HANNA AND OTHER STORIES Preview Chapbook | Page 15
average . But this was a steady , continuous voice . Never in hundreds of investigations have we heard a ghost weep for such a long time . Ghost voices just didn ’ t do that . This probably meant someone else was here . Somebody who was very much alive .
We finally came to the room the weeping was coming from : a girl ’ s bathroom . Standing outside , we could clearly hear crying . High-pitched . Childish . Feminine . I turned to Diesel and Almarie . “ A kid ?” I whispered . “ A runaway ?” Almarie guessed . We waited . The sobbing didn ’ t stop . I mouthed to Diesel and Almarie to follow me in on three and counted . On three , we pushed into the bathroom , the door hinges screaming . Loud enough to wake the dead , I thought humorlessly . The weeping stopped abruptly as we entered . I surveyed the bathroom through the camera screen . Cinderblock walls and ceiling , a floor with big tiles — some of which were broken or missing . All the sinks and mirrors were gone , but four stalls had been left behind . I knocked on the door of one of them . “ Anyone there ?” A small , trembling voice responded from the third stall . “ H-
Hello ?” All three of us exchanged shocked looks . I opened the stall door . Inside was a little girl sitting on the closed toilet lid , staring forward into the darkness with wide
RAMI UNGAR 15
average . But this was a steady , continuous voice . Never in hundreds of investigations have we heard a ghost weep for such a long time . Ghost voices just didn ’ t do that . This probably meant someone else was here . Somebody who was very much alive .
We finally came to the room the weeping was coming from : a girl ’ s bathroom . Standing outside , we could clearly hear crying . High-pitched . Childish . Feminine . I turned to Diesel and Almarie . “ A kid ?” I whispered . “ A runaway ?” Almarie guessed . We waited . The sobbing didn ’ t stop . I mouthed to Diesel and Almarie to follow me in on three and counted . On three , we pushed into the bathroom , the door hinges screaming . Loud enough to wake the dead , I thought humorlessly . The weeping stopped abruptly as we entered . I surveyed the bathroom through the camera screen . Cinderblock walls and ceiling , a floor with big tiles — some of which were broken or missing . All the sinks and mirrors were gone , but four stalls had been left behind . I knocked on the door of one of them . “ Anyone there ?” A small , trembling voice responded from the third stall . “ H-
Hello ?” All three of us exchanged shocked looks . I opened the stall door . Inside was a little girl sitting on the closed toilet lid , staring forward into the darkness with wide