her, Sam stepped back into the room.
“Here you go, Sophie. I—”
Sophie was still looking into Alpha's room. Sam's eyes widened when he looked over Sophie's shoulder and saw that Alpha was missing.
“The kill switch didn't work, Sam.” She turned to face Sam. “She just got up and walked away.”
“What?” He stood there for a few moments, dumbfounded. “Well, we'd better call security.”
Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Before he could start dialing, Sophie placed a hand over the phone and looked at him.
“Please, Sam. Give her a head start, will you?”
Sam scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. “If we give her too long, it'll be too obvious.”
“Yes, I know. But she just needs a minute, Sam. One more minute to reach the tree line. Then you can call.”
Sophie and Sam both turned to face the viewing window. They stood there together in silence, staring into Alpha's room.
The brightly-colored blocks were all stacked neatly in one corner. The keyboard was sitting on top of the chair in the center of the room. The monitor was blank and the room was otherwise empty.
Sophie glanced around the room as if searching for any signs of life. But after a few moments, her eyes settled on the closed door.
Somewhere, beyond that door, Alpha was walking down the hall, down the stairs, and out into the world.
Come Away
Derry stared at the small scrap of paper sitting on his desk.
After several years of struggling with his tendency to clutter, he had become the tidiest person in the entire company. His desktop contained a flat-screen monitor, an inbox with a neatly-stacked pile of papers, a black plastic cup with three ball-point pens, and a photo of his parents.
That's what was usually there, anyway. Now, there was an unwelcome addition: an unfamiliar scrap of paper.
It was a rolled up piece of green parchment paper about three inches wide. The edges were frayed, and it was bound with a dandelion stem. The bright yellow head of the dandelion rested on top of the scrap of paper like a bow, and bits of dirt were scattered around it on his otherwise spotless and shiny desktop. The fluorescent lighting overhead cast an odd pallor on the yellow fuzz of the dandelion, making it look sickly and jagged amidst the straight lines and sharp shadows of the cubicle.
After staring for a moment, Derry picked up the little scrap of paper and unwrapped it, tossing the dandelion into the trash can next to his desk. When he unrolled the scroll, he found five small words written in smooth, ornate calligraphy.
come away, o human child.
The words sounded familiar, but Derry couldn't place them or discern their meaning. For a moment, he considered throwing it in the trash along with the dandelion. However, as he ran his fingers along the coarse, frayed edges of the parchment, he decided to set it on his desk between the pen cup and the family photo.
With his desk back in order, he sat down and turned on his computer monitor. The odd scrap of paper had been an interesting distraction, but he had plenty of work to do.
The office was abuzz with the clatter of keyboards and the whirring of desktop computers, punctuated by the occasional ringing telephone and answering voice. The air was dry and cool, bordering on cold, tinged with hints of cleaning chemicals and cheap pine-scented air freshener. The fluorescent lighting bleached the color out of everything framed by the blue-grey cubicle walls. One of the bulbs had a malfunctioning ballast that filled the entire office with a quiet high-pitched electric buzz. There were no windows, but one wall was decorated with several framed prints of outdoor scenes and a handful of plastic office plants.
“What's that?”
Derry looked up. Sean from Accounting was leaning over the grey chest-high cubicle wall and pointing at the scrap of paper on Derry's desk.
“Oh, that.” He shrugged, leaning back in his chair and rubbing the kink where his neck met his shoulders. “I don't know. I found it on my desk this morning.”
“Really?” Sean smirked. “Maybe you've got a secret admirer.”
Sean reached down and picked up the scrap of paper. His bright blue eyes studied the parchment carefully, and his smile faded slightly.
“Hmm. Given how small the letters are, their penmanship is impeccable. And I think it's a Yeats quote.”
“Ah, that's it.” Derry grinned. “I knew I'd heard it before.”
“Yeah, something about running off into the woods with the fairies.”
Derry chuckled. “I haven't been to the woods in ages. That'd be nice, though, especially on a day like this.”
“You should come out this weekend!” Sean's whole face lit up with excitement. “Me and a few of the guys are going to this summer festival in the woods on Saturday.”
