She chooses to walk

She couldn't take being trapped in a bus again. Besides, they probably would not even let her in. At least on foot she could flee and hide whenever she was in trouble, which she couldn't do on a bus. That said, the city just seemed to get busier as the lively nightlife began to ramp up. She still had a long way to go, and she couldn't stay in this alley forever. Sooner or later she'd be caught anyway, so it was best to get moving.

She took a few deep breaths and another good look at the map. She looked for a quiet moment and then rushed out into the street again. There were still a couple of people in view, or rather she was in view of them, but she kept on going. She dashed from alley to alley, corner to corner, getting pretty sweaty and exhausted in the process. People kept catching her, or she kept running into them, yelping and dashing away, blushing harder each time. She made good progress though, and at last made it out of the densest part of the city. Now, there was a long stretch of regular neighbourhoods, parks and commercial areas she had to cross. Hopefully though, there would be considerably fewer people out and about there.

She was beginning to feel a little bit more confident. She no longer had to dash from cover to cover, and could instead walk carefully along on the pavement past a long line of parked cars as the road snaked up a hill. Most homes had a light on, but most curtains were drawn so people couldn't see her. She was getting really tired by the time she reached the top of the hill, and especially when she saw how much further she had to go. She kept on walking though, determined to get this thing over with.

A little while later, the neighbourhood gave way to a much more openly spaced area with some hardware stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores. The open parking lots were all most empty. This meant there were fewer people around, but also fewer places for her to hide. She started out on what she hoped would be the start of the final stretch of her long degrading journey. She crossed the first lot quickly, but ran into trouble on the second. She was hiding behind a small car when suddenly she heard a voice from behind her speak in a foreign language. Surprised, she spun around to see four young people, three boys and one girl all around her age, look at her with curiosity. Julie realized she wasn't even covering up, and quickly used her hands to hide as much as she could.

"Oh- uh- I don't understand. Sorry..."

"No problem. I was just asking what you were doing by my car?"

"I... I was hiding."

"From who?"

"Well, kind of everyone."

The girl chimed in. "Yeah can't you see. She is doing some kind of dare or she lost a bet or something. I'm sure she wasn't counting on being caught."

"Yes!" Julie jumped in. "I just need to get back to my hostel. It is not so far so I should get going."

"You sure, we can drop you off if you want? I have one more spot in my car."

It was an interesting offer. It would be an awkward ride, but she was tired and afraid of running into more strangers. On the other hand, she had gotten this far. She was already so close.