Immaculate Misconceptions

Chris was shaking, almost shivering as the cream seemed to settle to a numb feeling. It felt as if ants were crawling over every area the cream made contact with in a steady rhythm. His breathing was slow, tired, but pained.
Every man seemed to sigh in relief that it was over. They were still human, no matter what they did to Chris so the sight still shocked them.
Blue jeans smiled at Chris as one of the men released the bitten gag from his mouth, the corner of his lips red and sliced,
"How does it feel Christopher? Do you still feel the acid eating away at your tainted flesh? Can you feel the sins being lifted from your body?"
"Pathetic bitch." Chris murmured his response, his sides searing.
The man grabbed his fact sharply and held the spatula, covered with whatever remained of the cream, close to his face, "I wonder what they would think of you if we-"
"Enough." Everyone seemed to be 100% attentive as the priest spoke, "You will not touch the boy's face. He must stand before God whole. God must look into his face, whole. He will look into the sinner's eyes, as they appear to us now."
The man turned back to Chris, looking at him for a long time before releasing his face and tossing the spatula back on the cart. Glasses rolled it away, disappearing into the darkness.
He spoke again, more quietly, "God acts kindly."

The priest put a hand on Blue Jean's shoulder and gave him a small nod. With that, he walked off after Glasses.
The priest turned to the men who continued to stand tall,
"You two," He pointed a boney finger at 2 older men, "Clean this man up."

They stood still as the priest took his slow walk into the depths of the room before most of them scrambled away like cockroaches. The two men pulled out a set of gloves before they unstrapped Chris and hauled him up by his upper arms.
Chris wasn't gonna fight them... He wanted this stuff off him as fast as possible.
He let out a yelp as their hands gripped his raw skin tightly on his shoulders and wrists, pulling them backwards so they could push him forward by his shoulders. This way, he couldn't struggle free.
Not like he was going to at the moment.

They walked slowly, respecting Chris' state. Chris' feet dragged against the floor as he allowed himself to walk in the directions they pushed him. They brought him to a door with a bright light illuminating from it's cracks. They pushed him into it, causing him to hiss in discomfort at the sudden light compared to the previous lighting. Inside, the room's walls were yellowed with age and the paint chipped and crumbled at the corners. There was nothing in the room except for the large square dip in the ground. It resembled something of a small pool... As they brought him to the edge of the pool Chris could see that the bottom held a painting that included an image of a large field with angels all around. In the sky, there seemed to beam a light and on the ground their was a man looking up at it.
Chris blinked slowly, inspecting the art.

With a hard shove, the men sent Chris head first into the pool where he landed with a splash. He choked as water invaded his lungs but cooled his burning body. His limbs flailed as he tried to reach for a surface, the pool was deeper than it seemed. Through blurred vision he could see large plums of white escape from his body as the cream seemed to peel off the instant it touched the water. Along with the white, some of the water swirled around him with a pink tint.
They pulled him up suddenly just when he felt his lungs were about to explode. He tossed his head up to the surface with a gasp, shaking the water from his face. Before he could even regain his breath, they pushed him under once again and held him there. He tried holding his breath but the water traveled up his nostrils and choked him. He let out gasps and tried to scream for them to let him go but the only thing that occurred were the bubbles of his last supply of oxygen traveling to the surface. He thrashed and his hands clawed at the men but his body movements felt so slow and the water that soothed his flesh now tortured his already aching lungs.

They pulled him to the surface again, his breathing was panicked as he tried to regain his breath. His lungs burned, his body throbbed, and yet the water seemed to cool him. The first thought on his mind was to cry out, for someone, anyone. He wasn't ready to go yet, not now. Not like this. He began to kick and squirm, his arms flailing to claw at them. In response, they pushed him under the foggy water again. Chris was able to attempt to hold his breath as he fought against the water's invasion. His nails dug into the skin of their arms and he clawed at them with all the strength he was able to muster but they'd simply push him deeper and dragged him throughout the water, throwing off his hold on his breath. He ended up taking a sharp inhale causing water to stream into his lungs and through his nostrils. He shook himself under the water as if there was a way to get himself to resurface.

