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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 />

<strong>17</strong>3

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