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Next, it was my turn to ask questions. I asked if the spirits<br />
minded having us there, and there was silence again. But when it<br />
came time for my second question, we got a response. “Do you not<br />
like us?” was followed by a furious hiss and then the sound of the<br />
recorder sliding off the table. It was so loud I had to rip the earbud<br />
out of my ear.<br />
“Play it again!” Gunner urged.<br />
I rewound the recording and played my question again. “Do<br />
you not like us?” Hissssssss. Deafening sound of recorder flying<br />
across the room.<br />
Gunner’s head turned slowly toward me. His skin was the<br />
color of the white couch beneath us. “Did you hear what it said?”<br />
“No.” I rewound it again and played it, over and over, until<br />
the hiss began to form words. Nmmmmmmmmmmmfffff<br />
hhmmmmmmmmmmnnnnnnnn. Nnnnnnnntt hmmmmmmmnnnn.<br />
Nnnnnooooottt huuuuuummmmaaaaannnn. Not human.<br />
It was my turn to change snowman-colored. I <strong>final</strong>ly<br />
swiveled my head to meet Gunner’s gaze. “What. <strong>The</strong>. Hell.”<br />
He kept balling and unballing his fists frantically. “Jesus,<br />
Chelsea. Next time something like that happens, listen to the<br />
recording right away, okay?”<br />
We spent the rest of the night huddled together on the couch,<br />
listening to the remainder of the recordings I’d taken. We caught a<br />
“Get out” and a “No” that didn’t make any sense in context with the<br />
questions we’d asked. But that first hiss kept pounding in my ears.<br />
Not human. Not human. Not human.<br />
Eventually, the animal hospital called us back. Gunner<br />
grabbed the phone first, so I had to sit there and wait in excruciation<br />
for him to finish his extensive conversation that lasted all of two<br />
minutes. He told me that Trouble was going to be okay; they’d<br />
stopped the internal bleeding and repaired his broken leg. However,<br />
they wanted to keep him for a few nights just to monitor his<br />
condition and make sure he didn’t start to bleed again.<br />
One sigh of relief rushed out of me. My dog was going to<br />
live. At least one of us was out of danger for now.<br />
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