Noises came from everywhere, from the whirring of the machines to the screams of young boys as they descended from heights. One monstrous tower of a machine had several arms stretched out in several directions, swinging pairs of people in leather slings for seats attached to chains that dangled from the arm. It twirled forward and the swingers lose control. People could tell who were having the most fun on this ride when their bodies went completely limp, surrendering to the momentum. Then it twirled back, whiplashing those who didn't abandon power over their own bodies to the stiff metal arms at the top manipulating strings of chains.

As the arms twirled in a whirlwind, Kirin was completely hypnotized. He was supposed to lead Jacob throughout the rides but he stopped suddenly at this particular ride.

"Do you wanna go on this ride?" Jacob asked as if he needed to be answered.

"Yes, master, please?" Kirin begged as if Jacob had not already granted his permission.

Jacob and Kirin get into the line full of older men holding hands with impatient young boys. For some reason, the older men were to the left, the young boys were to the right. The older men varied in size, age, and appearance but one thing was clear: Jacob was younger than all of them. The man in front of him had hair that shined with an unnatural sheen. The back of his shirt collar was covered with something black and oily that dripped off the fringes of hair that doubtlessly decided to remain gray. Around his neck were several gold chains, none of them chokers. His hand seemed twice the size of the boy's hand he held. The boy was an albino except for the tips of his fingers that have turned into a greasy black. His free hand was sucking his own thumb and the older man was watching with a great deal of interest. The rim of the boy's lips get dirty with the grease on the fingers and he squinted a little with the taste of the thumb. His cheeks were hollowed when he inhales the thumb into himself but other than his mouth, nothing moved. Jacob could not see his eyes at all.

He felt something behind him, although Kirin was by his side. Jacob has somehow taken Kirin's hand into his, probably not to seem out of place. Now Jacob was confident that something protruded behind him when it touched his backside a second time. Behind him was an another older man's girth and his belly kept hitting Jacob's back. Jacob turned his head as if he was facing Kirin but he looked at the man through corner of his eye. He has a gold tooth that almost matched his other yellowed teeth from puffing on his cheap cigar that he held in his left hand. He was dressed in a business suit with pins and rings showing every indication that he was a Mason. The boy clutched to his arm, seeming to be scared of the ride or overly affectionate to his master. The tip of the top of his left ear was gone. His hair was so long that he could be mistaken for a girl. That only indication that this person was a boy was that his vest left his flat chest exposed for his master’s eyes.

The attendant at the ride brought Jacob and Kirin to the top of the stairs. Jacob was relieved to no longer feel that nudging at his back. The arms of the tower slowly descended and the riders peeled out of their seats; some of the boys were holding onto their masters for support. One of the older men flung his lighter partner over his shoulders and ran as if he just stole a sack of diamonds. Other men just carried their boys in their arms like sleeping children with wide grins on their faces. And for most of those boys who had the constitution to stand on their own without the help of their master, they were whisked to another ride for more light-headed submission.

An attendant escorted Jacob and Kirin to their seat: a warm, flaccid leather-like sling. Jacob and Kirin sat side by side, their bodies so close that everything from the shoulder to the ankle appeared to be seamed together. The man that was in front of Jacob in the line was too big to slide next to his boy, so he made his boy sit on top of him. The boy squirmed as he sat in his lap and the man spanked him to get him calm down.

Then the arms of machine lift up and Jacob was forced to watch a heavy man's backside hoisted up by a leather diaper. Meanwhile, the arms lift Jacob and Kirin upward as well, binding them together suspended in the air. Kirin had to move his arm so that it did not get crushed between their bodies and he puts his hands neatly in his lap.

The ride began to move forward; Kirin was startled by the sudden movement and quickly held on to the chain. Jacob looked to see how far he could see. Kirin watched how far his feet dangled from the ground.

"Have you been on here before?"

Kirin nodded his head. "This is the first time I have sat next to my master."

"Oh, do you usually go alone?"

"No," he replied simply and his gaze connected to the man on the seat before him. The albino boy on the man's lap appeared to fidget on his lap again; the ride was not at full momentum yet.

"Why do you call me 'master'?"

