Wait for them to go back inside

After considering the option with the box for a moment, Jen felt it wouldn’t work. Getting it open and one end folded closed was going to make noise, maybe too much noise, and she wasn’t sure she could bend down enough to make the box fit flat to the floor. A cock-eyed box might catch someone’s eye.

She leaned forward again and saw the women grab the fourth box together. If they were getting any lighter, they weren’t light enough for them to carry by themselves yet.

Jen looked to her other side. The portion of the hallway she could see was empty but she still heard sounds coming from that direction. She still wasn’t certain if the noises were getting closer or not. She felt herself trembling even more, just imagining someone coming down the hall from that direction and catching her huddled next to a stack of trash bags. She tried to **** the thought from her mind.

Looking back, she saw the two women standing at the boxes. There were five left now. The older woman grabbed one of the boxes and gave it a light shake. She must have decided it was light enough to lift it herself and grabbed the box, turning back to the store.

Oh thank god, Jen thought.

She watched the younger woman test one box’s weight before grabbing a different one and following her co-worker in. Three boxes remained.

At least one box needs both of them to lift it, she thought. What are the chances the last two can be lifted by one person?

Given that they’d had to work together to get the first four, Jen didn’t feel the chances were necessarily in her favor.

She looked back to her left and still saw nothing but empty hallway. Closing her eyes, she paid attention to the sounds coming from that direction. Footsteps and various shuffling noises lightly echoed down the hallway. Still, hearing any noise from that direction didn’t do anything to soothe her frayed nerves.

Another peek from behind the trash bags and she saw the two clerks hadn’t returned to the hallway yet. She wasn’t sure if they had to unpack some inventory to make room for the last boxes, or if they’d decided to tend to another task before finishing the job.

Suddenly Jen’s attention was turned in the other direction. She heard footsteps, but they were now getting louder. She still saw no one, but now her time was limited.

Without thinking further, Jen got up and moved to the other side of the trash pile. She squatted down and peeked towards the sound. The hallway was still empty but the footsteps were clearly coming towards her. The two women still hadn’t returned to the hallway, thankfully.

There’s no way they won’t see me here, Jen thought. Not seeing any other option and knowing she was short on time, she grabbed one of the folded boxes and held it up in front of her. Sitting on the floor and ducking her head down, she held the flat box directly ahead of her. She had no way of knowing if she was fully concealed or not, but had to settle for what she could manage. A slab of folded cardboard seemingly hovering a few feet away from the wall would draw attention, but she hoped they only saw it from their peripheral vision as they passed and paid no attention.

Going strictly by sound she tried to track the footsteps approaching her. She felt herself trembling with fear and did her best to hold the box completely steady. Each step by the approaching people was clearly louder, still getting closer. Soon she heard the first footstep directly in front, then the next. There was no pause in their movement. The footsteps continued straight by her and soon were receding to her right.

Looking up, Jen moved the box towards her right. She didn’t want to get up and move just yet. The two people who had just passed her, both young men, were still close enough that if she made any noise it was sure to draw attention.

As they sauntered on she eventually moved the box completely to the right side and against the wall, propped slightly towards her. If they glanced back for any reason it would hopefully look like an uncollected inventory box. Unless they looked for more than a second…

She watched the men proceed down the hall and once they stepped around the curve and out of view, she got back on her feet. A sound from the gaping doorway made her drop back down and she watched as the two employees came back out to continue gathering their inventory.

Oh no, Jen thought.

She tried to squeeze behind the box she was holding again, getting herself completely out of view. Looking carefully, she saw her toes still sticking out beyond the edge of the box. But trying as hard as she could, she couldn’t get her legs and feet any closer to her.

It’s only an inch of me that’s visible. They’re far enough away they won’t notice anything.

Then she realized they may notice the folded box she had propped up against her. That wasn’t in place the last several times they were out, and now with it propped up, leaning against nothing visible, it would clearly be suspicious.

Jen tried to lean forward to get a look at them but felt the box waver. She resigned herself to blindly waiting, unable to see what they were doing, and praying that they wouldn’t see anything.

Moments passed as she sat in hiding. She heard them move a box, stepping around. None of the sounds seemed to be getting closer. Soon the noise receded and Jen allowed herself to look over top of the box. The women had gone back into the store. Only one box was still sitting in the hallway. Apparently the two they had grabbed were light enough for them each to carry one. And they hadn’t noticed anything.

