Immaculate Misconceptions

The Bloodhound was constantly getting lost among the bramble and bushes. Twice the dog would bring them back to a certain spot, sniff around, then whimper in confusion until he was given Chris’ clothes to sniff at again. The boys followed impatiently with 3 other highly alert officers who looked for any sign of foot prints. That was the strange thing, there wasn’t any. Yet, the dog was catching the scent of something or Chris somewhere.
A strong breeze caused the dog to stop suddenly, snapping his head up and sniffing at the air. The boys held their breath and dug their nails into their palms as they watched with growing tension. If this dog lost the trail again, more than one of them were going to explode. Time was ticking, every second precious to the possible survival of their friend.

Suddenly the dog threw it’s head back and let out a long deep howl that caused the nearby birds to squawk and fly away in fear and the squirrels to chitter in anger at the disturbance. Before Josh could even ask what the whole scene meant, the dog bounded off, snapping the leash and separating himself from the small group. The officer in charge of him let out a frustrated yell,
“TOBY! TOBY! HEEL! TOBY!” He struggled to climb over various elements of nature as the dog gave them the chase of their lives.
“What the actual fuck!” Josh panted as the group struggled to catch up to the obviously more athletic officers who were trying not to lose the bloodhound. Twice Ricky fell flat on his face and Kuza was cursing up a storm about how “goth boys aren’t made for chasing dogs.”

“We’re gonna need back up!” Their hearts dropped to their stomachs at the sound. Did they find a body?

When the boys finally caught up, the bloodhound was digging at something while being reattached to his leash.
“Oh shit...” Devin whispered quietly while putting a hand over his mouth. He was thinking the worse, just like the rest of the guys. They were all prepared for a body to be revealed from the muck but instead the air was filled with the scratching of the dog’s nails on wood. There was a wooden door revealed, buried under a thin layer of dirt much like an old fashion hatch to a basement. With a firm tug, the officer pulled the door outward to reveal a dark tunnel.
“Hey! Have a look over here!”
The dog was whimpering and pulling on the leash towards where another officer had trailed off. They weren’t paying attention before but dug deep into the ground was a large gash as if something heavy was being dragged but the upturned earth was trampled down by dozens of footsteps. It was almost as if a whole small town was traveling down the path.
The officer spoke into his walkie talkie, “We need back up assistance. It appears we have cult activity, I repeat, cult activity. Be armed and ready, there is fresh blood on the scene. We are in pursuit, I repeat, we are in pursuit.”
There was static before an answer was received, “Copy that. Where is your location?”
The officer read out some random coordinates that he seemed to pluck from thin air before saying, “There appears to be some hidden tunnels. There may be more then one way of getting here. Over.”
“We hear you. We found a similar situation in the warehouse. We’ll send officers in and over from above. Have a member of your unit wait for back up. Do not approach suspects if armed and dangerous. Do you copy? Over.”
“Yes sir, we copy.”
“One of you mind staying back for the back up? We don’t know what we’re walking into so we need every armed man with us.”

The group looked at each other in a silent discussion trying to decipher who would want to stay behind. Every one of them were eager to find and/or help Chris so none of them were willing to part with the group... But it came to their understanding that the group was better off traveling with armed officers rather than an extra black-clad boy.
“I’ll stay,” Devin volunteered. “You guys focus on finding Chris safely. I’ll make sure the back up knows where they’re going.”
Angelo clasped Devin on the shoulder, “Thanks man...”
Devin dipped his head in a small nod before watching the group start down the trail in a jog.

The trail was easy to follow. It was fresh although trampled. They simply had to follow the many footsteps. All the while their stomachs churned and their hearts were beating erratically. Few swallowed dried lumps in their throat as they stared at the ground, the amount of blood soaked in patches of dirt indicated that new wounds were inflicted or that they had begun to walk more slowly.
The dog suddenly jumped up and whimpered, walking backwards and bumping into the officer.
“What’s wrong?” Angelo questioned staring at the dog with concern.
The officer held up a finger and crouched low to the ground, the others did the same causing the boys to follow the motion. Slowly they crept forward and the officer made a face, “Gasoline.” He used the word as a curse under his breath, “Dog’s noses are sensitive.”
“Gas?!” Rickey hissed. The boys fidgeted with fear and worry.
One of the officers spoke into his walkie talkie, “We have traces of Gasoline. Officers are requested to hold their fire.”