“I'd love to, but I've got a lot of work to catch-”
“C'mon, Derry! When was the last time you even made it out there? Back in college?”
“Yeah.” He shook his head with a sigh. “But I-”
“No buts, Derry. You look like you could use some fresh air.” Sean leaned in closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Besides, think of all the women! Remember the last time we went to a festival out there?” Sean smirked. “I remember meeting this one redhead with the most amazing-”
Derry held up his hands and shook his head with an exasperated smile.
“Alright, you've got me.”
“I knew it!” Sean set the parchment back on Derry's desk. “Good thing the fairies left you this note, eh? I might have walked right by if I hadn't seen it.”
Derry nodded.
“I still wonder who left it there, though.”
“Maybe it really was a secret admirer?” Sean leaned closer with a smirk and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Maybe Bridget over there is going to the festival too, eh? Why don't you ask her?”
Derry looked down and chuckled quietly, glancing briefly in Bridget's general direction even though she was several cubicles away.
“I think she's started seeing someone.”
“Think? You're not sure then?”
Derry grinned and looked back at his computer screen.
“I'll see you on Saturday, Sean.”
Sean chuckled and shook his head.
“Alright, then. See you Saturday.”
Once Sean had walked away, Derry glanced over at the odd scrap of paper. He nudged it back to its spot between his pen cup and family photo. After leaning forward slightly to rub his stiff lower back, Derry looked up to his computer and returned to work.
Derry awoke a few minutes before his alarm was set to go off. After turning off his alarm, he walked into the bathroom and took a long, hot shower – a luxury which he only indulged in on Saturdays.
Derry's apartment was almost as tidy as his desk at work. Even though he hadn't been camping in years, he knew precisely where his tent and sleeping bag were. It only took him a few moments of shuffling boxes to reach them.
Breakfast was equally uneventful – a bowl of cereal and milk, with the bowl washed, dried, and put away afterward. When breakfast was done, he picked up his camping gear and headed for the door.
As he reached for the door handle, however, he froze.
There was a small scrap of paper sitting on the mat in front of the door. It was a rolled up piece of green parchment paper about the same width as the one that he had found in his office. The edges were similarly frayed, and it was also bound with a dandelion stem. Although the mat was darkly colored, Derry's keen eye for cleanliness noted that bits of dirt were scattered around the parchment on his otherwise spotless doormat.
Derry's heartbeat quickened. Even though he lived in a good neighborhood, he was always sure to lock his doors and windows, just in case. A quick twist of the doorknob confirmed that it was still locked.
After another moment's hesitation, Derry reached down and picked up the small scrap of paper. He unwrapped the dandelion bindin
g and tucked it into the pocket of his jeans. When he unrolled the scroll, he discovered a new message.
to the waters and the wild.
It was in the same smooth calligraphy as the message from his desk. He stood there in silence for a good, long minute, staring at the scrap of paper with a quizzical expression. Eventually, he shook his head with a chuckle and tucked the parchment into his pocket.
The drive to the woods was largely uneventful. Since it was a Saturday, he wasn't the only one who had decided to go out to the country, so it took him over an hour rather than the forty-five minutes he had expected.
Derry hadn't been out this way in several years, so once the densely-packed buildings started giving way to open fields and towering trees and clear blue skies, he felt a certain sense of relief and excitement come over him. He could smell the musty scents of soil and grass and Spring blossoms. The stink of car exhaust and city smells was rapidly fading. Before he knew it, he had reached the turnoff to the small lane that lead into the forest.
There were several dozen cars and vans of various makes and models parked in a grassy field just past the big sign at the entrance to the natural area. Two cars were still in motion ahead of him, looking for the best parking spot. After a minute or two of searching, Derry noticed Sean's car at the far end of the field. He pulled in at the nearest available spot and started gathering his camping gear from the trunk of his car.
“Derry!”
Derry closed his trunk and turned to look for the source of the voice. Sean was walking toward him, hand in hand with a young woman with long red hair who Derry recognized from work.
“Derry! Have you met