"Because master is."

"Where do you live?"

"In my room."

"Where's your room?"

"Where master is staying."

"You don't have a room of your own?"

"That is my room. As long as master is here, it belongs to my master and I belong to my master."

Hmmm… "Kirin, as long as we're up here, I might as well ask. What did you mean when I first got here? That thing you said."

"I do not understand, master."

Jacob took a deep breath that was hard to catch as the ride started to swing faster and faster forward. "You said something about being my 'sex slave'…"

"I am here for master's physical pleasure," Kirin stated outright. He looked forward at the albino boy who was beginning to moan as gravity sunk him deeper and deeper into the immense man's thighs. His head was thrown back and he was completely cuffed by two large arms.

It was as he uncomfortably thought. "I don't need you for that. I just came for a good time."

"Can I not be master’s good time?"

Jacob looked at Kirin directly in the face. Kirin's hair wildly flourished about his head and his silken clothes rippled like wickedly turbulent waves in a storm. The top buttons of his top were open and Jacob barely caught a glimpse of a nipple under his shirt. Kirin's body was pliant and so close to Jacob that warm sweat developed between their clothes.

"What is this place?" Jacob asked. The momentum of the machine started to slow down and twirl in reverse. Kirin's hair folded over his eyes, obscuring them from Jacob's eyes.

"Every man's desire," said Kirin in a way that sounded like there could be nothing more anyone could ever want…

"But there are no women here."

"Wim-men?" Kirin said it carefully as if to study the word.

"You know, the kind of people that aren't here."

"No one has complained before for lack of anything," said Kirin, repeating the familiar phrase. "I am sorry for my forwardness."

Jacob paused for a moment and took a ridiculous chance. "Do you know what women even are?"

Kirin bowed his head, and it went even lower on his chest because he was being flung backwards in his seat. "I am sorry for my ignorance, master."

Jacob tried to think of the simplest concept so that Kirin could grasp it right away. "Well… they look like us, but they have no… well… um…," Jacob was stalling to find an appropriate word. Kirin looked at him innocently until Jacob blurted out the word,

"…ding-dongs."

"Food?"

"No, no, no, wieners."

"Is master certain that it is not food?"

"No! Penises!" The man in the seat in front of him turned his head.

"Does master mean 'castrates?'" Kirin said trying to be helpful. Jacob cringed. "Does master require a castrate for physical pleasure?"

"No!" objected Jacob right away. But after some thought, he reconsidered. "What exactly are 'castrates', anyway?"

"They are like Allman, but without penises as master requires."

"Who's Allman?"

"The slave in the seat behind us. Master appeared to be looking at him when master's face was turned towards me." Jacob turned his head as far as he could to see the couple behind him. Allman appeared to be the one sitting in the lap of a larger man and Allman's long hair swept over the face and the body so from Jacob's point of view, Allman was simply an abundance of beautiful hair. The hands of the larger man grabbed onto the locks, clutching to them as if he were going to climb it. The thick hands seemed to pop out of the mass of hair and moved about the tresses independently like parasites on fur. On one of the thick hands was a ring that got caught in several strands of hair. As the hand was tugging itself free of the hair, the ring sparkled almost annoyingly in Jacob's eye. It was the man with the Mason wear and his Allman in the seat behind him. I wonder if we’re talking about the same thing, thought Jacob.

The spin of the ride came to a slow stop. Jacob maintained his glance to the seat behind him. Allman's hair did not part to expose the body or the face. Instead of just hands, full arms surrounded Allman taking full possession of the hair and everything under it. Before Jacob could see anymore, Kirin led Jacob out of his seat and out of the ride, away from the tower of swinging arms.

"Where would master desire next?"

"I was wondering, because I’m curious and all, if you can take me to meet the castrates… If you know where they are…"

"As master desires," said Kirin with a little bow. "What master desires are close by." Kirin handed over the end of the chain to Jacob while he led him across an ocean of people. Jacob gripped onto the chain tightly so he would not lose him. Kirin homed to the other side of the towers of attractions until the crowd cleared to a structure that stood lonely of people. It was tall, intimidating and casted a long shadow on the ground. The shadow seemed to catch more people's attention than the complex house that casted it. It looked like a Victorian house painted with all colors: nuclear green shutters, bright pink pillars, blinding orange tiles, trimming the fluorescent yellow body of the house. One cannot tell if the house is old or modern. There were no wanderers curious to inspect the building. It pained people's eyes to look at it.

