Immaculate Misconceptions Motionless In White

Drowning

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.