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beer. He stepped over to it. The stein was half full. He picked it up and began to drink. The beer was cool, but not chilly. |
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Maybe Maureen and Liam escaped, he thought. He knew that the kitchen had a rear door. They could've fled out into the rain. Or maybe they hid. |
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He was certain he would find their bodies in the kitchen area. |
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Please, he thought. Don't let them be dead. |
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He set down the empty stein. He took a deep, trembling breath, then strode to the open side of the counter and entered the kitchen. |
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Stepping past the ovens, he felt their heat. Probably pizzas in them right now, as black as the crazies who had committed the slaughter. |
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He found dials, and turned the ovens off. |
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He considered opening them and looking in. As he reached for a handle, however, he remembered a book he'd read a few years ago. Phantoms. The oven of an abandoned bakery had a severed head or two inside. So he stepped away from the ovens. |
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'Maureen?' he called. His voice sounded high and strange, and much too loud. But he forced himself to call out Liam's name. |
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He found Liam on the floor behind the food preparation island. The Irishman's body was sprawled on top of a woman. Her slim, bare legs were stretched out between Liam's. Her head was out of sight beneath him. |
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