I'm sending this email to warn you it is in the coffee.
I knew something was wrong when I took the first sip.
There was something spicy about it.
I thought one of the office girls had doctored it up with some cinnamon.
When I asked Jamie, the office manager who normally made the coffee, she announced it
had been percolating when she arrived.
She couldn't identify who had prepared it nor could she identify the hint of spice in
her cup.
I did notice her half-painted black fingernails as she held the mug to her mouth.
I thought nothing of it until I spotted Alec, our accountant, walking down the hall later
that morning with black fingernails.
Alec didn't see me.
His gaze was set upon Linda, who was at the copier.
He grabbed her from behind and yellow smoke started to ooze out of Linda's mouth and nose,
and from under her skirt.
She screamed.
Everyone did.
Alec let go and Linda fell to the floor, her face and exposed arms and legs inexplicably
and horribly burned.
Stefanie and Dianna, the two other office girls, fled their chairs and raced to the
door, only to meet Jamie, who welcomed them with a giant embrace.
Stefanie and Dianna met the same fate, smoldering on the floor in a mist of yellow smoke.
Alec and Jamie met my stare but didn't threaten to head towards me.
They turned, barely aware of each other, and headed upstairs as if both were drawn by some
unknown force.
They were headed toward the executive offices!
I want you to know I tried to stop them, but I was afraid to touch them or make contact
brushing by.
I should have realized then that touching them wouldn't have harmed me.
I took the elevator instead and the door opened just as they turned the corner from the stairs.
I raced past them to my boss Michael.
He was sitting calmly in his office until I broke in and startled him.
I tried to explain the frightening turn of events and he just sat there frozen with disbelief.
Please know it was not my intention to harm anyone.
I grabbed Michael to help him escape, and as I touched him I watched in horror as his
face melted before me.
That brief moment will be forever crystallized in my mind.
Please let my family know I love them.
I don't know why this happened or how, and I can only surmise that it was some catastrophic
chemical accident, an act of God or an act of the Devil.
I don't expect our coffeepot alone was affected.
I don't expect I should remain lucid for much longer.
I don't expect I'll be allowed to survive if this email reaches its intended destination.
My nails are now almost completely black as I type this sentence.
I hope I can press send before it's --