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"Yes," Hilary said "At least that’s a place to start What were his sy, at least frohtmare that terrified him"
A tape recorder stood on the circular coffee table, and two piles of cassettes lay beside it, fourteen in one pile, four in the other Rudge leaned forward in his chair and picked up one of the four
"All of my consultations are recorded and stored in a safe," the doctor said "These are tapes of Mr Frye’s sessions Last night, after I spoke with Mr Rhinehart on the phone, I listened to portions of these recordings to see if I could find a few representative selections I had a hunch you ht be better if you could hear Bruno Frye’s complaints in his own voice"
"Excellent," Joshua said
"This first one is froe said "For the first fortyat all It was very strange He seemed outwardly calhtened and trying to conceal his true feelings He was afraid to talk to ently, very gently In the last ten minutes, he told me what he’d co teeth to get it out of hie pushed the cassette into the recorder and snapped on the ravelly voice, she felt a chill race down her spine
Frye spoke first:
"I have this trouble"
"What sort of trouble?"
"At night"
"Yes?"
"Every night"
"You ?"
"That’s part of it"
"Can you be more specific?"
"I have this dreaht has this been going on?"
"As long as I can reer than that"
"Five Years? Ten?"
"At least thirty Maybe longer"
"You’ve been having the saht for at least thirty years?"
"That’s right"
"Surely not every night"
"Yes There’s never a reprieve"
"What’s this dream about?"
"I don’t know"
"Don’t hold back"
"I’m not"
"You want to tell me"
"Yes"
"That’s why you’re here So tell me"
"I want to But I just don’t knohat the dreaht for thirty years orI always know a dream woke me But I’m never able to remember it"
"Then how do you know it’s always the sah"
"Good enough for what?"
"Good enough to convince me that it’s always the sa night so"
"If I tell you "
"Yes?"
"You’ll think I’m crazy"
"I never use the word ’crazy’"
"You don’t?"
"No"
"Well every ti crawling on me"
"What is it?"
"I don’t know I can never re to crawl into get intotounder , creeping"
In Nicholas Rudge’s office, everyone atching the tape recorder
Frye’s voice was still gravelly, but there was raw terror in it now
Hilary al man’s fear-twisted face--the shock-wide eyes, the pale skin, the cold sweat along his hairline
The tape continued:
"Is it just one thing crawling on you?"
"I don’t know"
"Or is it s?"
"I don’t know"
"What does it feel like?"
"Justawful sickening"
"Why does this thing want to get inside you?"
"I don’t know"
"And you say you always feel like this after a drea else that you feel in addition to this crawling sensation?"
"Yeah But it’s not a feeling It’s a sound"
"What sort of sound?"
"Whispers"
"You ine that you hear people whispering?"
"That’s right Whispering, whispering, whispering All around me"
"Who are these people?"
"I don’t know"
"What are they whispering?"
"I don’t know"
"Do you have the feeling they’re trying to tell you so?"
"Yes But I can’t make it out"
"Do you have a theory, a hunch? Can you uess?"
"I can’t hear the words exactly, but I know they’re saying bad things"
"Bad things? In ay?"
"They’re threateningwhispers"
"Yes"
"How long do they last?"
"About as long as thecreepingcrawling"
"A minute or so?"
"Yes Do I sound crazy?"
"Not at all"
"Come on I sound a little crazy"
"Believe er than yours"