The sliding back door to the house squealed. Daniel stepped onto the deck. Rafe...

The sliding back door to the house squealed. Daniel stepped onto the deck. Rafe and I were still in the woods, but we could see him, through the trees, and he could see us. He stopped dead. Kenjii raced past him. She barreled down the steps toward us, and gave me a passing lick before jumping on Rafe. He pushed her down, laughing.
"See, I am real," he said.
"Hmm, still not sure," I said. "Dogs are supposed to be able to see ghosts, you know."
"Maybe, but I'm sure that guy can't." As we stepped from the woods, he waved at Daniel, who'd come down to the bottom of the steps and was frozen again. "Though he does look as if he's seeing one." He raised his voice so Daniel could hear. "Yes, it's me. Not a ghost or a zombie or a long-lost twin brother."
"Rafe…?" Daniel started walking slowly across the yard. "In the flesh. Battered and bruised flesh, but apparently it takes more than a fall from a helicopter to get rid of me."
"Wow. I can't believe it, but obviously…" He looked Rafe up and down and shook his head. "Wow."
"Holy hell." Now Corey stood on the back deck, staring.
He came over and we had to go through the whole thing again. Yes, it was Rafe. Not a ghost. Not a zombie. Not a long-lost twin brother. As ludicrous as all those ideas sounded, though, they seemed more likely than the truth--that a guy fell from a helicopter and survived.