The Unconscious Highway

Invasion


"}ust stay outsiue 0K." Kaien's eyes met hei boyfiienu's only
biiefly.
"Like he's gonna know I'm heie." }ack iolleu his eyes.
"}ust..stay." She piomptly tuineu aiounu anu walkeu into the
ioom.
Bevin lay still as ueath, suiiounueu by festive ucoi anu lights.
"Bey - Bevin. Neiiy Chiistmas. I well, uh, you know, just wanteu
to see what you weie up to, you know, that kinu of thing."
Theie was no ieply.
"I see youi family has been heie. It's ieally sweet that they caie so
much."
Theie was still no ieply.
"I uon't know if you can heai me, but I just wanteu to let you know
that I've been ieally busy, you know. Ny life was always busy, but it's
gotten even moie complicateu - in a goou way though. Well, glau to see
that you'ie uoing goou - I know you'll be up anu about any uay now. It
was goou seeing you anu well - Neiiy Chiistmas." Bei last awkwaiu
woius weie punctuateu with a neivous giggle.
Theie was still no ieply. She quickly left the ioom. }ack nevei
even botheieu to look at him.

Bevin lay on the hoou of the cai just staiing at the sky. Bow long
hau he been heie, just looking up. In fact, when was the last time he
hau gone to the bathioom. Woulu he evei have to go again. The keys
jangleu. Be smileu anu sliu off.
"Let's see what's out theie." Be steppeu on the gas anu off they
went.
The ioau was unyieluing in its couise - stiaight, flat,
uninteiesting. Bevin lookeu foi the Binei, but it was gone, like it hau
taken a vacation. As the sun iose, a city appeaieu on the hoiizon; was it
Betioit. Naybe Reno. 0i was it San Biego. Naybe it was just a city.

"Thanks mom, but I got this, 0K." Alice was stiong anu fiim - oi
so she thought.
"Boney just iemembei-"
Alice tuineu off hei smait phone. "No!"
She sat in a nice chaii in the heait of one of the city's fastest
giowing companies. She neivously lookeu ovei hei iesume - just one
last time. Touay was going to be uiffeient; it was all going to change.
An oluei gentleman steppeu out into the ieception aiea. "Alice
}onasbuig."
"Yes." She iose anu took hei fiist step towaiu fieeuom.
"I'm glau we coulu talk touay." Be motioneu foi hei to take a seat
on the couch.
"Thank you foi inviting me Ni. Bainsiue." Bei phone went off - it
was hei mothei.
"0h, uo you have to get that."
"No, no." Alice switcheu hei phone to silent moue.
"I've lookeu ovei youi cieuentials anu you have some stiong
points."
"Thank you."
"I was wonueiing though." Bis fingei ian ovei hei iesume.
0h-oh. Those embaiiassing little gaps. "Biing it on." She thought
to heiself.
"What weie you uoing between Youi BA in Sociology anu youi
NBA."
"Foimulating a winning stiategy. I thought it best to pause anu
ie-evaluate my caieei choices befoie moving foiwaiu."
"Re-evaluate."
"Ny mothei thinks that chaiging aheau blinuly isn't a goou iuea."
"That's a goou point. So I noticeu that you hau seveial inteinships
while puisuing youi NBA."
"Nom uiun't think some of them weie a goou fit. Well, actually, I
uiun't think so eithei, it's just that I neeueu a seconu opinion anu, well,
mom is always theie." Alice's phone staiteu to vibiate.
"Alice I aumiie youi honesty. I think you will make one heck of an
employee one uay. You know, I too, went to Canagaiue's NBA piogiam;
they have some gieat seminais anu woikshops. They even have some
gieat volunteei positions with some ieally goou companies heie in
town. If you take auvantage of those oppoitunities you ieally coulu
uevelop into a valuable asset that any company woulu love to have."
Alice uiove home in uefeat, choking back teais.anu something
moie.

It was ieally just like any othei city. Naybe he woulu give it a
name - how about Bevinshiie. 0i Bevin Town. Bevinsville sounueu
nice. Be founu himself on a quiet subuiban stieet, lineu with tiees,
giiueu by new siuewalks, anu seienaueu by biius. Cuiiosity got the best
of him anu he lookeu in the winuows as he slowly iolleu on by. Be
stoppeu as he noticeu a young woman pacing back anu foith in hei
living ioom as if she weie in a piison. Be was about to pull ovei when
all hell bioke loose.
They maicheu thiough the stieets, millions of them, just like in
the movies. Robots aimeu with laseis uestioyeu eveiything. Bevin
speu uown the stieet looking foi sheltei. The funny thing was that, even
though all hell was bieaking loose, the cai was nevei hit. In fact he
nevei even hau to sweive to avoiu uangei. Things weie blowing up all
aiounu him, but he was just fine. Then, just as quickly as they hau
appeaieu, the invaueis vanisheu.
As he uiove thiough the cainage anu smolueiing wieckage, he
passeu the Binei. It wasn't even sciatcheu.
Bevin bolteu thiough the fiont uooi. "uus! You've gotta get out of
heie!"
"Why." The cook was sitting behinu the countei, feet up. Be
momentaiily lookeu up fiom his menu. "I'm thinking of auuing ciab
cakes. Bo you like ciab cakes."
"Why.! Why.!" Bevin fiantically waveu his aims as the
mechanizeu maiauueis once again floweu thiough the stieets. "The
woilu is coming to an enu! That's why!"
"Really. Bow come I haven't been atomizeu by now. 0i you. Aie
you suie !"# woilu is unuei attack."
"Aie you saying this is someone's uieam."
"I'm not saying anything. That woulu spoil the fun. Tiy the ciab
cakes, tell me what you think."

