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Hey guys, it's E. J. Miller. Today is the last installment

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of our Fast Food Horror Classics episodes, and the story I found for you

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this week is disturbing at best.
It's a fantastic story I read when I

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was in high school, and when
I started going down this path of classic

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short stories, this one immediately popped
into mind. I really hope you enjoy

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it. More so, I hope
you enjoy the voice talent of Holly.

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Holly comes to us from Mojo five
Oh. She has her own podcast that

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drops every week on Sundays. It's
called Damn It with Beaver. It's a

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podcast full of positive, uplifting human
interest stories to make you see the good

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that exists in the world. She
even she even has her own brand of

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coffee. You gotta go check it
out. The coffee's brought to you by

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APR Coffee American Pride Roasters Coffee.
It's the Save the Kiddies Blend. Ten

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percent of the proceeds will benefit the
Stale wild Cat Shelter. It is tasty,

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it is delicious, and it will
definitely get you awake. So go

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check her out over on any podcast
platform. Damn It with Beaver and I

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would encourage you to go check out
Americanpride Roasters dot com. American Pride Roasters

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dot com, and go check out
her Save the Kiddies blend of APR Coffee.

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It is, It's It's delicious.
And now, without further ado,

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our master of Ceremonies, I gore
Froederick with this week's installment of fast Food

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Horror Classics. I gore take it
away, Thank you, EJ. This

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week story is entitled The can of
by Michael Fado nahrated by Holly of damn

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It with Beaver. The chartered bus
stopped at the corner of fourteenth in Squire.

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Jerry smiled nervously, turned and waved
to his mother, who stood weeping

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a few feet away, and boarded
the bus. He returned the driver's silent

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nod and settled himself in the only
remaining seat near the front, next to

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a poorly dressed middle aged woman.
Jerry tingled with excitement. He glanced around,

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eager for conversation, but the other
passengers were strangely silent. This puzzled

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Jerry, for he was looking forward
with great anticipation to the carnival. Indeed,

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he felt fortunate for having won this
drawing at school, which allowed him

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to attend the carnival for free as
a special guest of the government. In

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an effort to encourage patronage among young
people, the government agency Populous Control sponsored

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the drawings and contests for students.
The man and the woman seated behind Jerry

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began talking about carnivals of years gone
by, how they used to be very

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popular with kids, but weren't nearly
as exciting as those of today. From

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the way they spoke, Jerry guessed
they had attended many carnivals. He turned

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around and saw they were about the
age of his parents. How much more

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interesting than his parents they were.
Jerry thought his parents wouldn't dream of taking

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in the carnival, and Jerry sometimes
wondered what they had to live for.

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The couple noticed Jerry staring at them, and he coughed and faced the front.

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He squirmed in his seat. The
woman next to Jerry nudged him.

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You don't look old enough, she
said, looking straight ahead. I'm sixteen,

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he responded sharply. The woman turned
toward him. They never had these

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when I was sixteen. I wish
they had. Why the woman ignored him.

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I hope today's my day, she
sighed, Oh, let it be

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to day. She blew her nose
into a crumpled handkerchief and stared out the

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mud splattered window. The bus rolled
past gray neighborhoods. Silent people on the

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streets wearing distant, vacant faces,
did not look up as the bus went

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by. The bus joggled along with
its silent passengers until it came to a

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stop and a part of town unfamiliar
to Jerry. The driver stood and faced

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the passengers. All right, folks, he said, this is it.

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Get your ID cards read. The
PC officer will be boarding in a minute.

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Those with government passed a step to
the front. Jerry got up.

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You gotta pass. The woman next
to him asked yes. Jerry said,

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I want it at school. The
woman turned away, and Jerry went to

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the front of the bus, where
the populist control officer was standing. Just

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a second, boy, he said, as Jerry held out his identification and

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pass, I have an announcement to
make. The passengers listlessly raised their heads.

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As you know, he began,
some of you may not be making

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the return trip on the bus.
Jerry wished the officer would hurry. Did

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he know there was a carnival out
there, couldn't he tell that? Nobody

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wanted to hear him drone on and
on? Well, hurry up, Jerry

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wanted to shout, hurry up.
The man completed his memorized presentation and looked

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at Jerry, who was chewing his
knuckles and impatience. Take it easy,

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son, the officer said, There's
plenty of time and plenty of opportunity for

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everyone. Yes, sir, Jerry
said. He leapt from the bus as

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soon as the officer had punched his
pass and ran to the clamoring throng at

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the carnival's main gate. It was
just the way he had pictured it.

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Bright lights, the scuffling noises,
the mass of moving people, the laughter

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and the shrieks of those who had
dared board the death defying rides. Jerry's

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heart beat quickened as he walked along
the midway first time. Sonny, an

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ancient carne called to him. Chant
your life on this little spin, won't

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you? Jerry gazed at the whirling
machine high above his head. I might

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later, he said, if you're
lucky, the cannerie replied. Jerry found

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himself being swept along with the crowd
ahead of him. A police officer was

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leading a young woman by the arm. She was sobbing and telling the officer

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she didn't want to leave her husband
behind. Jerry hardly noticed. He had

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more important things in his mind.
He was attending his first carnival. He

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had to make the most of it. He inhaled deeply, then reached into

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his pocket and clutched his pass.
The crush of the crowd took Jerry's several

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hundred yards south of the main gate, Hundreds of attractions awaited the customers.

