Page 5 of The Midnight Frequency

That was a good intro.

A little stiff, but engaging.

Despite a hundred years of humans being fully aware of the paranormals walking among us, the issue of coexistence was a perennial thought on everyone’s minds.

Was a part of me concerned this show would give a platform for bigots to call in and complain that they didn’t think it was right for werewolves to get three days off every month to shift, or that it was unsafe that vampires were allowed to use public transit, or whatever imaginary issue they wanted to make up in their heads? Yes. Especially if things got heated. It opened us up to protests and threats.

That said, maybe it was good for people to have a platform to discuss their thoughts and concerns. As long as Silas remained a calm and rational host, I could see the show really drawing in decent crowds.

That was exactly what we needed at midnight. It had been a really hard hour to try to fill. Early morning was usually great for the trucking crowd, and commuting hours always went gangbusters with the ratings, but that elusive midnight hour was notoriously a hard hour to draw in listeners.

As much as I thought Silas was a bit rude, I did hope his show was successful. For the sake of the station. And, you know, broadcasting as a whole.

Sure, I liked podcasts as much as anyone else. But if there was one thing I noticed over the years, it was that we didn’t realize how much we missed things until they were gone. Like movie rental stores. Like chatrooms. And, yes, radio shows.

The former two fostered a sense of community. I distinctly remembered walking around the movie store with my mom, hoping we arrived early enough to snag a rental of the newest release… along with dozens of other people doing the same. Only to have to settle for some other unknown movie that would eventually turn out to be an all-time favorite.

I also recalled all the lonely hours I spent in chatrooms for fellow readers, grateful to find people who loved the same stories I did, who made me feel less alone.

While podcasts, on the surface, felt a bit like a radio show, they by their very pre-filmed nature, removed the ability for connection. Podcasters talked at you; radio show hosts talked to and with you.

Sure, podcasts kept the lights on at the station, but I really loved the old-school radio shows the most. The connection, the unpredictability, and the authenticity.

“We have Jane on line one,” Jack’s voice filled my office. “She’s a human with a supernatural question.”

“Jane, what is your question?” Silas asked.

“Hi! Oh, my gosh. I can’t believe I got through.” Right. Because I was sure the lines were blowing up on a random Thursday night. “Oh, wow. I hate how I sound on here. It must be nice to have a voice like yours. So smooth.”

I begrudgingly had to agree with Jane on that one.

“You had a question for me?” Silas prompted, his tone a little sharp.

“Right. Yes. Duh. That’s why I’m here. Or on here, I guess. Well, I’m a human, obviously. And I recently started dating a shifter.”

“For reference, what kind of shifter?” Silas asked.

In general, that was a rude thing to ask. But I imagined someone as old as Silas had different manners regarding paranormal politics.

“Oh, well, uh. I don’t know if he would want me telling you.”

“It’s not like I have your full name and address here, Jane.”

“Okay. True. Alright. Well, he’s a panther shifter. And I guess that is really important, actually.”

“Because?” Silas asked when she didn’t continue.

“Well, I’m sort of… incredibly allergic to cats. And him. Hives and serious congestion. I’ve tried the allergy pills but they don’t cut it. And I just don’t know what to do. I mean… he’s my soulmate.”

“Oh, you think soulmates are real?” Silas drawled, each word dripping with cynicism. “Adorable. Next caller.”

Jane was cut off mid-objection, replaced with Jack’s voice.

“We have Lionel on line two.”

I kept half my attention on the radio show as I started plowing through the pile of mail, responding to a note about the upcoming office party, then organizing my sticky notes.

The first show was an engaging mix of humans and paranormals. Some called in with some borderline offensive takes on current events; others debated paranormal politics with a smooth, polished, well-spoken Silas. And, yes, there were more Janes. A lot of them, actually, calling in with small relationship issues.