Harvey crawled quickly beneath his desk, leaving his coffee cup behind. A picture by his daughter Lucy, supposedly a dog, was all he could see past his rolling chair. He made himself as small as possible, which was pretty small, since he was only 5’6’’. He heard footsteps from the direction of the stairwell, jammed his hand into his mouth to keep from screaming. Oh God, not me, I have a family! he silently begged, wondering how long he had.

He didn’t breathe or blink, when the legs stepped into his cubicle, when the knee started to bend. Lucy, Daddy loves you. he thought, tears streaming down his face. He clenched his eyes shut, but no gunshot came. There was no bright light, nothing at all. He shuddered as he opened his eyes, so scared he couldn’t breathe if he tried. The legs were gone. He sighed, removed his fist from between his teeth, and blinked.

He moved his chair across the cubicle quietly, crawled toward the hallway. He had to get out. He stood to see over his wall, fell and saw no more.