The rancid meat corrupted my nostrils in smooth even streaks, the cold corpses of warm-blooded creatures hung from the thick rafter’s of the small town butcher shop. Mr. Hank’s, the storeowner, had given me the small gold key to open shop, Monday mornings were usually slow no need for extra help. In the corner of the large walk-in freezer sat a pile of flush red ground beef, each string meshed to the other, the source of the rotten smell. It had sat there aging for the past two weeks, as did the shanked pig’s corpse lying next to it. I had killed each creature so gently, it was amusing to hear there shriek’s as I held them down, readying myself for the warm crimson river to splatter against my clothing and skin. My muscles loosened, sending a calm through my body, leaving an even bigger desire to rewind and do it all over again.

The silver bell that hung over the entrance to the shop buzzed, first customer of the day, I walked out of the iced over freezer to find Mrs. Benson.
“ Why hello Mrs. Benson… I have your steak ready to go, would you like to put the charge onto your tab?”
The calf had whined in pain, I sliced through his hooves starting the procedure, but backwards. The young fresh corpse still hung in the freezer, vile creatures.
“ What a nice boy, remind me of my husband when he was young, no thank you, but can I get three more pounds on Tuesday?”
“Tuesday will be wonderful.”