Out the front of the store.

Jen crept to the end of the aisle, away from the back room, and looked around the corner towards the front doors. Straight across from the store was an island, centered in the middle of the hallway. The island was populated by two fake palm trees and a few bushes. Jen knew a few different such islands were built in the mall for decoration but now she saw it as the best hiding spot she could find once she left the store. The door was undoubtedly locked, but the inside handle had a crash bar that would let her out.

I can’t believe I’m even considering this, Jen thought, nervously glancing in the direction of the stock room. There can’t be many people working but still…

Looking through the large, glass door she leaned to the side to try to get a wider angle of view. She saw no one in the commons, no janitors, no security guards. She couldn’t see everything but it started to seem possible to get to the island without being detected.

Another scuffling noise came from the back room. Jen peered over the shelving unit and glanced over to the door but didn’t see anything. She knew she could be stuck here longer than she wanted to be if she waited it out. With her sense of desperation growing worse, Jen left the aisle she hid in and moved quietly to the glass door. She paused long enough to look around and, seeing no one, she slowly pushed the crash bar and opened the door.

Jen stepped into the large, long hallway, glanced around for a second then immediately moved towards the island. Her luck was holding. She could hear some quiet sounds from either direction but no one was in view. Once she reached the island she planted a foot on the tiled riser, stepped up and quickly slipped between a tree and a bush. She was well covered on three sides, and partially covered on her right. With no one immediately around she felt it was safe to hold up here for the time being.

She jumped in fright when the door to the cosmetic’s door closed with a surprising amount of sound. Cursing at herself, Jen realized that she had forgotten to ease it closed. She’d simply dashed for the island, frantic to get herself into hiding. She pushed herself deeper into the bush, certain the woman left in the store would come to investigate.

Without delay, she saw the lady step out of the storage room and glance around. Seeing no one, Jen watched as the clerk walked further into the store, looking around.

God that was stupid of me, Jen thought.

She slid back further into her hiding place, the fake plant’s branches scratching against her butt and ribs. Once Jen could barely see the store clerk through the plastic leaves she froze in place. The clerk walked through the store slowly, checking the aisles as she moved. Eventually she reached the doors and looked around, left to right and back again. Jen held her breath, worried that any motion might give away her presence. She had talked herself into taking this risk, she didn’t want it to result in getting caught so quickly.

Eventually the clerk turned away and walked towards the sales counter. Jen finally exhaled, air practically bursting from her lungs. She watched as the lady glanced behind the sales counter, then started walking back to the storage room, checking the aisles again as she went. Soon she disappeared back into the room, and Jen felt herself slightly relaxing.

Now that she was out of the danger of being discovered by the store clerk, Jen looked around and estimated she was approximately halfway through the mall. Eve was outside somewhere, dead ahead and waiting for her. Glancing backwards, Jen saw movement in the corner of her eye. She froze for a moment then craned her head slowly until she was able to spot what it was.

A security guard was approaching, checking doors as he walked to make sure they were locked. He was still a good distance away, walking slowly. Jen didn’t want to be stuck here waiting for him to pass and get out of sight, even though she knew that was the smart move. Her patience was running thin and she was anxious to get dressed again.

Taking a deep breath, she looked ahead. Between the myriad stores lining the hallway, several obstacles were scattered around. The closest was a dark blue bench, and beyond that was a kiosk filled with sunglasses. She glanced back towards the guard and mentally worked out a path she could take that she felt should keep the trees between them as she darted for the bench. From there she could think out her next move.

Still squatting, Jen eased forward, avoiding rustling the branches of the fake bush and angled herself left around the trees. Once she was clear of the bush she took a few short steps then hopped down from the island, her breasts and butt bouncing with the impact. Immediately she took to rushing forward, stepping as rapidly as she could to avoid making noise, her hands pressed tight against her breasts and vagina, glancing backwards to adjust her angle so she would stay out of the guard’s line of sight.

Reaching the bench she quickly rounded it and squatting back down. The back and seat of the bench were solid plastic, not slats like many benches used. Her feet could be seen if the guard happened to look down, but she felt she was squatting low enough for her head to stay out of view. Peeking over her shoulder, she realized the sunglasses kiosk was towards her right. She wouldn’t be able to head towards it without getting in sight of the guard.

She leaned back and peeked around the side of the bench. The guard was past the trees now, still walking slowly, a bored look on his face.

He wouldn’t look bored if he’d seen me running, Jen thought.

As her mind started to turn back to the problem ahead of her, Jen heard a short squawk of static front the guard’s direction, followed by a tinny voice. She glanced back around the bench and saw the guard taking his radio off of his belt and hold it to his mouth.

“Yeah?”

Jen couldn’t make out the words coming through the radio but watched as the guard’s expression went from bored to annoyed.

“Can’t Phil handle that? I’m making sure the stores are all locked.”

The guard listened for a few seconds, shook his head and said “fine, fine. I’m on it.” After clipping the radio back onto his belt he turned around and started walking away.

Jen felt like she’d dodged a big bullet. Breathing out, she felt a sense of relief as she simultaneously cursed her impatience. She knew that if she was ever going to get caught during one of these humiliating runs Eve put her through, that was going to be the reason.

She returned to moving, slightly bent over, covering herself with her hands, stepping quickly but quietly, the hard tile cold against her bare feet. At the kiosk she ducked down again for a moment, looked around again to make sure she was alone before standing and starting to jog once more.

She continued alternating between hiding and moving ahead for thirty yards before Jen began to hear voices. She slowed her pace and made her way towards another bench. She could tell the voices were coming from up ahead, on her left, but she didn’t see anyone. Beyond several stores she saw a hallway, a restroom sign jutting out from the wall. Beyond that, straight ahead of her, and saw one of the main entrances to the mall. The only thing between her and that exit was a trash can.

Jen side-stepped around the bench and tip-toed to the trash can. Before she reached it she was able to see further down the hallway. She paused, completely exposed from all sides for a moment, before she decided she would be better off hidden from at least one side. She took a series of rapid, inaudible steps and began ducking just before she reached the trash can.

Peering out from behind the trash can, Jen saw the source of the noise. A security guard, standing at a doorway, facing away from her, talking to someone inside a brightly lit room. She tried to make herself as small as possible so not even an inch of her bare skin would be visible from behind the garbage can and listened carefully

“Bob seriously said that?” said the man in the doorway, followed by a short chuckle.

Jen heard someone in the room reply but couldn’t make out what was said. She waited behind the garbage can, watching the guard as he carried on a conversation.

That should be a hallway to get to the service corridor I’m supposed to leave through, she realized after a few minutes of analyzing the situation. But how long are they going to be talking there?

As she spied on them, the other person in the room stepped forward into view. It was another security guard. Jen began thinking that must be their office.

“Telling you, man, I miss that guy. Wish he didn’t quit,” the guard said.

Jen began looking around, worried someone would come up behind her. She was only hidden from one angle. Otherwise she was a sitting duck.

She looked again towards the main entrance to the mall. She hadn’t noticed any cars or people going by since she had taken to hiding here. But she recognized that she’d been focused on the security guards and might not have noticed any movement outside.

Jen looked back to the two guards. If they broke up their conversation soon then she might be able to go down that hallway, which should lead her to the exit she was supposed to take. She also knew that the longer she waited here, the more likely it was that someone would come from behind and see her. She really hated the idea of taking her chances going out the main doors. She would be completely in the open and would have to sprint to the bushes Eve was expecting her at.

Either way I could be in real trouble here, Jen thought. I just need to make a decision and stick to it…