Hide behind the boxes and trash

The more Jen thought of making her way to the clothing rack, the less she liked her chances. She’d be exposed for at least a few seconds- dashing out, sliding clothes out of the way while trying to stay silent, then getting into the alcove and moving the clothes back. The more she considered it the less feasible it seemed. With only one person currently coming to the stock room, she felt she would have more time where she could avoid being detected if she went for the trash bags.

She waited for the employee to return and take more clothes out to the store. If she went for the trash bags too early the lady might return before Jen had managed to hide herself completely.

Several minutes passed until she finally started hearing footsteps heading towards her. She ducked down lower and tried to hide behind the two stacked boxed. If the employee took either the top box or the box next to her side, Jen would still be hidden.

She heard the curtain swish and knew the employee had arrived. There was a short pause, then the upper box was lifted and carried away. After hearing two steps Jen peeked up. The lady’s back was turned to Jen, and she watched as the employee walked through the curtain, hauling the box.

“Two more,” she called out.

Jen got her feet, turning towards the trash bags.

“I’ll grab one in a minute, just a few more shirts to arrange.”

Now standing, Jen moved to the trash pile. She hadn’t thought of how she would manage this earlier. If she moved the folded boxes aside before going under the trash bags she wouldn’t be able to put them back in place. If she wasn’t careful moving the trash bags then the cardboard might tip over. If either of the employees noticed something out of place, it could only end badly for her.

“The other two go on the shelves in the back, I think,” Jen heard the younger lady say.

Jen heard the other employee answer but couldn’t make out what was said. She went to the left side of the trash pile, the side closest to the door back to the hallway, and slid the trash bags away from the wall.

When she had a created a gap she started squeezing behind the bags, pushing them further out as she needed to. Reaching deeper into the pile as she went, she created more space for herself but kept an eye on the two entrances to the front of the store, worried that someone would walk in before she was fully hidden. Her nerves started to ease once she was out of sight of the door straight across from her. Her caution in moving the bags away from the wall was rewarded in the collapsed boxes not tipping over.

Soon she was in the midst of the pile and started pulling bags tighter around her. She was thankful she didn’t feel anything wet in the trash and didn’t smell anything. It was likely all paper and plastic trash, but thin plastic garbage bags tore easily and she didn’t want to end up covered in the uneaten remains of someone’s lunch.

Finally she was cocooned in the pile of trash and boxes, her knees pulled tight to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. She made a small gap between two bags above her and angled her head to try to hear what was going on in the store. An occasional word of discussion between the employees reached her but it was too muffled to hear. Otherwise all she could hear was various sounds of movement, some closer than others but nothing immediately outside of her hiding place.

After waiting for a few minutes, she heard someone approaching and enter the room, shortly in front of her. Jen started to grow concerned but the sound of a rustling cardboard box immediately eased her fears. It must have been the older employee, tending to the last of the inventory. She’ll be here for a while, Jen thought, trying to settle in for more waiting. Beyond the sound of the boxes being handled, she heard a whirring hum at some distance away. After a moment she was able to identify it as a vacuum. Soon the last of the work would be done and the employees would be leaving- likely taking the trash out with them.

She sat waiting, trying to think of the best way to get back to the hallway. She’d moved to this hiding place specifically to buy time to think of an escape plan, but instead she’d wasted precious minutes trying to track the employees’ activities. She used a hand to gently move some bags away from the wall. The door to the service corridor was still wide open. All she would need was a good minute or two to get out from under these bags and out the door.

Maybe another distraction? She thought. No, that employee is right here, there’s no way she won’t know where anything thrown comes from. I can’t be quiet enough to sneak out of these bags while her back is turned, they’d make too much noise…

Eventually she settled on the fact that waiting was all she had. An opportunity would present itself. It had to. She’d gotten this far…

“Actually, Katie,” a voice cut through Jen’s thoughts, grabbing her attention. “You can take off if you want. There’s not much left and I can wrap it up. I’m supposed to keep an eye on personnel’s hours, you know.” Jen heard a response from the younger employee in the store but couldn’t make out what was said, then “Well you know corporate, every penny counts.”

The hum of the vacuum stopped and Jen heard approaching footsteps. She barely heard the swish of the curtain before the employee spoke again. “Okay, no sweat. I got the right half of the store vacuumed, left half is all that’s left.”

Perfect, Jen thought. When the other lady goes out to finish cleaning I can get out of here.

“Need me to take the trash to the hall on my way out?”

Her heart dropped. Both employees where right next to her. If they started taking the trash out now…

“Umm… grab the boxes and a bag or two on your way out,” the older woman said. “Whatever you can carry in one trip. Don’t make a second trip, I’ll get the rest before I take off.”

Okay, maybe I’m not sunk yet, Jen thought.

“Easy enough! See you tomorrow.”

“Have a great night!”

She squeezed her legs even tighter to her chest and ducked her head down as low as she could. There was no way to predict which bags might be taken, all she had now was trying to make herself as compact as possible.