The whole group nearly jumped as a near by chanting began. Well, it wasn’t much of a chant... More of song being sung. The tempo was dull and sounded like something sung at funerals.
“Someone needs to hold the dog back. We can’t risk being seen.”
Josh immediately grabbed the leash, “I’ll do it... You guys have a stronger stomach than me... I’m not sure if I’m ready for whatever’s over there...” He looked off into the thick trees.
They gave him a small understanding nod and watched him for a moment as he retraced his steps back towards where they came, making sure the dog kept it’s distance.

Angelo, Ricky, and Kuza followed the 3 armed officers in a slow crouch as they inched closer. They veered off the main road and into the thick shrubs and bramble so that they were welly hidden from unwanted eyes. As the singing grew louder, the trees began to be more spaced out and the amount of brush thinning out until they had to stop and watch from a distance.
What they saw horrified them and immediately had Ricky looking away, in fear that he’d vomit.
The ground was covered in dead grass and on either side of the large wooden cross in the middle lay 2 identical yet worn crosses that protruded from the ground. The smell of gasoline was strong but that didn’t stop the group of people from singing and watching. Even children were present and that’s what made the scene all the more disgusting.

Surrounded by all this was a thin, lone, figure hanging from the largest cross that was surrounded by piles of wood. His head dangled and dripped with crimson and his body was tattered and bruised... Disfigured. He was covered in dirt with only a cloth wrapped around his waist, his hair clinging to his face in bloody clumps. His skin looked... charred? Red from where they were standing. Pinkish as if it was missing something but the details of the mans condition could not be seen from where they were hidden but one thing was for sure.
They found Chris.

They held their breath, was he dead?
No... He was still alive. Somehow he was still alive! Chris lifted his head slightly to gaze at those around him before he went limp again.

“Jesus Fucking Christ.” Angelo cussed under his breath, his eyes glazing over at the scene in revulsion and shock.
The officers told them to be quiet as one of them separated themselves from the other two to sneak off somewhere. Probably part of some silent strategy they had.
The singing allowed the officer to speak quietly into his walkie talkie without drawing attention, “We need back up immediately. Approach with caution. We have located Mr. Cerulli. There are children present and there is gasoline on sight. We are taking immediate action.”
They began to unclip their guns.
“Wait, if you fire this whole place might as well go up in flames!” Kuza hissed.
“We have to negotiate. We have back up on the way but we promise you, we will do everything we can to make sure your friend is safe. None of us will fire until we’re completely sure it’s safe.”
“But wouldn’t it set off the gas?"
“Not if we shoot at a far enough distance."
Kuza stared at the officer’s unwavering eyes until the officer was forced to look away by the singing coming to an end.

A man stepped forward in front of Chris with his arms outstretched. He wore regular light blue jeans and a polo shirt that was tucked into his pants. Behind him, to the left of Chris, stood a short chubby old man who appeared to be a priest.
His voice was strong and immediately had the boys recoiling while the officers worked quickly to cock their weapons.

“We gather here today in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!”
“Amen.” The group chorused in a haunting monotone.
“Today we take a step further in ending this madness! The blasphemy spread by these metal, goth, punk-rock, and rock and roll music. We have caused the fall of one of the many leaders of these make up wearing faggots!” He’d spit to the ground while his followers murmured their agreements.

“What the actual fuck.” Ricky mouthed to Angelo who grimaced at every word they said. This was like something out of a fairy-tale... or better yet, a nightmare. This whole thing was completely insane... Never would they have thought people would go THIS far because of their music or how they looked.

“See him! The blasphemer! All his life acting like a God! A mock savior!”
The crowd sneered in disgust and some even shook their heads.
“Today we finish this!” He plucked a small box of matches from his pocket and held it up so all could see. The crowd cheered and began to chant a phrase in a different language.

“Officer...” Angelo muttered threw clenched teeth, tensing up as he watched as the two officers made no movement to stop the act.

The man opened the box.

“Officer...”

He plucked a match from the box and held it up in the air.

“Officer!”

He pressed the match against the box, “It is finis-”

“FREEZE! FBI! DON’T MOVIE!”