It Never Had To Get So Dark - Father Paul Hill x Reader

Nine

Kura trotted ahead merrily, pausing here or there to check that I was still loitering behind him before continuing on his way, moving left and right to sniff at whatever caught his fascination.

I watched him pace side to side, walking with a bounce in my step to whatever rhythm was playing through my headphones, being vigilant in making sure that he didn't pick up anything that he wasn't supposed to.

Our night walks were something that I looked forward to, the night offered a silence usually lost within the day and the world felt as though it slowed down when nothing was happening.

Not that Crockett was a bustling place in general, but a coating of darkness made everything so much calmer...but also a thousand times creepier.

It's amazing how the night changes something familiar into something foreign, even something as mundane as a small island of barely anyone.

If Crockett Island looked like a rundown sty during the day then there was something bewitching that took it over at night, it turned from a place the looked worn down with buildings ready to drop from a simple gust of wind to a place perfect for a Halloween stroll, still rundown but with the creepy ambience perfect for any horror fan, the shadows hiding most of the cracks and missing pieces of the surrounding buildings, creating dark pits that looked endless in their place.

It was strangely serene in a way that sent shivers down my spine, my imagination running wild with what could be peering out from the darkened, cracked windows until the buildings ran out once we were on the path nearest the church, then it turned mostly into trees and dry mud tracks that kicked up dust as we walked.

It was the perfect inspiration for a story or two, though most of the details I would think up would be gone before I had stepped through the front door and eventually the ideas would filter out completely, rarely to return.

The change in direction made the walk feel so much longer than it usually would, something I would usually estimate by using the number of songs that I could listen between the house and our destination.

Typically, it would take about four to five songs to reach the shore, depending on length and I had reached song four by the time our steps came to a slow crawl on the unfamiliar path, the directional change not being the only reason for its unfamiliarity.

A mist was already rising from the ground and the ambience would have been creepy enough without the looming silhouette of St Patrick's as we approached from the right, a well-worn trail rarely used by us given that I had no reason to venture this particular way.

I could count the number of times that I had passed the church since my arrival on a single hand, the only memorable time being during my first week on the island and even that was only because I was adventuring around to see what little there was to see.

Even during this outing I hadn't planned to go much further, the walking there turning out to be more or less the same distance as it was to walk down to the shore but the decision was already made for me.

Kura came to a slow stop just before we reached the church, a few feet short of the accessibility ramp for Leeza's wheelchair.

"You okay, pup?" I asked, smiling down at him while giving the lead a small shake, taking one of my headphones out with my other hand.

He ignored the coaxing, choosing to stay in one spot, his tail still wagging despite his refusal to walk any further, instead he started shuffling from side to side like he was standing on hot coals as he started to let out small whines.

I frowned and gave a gentle pull on the lead, attempting to coax him closer to me but he stubbornly stayed routed on the spot, staring towards the rectory that just peeked out from our vantage point at the side of the church, a muted light coming from the front window.