This chilling story by Ray Bradbury involves an inattentive mother, a feisty seven-year-old girl, and her imaginary friend Drill. Throughout most of the story, the girl leads her friends in a construction game following instructions she receives from Drill. Her mother later learns that groups of children across America are playing the same game. Its name is “Invasion”, and for her the climax comes in a single word: Peekaboo. The major theme of the story is complacency. The mother senses something is wrong, but doesn’t act until too late. Other themes include human smugness (We’re impregnable!), childhood innocence/impressionability, manipulation, fear.
Zero Hour Text / PDF / Audio (3,100 words)
Video Version
This is an episode from Season 5 of the Ray Bradbury Theater TV series. It was first aired in January, 1992 and includes a personal introduction by Bradbury himself. It follows the original remarkably closely, and doesn’t add any “fillers” to confuse the story. Watch and enjoy!