Take her chances

More from a sense of desperation than any remote feeling of bravery Jen stepped out of the trees and headed northeast, back towards the trail and the parking lot. She moment she was out in the open her nerves faltered and screamed at her to go back to the trees but she **** herself to keep walking dead ahead. She let her eyes watch for anyone ahead of her, as well as slightly left and right, but she refused to look over towards the fisherman. If he was looking at her, she felt better not knowing.

The way ahead was all dirt, pebbles and small clusters of short grass. Jen watched only to avoid stepping on any large rocks and otherwise kept walking at a deliberate pace. A cluster of trees stood in the distance ahead of her and she knew the trail to the parking lot was directly beyond that. She set those trees as her target and continued walking.

With every step she felt anxiety building deep inside her. She wanted to break into a sprint but feared faster movement would certainly draw the fisher’s attention.

Just keep walking… you’re okay… No one can tell…

She felt the sensation of dozens of eyes on her but shook that off as a side effect of her fear. At most the man in the boat was looking at her, the people in the other craft were too far away to see more than someone walking. That alone was enough to cause her pulse to skyrocket, but she knew it couldn’t possibly be more than that one person who could see her.

Just keep walking…

She was over halfway to the next set of trees. Jen’s feet had grown sore from stepping through nature barefoot. She was mentally and emotionally drained and she knew the constant tension of her ordeal would have her physically exhausted once she could relax.

Unable to fight the urge to look away anymore, Jen slightly turned her head and looked at the fisher from the corner of her eye. His focus was still on the water. He finished reeling in his line and re-cast it out. For a split second he glanced her way, then looked back forwards.

Oh my god, he must have seen me!

She kept her eye trained on him for several more seconds but he didn’t look her way again.

Either he thinks I’m wearing some kind of skin-colored covering, or he literally doesn’t care that I’m naked out here. I can guess which is more likely…

Marginally emboldened by knowing he had no interest in staring at her, Jen began walking faster. She didn’t glance back again, only looked ahead for any signs of people. There was no sign of life outside the occasional insect noises.

Jen reached the trees and ran the last three steps into cover. Once well out of sight she collapsed against a tree and began trying to catch her breath. Her luck had held out once again. She could glimpse the path heading northwards through the trees and knew she was on the final leg of her walk.

After several minutes of forceful breathing Jen eased away from the tree and began slinking towards the path. She knew she could finish the walk staying in the tree line the whole way but she wanted to move faster than this would allow. Getting on the path was the only option that allowed this.

Once she neared the trail Jen could see that she was still close to where the tree line started back up, a little too close to the main park grounds for comfort. Even though she felt she would hear anyone approaching she strongly preferred having a line of trees on both sides to avoid the number of directions someone could approach her from. Obviously it was possible that someone would be inside the trees and could catch sight of her, but Jen felt the odds were well enough in her favor that she would chance it.

She paced through the trees a distance away from the woodland edge. She glanced back a few times, and on her third look backwards she felt she was a good distance away from that point. About thirty yards. Looking back north, she saw a bend in the footpath and knew she could get around it quickly enough.

Jen stepped out of the trees, glancing around her once again. Satisfied that she couldn’t hear anyone approaching she turned north and started walking at a quick pace. She slowed slightly as she reached the bend in the path, listened carefully then edged forward while leaning to try to see anyone before they could see all of her. She was satisfied the coast was clear when she saw the path straightening back out with no one in sight and she regained her brisk walk.

Jen felt more tension set into her back, shoulders and neck the longer she was exposed. Even with no one around she couldn’t stop this from happening. She tried to ease the tension with a few deep breaths but felt little difference. The only real solution would be getting her clothes back.

She was moving quickly but not fast enough that she couldn’t hear over the sound of her bare feet tapping down on the cement. She reached another slight bend in the trail but relied on her ears to warn her of anyone approaching. Once she reached the curve she barely broke stride and walked around it, finding another empty section of the passage. Ahead she could see where the tree line ended and the parking lot began.

Jen moved even quicker, practically nearing a jog. She cement lightly scraped at her feet, not causing pain with each step but the accumulated scuffs of cement and natural ground had set a lingering ache into her soles. She began having a slight concern that her feet might be bleeding a little by the time she was done with her walk.

She neared the end of the trail and slowed down. After being able to keep a strong pace and making up for lost time caused by detours the last thing she wanted was to walk face first into someone entering the park. As she approached the parking lot Jen cut to the left and re-entered the trees. Tiptoeing forward, she was able to see her car up ahead. Scattered around the blacktop sat four other cars, two SUV’s and two sedans. She was able to quickly confirm that no one was sitting in the vehicles, and no one was driving in from the entrance far to her left. Also to the left was the green metal trash can where Eve was going to leave Jens’s clothes.

Jen slipped between two trees and set her foot on the blacktop. Immediately she broke into a jog, the pain in her feet exacerbated by the hot asphalt but she ignored this. She reached her car as fast as she could manage and snatched the key she left on the rear tire. She triggered the ‘unlock’ button on her key repeatedly and heard thumps come from all four of the doors. Jen swung the driver’s door wide open and dumped herself into the seat, quickly pulling her legs in behind her and slamming the door closed.

After swinging her head around again she confirmed that she was still alone. After allowing herself a moment to breathe and reduce her heartbeat, Jen plugged the key into the ignition and started the car. The air conditioning came on full blast, starting warm but cooling as the engine kept purring. She shifted into drive, spun the wheel and drove up next to the green trash can.

Jen stepped out and reached into the gaping maw of the can. The time spent digging under random things away until her fingers reached a plastic bag felt like an eternity but she knew it could only have been a few seconds. Pulling the bag out she glanced at it to ensure her outfit was there before she tossed the bag onto the passenger seat and re-entered her car.

Scanning the parking lot once again she saw no one strolling off of the main trail and no cars approaching from the road. She tried to untie the handles of the bag but when they didn’t loosen immediately she gripped the edge and tore the sack apart with ease. Her clothes spilled out and Jen immediately snapped up the bra and slipped it over her shoulders. She could be seen from the chest up and this would at least cover her breasts if someone happened to come by now. Being bottomless for a few seconds was a lesser worry. If someone started approaching by car or foot she could drive away and find another place to finish dressing.

She struggled into her shirt next. If anyone came by, then seeing a woman sitting in her bra might have been disregarded as a bikini top, or perhaps just a woman picking a strange location to change shirts. But any concern over that was now gone.

Bending and twisting around a steering wheel was far from easy, but Jen managed to loop her feet into her underwear and hiked them up over her hips. Jeans proved to be a more difficult challenge. She started by bunching the legs up then maneuvering them below the steering wheel. Working somewhat blindly she worked her left foot around until she got it shortened leg, then her right foot. Jen was able to pull the jeans up to her calves easily, but had to recline the car seat so she was able to scoot back, lift her hips lightly and jerk the jeans into place. She brought the seat back up and finished by replacing her sandals.

She took a deep breath of relief, closing her eyes. Another breath. She squeezed her shoulders forward, stretching her upper back while trying to relax. Then she craned her head forward to ease the tension in her neck. Finally she sat back in her seat. Looked around one last time even though any real danger was gone. Then she shifted the car into gear and began driving.