Run for it

Not wanting to be in this situation any longer, Jen turned and broke into a sprint. Any thoughts of being quiet left her mind. Her bare feet slapped along the tile floor, one after the other, in rapid succession. Even if the woman who’d tried messing with the box heard, Jen was determined to make enough distance that the clerk wouldn’t bother trying to follow.

Rounding the curve didn’t bring Jen within sight of the exit yet. She knew it had to be coming soon though. She glanced back. The empty box she’d abandoned was just passing out of sight.

Another several yards down the hall and she saw the exit door, steel with a thick coat of gray paint and a wide crash bar in front. The hallway was devoid of people, more trash and a single unopened inventory box lying about. Two shop doors lined the wall on the right, both closed, with a service corridor branching off beyond them.

Jen’s breath increased from the exertion of running. She wasn’t much of a gym-goer. Even though she hadn’t been running a great distance, she’d been moving as fast as she could and she’d have to slow down eventually to catch her breath. But she wasn’t going to stop now, not unless she absolutely had to.

She passed the two closed doors and neared the hallway. Finally she slowed down. She came to a stop at the corner and peered into the corridor. It was empty. Jen allowed herself a few seconds to take some deep breaths, then darted across the hall. She hit the exit at speed, jammed the crash bar in and shoved the door open.

Immediately to her left she saw the patch of bushes. A hasty few steps over and she was behind cover. She ducked down and looked out over the parking lot. Several cars remained in the lot, parked at sporadic locations. Streetlamps lit the grounds here and there, but most of the lot was dark.

Straight ahead of Jen’s current position a car’s engine turned over and the headlights turned on. A moment later the car pulled out of its spot and turned towards her. Jen used the short wait to try to catch her breath. She wasn’t exhausted but her heart was just starting to slow down after the mad dash.

The car drove towards her, swung a little to its right then took a hard left. As it pulled up to the curb Jen left her hiding place, stepping sideways around the bush and darting to the car.

The second the door was open wide enough Jen stepped in and planted herself in the seat. She shut the door and Eve started driving.

“You’re breathing a little hard,” Eve said, smiling.

Jen was reaching into the backseat, collecting her clothes. “I ran the last distance,” Jen said.

She pulled the clothes onto her lap and began sorting through them. Quickly locating her sandals she dropped them on the floor. Once she located her bra she started pulling it on.

“Oh, you had to run?” Eve asked. “Did someone happen to catch a naked woman in the halls?”

“No,” Jen muttered, fastening her bra. “I ran to avoid getting caught.”

Eve laughed a little and smiled to herself. She knew Jen wouldn’t say much more than this so she let the subject drop. Spinning the steering wheel, she headed towards the mall exit and let Jen get dressed in silence.