3
Once Major Zimholt was gone, Alice retreated to her own room.
She fell into a sleep that wasn’t natural. She never slept during the day. She woke with a headache. She felt thirsty and hungry.
Her watch said 8:05. She assumed PM.
She knocked on Marnie’s door. No answer.
Alice could hear voices coming from midway down the corridor. As she drew closer, she remembered it was a kitchen.
Three women and a man sat around a pale gray rectangular table. The women ate slices of pizza. Arnie Camper ate a big bowl of salad.
He smiled when he saw her. Alice lifted her hand in greeting. But she didn’t want to join them. They all knew each other.
“Hungry?” Camper asked her.
The smell of the pizza almost drew her in. And they all had large bottles of water—she wanted that, too. Her headache was
