Pam sniffled and looked up at the two of them, then nodded, throwing a few more handfuls of paper into the box. She probably would have kept going, but someone else let out a scream, and she wiped tears out of her eyes in time to see Cecilia go running across the lawn and into the house. She looked up, wondering if Val or Jack had seen anything that she'd missed, then turned to look around the yard for another hint. Cecilia, it turned out, hadn't been the only one to go running.
And then, there it was. The octopus. Whoever that belonged to had left it writhing in the yard, probably to die. The thing looked dried out already.
Pam thrust the box of paper into Jack's arms without giving him a second look. She pulled herself up and walked over to the octopus, debating how to pick it up. She settled for scooping it up in both arms, holding it like a baby. It felt weird, but the thing seemed too close to death to try to escape her.
She sniffled one more time, but seemed to be otherwise distracted by her find. "Guys, oh my god."