He hurt worse than he first thought. However, that was a secondary concern. The alien held the weapon steady in its small hand as it watched Cooper, its head cocked as if puzzled by his presence and deciding what it was going to do about him.

  There was a noise at the door to the bedroom, someone talking in a low voice. Cooper did not look at the source of the disturbance. He continued to watch the alien and tried to bring his gun up to aim at the little monster.

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  His vision closed in and he knew it was over. The alien had done irreparable damage; he was losing blood too fast to make the shot.

  The door creaked as it opened, yet the alien still held Cooper with undivided attention.

  With a last burst of strength, he brought the gun up enough to place a shot somewhere in the alien’s lower body.

  As the darkness closed on his vision, Cooper took the shot.