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Jerry sat down on a bench to
study a map of the carnival grounds and

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decided which amusements he wanted to chance. No sooner had he moved the map

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from his pocket than two burly men
struggling with something and a large plastic bag

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past him. They half dragged their
load to a huge pit and tossed it

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in. Jerry wondered over the edge
of the pit. It was enormous,

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a hundred yards square and not telling
how deep the yards are. One in

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eight you'll make it, kid,
one of the men said, with a

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crooked smile, one in eight today. Both men laughed and walked away.

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Jerry peered into the pit. There
seemed to be a mountain of black plastic

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bags rising from the floor of the
abyss. Jerry shuddered briefly, then turned

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away. He didn't look back.
He saw it cheerier sights instead, the

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flashing neon lights all about him.
The spectacle was breath taking. Jerry had

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never in his life been so excited, but then he had never known such

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cause for excitement either. He felt
in his pocket for his pass and stopped

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for a drink from a water fountain, then continued along the midway. The

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sky was darkening slightly, but Jerry
didn't expect rain. The forecast had said

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no rain at the Weather Control Center
was never wrong. Jerry got into the

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line of people who wanted to ride
the thunder Clapper. In front of him

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stood a young man with glasses.
He was sweating profusely, although the temperature

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was on the cool side. The
young man glimced over his shoulder first time,

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he asked, nervously, rubbing his
hands together. Yes, Jerry answered,

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good luck. The man said,
this one's a real killer. Jerry

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saw the contraption rusting fifty feet ahead. You've never been on it before,

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the man cleared his throat. Nope, but I've gone on a lot of

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other ones. This is my first
ride, Jerry said. The young man

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laughed, you sure picked a good
one for a starter, I hope so,

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Jerry said. The riders grew funerally
silent as they came up to the

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boarding ramp. Jerry took a deep
breath. He could feel the pulse in

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his throat. He stepped on to
the ramp and selected his seat next to

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the young man he had met in
Lyne. The attendant came over and strapped

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them both in. The straps covered
most of their body and were fastened very

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tightly. Jerry found breathing difficult.
That'll hold you, shorty, the attendant

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said, as he finished Jerry.
Jerry noticed that the attendant wore thick soled

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boots and carried heavy gloves in his
back pocket. The announcement was made,

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stating that the ride would last only
ninety seconds. It was everyone for himself.

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The announcer then wished the rider's good
luck, and the motors started.

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It rumbled and coughed, then gained
momentum as it lifted the apparatus and its

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occupants in the air. It picked
up speed now and the low rumble became

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a violent roar. Jerry felt his
stomach now beneath the straps holding him.

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He hoped he wasn't going to be
sick. The roar was deafening. Jerry

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screamed, but no sound came from
his lips. Lightning cracked all around him,

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coming so close he thought he could
feel its intense heat. Then suddenly

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the roar subsided and the huge metal
wheel which gently eased on to its base.

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The attendant unstrapped Jerry and the young
man next to him. The young

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man did it move, and the
two men came to take him from the

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seat. Derry bound quickly down the
ramp. I did it. I made

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it on my first try, he
shrieked, half stumbling back onto the midway.

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A uniform statesman smiled at Jerry's exuberance
and continued with his work in the

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departure column on the paper in front
of him. He added another check.

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Jerry wanted to shout his success.
He wanted to run, but there was

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no room on the crowded midway.
What's so tough about this? Anyway,

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Jerry thought, if you take a
positive reproach, you'll overcome it. He

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had easily met the challenge on his
first ride, the one everybody had said

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would be the roughest. Well,
he had come through almost without flinching.

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The taste of this kind of success
was something he had not known before.

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He felt so exhilarated that he giggled
in spite of himself. He would try

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his luck again. After some food, he walked over to a refreshment stand

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and got two hot dogs. I've
just been on the Thunderclapper, he told

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the concierge. That's living pretty dangerously. The man said, is there any

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other way? Jerry asked, lightly, paying for the food, He ate

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rapidly, anxious to get back into
action. Although he reveled in his achievement,

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he knew that he could really prove
his metal only by continuing to accept

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the challenge. As soon as he
swallowed the last bite, he joined a

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red haired boy about his age and
line for the whirlaway. The other boy

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smiled and told Jerry that this was
his first ride. This is nothing,

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Jerry told him, I've just come
off the thunder Clapper. The red haired

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boy's eyes widen with admiration. I
think this will be just as tough,

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he said, without conviction. I
doubted Jerry scoff, but it'll probably help

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build your confidence. The thrill seekers
were led to their places by the Whirlaway

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attendants and strapped into the spokes of
the machine in upright standing positions. Again,

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there was an announcement over the public
address system. It was the usual

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drivel that Jerry hardly heard. Jerry
was relaxed. A calm smile played over

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his lips. He settled back,
ready to enjoy this new experience to the

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fullest. The Whirlaway began to vibrate
its engines, whoshing like a great windstorm.

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The structure throbbed and gained speed until
the passengers near the ra and were

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moving at about two hundred miles per
hour. Jerry was thinking of the stories

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he'd tell his classmates at school tomorrow. He had taken on the Thunderclapper and

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the whirl Away straight off. You'd
take the meanest ones first, he would

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tell them. The Whirlaway, spinning
at an ever increasing speed, rose three

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hundred feet off the ground. Jerry
became aware of a dizzy sensation. Then

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the sense of motion ceased, and
suddenly he was free of movement and sound.

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He was in the air, hurling
headlong downward. It isn't fair,

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he tried to shout. They said, one in eight, one in eight.

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Men from the pit moved into position
with their black plastic bags. But

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Jerry did not see them, nor
was he conscious, when he ceased to

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be approaching the Earth, meeting it
face to face at almost the speed of

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sound. Ditt