well, there could be, but not a live mummy." For one, no human being could survive the procedure. She'd never had the opportunity to study a mummy firsthand. It would probably be medically fascinating to see the effects of climate and the mummification procedure up close. "I do wonder what's in there, though."
Piper flicked her hands forward and the lid of the sarcophagus exploded. Janet started coughing and flapping her hand in front of her face. "That's useful," she said over their loud hacking. "Messy. But useful."
"Uh-oh," said Piper. She started forward, and Janet followed along. This was starting to get seriously creepy. "Did he sit up when I blew up the lid?"
"I think so," said Janet. They weren't clutching at each other for comfort. Nope. They were adult, mature, responsible types. Right. It was just that the light was dim, and they didn't want to lose track of each other.
They reached the edge of the sarcophagus, and Janet peered at the mummy. "He's awfully...squishy," she finally pronounced.
A wind slowly blew through the underground chamber, and Janet shivered. "Uh-oh," she said.
They heard chanting, presumably in Egyptian, in a woman's voice, and suddenly, a man, shouting, "You must not read from the book!"
The wind swirled again, and the mummy shifted and groaned. The torches blew out.
"Run," said Janet, grabbing Piper's hand and aiming for the door.