Zero Hour

Originally Aired: April 5, 1955 Suspense #592, "Zero Hour," presents Ray Bradbury's chilling tale of an innocent children's game with sinister implications. Mrs. Morris watches with mild amusement as her energetic daughter Mink and the neighborhood children obsessively play a new game called Invasion, gathering odd items like pots, pans, and tools while following mysterious instructions. Mink excitedly explains that a being named Drill is teaching the children how to help Martians invade Earth, using kids under eleven because adults are too busy to notice what happens under rose bushes and on lawns. When Mrs. Morris receives a call from her friend Helen in New York, she learns that children across the country are all playing the same game, each one preparing for "Zero Hour" at five o'clock. As the afternoon wears on and five o'clock approaches, Mrs. Morris grows increasingly uneasy. Mink casually mentions they'll have to "get rid of" the grownups after the invasion and recites strange sequences of numbers and instructions. What began as charming child's play takes on an increasingly ominous tone as Mrs. Morris realizes that perhaps Drill isn't imaginary after all, and the invasion the children are so eagerly preparing for might be terrifyingly real.