Sneak out the front door

The anxiety to get moving again became overwhelming, and Jen decided she was going to make a run for the front door. She tried to peer out of her hiding place but the wall blocked her view to the stock room. She’d have to move some clothes out of the way before she could try to see anything that direction.

She started near the center and began shifting clothes to the right, intending to make the gap in clothing on the left side, nearest the front door. Inching the clothes over bit by bit, being careful to not scrape the hangers against the pole, she started creating an opening. Jen listened intently while she worked, and heard nothing but the remaining employee tending to things in the back room.

Within a few minutes Jen slid the last of the clothes out of the way and made a gap large enough for her to fit through. She leaned forward slowly until she could see the back room. The curtain remained in place but she was able to see a short distance into the room beneath where the curtain ended. She could tell there was one box of inventory remaining, but she couldn’t see the top of the box- if it was still closed then the employee would have a bit more work left. If it was open, she could only have a few things left to arrange before she came in and tended to the vacuuming.

While Jen watched she saw the woman’s legs come into view. They stood facing the box for a moment, at one point one foot slightly leaving the ground, then turned and walked away.

She just grabbed more clothes, Jen thought. Leave now!

Immediately Jen stepped out of the alcove, stood enough to relieve the burning in her overworked thighs and hustled to the front door. She didn’t waste any time moving the clothes back in place, fully aware that the employee was likely to notice this and worry that someone had been hiding there. Jen wasn’t sure how much longer the lady would be occupied in the back room and wanted to get moving as soon as she could.

Reaching the front door she peered through the glass and looked around. She saw no one in the area but she didn’t have the best vantage point. About a foot of wall extended past the sides of the windows, blocking any view she might have of the far ends of the mall. But she knew she was short on time and she’d have to chance it. Outside the door, halfway between this store and the shop immediately across from her, was a dark blue bench. Jen put her hands on the crash bar and slowly, steadily pushed the door open.

Stepping out of the store, Jen immediately looked around, ready to sprint if anyone was close to her. She saw nothing. There was a humming sound down towards the food court, potentially a vacuum or floor buffer, but she couldn’t see anyone moving about. In the other direction, the direction she had to go, she didn’t see anyone. She let the door gently close and turned, scurrying towards the bench.

She knelt behind it and took another look around. The bench only covered her from one side and she knew she couldn’t stay here for long. Hearing the humming sound behind her, she knew it was likely that someone was down in that direction and she wanted to be in a better hiding spot as soon as possible.

Shortly beyond the bench was a trash can. She’d have the same issue there as she did the bench, only being hidden from one side. Beyond that was an island, with several fake trees and bushes embedded in gravel. Jen quickly glanced at the store and saw that the clerk was still in the back room. She stood and quickly jogged beyond the trash can and straight to the island. She stepped up and moved into the first bush and looked around. Her head was well above the top of the bush, but she saw no one. She moved further into the island, in between two fiberglass palm trees. This felt like a better place to hide for a moment. The trees were solid cover and the bushes around concealed her from almost every angle the trees didn’t.

Feeling well hidden, she rested for a moment so she could think out her next moves. She looked toward the end of the mall behind her and still saw no one. The humming sound still came from that direction but it seemed quieter now. Jen hoped that meant whoever was behind her was moving further away. Looking to each side she was surrounded by two closed stores, their lights turned off. Dead ahead she could see the exit of the mall, still about forty yards away, large glass doors leading outside. She peered around at the other stores around her, and noticed one on the left with the lights still on.

Creeping forward, Jen tried to get a better view of the inside of the store. It seemed possible that the last employees forgot to turn the lights off as they left, but Jen didn’t want to chance moving forward only to walk straight into someone’s view. She reached the last fake tree, a tall, thin one, and peered around it.

She just barely saw movement in the store as someone walked back out of view. The glimpse was short enough that Jen couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman she’d seen, just someone walking around inside.

Well that answers that question, she thought. If she could see further into the store then she could try to time a good moment to move past it. But unless she left the island she only had a partial view of things. The next object she could take cover behind was another trash can. That would leave her far more visible than her current location. I’ll give it some time, check the store every few minutes. They have to be closing any minute.

She sat back and pulled her knees tight to her chest. Being patient wasn’t her strong suit normally, much less so when Eve was sending her out on these excursions. But she could **** herself to wait this time.

She waited another few minutes then looked towards the shop again. The lights were now off. She got back to her feet, staying low to the ground and edged forward again. It was difficult to see in the darkness but she was pretty sure the store was empty now. She stepped around the last tree, parted a fake bush with her hands so she could walk through and hopped off the island.

