Run down the hallway

Knowing she might be pressing her luck, Jen turned around and started walking down the corridor. She was careful to set her feet down quietly but moved quickly, settling into a loping gait combined with tip-toeing. She couldn’t hear any noise she was making, and knew the lady waiting in the hallway wouldn’t either.

As she moved down the hall she listened carefully, hoping she would hear something alerting her to the lady moving before she stepped into view. Jen expected some sort of statement when the male employee joined her, a ‘finally’ or ‘it’s about time’. But she knew there wasn’t any guarantee they’d say anything. They could simply start heading to the door.

Jen picked up her pace a little as she made further distance. She was making a tiny bit of noise as she walked. Not much, just barely audible to her. Even with any echo from the hallway she felt safe with the slight increase in sound, if it helped her get away quicker.

She heard nothing coming from behind her. A quick glance over her shoulder showed nothing but an empty hallway. So far so good.

She reached the end of the corridor and slowed so she could look around the corner. She saw another service hallway, identical to the one she’d started in. No inventory boxes were in view, only stacks of trash in various sizes. As she made sure the coast was clear she heard footsteps down the hall. She couldn’t tell if they were getting closer or further away. Looking to her left, she saw another large exit door, nearly identical to the one behind her. She didn’t know offhand if there was any sort of hiding place right outside this door, like there was next to the exit Eve was expecting her to come out of. She could take her chances escaping through that door, knowing it was a risk, but if she had no other options she would have to take her chances and wing it.

She had no idea if the departing employees might turn in her direction or not. They might not even come towards the exit Jen was supposed to take, now that she thought about it.

Another sound coming from the hallway to her right made up her mind. She’d have preferred to here until the employees left and head back that direction, but now that didn’t seem safe either. Jen stepped forward to the exit. Pushed the crash bar. Peered outside. A parking lot mostly empty, some cars parked here and there. No sounds of any engines, no one walking that she could see. She pushed the door open and stepped into the night.

Thank god, a little more luck holding out, Jen thought as she spotted some landscaping to the right of the door. A bush and a thin, decorative evergreen planted right next to her. She moved behind the plants and ducked down low. Now she had to wait for the employees to exit, and she could think out how to get to the bushes Eve was going to pick her up from.

She was waiting for less than a minute when she heard an engine starting. Ahead and to her left a car’s headlights came on. It started creeping out of its parking spot and turning towards the mall.

Shortly after the car started moving the service door to Jen’s left opened. Illumination from the hall spilled out, and Jen watched as two people exited. A young man and young lady. Likely the impatient woman Jen had heard in the hallway, waiting to take her co-worker home. They turned away from Jen, quickly walking towards the parking lot on the side of the mall.

The car reached the end of the parking row and turned towards Jen. She recognized it as Eve’s car. She wasn’t going to make Jen dash to the other bushes.

The car pulled to a stop in front of Jen. Looking to her side, she saw that the two employees had passed the corner of the mall and were in the parking lot, but Jen would still be in their line of sight if they looked back.

Eve leaned over and unlatched the passenger door, pushing it open. Jen didn’t want to keep her waiting, worried that Eve might drive further away out of her twisted sense of amusement. Taking a quick stock of her surroundings, Jen felt it was dark enough that even if the two departing employees fully stopped and watched, they wouldn’t know Jen was naked during a quick move from the bushes to the car. Even if they could tell, there was no way they could possibly know who she was.

Standing up, Jen darted around the bushes and made a beeline to the car. She kept her eyes locked towards the employees. They didn’t turn around, they didn’t even slow down. Jen dropped into the car seat and pulled the car door shut.

“Did you get a little turned around?” Eve asked, laughing.

Jen leaned between the two front seats as she gathered her clothes before answering, “you see those two employees leave? Had to take a side corridor to get away from them.”

“Oh, so they didn’t catch you?”

“No,” Jen said, putting her bra on.

“Did anyone catch you?”

Jen only shook her head, focused on getting the clasps hooked behind her back.

“Sounds like a success to me,” Eve said.

She didn’t get any answer to that remark. Jen was solely focused on getting dressed. Eve turned the steering wheel, aiming for the mall exit.