She heard noise right outside of her hiding place and soon felt the bags just barely shifting around her. She’s just getting the boxes, Jen thought. The bags will move next…

After a few seconds rustling there was a pause in noise, then a loud crunch from a bag over her, to her left. Jen quickly ducked her head right and watched in terror as the bag lifted up. Reacting quickly she reached up, grabbed the remaining bag overhead and gave it a little tug. It didn’t need more encouragement. The bag tipped over and landed, remaining on the pile and re-hiding the top of Jen’s head.

Please tell me you didn’t see anything… Please tell me you can’t carry a second bag…

The next sound that Jen heard was footsteps. They passed by ahead of her and then to her right. Glancing over, peering through the sliver of vision she’d given herself, Jen saw the lady step through the doorway and into the hall, her hands full of refuse.

Feeling intense relief, Jen took a deep, quiet breath. The older employee was still in the room with her, the ongoing sound of walking around and items being shifted about making its way softly through the trash bags. Several minutes passed before Jen heard the sound of the woman walking away and the whisper of the curtain being moved aside.

This should be her moment. She held in place, praying to hear the sound of the vacuum starting back up. Her patience was rewarded when the hum filled the air again.

Jen didn’t hesitate and immediately got to work shifting the bags on her right away from the wall again. She took some care to not make too much noise, but still moved quickly. She wasn’t going to bother putting the bags back in place- if the hallway was clear then she was going out the door and moving, and the bags could fall wherever gravity took them.

Once she had a gap large enough Jen poked her head out and looked around. The vacuum was still running and there was no one in sight. She held the bags in place with one hand and crawled towards the door. She couldn’t hear any sound over the noise of the lady cleaning the store. Either the hallway was empty or any noise was too quiet to be heard over the vacuum’s whir.

In one quick motion Jen got to her feet and stepped to the door, letting the bags fall. Her head darted out of the doorway as she heard them drop to the ground. The noise wasn’t loud, but she felt there was a definite chance the employee could hear them. Whether they would write it off as the stack falling over on its own or something to investigate, Jen wasn’t going to bother finding out. Once she saw the hallway was empty she was through the doorway and stepping quickly down the hall.

An immediate sense of relief hit her now that she was moving again, that she was closer to this terrible night being over. She knew wasn’t out of the woods yet. As the hallway curved there was always the chance that she might encounter someone. She couldn’t hear anything ahead of her, but if someone was waiting for a ride and silently playing on their phone, Jen could walk straight into their field of view if she wasn’t careful.

The hallway no longer contained any boxes of inventory, only trash and folded cardboard. While she still had potential hiding places, most of the trash piles were smaller than the stacks of boxes had been. Occasionally she saw one that would easily cover every inch of her from one side, but those were few and far between. Jen found herself thinking that if she encountered anyone she’d be better off turning back and getting away from them rather than trying to hide behind most of these spots.

Just as she started to wonder how much further she had to go, she followed the curve of the hallway and saw the service door ahead. Two more shop doors stood to her right, both closed, followed by a corridor splitting off. But beyond the corridor stood her exit, a large metal door, painted gray, complete with a crash bar to work the latch.

Jen broke into a near jog, her arms pressed hard against her breasts and vagina, more out of instinct to protect what little modesty she could than a strong concern of being seen. There had been no sign of life since she’d gotten to the hallway. Certainly there would be a janitor about somewhere to collect the trash and boxes but she couldn’t hear anything that indicated that anyone was nearby.

She passed by the shop doors without slowing but dropped her speed as she neared the hallway. Even though sound echoed through the halls well, she didn’t want to take any unnecessary chances. She stopped and peeked around the corner, saw it was clear and hustled over to the exit.

After another short pause to crack the heavy steel door open and look for bystanders, Jen quickly stepped outside and darted into the bushes on her left. She huddled down, able to get the bulk of herself out of sight without issue. Her head still stuck up over the top of the bush, but if anyone might happen to come by she could crouch down lower or even sit on the ground, and she would be totally out of view.

She wasn’t waiting more than ten seconds when she heard an engine start. A car at the far end of the parking lot ahead of her eased out of its spot and flipped its headlights on. It turned towards her and started picking up speed. It was the only time Jen could imagine feeling relieved to see Eve.

The car swung out to its right, turned hard and pulled up next to the curb. Jen stood and dodged around the bushes, then sprinted towards the car. After yanking the door open she flopped into the seat. Eve was picking up speed before the door was fully closed.

“Well now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Eve asked, laughing.

Jen didn’t answer her, only reached in the back seat to gather up her clothes. She dropped them on her lap and hunted for her bra. She was pulling it on when Eve spoke again.

“Oh come on, don’t be like that. Better than the park? Worse?”

“You know exactly how I feel,” Jen said in annoyance as she unfolded her t-shirt.

Eve only answered with a giggle, and turned towards the exit from the mall.