Chris made one more attempt to get himself to the surface, to fight off the aching feeling in his chest, before his lungs screamed at him and he passed out.

~~

"Chris!"
Kuza jumped at the sound of his false name being shouted. He still hasn't gotten use to it.. being someone else. He was drifted off in thought again... As the days passed everyone's thoughts seemed to get darker. Who kidnapped the real Chris? Where did they take him? What are they doing to him? What DID they do to him?
Chris wouldn't have wanted to leave the earth that way... Never would he have ever. To even think about Chris having had his life taken from him in any way other than something musically related or maybe even natural, was heart shattering.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Kuza answered the event staff quickly, clearing his throat.
The man jutted a finger behind him, "The boys are asking for you in sound check."
Kuza cleared his throat again. It was good that none of these guys were familiar with the band. It was easy to stay relaxed backstage considering Event Staff didn't know what Chris Motionless looked like without make up, let alone what he sounded like.
"Are the VIP's in yet?"
"Not for another," The man check his watch briefly, "Fifteen minutes."
Kuza got up from his seat quickly, for most of the shows "Chris" never showed up for sound check and left it up to the roadies to ensure that his microphone was good to go. Then, he'd attend the quick signing (which he only started attending after a few days of practicing Chris' signature) with a fake signature, and close his interactions with the silent picture taking. A part of Mike felt bad for fans... He could only do so much to convince them they were in front of one of their idols, the man who saved their lives, the man who inspires them; but in reality, that man was missing... And they hoped and they prayed that he was still breathing. Mind you, Kuza was a fan too. He was just like any one of them... and he didn't want any of them to be going through what he felt like he was going through... to feel everything he was feeling. They didn't deserve that, they deserved better. They deserved the world and their own happiness.

He approached the first member he saw, Josh Balz. He sat on top of a tall amp playing with his phone, a dull look planted on his face.

"I was called?" Kuza asked in a low voice.
Josh looked up suddenly as if he was startled, "Oh! Angelo wanted to talk to you." He murmured, looking back at his phone.

Distant.
That is what described each member now.

"Oh... right." He shoved his hands in his pockets and shuffled over to the drummer who faced the back of the stage, sitting behind the drum set awkwardly, "Angelo?"
The drummer jumped, "Oh! Kuza, it's you..." He exhaled almost shakily, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans.
"Are you okay?"
He nodded quickly, "Yeah man... You know how it is now a days," He cleared his throat, "Just the mind games ya know? Everything getting ya thinking..." He trailed off for a moment, "You know after 48 hours on a missing person's case, it's put on file that the victim is deceased. They just give up on em, just like that... Cold case." Angelo sniffed sharply.
"Ang-"
Angelo held up his hand, silencing Kuza, "Listen... Side by side, me and Chris were kinda seen as the father figures of the group... That's why they wanted me to be the one to talk to you about this and I know it's going to sound... crazy? I don't even know, maybe it's a completely awful idea but me and the boys been talking and thinking... It's been almost 6 days," He looked up at Kuza with glossy eyes.
Kuza took a step back slightly, connecting one and one. The implication scared him.

The guy's were talking about Chris being dead.
They were actually considering it.

"Don't give up on him, Angelo. Don't any of you give up on him. He'll turn up. I know he will." Kuza was lying through his teeth, but he refused to give into the unsettling feeling coursing through his body. He wasn't going to be the one to give up on Chris Motionless cause Chris never gave up on him. Chris was there for him when they were just strangers on stickam.
"Just hear me out here Mike," Angelo leant forward slightly, "Shit's happening. Shit that's out of our hands. Crazy fucking shit and it's the reason half of us can't sleep at night. Do you really think we wanna give up on Chris? Huh? You really think we wanna sit here thinking about one of our BEST FRIEND'S lying somewhere out there all by himself, alone. You really think we wanna talk about the possibility of his life being taken from him?"

