*THUMP*

The sound pounded in young Sals' ears with the force of a bullet.  It was echoed in flashes of light behind his closed eyelids.

*THUMP*

Pain registered within his mind. A cold and piercing pain that echoed from one end of his body to the other.

*THUMP*

Water ran into his nose as he took a breath to scream from the pain.

*THUMP-THUMP*
He quivered as he coughed, causing himself more pain from the bullet wounds lining his torso.

*THUMP-THUMP*  *THUMP-THUMP*

Finally, gagging on something foul tasting, he opened his eyes to the scene in front of him.  The pain a distant memory.
Sal was lying face-down on the cement.  A broken container of milk took up most of his vision. 
"That's odd. Why is there milk on the ground and why am I lying down," he thought.
As he concentrated on the thought before he tried to move, it all came crashing back to him in a flood of sound and light...

================
Sal had just left the grocers with everything on the list his mama had given to him.  He was in such a hurry because Ottavia who like Sal was just 14, was waiting for him at her house.  They were going to the park today.  Today was going to be the day they were going to kiss.  She had promised him just yesterday.  Smiling like a drunken lout at the thought, he didn't think twice about taking a short-cut down the alley in THAT part of town that mama had warned him about.  Nor did he pay any attention to the sounds of men yelling coming from in front of him.

*WHUMP*

Sal crashed bodily into a large man who was also taking the alley as a short-cut, but he was going in the opposite direction.  Being the smaller of the two, Sal crashed backwards, dropping his bag full of groceries all over the ground.  Despite his size the large man was also knocked backwards but not off of his feet.  As he staggered to get his momentum going again, Sal quickly jumped up to his feet, anger beginning to rise at the thought of what his mama was going to do to him for dropping the groceries.

"Watch where you're going you big..."

The words died in Sals' mouth and froze as his eyes took in the sight of the mans right hand. It held a gun and he was pointing it at him.

"Out of the way kid!" he barked.

Stunned, Sal couldn't even understand what the man had just said to him.

*POP POP POP*

Sal was surprised to see the mans gun fall from his hand.  His blood began to run cold as a painful icy sensation rose from his chest.

*RATATATATATATATATA*

Blood spattered across Sals' face and body. The man fell to his knees.
Sals' world began to fall away as the ground rushed up to meet him and...

================

The sound of squealing tires brought Sal back to cold hard reality.
The man who was gunned down was badly wounded and gasping but unable to move.  Sal, despite the pain tried to move.  The man needed help, but found that he couldn't move either.  For a moment the large man and Sals eyes met.  Something was exchanged between them in that instance.  The large man then closed his eyes and swallowed noisily, his throat streaked with his blood, highlighting every motion that it made.

 Sal slowly lost himself as he watched the motion of the side of his neck.  The mans pulse was made visible in the strained and bloody flesh.
*THUMP-THUMP* It beat.  
*THUMP-THUmp* 
*THUMP--Thump*
*Thump-Thump*
*Thump*
And then nothing.  It just stopped moving. 

Sal just stared at the large mans throat listening to his own heartbeat.  Waiting for the moment that it stopped.  His vision began to swim again and darkness started to close in upon him.  Suddenly a shadow covered his view of the large mans neck and a voice spoke in tones the seemed very far away.

"God damn it!  There's a kid!"

Sal felt the world begin to drift away from him as he spun down into unconsciousness.

"I know whose kid this is..."

The last sensation he felt was of falling a great distance.