"What is this place?" Jacob partially covered his eyes from the glare of the house.

"There are castrates who live here, master," said Kirin as he walked up to the door. There was a soft pink tongue-shaped mat at the entrance. Kirin knocked on the bright red door and it opened. No one was there to open it; the door opened itself. Kirin allowed Jacob to step into the house first and Kirin followed. After stepping into the house, the door quickly shut. The slam echoed inside the house.

There was only darkness in the house. After a minute passed by, Jacob’s pupils widened but he could see no edges. His hands groped to feel for walls and at first contact something felt damp although the surfaces at his fingertips felt like soft drapes. Part of it felt metallic and part of it felt delicate. Whatever was beneath the drapery, it felt hard all over. Jacob centered his palm over one spot and it moved. Jacob moved his hand upward, over the curves until he reached an opening soft and wet. It enclosed over his probing finger. The chain in Jacob's hand clanged against the metal and it startled whatever Jacob was touching.

"Kirin?" Jacob asked out loud, unable to find his direction. There was a response but it sounded garbled. Jacob pulled his finger away and wiped it on his sleeve.

"I thought master required a castrate for physical action," said Kirin, his voice in directly in front of Jacob. "I was leading master there."

Jacob blushed. Thank god for the dark. "Oh… Go on, then."

Jacob could only hear the noisy rattling of the Kirin leading him. Jacob stayed still until he felt himself being pulled by the chain. He went on walking, not knowing where he was going. He allowed himself to get pulled to the force of the chain because if he did not go where the chain went, he could go nowhere. If he lost the grasp of the chain, he would have to find his own way in this dark, unfamiliar place.

Without further incident, Jacob arrived at the end of the darkness. But Jacob saw hundreds of himself and more Kirins standing in several positions. One Kirin was taller and thinner. One Kirin was squattier. One Kirin had hugely thick lips and another had a fat belly. One Kirin had a big head, one had big feet, and one had a big unit ready to burst out of his pants.

"Kirin?" Jacob called out. All the Kirins turned to look at him and knew where he was. Jacob felt executed by the piercing stares by his harem of Kirins. The Kirins tugged at the chain and when it rattled, only a single rattle echoed through the crowd of boys. Jacob looked from his end of the chain to the other end to find that the only real Kirin was the only one that was not looking at him.

"What's with all the mirrors?"

"This is a funhouse, master," said Kirin, facing him. All the reflections of the several Kirins went away. Jacob breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why would the castrates be here?"

"Because they are, master." Kirin walked up to the walls and patted them with his hands. He lightly touched the glass so that they left no fingerprints. Kirin looked like he was with another person when he puts his face close against his reflection in the wall. The palms touched as Kirin glided his body against the mirrors. Jacob watched as Kirin caressed his cheek with another cheek and the ankles brushed against each other. Kirin tangoed with himself as he walked against the wall.

What is he up to? thought Jacob. I feel like I shouldn’t be watching this…

Kirin continued to dance against the partitions of glass in perfect choreography with his partner trapped inside of them. Then without warning, the partner vanished from the other side of the pane. Kirin looked carefully into the glass and pressed his palms against the wall. It opened. The only glass door in the mirrored hall.

Kirin peeked inside and nodded to Jacob. "The ones master is looking should be found here."

Jacob followed Kirin into the door only to find that he was in a dark place again. It was a visible darkness. The walls were black and the sporadic flames of candlelight were too bare to see anything. Yet even in dimness, Jacob could see a pair of something reflected by the small glows that appeared to float around the room.

