Hello, gentle listener, and welcome to nocturnal transmissions, the fortnightly podcast that brings you dark tales both old and new, performed by voice artist Kristen Holland.

It's been a long time since we last had a story that was in any way cheerful or uplifting.

Good. Nocturnal transmissions is proud to present.

Decay by Richard Saxon.

Am I going to die?

The kid asked me as he was being rolled into the operating theater.

It was a question I'd heard a thousand times before, but answering it truthfully hadn't become

any easier, even after years at the hospital.

Of course not, we're going to fix you right up.

I lied.

He'd been crushed in a horrific car accident, and though we would put all our effort into saving his life,

hope was a limited resource.

The fact that he even remained conscious despite losing most of his blood was bizarre enough,

but after ten years on the job, nothing surprised me anymore.

The anestheologist quickly put him under while we scrubbed for surgery.

Damien would be the surgeon, a specialist in polytrauma cases, and I'd assist.

No sooner had we opened him up before we shared a look of disappointment.

There was no chance in hell he'd survive through surgery. Despite our lack of faith, we tried our best, but after only half an hour on the table, his heart gave out.

How was he still alive when he arrived? Damien asked.

He pronounced the time of death and left us to clean up the mess.

I took the responsibility of cleaning up the kid for the morgue,

a task I'd committed to countless times before.

...