6:00 Hours: A Dystopian Novel Read Free Page A

screamed, “Army man.”
                  “I’m from the capital,” Rachel said. “But I just came from school. It was supposed to be a vacation before heading back home. That clearly didn’t work out too well.”
                  “What are you studying?” Tara asked, crumpling a plastic bag and tossing it beneath the sink.
                  “Clinical psychology,” Rachel replied.
                  “Smart people stuff,” Mark said admiringly. “I was never good at science in school. I liked reading. Give me a book and I could read that thing in a day.”
                  “What do you do?”
                  “Oh, marketing, advertising. Kind of freelance right now.”
                  “He does graphic design,” Tara explained. “He’s really good at it.”
                  “Oh, psh,” Mark said modestly. “I’d like to be a writer one day. Do something with books.”
                  “That’s really cool!” Rachel exclaimed.
                  Alexander and Lena came into the room, dressed in dry clothes. Tara gestured for them to come to her.
                  “Can you two put the groceries away for me? I need to feed your brother. Rachel, come sit with me.”
                  Rachel sat with her back to the kitchen, guessing that Tara didn’t want Rachel to see where she kept the emergency supplies. After settling down with the baby and a nursing cloth, Tara asked Rachel a series of questions about herself, like if she had a boyfriend, what her parents did, and so on. Tara tried hard to make it not sound like an interrogation, but Rachel knew the family was trying to scope her out. It made sense. For all they knew, Rachel could be an axe murderer, or someone intent on stealing all their supplies while they slept. Rachel made sure to keep her eyes directly ahead and away from the kids, whom she could hear talking and moving objects around in various cupboards. When they had finished, Tara rose to fix them lunch and offered some to Rachel.
    “We have lots of leftovers. We can’t eat it all before it goes bad.”
    Rachel accepted. In a few minutes, everyone sat around the kitchen table eating their heated-up hamburgers in silence.
    “Are you glad school is over?” Rachel asked the kids.
    “Yes!” Lena exclaimed, eager to be paid attention to. “I like school, but I like not going to school better.”
    “Do you have a favorite subject?”
    “Math!”
    “She’s really good at it,” Tara added proudly. “Alexander, too. I don’t know where they get it from.”
    Lena talked for a while longer. She told Rachel about her teacher and her friends, and that she couldn’t wait for the rain to stop so she could go ride her bike again. Alexander was quieter, but responded in a friendly way whenever a question was directed at him. After he finished lunch, he went to the living room where they could hear the TV.
    “Can I show Rachel my room now?” Lena asked.
    “Sure,” Mark replied, after glancing at Tara. “It’s time for Caleb’s nap. I’ll walk up with you two.”
    Mark led the way, the baby looking even tinier in his big arms. The stairs were creaky, as was customary in old houses, but the lacquer looked new and shiny.
    “Your house is so cool,” Rachel remarked. “So unique.”
    “I was born here,” Mark said. “Had to do a lot of work to get it in good shape, but it was worth it.”
    The upstairs was larger than Rachel had expected. There were three bedrooms and one bathroom.
    “My room’s over here,” Lena said, pointing.
    Rachel followed the girl into the first bedroom. It was small, but cozy. There was enough space for a bed, a short dresser, and a large wooden dollhouse with toys strewn on the rug in front of it.
    “My grandpa made this for my aunt when she was little,” Lena explained, kneeling in front of it. “Isn’t it