Kuza shook his head even if they were rhetorical questions.

Angelo lowered his voice as people moved around the set, "Even if it's not what we wanna believe right now, even though it's not what we wanna hear; we have to start thinking about our future as a band. We were in this together. This was Chris' dream. He lived- no, he LIVES for this. I know for a fact Chris wouldn't want to see this band go down in flames just like that, no matter what happened."
Kuza shifted uncomfortably, "What are you getting at?" His voice dripped with irritation. He didn't want to hear any of this.

Angelo got up, pulling Kuza to a more secluded area. For a minute he was silent, sighing and getting serious:

"Things here are going downhill and I'll be damned if I sit back and let anything happen to this band. I'll be damned to disappoint Chris like that, especially if the worse is what comes. The guys and I have talked and we mutually agreed that Chris trusted you not only as a fan and friend, but as one of us. Chris loved you like a brother and all those times you've worked our merch booth just proves how trustworthy you were and I know Chris would've wanted this too... So, when the time comes, we want you to step up for Chris."

Kuza's eyes widened, his chest tightened. In a way, he was flattered... But his body overflowed with sorrow.

"Mike," Angelo said calmly even though his eyes deceived him. His eyes poured out the pain he felt even speaking these words, they mirrored a dark sadness within him that he'd constantly lock away for the sake of the band. He was the strong link that did his best to keep the band optimistic. Overall, he hurt the most. He hurt the most because he couldn't express his feelings like the other members did... He had to be there for Ricky, to lead his hand away from another cigarette. He had to be there for Ryan, to hold his hair after a hangover or to remove the next bottle from his hand. He had to be there for Josh who needed a shoulder to cry on. He needed to be there for Devin who had so much to say but no one to say it to.
And he was there for Kuza who just needed the company of someone to sooth his thoughts.

"I can't think of another person who I'd want to see step in for Chris... Personally, no one compares to him... Not anyone. But you, you deserve it. You earned it. I know Chris would agree, I know he would. We want you to step up for Chris. Not as Chris but as Mike Kuza, a fan whom Chris adopted as a close friend. A close friend who became family with all of us here. And possibly, our new front man."
"But, what about Chris-"
"We're discussing it. It hurts me to think that we have to break it to all of our fans, the ones we call family, that Chris is gone. We don't want them to have that cloud over them... Chris did things for them, he helped them in ways I still can't even understand!" A small smile broke on his face for only a second before he returned his attention to Kuza, "I can't tell them he's gone man. We'd want you to take a last stand as Chris Motionless announcing his departure... We don't know how we'll put it but I'd want it as innocent as possible. I don't want it to seem like a bad thing, I want it to be Chris moving on... I want it to be Chris taking a step to live his life for his own happiness within privacy. I want the fans to be happy for him... I want them to smile when they hear his voice on a CD and I want them to think 'yeah, he may not be doing this anymore but when he was, He was something. He did this for me and I am happy for him.'
"And when they hear your voice on the next record Motionless in White drops, I want them to think 'Chris chose well. This guy deserves this and I'm going to support this all the way because he picks up where Chris left off without skipping a beat.'" He stared at Kuza for an answer before speaking again, "Kuza. Please, just think about it. I know, I know it's hurting. I know it all sounds too wrong and too shady but we need to do this... For Chris and the future of the band he's worked so hard to get a name for."

The silence that followed the conversation caused Angelo shove his hands in the pockets of his jeans and walk back to the sound check that was about to wrap up, leaving Kuza alone with his racing thoughts and aching chest.
Again, he was just another fan. Another fan that was given an amazing opportunity to get to know one of his heros. But the ground was shaking under him and everything seemed to take a darker turn.

Kuza backed himself up into the nearest wall and slowly allowed himself to slide to the floor, bringing his knees close to his chest facing a decision that just might torture his mind for the rest of his life and for a moment he just couldn't breathe right as he sobbed for the first time in 6 days.