Into the door.

Not wasting any more time, Jen pushed off the wall, got to her feet and ran to the gaping door. Her hands reached out and pushed the door open, just enough for her to get inside. She took two steps into the darkness beyond, pivoted and eased the door back to its previous position.

As her eyes began adjusting to the darkness she took a step to her side, away from the inch-wide gap in the door, and froze. Had there been anyone in this room they undoubtedly would have made a noise as she stepped inside. She allowed herself to relax slightly, knowing she had at least a little time to plan her next steps.

She could see shelves lined with boxes and smaller items, with a broom and vacuum stowed away in a corner. A ladder stood near the other wall, nearly reaching the ceiling. Jen saw the ceiling was comprised of tiles, with one pushed out of the way right over the ladder, exposing the rods and struts attaching the suspended ceiling to the roof.

Jen silently tip-toed through the room, heading towards the front of the store. The door leading to the main shop was open a gap and she could see the lights were off. She believed she was likely alone here, but the illumination from the mall’s commons would reach into the store. She didn’t want to brazenly walk into the shop right when someone was cleaning the windows.

Reaching the door, Jen slowly pulled it open to widen the gap. Looking to the left, she noticed that she was in a video game store. Several shelves of consoles and video games behind locked cases lined the walls. As she began to angle her view to the right a long counter started to come into view, white wood from floor to mid-thigh then glass windows standing another 18 inches tall, controllers and cords neatly on display.

As she shifted further right she saw a computer screen lit up. Freezing momentarily, Jen realized she might not be alone in the store after all. Leaning to the side, she saw a man facing away from her. He was sitting in front of the computer, staring at the screen and moving a mouse around. As she watched he typed a few numbers, paused, then a few more.

That has to be the manager, Jen thought. Counting up the day’s sales, maybe? There’s no telling how long he might be here.

The man reached for a bottle of water, and as he turned his head the computer screen illuminated the side of his face. A small ear bud was nestled in his ear, the cord trailing down towards his lap.

At least he won’t hear me.

Stepping away from the front of the store, Jen turned back towards the rear exit. Praying the departing employee had walked past, Jen wanted to just be able to slip back into the corridor and keep moving.

Once she neared the door she quickly realized this wasn’t going to be an option. At least not immediately. She heard noise coming through the crack, a light rumbling sound. She angled around the door and couldn’t see the source of the sound through the crack. Curiosity overcoming her tension, she pulled the door open a few inches and put her eye up to the gap.

The rumbling stopped and Jen saw a man in a dark gray uniform behind the trash cart. He bent down to pick up some trash bags and toss them into the cart. As he started pushing the cart away the rumbling sound resumed.

Jen realized that returning to the hallway was no longer an option. Ever since the stores had finished bringing in their inventory, the trash bags were the only hiding places she had left. She couldn’t be too very far from the end of the hall, several stores at least, but she was bound to be some ways beyond the halfway point. If she had to move slowly to keep the janitor well ahead of her, that was more time out in the open, and more time for someone to leave the store.

Sliding the door back into place, Jen leaned against the wall. Her nerves had slightly calmed when she realized she was safe in here, at least for the moment, but now she felt her heartbeat increasing again. The hallway was out of the question for a while; when the janitor finished taking garbage bags out and left the hallway she could possibly be able to get down the rest of the hall, but the man in the store might come back here before then. The store room didn’t offer much by way of hiding spaces. Jen could hunker down in a corner and pray for the best but not much else.

She began trying to work out a way to avoid being caught by the manager. If she had to wait for the janitor to finish his work in the service corridor, that was going to be a priority. Thinking back to the front of the store, Jen realized that the wood paneling of the counter was high enough for her to stay out of the manager’s sight if she laid down. He could look right towards her and his view shouldn’t show even an inch of her skin. If she could creep up to the front of that cabinet, once the manager went to the back room she could get out the front door…

Almost immediately she discarded taking things that far- going back to the mall commons didn’t hit her as a good idea. Janitors and security would still be moving about out there. If she only got a short window to get out of this store, she’d have to rely on luck to not rush right into someone’s view. If that much went well, the hiding places out there were limited. A few islands with fake plants were stood here and there but otherwise it was hiding behind trash cans which left her visible from three other sides. Hiding behind the counter was potentially workable, but going out that way might not be smart. If the manager went to the front of the store for any reason, she might be caught.

Jen looked around the room again, hoping there was something she might hide behind that she hadn’t noticed before. Her eyes fell onto the ladder.

Could I possibly hide in the ceiling? She thought. She had no idea how cramped of a space it might be, but she was certain that she would fit up there entirely. If the struts supported her weight well enough then she might even be able to move to a vacant store and take her time thinking her situation through. She wasn’t in the best physical shape and creeping along on struts might prove difficult, but it could at least get her out of sight.