Mabel Shot Part 3

"Rest assured, what’s about to happen in the middle of the room will make *Macbeth* seem like a children's play." Macro releases my face and sighs calmly. "Sodom's purpose is to strip people of their inhibitions, letting them feel all forms of pleasure, without guilt or fear. And, Bel, you have no idea how many vast and varied ways there are to feel immense pleasure. Tonight, nine people will be chosen to free their true essence."
I turn my eyes to Macro and observe his amused face, his eyes fixed on the dancing girls.
"There are only eight girls, is one of them going to choose two people?" I ask seriously, turning my attention back to the girls, mentally counting the dancers.
"The ninth person will be chosen directly by one of the counselors." Macro turns his face to me and wiggles his eyebrows mischievously.
"And they’re being chosen to do exactly what?" I question, thoughtful, looking around. "Watch the play from the front row?"
"Let’s just say it won’t exactly be watching. I said it’s a performance, not that what’s going to happen will be fake." He sighs, relaxing his shoulders and musing. "No one really knows what happens to the people who are chosen; each counselor acts differently. But I’ve talked to some people who participated, and they told me it’s a total loss of control, like surrendering your power of choice to someone else."
Personally, I don’t understand what Macro is talking about, nor precisely what this place is and why these people are here, if not just to have sex. From the second I entered, I thought of several possibilities, but none of them turned out to be right. I find it strange that Macro uses the allusion to *Macbeth* for what will happen to the people who are chosen. If I’m not mistaken, I’m pretty sure Shakespeare’s play is a tragedy. A regicide was induced by his wife’s greed to kill the king, and in the end, after drama, conspiracy, and betrayal, he ended up with his head chopped off. Unless someone is about to leave here screwing a horse, I can’t imagine it being worse than *Macbeth*.
"Macro, why did you bring me here? Why did you really make me come here, to see this world you’re involved in..." I feel the air rushing through my nostrils. The tips of my fingers tingle; I’m anxious for his answer, so I can have a plausible reason to understand why he did this to me.
For me, being in this place is like taking a recovering drug addict to a party full of cocaine. My life changed completely after that cursed weekend with Nate.
"Macro..."
His eyes close as he remains silent and lowers his head, turning it slowly towards me. When his eyes open, I see all the pain he keeps locked inside.
"Do you know why my life changed so much after I met him?" Macro murmurs and gives me a smile, not mentioning the name of the man he’s been seeing.
Macro never says it, nor describes his characteristics, in all this time since he started dating this guy.
"Why?" I whisper, studying him.
"Because he made me understand I don’t need to be afraid of who I am. He freed me, Mabel. And we both know why you never went out with anyone after what happened with Nate. Here, you don’t need to be afraid to be who you are..."
"You know I shouldn’t be here..." I cut him off, shaking my head.
"Mabel..." Macro starts to speak, but he’s interrupted by the slender hand of one of the girls who had been dancing.
She pulls him to the center of the room, taking him away. I stand still, watching all of them run and pull someone from the crowd, and as soon as they all have their chosen ones, a large human wall begins to form, with men and women standing with their backs to the center, blocking everyone else’s view of what’s about to happen. The music starts blasting again, with Emily Browning singing "Sweet Dreams." I feel my body being pushed by the people around me, who begin dancing, their bodies pressed against each other.
"I need a drink." I close my eyes and rub my face.
I turn slowly, looking for a waiter, and when my eyes open, I see a few steps ahead of me, a woman wearing a black silicone strap-on, with a man kneeling before her, sucking it. She smiles at me and winks, stroking his hair, forcing him to take it deeper into his throat.
"On second thought, a whole bottle of booze sounds better..." I mutter, embarrassed, and give her an awkward smile.
I look back one last time, losing hope of seeing anything or finding Macro. The human wall is even tighter now, making it impossible to get a glimpse of what’s going on inside. I turn and stand on tiptoes, trying to look over the heads of the people, to see if I can spot a bar, since the waiters seem to have vanished. I see at the back, beneath the stairs, a wall lined with drinks, and I smile, already knowing where I’m heading. I walk in that direction, distancing myself from the people, who are getting even more excited with the seductive pull of the music. I quickly raise my fingers when my hand grazes something hard and fleshy.
"Oh my God, a dick!" I say, startled, nervously laughing, walking faster. "A dick, I just touched a dick! Breathe, Mabel, breathe! Just breathe, inhale and don’t freak out more than you already are!"
I look back, holding back laughter as I see the man masturbating, watching a couple of women making out near him.
"Okay, okay, you just need to get to the bar. Everything will be fine..." I tell myself, trying to be confident. "You have control over your body and your desires; no one can take that control from you!"
When I turn, my eyes lock onto the man walking straight through the crowd, his heavy steps coming toward me like a giant armored military tank. He stands out among the crowd, not just because of his enormous size, but also because of the bronze goat mask covering his face. And I find myself feeling strangely unsettled by the way his eyes never stray from me. A loud sound, a sharp scream echoing above the music, makes me turn my head and look back, trying to figure out where it’s coming from. And it’s right then, in that split second of distraction and curiosity, that I don’t see the attack coming.