"Welcome," said a deep voice behind the shining pair. "What brings you to this place?" The carrier of the voice and the shining eyes emerged from the darkness of the room. The shadows dissipated around the eyes and a wide grin appeared that spanned ear to ear. The light caught only the brim of whatever was on top of the greeter's head and as he moved forward, it became a big, big hat roughly the size of his head. The sparkle on the right side of the ear reflected three thick looped gold earrings that dangled from the lobe. He wore a dark red plum blazer with ruffled shirt adorning the inside. This is all Jacob could see of him. With total darkness surrounding him, he appeared like a floating bust enclosed by flames.

Kirin awaited for Jacob to make his request. Meanwhile, his eyes were affixed to a single spot in the darkness; on a leather whip Kirin assumed the greeter carried where his hands should be. It smelled of the smoke of having just been used.

Jacob could not stand to look at the face of the greeter for very long. His gold teeth annoyed his eyes. Jacob looked to Kirin who was looking back at him, waiting from him to say something. Kirin shook his head. I guess I have to be the one to say something, thought Jacob.

"I came for the… uh…" Jacob had to summon himself before he said the next word. The greeter neared him and he gestured his hand with a coming motion as if to pull the word out of his mouth. Kirin was biting his lip and clutched his hands together when Jacob finally said the word,

"…castrates." Jacob crossed his legs while standing up.

"Ah, one of the specialty slaves, yes?" said the greeter as he guided him with one hand on Jacob's back. "Come, we have an array of castrates for your viewing pleasure. Castrates of all kinds. Short and tall. Big and small. Dark or light. Dumb or bright (but not that bright, he whispers)…." As the greeter went on and on with the selection that he has to offer, he guided Jacob to a door tucked away behind a curtain. The greeter took a key from his belt and unlocked the door. The door squeaked and a rumble of voices emanated beyond the door.

Jacob stepped into the room first at the greeter's bidding. The canvas walls were bellowed like a wind blown tent. The floor looked like dirt but there was a checkerboard of light and dark squares that patterned consistently below his feet. In front of Jacob was a fancy red stage curtain that parted in the middle but was currently closed. Voices seemed to be coming from behind the curtain. They were unintelligible but high-pitched. The greeter stood to one side of the curtain where a pull rope dangled by.

"Gentlemen," the greeter said in a booming voice. "Your castrates!" The greeter pulled the rope and the curtain parted. Standing behind iron bars were several bodies writhing against the bars, their hands reaching out for Jacob's waist or below it. Their hair was long and sometimes wild and at least waist length. Their delicate faces peeked behind the hair like a beautiful secret. Jacob still had no idea what they were saying; everything was either a screech or a moan in his ears. Jacob instinctively took a giant step backwards so that he was clearly out of arms' length.

"Do you find any to your liking?" asked the greeter. Jacob shook his head for a moment. Only if they weren't so wild, thought Jacob. If only they were calmer and maybe dressed in something silkier. Dark hair would be nice. Or gold eyes, perhaps.

Kirin was looking at his master, unable to tell from his pondering face whom he liked.

Jacob tried to see what was beyond the bars and the hair on the bodies. Most of them had flat chests except for a healthy few who hid their lumps behind their strands. Swallowing his need to be discreet in this world, Jacob looked downward past the chest and the navel and downward still. On those that he could see, there was only a small patch of hair and nothing else to see.

The greeter cracked his whip startling the bodies behind the bars. "Spread your legs open! C'mon, get 'em wide!" After a moment's hesitation, the bodies followed the order. Some faces of the bodies stared down Jacob wantingly behind the metal shafts while others turned their heads away. But all of them obeyed the greeter's command and stretched out their thighs.

In the quiet corner behind the bars, shaking and afraid, there was something with rather short dark hair with only a few tufts were just touching the shoulders. The hands covered the chest and the legs were crossed. When the eyes finally looked Jacob's way, they barely shined; there was not enough light in that diminutive space.

Jacob focused there and drew nearer when the arms reached out for him again and he stopped himself from moving any closer. He looked over at the greeter who stood with his arms crossed and a big smile that dominated his face. The gleam in the greeter’s teeth annoyed Jacob because the shine erased the timid shadow hiding in the corner.

"I want the one hiding in the back," said Jacob as if he needed to catch the shadow before it disappeared. This was no time to be shy. That one in the back trembled even more.

