The following story I swear to be absolutely true, I have changed only the names of people involved.

It has been 30 years since the events I am about to recall took place; I thought that they were buried in my past until a recent event brought them back to haunt me.

It was always my ambition to be a vet and I studied hard towards that goal, I left school at 16 and began my veterinary training at a college near my home town, I was only 3 months into the first term, when my grandfather was diagnosed with gangrene in his right leg and had to undergo amputation. My grandparents had brought me up from the age of 2 and I owed them everything. With my grandfather unable to work I felt it my duty to leave my studies and find work.

It may seem strange considering my original career choice, that I took a job as an apprentice butcher. My knowledge of animal anatomy however meant that I probably had more aptitude for the work than the other guys employed there.

The firm was called B.D. Dill Ltd. And was quite a large company with several shops and a large slaughterhouse and bakery plant.

The founder of the company known as old Mr. Bob was now retired and the firm was run by his son just plain Mr. Bob, he had a son too known as young Mr. Robert and a daughter Lisa.

She was a lovely girl, blonde and pretty with a personality that instantly made you feel at ease.

I soon advanced my career at dills, I got along well with Mr. Bob, and in a year I was made under manager at my local shop and at 18 became the youngest manager on the firm.

I had 3 guys working for me, all older than I was, but we got along well and any resentment there may have been at first was soon forgotten and we soon became friends. One guy, Colin, was a real ladies man he looked more like a film star than a butcher and all the young girls who came into the shop would openly flirt with him, not least Lisa Dill.

I warned him that if the old man got wind of it he would kill him; Lisa was the apple of his eye and destined to marry into the circles that her wealthy father moved in.

I was awoken one night at 11.30 by a phone call, it was Mr. Dill, he said he needed my help immediately it was very important that I go to the shop and collect my knives and he’d meet me there in 15 minutes, I asked what was the matter but he said just be there its important, I said I was on my way. I dressed hurriedly and went to the shop which was only a few hundred yards from my home. Mr. Dill arrived at about the same time as I did. He looked agitated and told me to get in the car, where are we going I asked; to the slaughterhouse he answered I’ve got a job I can only trust you to do. At this time of night I said can’t it wait till morning. No he said it must be done now. From his tone I knew It would be foolish to question him further so the rest of the journey passed in silence.

When we entered the slaughterhouse I noticed the lights in the curing room were already on, the room was used to cure the hides from slaughtered animals and stretching frames were ranged along the far wall.

On one of these frames, naked and gagged was stretched Colin.

What the hell………………

This animal, said Mr. Dill, has defiled my lovely daughter, she is carrying his child and I am going to make sure he can never father another.

I don’t understand I said why you have brought me here. You are going to cut off his balls he answered. What, I won’t do it I said and turned to leave. I don’t think you understand Peter he said, your finger prints are all over here, your knives are here and if you don’t do it I will. But the way I feel I may not stop at his balls, I may not even let him live. So your choice is cut off his balls and I let him go or leave him to me and risk being linked to whatever I may do to him anyway.

I froze, this was my friend, but I knew that Dill meant what he said. What if he bleeds to death I said, I never did anything like this before?

He produced a tool I’d seen his farmer friends use before, this is an elastrator he said, you place a band on here like so, stretch it over the ball sack like this and then release it, Colin convulsed as the band tightened around the base of his scrotum, Dill placed another band just below the first, cut between them he said, that should minimise the bleeding.

My hands were shaking as I took his sack in my left hand, I caught the look of pleading in his eyes as I moved the knife into position, I have no choice I said, and he’ll kill you if I don’t

With one swift movement of the razor sharp knife I removed scrotum and testicles together, I staggered backwards looking at the bloody article in my hand, toss them in the pickling vat Dill said, and I did as I was told.

Despite the bands a large amount of blood was running from the wound, he’ll bleed to death I shouted, Dill took a glowing branding iron in the shape of a D, which was used to mark the hides and pushed it against the wound I had just inflicted, even with the gag I could hear the strangled scream which came from Colin, it was accompanied by a smell of cooking meat and burnt rubber as the ring melted, thankfully Colin passed out at that point.

Dill took me home in silence I was in a state of shock when I got out of the car; remember he said if you ever breathe a word of this, I’ll make sure you are locked away for a long time, then he drove away and I went inside and slumped on my bed.

I awoke next morning and went to the shop, it seemed like last night was just a bad dream, where’s Colin I asked Phil, one of the guys who worked for me, I don’t know he said, I called his house but his mom said he left a note yesterday saying he had to go away unexpectedly and wouldn’t be back for at least a month.

Mr. Dill arrived at 10am and called me into the office upstairs, where is he I asked, don’t worry he said, he’s ok but he wont be back until the wound is healed. I am very proud of you he said and also grateful, I have placed £500 in your bank account, is there anything I can do for you?

Yes I said, I want to leave I can’t face Colin now.

I’m sorry to hear that you want to leave, but ok you can go.

I left there and then and never saw either of them again, 30 years passed, I married, divorced and re married. My 2^nd wife was matron of a care home for the elderly and a few days ago she came home with a small parcel, what’s that I said, she told me that an old lady had died that day and that as she had no family my wife had taken a great liking to her.

On her death bed she gave my wife the pendant that she said she had worn for many years, I don’t know what it’s made of said my wife I think its wood, looks like some kind of tribal art.

She passed it to me and as I opened the package my head began to swim, what was her name? I asked, Dill, she said Lisa Dill.

I felt giddy, that evil old bastard, he’d had Colin’s pickled nuts set in a mount and given them to Lisa, who had worn them for the last 30 years.