Behind the nearest counter!

(chapter originally by doragom333 on writing.com)

Ducking down and out of sight, Marie breathed easier, until she realized that anyone who happened to come into the aisles from either of the sides would see her and her severe lack of clothes quite easily. Even the back aisles were too risky; she didn't know how many people were in the store! So she quickly went around the sides of the counter, looking for the least exposed area where she could at least plan her next move. But, unfortunately, they were all far too exposed to at least one main aisle for her liking. However, the good news was that she discovered that this counter was its own enclosed space, making what she had to do next obvious.

The jump was... less than graceful, to say the least. Marie wanted to clear it in one shot, but also wanted to stay low, so she ended up catching her foot on the edge, falling square onto the glass countertop with a loud splat! Clenching up, Marie looked around, but thankfully there were still no onlookers. Quickly crawling the rest of the way, Marie was safely over the edge and tucking herself into a corner.

Crouched on the ground, rubbing her breasts which were a little sore from being dragged along the countertop, and holding her bag held in front of her as her only method of protection, Marie looked around. She seemed to be inside of a customer service counter, providing a small measure of relief to her. Regular old customers couldn't be inside here, and there was even a waist-high door on the side to prevent entry. The bad news was that once the salesperson came back to this area, she was screwed! But she couldn't cross between departments as she was with the store all lit up like this!

She puzzled and fumed over this for a good few minutes, as well as putting in some time to lament her situation, but then she realized something. Since this was customer service, then there had to be things she could use, non-electronic things! It would only be temporary cover, like bags and tape,, but anything was better than what she had now!

But just as Marie started to raid the counter's supply cabinets, she suddenly heard a sound that filled her with dread once again. That sound was, in fact-