"You are too kind," said the greeter and gave a deferential bow. I wonder what he meant by that, thought Jacob. The greeter entered one side of the enclosure. Jacob glanced at Kirin quickly as if to get his approval. Kirin’s head was bowed down and inappropriately solemn. His head was stooped so low, he was forcing a double chin at the collar around his throat.

When the greeter went to grab the one that Jacob requested, that one backed away. Meanwhile, the other bodies surrounded the greeter like a pack of dogs rallying around a meat-soaked butcher. The shadow was farther and farther away from the greeter's grasp. When the bodies got unbearable and fell all over him, he took out his whip and cracked it several times, occasionally lashing at the pale skin. They finally went away whimpering, licking their own wounds, licking each other's wounds, but staying away from the sharp taste of the leather. The one Jacob wanted crowded itself in a corner all alone. The other bodies watched with eagerness, not pity. The greeter took its hand and pulled it out of the enclosure with very little effort. The unit still attempted to cover itself with arms, hands, and legs.

The greeter separated the one that Jacob distinguished from the rest of the crowd. "This is the one?" he asked.

Jacob nodded his head. The greeter cleared his throat and the unit assumed a formal standing position, feet spread apart and hands behind the back. The head looked away. In much closer light, the eyes reluctantly shined. The chest was flat but tender. The navel was clean. He looked further downward but stopped his eyes when he began to see a patch of hair below the waist.

"Don't be so modest," said the greeter, his face trickling with a smile. Jacob was not sure if he was talking to him or the person standing in front of him who still kept his head turned away. The greeter grabbed Jacob's hand and shoved it between the unit's legs.

Something was not right. There was a nub there. The blood drained from Jacob's face and he lightly shook on Kirin's chain like the reins of a horse.

"Get me out of here," Jacob said, too frozen to move. His hand was still on that one place. He could not stop staring at the person's face which has finally turned to look at him. The face closed its eyes and the jaw has fallen open, exposing a second nub where a tongue used to be. Kirin had to drag him by the chain away.

Kirin felt the sense of urgency just pouring out of Jacob like a flood. As Kirin slid his hands and body again to find the doors, Jacob could see more Kirins than he had before. They appeared bigger, taking up the space of entire mirrors, forming walls of eyes and skin surrounding Jacob. The warps in the reflections were full of Kirin’s silk, hair, and flesh. There were no more likenesses to be found in the glass.

"Kirin, hurry!" Jacob demanded and Kirin's searched more quickly. Kirin finally found the dark hall and scurried though. With absolutely no light, Jacob kept thinking that the greeter's face or loads of bodies would spontaneously appear in the unlit passage. Jacob's nerves were tingling with alarm. At the other end of the chain, Kirin could feel those nerves surge through him, pushing his heart to beat wildly out of step. Not sensing where he was going, Kirin thumped his body against something and he could not move anymore. Jacob ran into Kirin's body. Jacob briskly groped for the surface in the dark and felt a protrusion at level with his waist. Jacob grabbed on and pushed with his entire body. He kept pushing and pushing until it gave way.

When it gave way, the door opened and Jacob and Kirin fell together on the soft pink welcome mat. The day had darkened somewhat, rather quickly. Jacob was breathing hard and waited to calm down.

"Master looks none too pleased," said Kirin as Jacob took a deep breath. "Forgive me for speaking out of turn."

"You're not. I feel kinda… misled, that's all."

Kirin did not understand. "Forgive me for misleading master. I am sorry. I have led master to the castrates but should have known when master's mind did not want them. I am sorry." Kirin got on his knees and bowed again.

Jacob grabbed Kirin by the shoulders and made him stand up. "I should have known. I was thinking differently."

"I am sorry for not thinking diff--"

"Stop saying stuff like that," Jacob interrupted. He was still trying to get the feeling from his hand out of his mind. "Is Allman a castrate himself?" Kirin nodded. "Do you kinda know him?" Kirin shrugged his shoulders.

"What do you think of him?"

Kirin thought very carefully before answering. "It is pointless for them to lose their tongues, but at least they have fingers. Pardon my worthless opinion."

"That’s a very… diplomatic answer," said Jacob.

"I live to serve," said Kirin.