The Between Molecules, Then Atoms: Could This be the End?
(a short story)
by Kathy Fowler

The bullet tore through Theo's nasal passages, forged through the white and gray matter, mangled a path across his occipital lobe, shattered through the bones of his skull, and lodged in the plaster behind his desk.

Theo had chosen a spot along the bridge of his nose as the point of entry.  He had always worried over the size of his nose, and if his teacher's salary had ever allowed, he would have had a nose job during his lifetime.  He also figured the bullet would easily travel to his hypothalamus, which he knew was a good structure to destroy if one wanted to exit the world quickly.

Theo's death was speedy, almost painless; his medulla oblongata gave out as quickly as he'd hoped, and he would have been pleased to note that his body only jerked a bit and came to rest as quickly as the act of pulling the trigger.

His head was nestled in his chest where it had snapped forward after the force of what he'd done had thrown it back.  The hair that showed through his V-neck sweater was matted with blood, its sticky follicles a nest beneath his dripping nose.

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