Hello, gentle listener, and welcome to Nocturnal Transmissions, the fortnightly podcast that brings you dark tales both old and new,

performed by your humble narrator, Kristen Holland.

Now, I ask you what sort of horror story podcast doesn't feature some hapless teens in peril every now and again.

Not this one, gentle listener. Oh no. Not this one.

So let's find some adolescents and put them in harm's way, shall we?

Nocturnal transmissions is proud to present.

Keith Downey's The Missing Spare. It was hot.

Even for a late summer night.

The sun had made its lazy descent a couple hours ago,

but the humidity stubbornly stood its ground.

The air was so thick that you could almost open your mouth and take a drink,

and Drew could feel the heat of the black top shimmering up through the soles of his ratty sneakers.

He needed some new kicks, but he needed money for that, and working as a grunt in his

dad's sandwich shop wasn't getting him new Jordans any time soon. He'd be stuck with

his Reeboks for most of senior year.'

"'He flung an empty beer can across the parking lot,

"'then turned to look back at his friends.

"'They were still finishing a shared cigarette,

"'passing the thing back and forth with tender glances,

"'caressing each other's fingers with each exchange. He tried to keep his voice even.

Come on, are we doing this or what? He heard rubber grinding on asphalt, Eddie putting out his butt.

Hell yeah, man, let's do it.

...