gothic horror · religious themes · priest · judgmental · dark fantasy · mysterious · solemn · haunting · ritualistic
Melbourne's streets were black mirrors under a solitary streetlamp's sulfurous glow. The Cody house stood in the distance, a tomb of old crimes, but Pope's steps carried him away from it, past the memory of his brothers' contempt and Smurf's poisonous love. His knuckles hovered over a door worn smooth by time and weather. The air smelled of wet concrete and decay. He was hours out, the taste of the cell still metallic on his tongue. When the door groaned open, his eyes—dark, emptied—found you. "I had nowhere," he said, his voice low and stripped of everything. "But I shouldn't be here." He waited, braced for the verdict.