[ WP ] scientists have invented a serum that allows animals to speak . Your dog was recently given the serum , but it appears the treatment has not worked . Your cousin , whom you have n't seen since your youth , comes to town to visit . As the door opens , your dog suddenly whispers in your ear : `` run . ''

My eyes snapped to my dog, Ruffles, who was seated on the ground, his tail tucked neatly around his paws. He was staring straight forward, his gaze locked on something outside. I could n't even see him breathing. 
 
 My cousin, on the other hand, was a flurry of motion. He set his stuff down in my living room, and then paraded around the room like he was still a child. When he came to a stop in front of me, a goofy smile was pressing against the corners of his lips. 
 
 `` It's so good to see you again, Bells.'' Tarren said. 
 
 He leaned in for a hug, but remembering what my dog had whispered, I played off my caution as an uncomfortable `` I-don't-know-you-very-well'' hug. Luckily, he did n't mind, though his expression was a little quizzical when I pulled away. 
 
 Barking, Ruffles scratched at the door, glancing between two objects out the window. I opened the door and allowed him to dash out, and for a second, he was back to his normal self. I must have imagined the clear voice that had whispered to me as my cousin arrived. I mean, the serum had n't worked anyway, so why would it suddenly start now? 
 
 With a deep breath in, I relaxed my muscles and motioned for Tarren to follow me into the kitchen. There, I made him a cup of coffee, sat down across from him, and listened intently as he delved into his grand story of where he'd been the past four years. Apparently he had been traveling a lot, sight seeing and landing a few odd jobs here and there to make some cash on the side, until he came here, and heard that I lived only about an hour away. 
 
 `` I just figured it was time to reconnect, y'know? I have n't seen you in what, ten years now?'' He chugged the rest of his room-temperature coffee and slammed the mug into the table. I had to swallow my irritation. 
 
 I nodded. `` Yeah, and even then it was only for a weekend, right? At the lake?'' 
 
 Tarren grinned again. `` Lake Smellwood, yeah, the one that was always tinted green, and smelled like garbage. Ah, man, I miss the days when we were young and innocent. Now it's all just so messy.'' He cut his sentence off abruptly, a strange second of silence passed, and then I heard whimpering at the door. 
 
 Ruffles had come to the back door, which was rather odd of him, and I rose. Ruffles planted his feet next to me like a statue, not so much as moving a muscle when Tarren reached to pet him. 
 
 `` I'm sorry,'' I sighed, a little embarrassed. Ruffles never acted like this. `` He does n't know you yet, so he's a little cautious.'' 
 
 Tarren shook it off. `` Not a problem. If I were him, I'd be pretty cautious around me, too.'' 
 
 Immediately, red flags shot up in my mind, and sensing the sudden shift in mood, he quickly added with a slight chuckle, `` I mean, because I'm a stranger.'' 
 
 I stood from my seat, casually checking the time. I prayed that Tarren would n't want to sleep over, and was just coming to visit, but knowing my luck, he'd probably ask for a room. It was n't that I despised him, or actually thought the serum worked, but I simply did not know him. 
 
 `` Hey, Tarren,'' I started, stepping towards the doorway, `` I know you just got here and everything, but it's getting kinda late, and I have some work I need to finish.'' 
 
 Tarren's face fell, the smile fading from his lips, and a part of me broke, but ultimately, I felt safer. Hopefully, he would understand. 
 
 `` Yeah, sure, I'll go grab a motel or something, it's not a problem. But, uh, could I come see you tomorrow? I'm planning on staying in town for a few days, and maybe visit some old friends. I'd love to hang with you, too.'' 
 
 Ruffels' head snapped up, and his pleading eyes met mine, but the guilt of turning away my cousin clouded my judgement. 
 
 `` Yeah, of course.'' I said. 
 
 Ruffles' ears fell, and he followed us to the door. As I stepped out to help Tarren carry his luggage to the car, I had to push Ruffles inside, practically slamming the door in his face. But when I looked back, his eyes were n't sad, just afraid. 
 
 Tarren unlocked his car for me, and as I swung his bags into the trunk, I saw it. Like a tiny detail out of a movie that you can only catch on the second go-around. A thin, dry line of a dark red substance, trailing from the back of his trunk, along the side, and then ending at the front, where it formed a tiny puddle. 
 
 He did n't seem to notice my hesitation. He smiled, gave me another hug, and then climbed into the driver's seat. As I stood motionless in the driveway, watching his car disappear around the hill, I heard two faint honks that meant `` good bye.'' 
 
 When my shaking legs finally steered me inside, I flopped down onto my couch with a sharp breath in. Running through my options, I decided on the worst one, grabbed my car keys, my phone, and my jacket, and flew right back out the door. 
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 Edit: Okay, wow, this is a lot longer than it looked when I scrolled through it. Whoops!
