Several seconds passed before a dissonant scratching sound, like a spoon dragging across a rough empty bowl, tore through the small space. Gemma jumped, leaning forward to adjust several knobs, one after another. The noise dropped to a less painful volume, but the pitch was still unpleasant. It wavered without a pattern Loretta could detect.
"Try again now," Gemma said. "I can't quite understand you. I'm very close by. You don't have to shout."
The screech modulated, sounding more like harsh birdsong than the awful scraping. The sounds picked up a rhythm almost like speech. Gemma turned one more knob. All three of them gasped at scratchy but clear words.
"Hear you."
"How can it possibly talk?" Loretta said, staring at George. "How could a monster know how to talk like a person?"
His c
