Read Online The Grand Ballast by J.A. Rock - Free Book Online Page B

giving the man a clout with the ring stick.
    “ Dee?” Bode
whispered.
    Dee turned slowly. Her eyes
were hidden behind her huge shades.
    “ Um, I
was just wondering. How do you do it—perform without the Haze? Is
it…?” Humiliating? Difficult?
Depressing? “Is it hard, having to listen
to what the people in the audience say about you?”
    The Haze didn’t render its
user unable to hear or see or understand. It simply blunted
everything—shuffled thoughts, snipped the dark parts off feelings,
made it possible to obey mindlessly, to snarl and clash with those
around you without really putting your teeth into it. Bode had
probably heard thousands of foul comments from spectators over the
years, yet the words had never pierced him. Tonight,
though…
    Dee lowered her shades
slightly. Kept them pinched between her thumb and forefinger. “I’ll
have to check with my agent,” she said.
     
    ***
     
    The performance started, as
always, in blackness. A thin silver beam searched the dark. The
music started, slow and sinuous, crawling into the corners of the
tent. The beam of light thickened, caught a patch of black and blue
sequins high above the ground. Through the speakers came soft
sounds—murmurs and giggles, the tearing of fabric. Gentle
breathing, growing louder, bolder, wetter. Sighs and moans, edging
toward an illusion of climax, covering any lingering audience
chatter.
    Then—silence.
    The lights came up. Music
roared like an engine. Giant torches on either side of the ring
erupted into columns of flame, and silver confetti rained from the
air like shards of glass. On two opposite platforms twenty feet in
the air stood Sibyata and Roulette, naked except for patches of
sequins stuck to their bodies in odd places, covering nothing of
importance. Roulette and Sibyata soared
toward each other on the bars, meeting in the middle and tangling,
her limbs wrapping around his body. They both wore microphones, so
their breathing filled the tent. Sharp, animalistic panting, and
then a harmonious moan. Even if you were seated far away, you could
imagine their sweat, feel the wetness between their
legs.
    Sibyata slipped from her
bar and gripped Roulette’s thighs, her lips around his cock. The
crowd cheered. That was all Bode was allowed to see of their
performance, because then he entered, led in naked by LJ, who
dragged him toward a raised platform. Bode went to his knees there,
and LJ grabbed his hair, rubbed the front of his pants against
Bode’s cheek. Bode made an exaggerated show of resisting, trying to
escape but being drawn back each time like a yo-yo, until LJ’s dick
was slamming the back of his throat. The music flared as Kayak
walked by on his hands, his body folded in half, his own dick in
his mouth, his hairy ass spread wide.
    The fanfare ended as
suddenly as it began. The music stopped, silver and blue spotlights
on each frozen performer, Kilroy’s voice, deep and backed by a
grin, floating through the speakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome
to the Grand Ballast. You’ll see wonders…” A sigh through the
microphone, like a hiss of excitement. “You’ll see beauty.” Someone
in the audience yelled something, but Bode didn’t hear what.
“You’ll see, ladies and gentlemen and those who don’t wish to be
ladies or gentlemen and those who were once considered ladies but
now are gentlemen and those women who have ceased to behave like
ladies and those men who are not gentle… You’ll see what we
truly are .”
    Kilroy spoke the last word
with a violent relish, so that it seemed ripped from his throat and
fluttered through the air.
    After that, Bode waited
backstage under the watchful eye of Mr. Lein. Kayak’s act was
first, then Roulette and Sibyata. Then the snake charmer. Then LJ
and Bode. Kilroy often participated in Bode and LJ’s act—though
there were some nights he stood aside and watched. The others were
also brought on for Bode’s act, so that he could demonstrate his
ability to suck