Gone, she's fucking gone.

Victoria's corpse had forced its way into Luca's peripheral vision once more, her cold, dead eyes staring at him. Shaking his head wildly, he heard a pop from his neck, and returned his eyes back down to the ground. The night air had a certain chill to it that Luca couldn't quite put his finger on. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out his phone and checks the weather app installed on it. Sixty degrees, Fahrenheit of course. Celsius sucks. With a sigh, he slides the phone back into place.

How long will it be 'til they know I'm gone?

It was night. As opposed to the sunlight that had greeted him and Nova so gleefully when they first made their way out of his apartment on the way to the costume store, the moon didn't appear so welcoming. Its pale glow darkening the morose mood that the young man was already stuck in. Looking down at his hands at the sound of a soft rustling of plastic in the breeze, he remembers the plastic bag in his hand. What had seemed to blend in with the rest of his body, from the length he had been holding onto it, was undoubtedly the source.

I'm fucking paranoid.

Exhaling without an inhale, he blows upwards, knocking one of the loose stands of hair the ran across his forehead out of his eyes. A footstep. Scraping across the sidewalk behind him. Continuing on his trek, he glances over his shoulder to see...

Nothing.

Rubbing his eyes while still looking, he continues to see absolutely nothing. No sign of what made the sound.

Definitely paranoid.

Looking back in front of him, the yellow shine from a streetlight in front of him caused a jumpscare reaction. Lurching backward before fully comprehending what exactly it was, he mutters a string of profanities under his breath. Cheeks reddened by a combination of embarrassment and the frigid air, he tries to force his eyes back at the light. A shadow stuck out from the almost uninterrupted circle. All it was, was a simple line that barely emanated from the patch of sidewalk behind the light. A stick at the most, but just the mere presence after it appeared to jump into view, like it was a video game with poor render distance and the structure just popped out at him, unnerved the shit out of Luca.

Fucking Christ!

Anxiously, he steps closer, foot crossing the imaginary threshold and piercing the already broken circle of illumination given off by the formerly black, now faded gray lamppost. Trudging, dragging his other foot in, he stands alone, basking in the reflection of the bulb on the ground. He takes a deep breath, anticipating the worst, but not moving an inch forward or back. The straight line that had beaten him to the circle comes closer, bringing with it the outline of a body, toes pointed at Luca behind the shield of needlessly bright light.

"Well, what're you waiting for?" His voice trailed, voice cracking on the word - for. The shadow made no motion, but stayed right where it was. Locked. Static in the windy darkness. Not moving an inch, not even its clothes. Everything still. A deep, croaking laugh explodes from the figure, like a demented frog.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Were we doing this on your time?" It responded, sticking half of each foot into the light.

"Looks like we are."

"Funny."

Reaching into his back pocket, Luca pulls out the pack of cigarettes that he managed to swipe from Maria on his way out the door. Pulling one of the conveniently rolled packets of tobacco out of the packaging, he sticks it between his lips before reaching into the plastic bag and pulling out a lighter. Lighting the end of the cigarette, he slides the lighter back into its previous position and takes a drag. Blowing the smoke into the air, it dissipates quickly, the shadow man appearing in the circle, in front of Luca as the last of it settles. Taken aback slightly, he smiles, a nervous look in his eyes as he eyes up the man.

Dressed in a vestment, the figure shows itself to be an older gentleman, face drooping like a bulldog, pale skin looking especially cadaverous in the dimming light. The circle shrinks, still enough to hold both men. He rests his bony hand on Luca's shoulder, an action that causes the young man to twitch.

"No need to be startled, kid."

Unsure of whether or not the man was being genuine, or trying to add to the feeling of tension in the situation, Luca remained tense. His entire body still as a statue, with the exception of his chattering teeth.

"Come on, calm down!"

"Why?" He asked, taking a drag from the cigarette.

"If you appear anxious when you try to speak to him, he simply will not answer. And if I can sense your dread, then he most certainly will."

"Funny. A man of the cloth knowing so much about-" the priest takes his hand - the one that had previously laid across the young man's shoulder and presses it against Luca's mouth before he returns the cigarette to his lips.

"Do not speak of my affiliation; you're the one who needs me, remember?"

"Come on, calm down!" He said, voice muffled by the priest's hand. Despite this, the other man can hear and understand perfectly what was said, and removing his hand, breaks eye contact for the first time since stepping out.

"I know things, that I'm not proud of..." He says, trailing off, looking down at the sidewalk.

"Boo-fucking-hoo!"

Returning back to eye contact, he glares Luca down, a scowl on his face.

"Why do you insist on making this so difficult?"

Luca looks at the priest, right back at him, into his brown, solemn eyes. And laughs. It was a valid question, very much so. However, one that he had never been asked before.

"Shit, I don't know. Never really thought about it, to be honest. Maybe, it's all in who I am as a person. Just like you're a cryptic nonsense spouting, pedophilic Catholic Priest; I'm a smug, douchebaggy wise ass who for every step forward he takes, runs a mile in the wrong direction, so to speak. We are, who we are."

"What happens when you push me to the point where I refuse to help you, huh? What will you do then? Better yet; what will you do when I decide to call the authorities and let them know what you have planned for this evening?"

"Easy. I won't have to, because you aren't going to."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because, you're so close. All you have to do, is get me in. Then, you'll never have to see my face ever again."

"Lord, forgive me for what I'm about to do," the priest begins, speaking to the sky and crossing himself.

"He ain't listening." Luca took a drag, blowing the smoke into the street adjacent their meeting place.

"The words of the sinners fall upon deaf ears." Turning around, facing the way he came once more, he motioned for the young man to follow him. The light from the lamppost goes dead.

"Then you might want to have a nice long chat with him now, because in a few moments, you're gonna be just as bad as me, Father."