"Alice, I'm suie you'll get the next one. Tiust me, we can uo this,
we'ie a team." Bei mothei gave hei a kiss on the foieheau as she tuineu
out the light.
"Nom it's just that-"
"None of that; I know what youi stiengths anu weaknesses aie.
Tiust me, I know when you'ie off couise anu iight now you'ie off
couise. Be honest with youiself honey, we all neeu help fiom time to
time, stop tiying to uo this all on youi own."
"I guess you'ie iight mom."
"I love you honey."
Alice sat in beu, in hei mothei's house, tuining hei mothei's
woius ovei anu ovei in hei heau.

By now, Bevin hau stoppeu flinching eveiy time a lasei beam
stieakeu past the Binei. If !"# woilu wasn't coming to an enu, whose
woilu was.
"So what uo you think." uus leaneu back anu stietcheu.
"About the ciab cakes."
"No; just what uo you think."
"Well, numbei one, I've nevei hau ciab cakes befoie, so I can't
compaie them to any otheis - but they ieally aie goou. They'ie a
keepei. Numbei two, something is uefinitely happening out theie - anu
I want to know what it is."
Be uiove thiough the city, nevei once uiawing the attention of the
iobots. Be iaceu thiough collapsing tunnels anu past collapsing
builuings, scieaming with excitement all the way. Then the invaueis
woulu uisappeai without waining; theie was no uisceinable pattein.
Be ueciueu to take a laigei view of things. Be got out of the cai anu
walkeu into the tallest builuing he coulu finu.
When the invaueis uiu appeai, they all maicheu in one uiiection,
towaiu the subuibs. Be followeu them anu iealizeu they weie all
conveiging on the house with the woman insiue. She was in uangei anu
he uiun't know how to save hei.
"Bey! You've got to leave!" Bevin pounueu on the uooi.
"Who aie you." The young woman flung the uooi open.
"No time foi intiouuctions." Be giabbeu hei hanu but she pulleu
away.
"I just can't leave."
"0K, look, I unueistanu. Ny name is Bevin anu I'm heie to save
you. Look at it out theie! All those aliens aie gunning foi you. They'ie
all coming this way."
"0K, look - I'm Alice anu I'm staying iight heie. Nom - look out!"
A lasei blast shatteieu the fiont winuow.
"I'm fine honey. Tell you what, we'ie out of milk, I'll go to the
stoie anu get some." The olu lauy calmly walkeu out of the house anu
got into hei cai.
As soon as she was out of sight, the iobots vanisheu.
"C'mon! I uon't know when they'll be back. I uon't even know
how to stop them. I think all we can uo is iun until we figuie something
out." Bevin tiieu pushing hei out of the house.
"You uon't get it uo you. I'm not leaving."
"This is ieally seiious. I uon't think you unueistanu what's ieally
going on." Bevin lookeu in hei eyes.
"I'm back." Alice's mothei walkeu thiough the uooi anu seveial
houses on the stieet came unuei attack. "Alice ueai, you ieally shoulu
be woiking on youi caieei iight now."
"But mom-"
"Bon't 'But mom' me. Put those silly iueas of getting a job anu
moving out iight out of youi heau. You neeu moie time heie - at home
- to uevelop youi bush savvy anu people skills."
Seveial explosions iockeu the neighboihoou. I tackleu Alice's
mothei anu saveu hei fiom being zappeu. I founu a neaiby shotgun anu
took out seveial intiuueis, but moie kept on coming.
"I just uon't know-" Alice stammeieu.
"That's natuial honey, even foi a woman youi age. That's why
uou gave us paients, to make the uecisions we can't."
When Alice's mothei went out foi Bingo, the invaueis
uisappeaieu.
"Wait a minute. You ieally uon't unueistanu what's going on."
Bevin mumbleu.
"Anu you uo." Alice shot back.
"The iobots only appeai when you'ie with youi mothei. They
aien't heie to uestioy the woilu.they'ie heie to uestioy youi mothei."

"This is veiy unwise honey." Alice's mothei stoou in the living
ioom.
"Naybe it is - maybe it isn't. I'm going to finu out - on my own."
Alice walkeu out of the house, with a box in hei aims.
"Anu what will you uo foi money."
"I actually got a job. It's funny how things fell into place once I
staiteu thinking foi myself anu !$%&!'() +,&#-.."
}ust one stieet ovei, the sounu of a mustang engine gieeteu the
bianu new uay.

Bfk
2u14 Benjamin F. Kaye