She was tempted to go straight past the trash can and up to the next bench but caution made her pause and take cover yet again. Looking backwards, there was still no one behind her. She leaned around the front of the trash can and saw movement. Ducking back out of instinct, she leaned to her side again and peered out. One of the mall security guards was moving down the hallway towards her.

Oh shit, did they see me? Did someone else see me and call security? Jen’s mind raced with thoughts, that perhaps the store wasn’t empty even though its lights were off, that someone, somewhere had seen her and she hadn’t even noticed they were around.

She watched the guard carefully, letting only one eye look out from behind the trash can. When the guard got closer she would pull back entirely, try to make sure not even an inch of her was in view, but for now she was hoping to get an idea if he was just on a normal patrol or heading somewhere specific.

As he got closer she saw a look of annoyance on his face. She heard a tinny voice come through his radio but couldn’t make out what was being said, but watched as the guard raise the radio to his mouth to reply.

“Yeah, I’m heading there now,” he said, shaking his head.

This time Jen could hear the voice over the radio. “Can you hurry? She’s really worried, man.”

“I am hurrying,” the guard said, not changing his pace.

The woman in the clothing store, Jen finally realized. She’d noticed the gap in the clothing rack and called security after all.

The guard got close enough that Jen no longer felt safe watching him. She pulled back and hunkered behind the trash can, up on the balls of her feet and ready to move. Only being hidden from one angle, she would have to move around the trash can in time with the guard as best she could, in the hopes of staying out of view.

Using only short, little peeks around the trash can Jen started shifting to her right. Step by step she worked around the trash can, trying to keep her head below the rim, attempting to keep herself completely out of the guard’s sight. Over the course of several seconds she moved from her original position to the side of the trash can, and eventually ending at the opposite side from where she started.

With the guard now facing away from her Jen looked around the side of the can and saw him reach the store. He approached the door and the woman in the shop opened it for him. The alarmed look on Jen’s face made her feel a bit bad, knowing her actions were causing the employee to feel unsafe. But she knew it was better than getting caught like this, without any clothes.

Once the guard followed the woman into the store Jen immediately got up and started hustling towards the exit again. She passed another bench, this time without stopping. She reached another island of phony bushes and trees, hiding in it briefly to make sure no one around, then got back on the move. She moved past a bench, then up to the last trash can between her and the exit. She took cover one last time and looked around. She still saw no one behind her, though the security guard could possibly leave the store at any moment. Ahead and on the left she saw a hallway running away from the commons area. Thinking through the mall layout in her head she felt it was likely to lead to the service corridor she started in, and she could reach door she was supposed to exit through. She stood and started moving in that direction, but noticed an open door a few yards into the hallway. Confused, she moved slightly closer.

After seeing a filling cabinets she stepped forward again and saw lights on the walls, indicating several monitors were on and casting the glow. That’s the security office, she realized. There’s probably someone in there, if the door’s wide open like that.

Jen paused and looked at the front doors of the mall. Since she’d gotten close to the exit she hadn’t seen any cars drive by or people moving around. She really didn’t like the idea of going that direction, knowing she would be completely exposed for a distance, especially when the door she was expected to exit through was right next to some plants she could hide behind. But she disliked the open door to the security office even less.

She hastily moved up to the exit and peered outside. The parking lot was close to empty, only a few cars sitting scattered across the asphalt. She knew that someone could be sitting in any one of these cars, could potentially see her if she ran for it. But she couldn’t see anything in the cars, no movement, no overhead dome lights. It was late enough that she didn’t feel it was likely that someone would just be sitting there.

Jen pressed the bar on the door and eased it open. A quick step through and she felt the cool night air on her skin. Instantly she broke into a run, not caring if the door made any noise when it closed. She sprinted as fast as she could, glancing around for any sign of people around, heading straight towards the bushes Eve was expecting her at.

She heard a car start moments before she got into hiding. She passed the door to the service corridor and immediately got behind the bushes. Looking up she saw a car, headlights on, pull out of a parking space and start heading her way. Eve.

The car moved down the aisle, veered to Jen’s right then turned hard to the left. It pulled up next to the sidewalk and Jen was running towards it before it came to a complete stop. Yanking the door open she practically dived into the seat. Eve let off the brake and the car began moving again.

“Do I even want to know why you left the hallway?” She asked, laughing.

Jen felt around in the back seat, located her clothes and hauled them up front, onto her lap. “No one caught me, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

She found her bra in the pile of clothes and put her arms through the straps.

“Well come on, tell me what happened!”

“Hallway got crowded, I had to cut through a store.”

Eve laughed again, “well you’ll need to fill me in on the details sometime!”

Jen shook her head, focused on fixing the clasp behind her back. Once her bra was secured she started working on her t-shirt next. “I’d rather not. Just get me out of here.”