The cold night air began to burn Victor's lungs as he and Victoria hurried along down the path that led to the church. His leg muscles were aching tremendously and he knew that he must have been hurting Victoria, pulling her along as he was, but he couldn't take any chances. If there was the slightest possibility that Barkis was following them, he wanted to make it to the church before he did.

"Victor," he heard Victoria call breathlessly behind him, "can we please slow down?"

"I'm sorry darling," Victor called back, "but we must make haste."

"But why," she asked, stumbling slightly against Victor's pull.

"B-because," Victor replied, taking a moment to think of an alternate explanation. After all, he didn't want to scare her with the possibility that Barkis could be lurking in the shadows.

"Because if someone catches us out here this late at night, they might become suspicious and alert Pastor Galswells," he explained quickly, hoping that would satisfy her.

"Oh," she replied doubtfully, but to Victor's relief, she didn't ask any more questions. A few minutes later, they crossed the bridge and the large ominous church finally loomed just a few feet ahead of them. Once at the front steps, Victor let go of Victoria's hand and ran up to the large doors. He put his hand on the cool handle and eased the door open as quietly as he could.

"Come darling," he called quietly to Victoria, who was still standing at the bottom of the front steps. Sensing his hushed manner, she crept up the steps, took his hand, and together they tip-toed into the church.

"Victor," Victoria whispered to him as they quietly made their way to the head of the church. "Are you sure it is necessary that we be here?"

"Not entirely," Victor admitted in a hushed tone. "But don't worry, darling. We won't have to be here long," he replied, knowing perfectly well why she had asked. He could feel in her trembling hand that the atmosphere was making her incredibly nervous. And he shared her feelings. The church intimidated him enough during the daylight hours, but at night there was something…unsettling about the place, as if something was watching them…

Suddenly, as if someone or something had heard his thoughts, Victor and Victoria heard a strange sound coming from above them, causing both of them to jump in surprise.

"What was that," Victoria asked immediately, completely forgetting to whisper.

"I-It was probably nothing, darling," Victor replied, more to himself than to his wife. "It was probably just…" but before he could finish comforting her, there came an even greater raucous from above. Victoria threw herself into Victor's arms and buried her face in his chest. Victor wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, looking around for the source of the chaos. After a few more seconds of scanning, he finally spotted what had caused the din. A group of crows had decided to congregate in the beams above. How they had gotten in the church in the first place was beyond Victor.

"Victoria, look," he said, his heart still racing. "I-It was just a flock of crows above. Nothing to be n-nervous about. See?" Slowly, Victoria looked up and breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are they doing in here," she asked.

"I don't know," Victor replied as he continued to look up at the birds. He felt a slight shudder go down his spine as he watched them. He could swear that they were watching him as well. He looked away quickly and decided to focus on the task at hand.

"Come Victoria," he said as he walked over to the head of the church. She joined his side and looked at him questioningly.

"What do we do now, dear," she asked.

"Well, I say the word and in theory we return to the Land of the Dead," Victor replied.

"But will I be able to return with you, since I've never been," Victoria asked with a look of confusion on her face. Victor's eyes widened. He hadn't taken that into consideration.

"Well…" he said as he rubbed the back of his neck in thought. "Maybe if I carry you in my arms it will work." He walked over to Victoria and scooped her up in his arms. He took a deep breath and positioned himself exactly in the center of the head of the church.

"Are you ready darling," Victor asked Victoria. Victoria gulped slightly and smiled weakly.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she said, her voice quivering slightly in uneasiness. Victor gave her a reassuring smile.

"Hang on tight, love," he told her. In response, Victoria tightened her grasp around his neck and closed her eyes. Victor took one last deep breath and closed his eyes as well.

"Hopscotch," he declared into the air. Suddenly, there came a loud crash of thunder and flashes of lightning. Out of now where, dozens of crows surrounded them until they were completely engulfed in blackness.

"Victor," Victoria called out above the noise in alarm. Victor pulled her closer to him.

"It's alright, dear," he called back to her. A few more minutes passed of nothing but darkness and unbearable noise, but then all of a sudden, it stopped. Victor opened his eyes slowly and gasped. He looked down at Victoria, who was thankfully still in his arms with her eyes squeezed shut.

"Victoria, look," he told her excitedly. Victoria opened her eyes and looked around in amazement. They seemed to be in some sort of town square and all around her there were bright, vibrant colors, more colors than she had ever seen in her life.

"Are we here," she asked somewhat in disbelief.

"Yes, we're here," Victor answered as he gently returned her to her feet. "The Land of the Dead!"