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file:///E|/Funny%20&%20Weird%20Shit/75%20-%20Stephen%20King%20Books/Stephen%20King%20-%20Pet%20Sematary.htm“I can handle it,” Jud said calmly. “Things have got as bad as they’re going to get.”Outside the headlights of a car appeared, moving slowly. Jud hall-stood, watching it, and then sat downagain when it accelerated past the Creed house and out of sight.“All right,” she said. “I guess. The rest of this drive has seemed like a stone on my head.”“Let the stone roll off, my dear,” Jud said. “Please. Save yourself for tomorrow. Things here will be allright.”“You promise you’ll tell me the whole story?”“Yes. We’ll have us a beer, and I’ll tell you the whole thing.”“Goodbye, then,” Rachel said, “for now.”“For now,” Jud agreed. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Rachel.”Before she could say anything else, Jud hung up the telephone.He thought there were caffeine pills in the medicine cabinet, but he could not find them. He put the restof the beer back in the refrigerator—not without regret—and settled for a cup of black coffee. He took itback to the bow window and sat down again, sipping and watching.The coffee—and the conversation with Rachel—kept him awake and alert for three quarters of an hour,but then he began to nod once more.No sleeping on sentry duty, old man. You let it get hold of you; you bought something, and now youhave to pay for it. So no sleeping on sentry duty.He lit a fresh cigarette, drew deep, and coughed an old man’s rasping cough. He put the cigarette on thegroove of the ashtray and rubbed his eyes with both hands. Outside a ten-wheeler blasted by, runninglights glaring, cutting through the windy, uneasy night.He caught himself dozing off again, snapped awake, and abruptly slapped himself across the face,forehand and backhand, causing his ears to ring. Now terror awakened in his heart, a stealthy visitor whohad broken into that secret place.It’s puttin me to sleep . . . hypnotizin me . . . somethin. It doesn’t want me awake. Because he’ll becomin back pretty soon. Yeah, I feel that. And it wants me out of the way.file:///E|/Funny%20&%20Weird%20Shit/75%20-%20St...20Books/Stephen%20King%20-%20Pet%20Sematary.htm (287 of 333)7/28/2005 9:21:50 PM