Harold Thomas heard the succession of popping sounds right outside his office window. He shrugged it off as a car's backfire until a sudden shocking impact surged through his neck; so fierce, it was like a bomb exploding in his throat. For a brief moment, everything stilled as a tingling sensation surged through his body.
He couldn't raise his arm;
His vision blurred;
Confusion set in.
And then, paralysis triumphed and he slumped over the arm of the chair. Semi-conscious, he felt the rush of hot blood, the coppery taste, and then the force gushing down his throat like a broken geyser.
A million pictures flashed through his mind like a movie. When the intense shooting pain took over, exploding into a thousand pieces, he could feel the blood filling his lungs, the deep burning pain