Her first instinct was to get back on the other side of the trash bags and let them finish pulling their inventory in, hopefully closing their door once they were done. But Jen couldn’t help but think of the closer door, gaping open. There was no guarantee that employees from that shop might come out any moment. There wasn’t any other inventory stacked outside, but someone could take out the trash at any moment, or simply be leaving work for the night.

Jen’s patience broke at that thought. She only wanted to get out of this position, get moving again. The more she waited, the more likely it seemed that someone would catch her and she wouldn’t have the means or time to get to a better hiding place. She stood up, dropped the box on the floor and got moving.

Immediately her hands were back in front of her body, covering her breasts and vagina. She broke into a run, minding how loudly she was putting her feet down but still trying to move as quickly as stealth would let her. She passed the first open door, looking inside but not slowing her pace. The store room was empty, a stack of boxes standing in front of a curtain that lead to the main store. Jen kept running.

She came to the second door, the one the two female employees had been coming in and out of. Her first instinct was to stop and make sure it was clear, but without thinking further she kept running. A quick glance was enough to tell her the women weren’t in view of the door.

Moving forward, she started to turn around the curve in the hallway. This was the first time she slowed down at all, not wanting to walk into someone’s line of sight stark naked, but she didn’t stop completely. She moved at a quick pace, but one that allowed her to set her feet down silently.

She saw no one. The hallway was littered with more stacks of trash bags and the occasional box of inventory. She saw no open doors ahead on the right. If any of them did open, there was enough hiding places that she felt certain she could get to cover before she was seen. She sped back up, feeling secure that she was alone and could keep making good time for the immediate time being.

The hallway curved more as she passed by stores. Jen wasn’t certain how far she’d gotten, but she knew evert step took her closer to the exit. She moved to her left, trying to see further down the hallway, but didn’t stop running.

As she worked her way further around the curve, she saw the exit door come into view. She slowed momentarily, allowing the last bit of the hallway to come into view. She could see a few store doors on the right, all closed, followed by a hallway leading to the right, just before the exit.

She sped up now, less concerned with making noise after seeing she was in the clear. Her bare feet thumped against the cold tile floor, her head occasionally looking behind her to make sure she would be aware of any stock room doors opening. She saw nothing but trash bags.

Hurrying past the shop doors, she reached the branching corridor. This was the first time she’d completely stopped since leaving her last hiding spot and she found herself out of breath. She didn’t stop for long, just briefly enough to pop her head around the corner and make sure no one was in view. She then moved up to the exit and took her hands away from her body, pressing them against the crash bar and easing the door open.

She saw the parking lot, occasional cars sitting here and there, street lamps providing intermittent illumination. None of the vehicles had their head lights on, she didn’t hear any engines running. The only motion came from the streets beyond the mall property, some occasional traffic moving passing by, thankfully oblivious to her presence so far away.

Stepping through the doorway, Jen guided it closed and took two short steps left to get herself into the plants. She dropped down behind the largest bush, watching for any signs of life. She wasn’t waiting for long before she heard an engine start up.

She watched as a pair of headlights flicked on and a the car began turn in her direction. Jen knew it had to be Eve. She readied herself to dart to the car once she was close enough.

The car approached the curb ahead of Jen and slowed to a stop. Jen didn’t bother looking around, only wanting to get herself into the car and start getting dressed. She nimbly hopped around the bushes and ran to the car, yanking the door open and flopping herself into the seat. She hadn’t fully closed the door before Eve stepped on the gas.

“Well that didn’t take as long as I thought,” Eve said, grinning wildly. “You must have had a little luck, found a good time to make some serious distance.”

Jen said nothing, gathering her clothes from the back seat. She didn’t bother putting her bra, going straight to her t-shirt to fully cover her top. She’d worry about putting the bra on once she got home.

“Or…” Eve said, smiling widely, “you got caught and had to sprint the whole way out. Did you-“

“No one saw me,” Jen said, interrupting her while she pulled her shirt down over her upper body.

“Well then your luck hasn’t run out yet, that’s good!” Eve was still smiling as she turned the car, heading towards the mall exit.