Night Vision
We peered around the wall.
No-one there.
Silently we crept forward,# walking lightly on the balls of our feet.
When we were just a few feet from the building# Mario stopped.
I could see nothing# but Mario had good night vision.
We all stopped dead in our tracks.
Then I could hear it too.
A kind of low  whining sound.
It was a machine, nothing serious.
Mario motioned us on.
Quickly and quietly we entered the building.
Inside it was dark# except for the ghostly light# of some dim neon at the end of the corridor.
It was not the dark you noticed though.
Or the eerie atmosphere.
It was the smell.
There was a foul, cloying smell of decay# with an overlying whiff of chemicals.
It was all I could do# to stop myself gagging.
On we went though,# until we got to two large swing doors.
We lined up outside#, looking like something from a TV film.
All of us in our black tops and trousers.
All of us wearing black woolen hats.
When Mario raised his hand,# we pushed the doors open.
I had thought I would be prepared# for what I would see, but I was not.
It was sickening.
There were rows of glass boxes on tables.
Each one contained an animal.
Or a part of an animal.
I was too stunned to remember# what we had said we would do.
The others seemed to feel the same.
For a few seconds, which seemed like hours,# we just stood and stared# at what lay in front of us.
Suddenly, we were jolted back to reality.
Hey you lot!# What do you think you’re doing?