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uniform was in disarray, and there was a fold of swollen, discolored tissue under each eye. His voice was still a little shaky. "I came back on duty at four o'clock and relieved Constable Higgins. We talked for a few minutes, and he brought me up to date on tomorrow's schedule. He made some comment about the fog getting worse and decided to bunk down and get some sleep back in the store room. About an hour later old man Palmer came by and did some more grousing about us keeping the store closed another day while the forensic team from headquarters gets this thing squared away. He poked around for a little while, then said he wanted to go back and check the temperature in the cooler. I didn't see any harm in it so I went back with him. After all, it's his store. |
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"We hadn't been back there more than a few minutes when he walked over to the carcass and started poking around on it. I was just about to tell him to quit when all of a sudden one of those big black arms flies up and wraps around Palmer's neck. Before I can even shout a warning, the thing flings the old man across the room like he's some kind of rag doll. All I hear is the sickening sound of that old man splattering up against the wall of the cooler. |
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"By that time I've pumped four shots into the thing. I can see the slugs ripping into it, but it was almost like shooting into a |
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