Out the mall exit

Looking back towards the opposite end of the mall, Jen saw no one. She felt a heavy concern that the next time she looked, there could be someone there. The longer the security guards spoke with each other, the higher that chance would grow. Her desperation growing, Jen set her sights on the mall’s main exit.

She kept her eyes on the security office for a moment before leaving her hiding spot. The man in the office was out of view again, apparently stepping back to tend to something, while the other guard stood in the doorway. Based upon the angle he was standing, Jen felt he shouldn’t see her moving by, but there was no way for her to be certain. Any movement in the corner of his eye might draw his attention.

Trembling with the fear of being caught when she was so close to her goal, Jen finally **** herself to step away from the trash can. She focused on stepping softly; even though it seemed unlikely her bare feet would make enough noise to give her position away she wasn’t about to take any unnecessary risks. She was still able to keep a decent pace, even while watching how carefully she set her foot down.

The further she got from hiding, the more she had to fight to keep her breathing under control. Her shaken nerves tried to make her hyperventilate but that would only make matters worse. With each silent step she took, she **** herself to breathe calmly and deeply.

Jen kept her eyes firmly on the security guard, not bothering to look towards the doors. If he was going to start turning around she wanted to know immediately. She walked with her legs tensed, ready to sprint at any moment. But her luck was holding, and the guard remained engaged in his discussion with his co-worker.

A quick glance over and she saw that she still was still several yards away from the exit. She turned her eyes back towards the guard and tried to move a little quicker.

Now seeing only the back half of the guard’s head, she knew she was outside of his peripheral vision. She watched as the guard nodded, then his voice reached her. “Not a problem,” he said, “any objection to me starting the parking lot patrol after?”

Jen couldn’t hear the reply but got the sense that the conversation was wrapping up. She took three rapid, loping steps towards the door. If the guard turned away from her she’d stay in his blind spot. If he turned the other direction, she wanted to be as close to her escape as possible.

When she saw him turn towards his left, it took every bit of self-control in her body to not breathe a loud, shuddering sigh of relief. Here she was, standing completely nude from head to toe in the middle of a public mall, taking a big chance trying to sneak past someone. But her luck hadn’t quite run out.

Jen remained silent for a moment, watching as the guard turned fully away from her and began walking down the hallway. She knew that a car could drive past the exit or someone could happen to walk by and a quick glance through the glass doors would leave her completely in view, but it was late enough that Jen felt those odds were in her favor. Allowing the guard to gain a little distance before she potentially made noise by opening the door could only work to her favor.

She watched the guard gain some distance from her and finally turned back towards the door. She was only two steps away. She moved up to the left-most door and placed her hands on the crash bar. With the mall past closing hours the doors would be locked to anyone who might try to enter from the outside. Pushing the crash bar would unlock it, allowing her to exit.

She glanced around the parking lot as much as she could manage from this position. Her view was limited as the wall of the building extended another few feet on either side, but Jen was able to see enough that she felt it was safe to leave. Several cars littered the parking lot but they all appeared empty, as best she could tell from the dim lighting. She couldn’t see anyone walking, and the only motion that caught her eye was from beyond the perimeter of the mall grounds as occasional cars passed casually down the street. The perimeter of the mall was surrounded by trees and decorative grasses. As much as Jen didn’t want any chance of exposure, she felt that the odds of someone seeing her from the street beyond were well in her favor.

She pushed lightly on the crash bar. It slid less than an inch before she felt resistance. Jen increased the pressure and glanced over her shoulder. The guard kept walking away from her, oblivious to her presence. The crash bar made little noise as it moved, and soon Jen felt it stop and the door started to swing open.

Taking a deep breath Jen pushed the door open and stepped outside. She didn’t hesitate, immediately turning to her left and running as fast as she could. The soles of her feet scraped on the cement with each step but the mild pain didn’t slow her down. She wasn’t concerned with the door closing hard enough to make noise- the guard would hopefully write it off as an employee leaving, and if they decided they had to investigate Jen prayed that the bushes would hide her well enough that he wouldn’t find her.

She reached the bushes in a matter of seconds and immediately dropped down behind them. Peering out from behind the bush she could see a car in the parking lot moving towards her. Her nerves began to kick in until it passed under streetlight. It was Eve’s car, already on its way to pick her up.

By the time Eve pulled up to the curb Jen had been hiding for barely a minute. She stood up, quickly stepped around the bush and darted to the car. She had barely opened the door by the time she was squeezing through the gap and dropping into the seat. Once she pulled it shut behind her, Eve spun the wheel and stepped on the gas pedal, moving away from the curb.

“Holy hell, how did you end up going through the main doors?” she asked, laughing like crazy. “It should have been a straight shot down the hallway.”

Jen had already grabbed her clothes from the backseat and was sorting through them, looking for her bra. “That didn’t exactly go according to plan,” she said.

“Did you get caught or something?”

Jen silently shook her head, more concerned with getting dressed than talking right now.

Eve caught the movement from the corner of her eye, and pulled onto the short road that would take them off of the mall property. “Well then, if a detour was the worst thing that happened to you, I’d call that some good luck.”