Head right and stay better hidden

After trying to talk herself up to moving to her left, Jen found she simply didn’t have the nerve. The diminishing number of trees that direction made her feel certain that she would be seen. She knew the smarter choice was heading to the right and sticking to more concealment.

In order to do that, Jen had to back track a little. If she left her hiding spot now and stepped onto the path, she would be in plain view of some of the picnickers. She didn’t feel her chances of remaining unseen were at all decent. If she went further south then she would soon reach an angle where she wouldn’t be seen when she crossed the path.

She turned around and began weaving through the trees, back the way she came. She covered ten yards, looked behind her, and decided to walk another ten further away. Once there she neared the trail, made sure no one was around, then stepped onto the path. Immediately she sprinted for the trees on the other side, looking to the north the whole time to make sure she was far enough away. Reaching this patch of woodland she dived into hiding once again, and could tell that she was out of view of the picnickers the entire time. A grateful sigh left her.

Heading back north Jen initially moved quickly, only making sure she wasn’t going to injure her bare feet stepping on something sharp or cause noise, then slowed once she started to hear the voices ahead. She tiptoed forward, reaching the path running east and west that she now had to cross. Here, right near the intersection, she would be in view of two people for at least a second. She began to move to her right to put the trees on the northern end of the trail between them. As she was going to have to head this way at some point, she knew it wasn’t slowing her down, unlike her short backtrack southwards had.

After heading that direction for a short bit she checked her progress and saw that she was well out of view of anyone. A quick look around to make sure the path was deserted and Jen left her concealment, scampered across the path and into the trees on this end. She took a short breather, more out of fear than exhaustion, and began weaving her way northwards.

She could still her the voices and laughter of the picnickers to her left, muted through the trees. Jen glanced that direction every so often to make sure she was safely out of view. On rare occasions there was enough of a gap between the trees to see the field they had all gathered, sometimes seeing the back of a person or their arm or leg, but never a big enough opening for Jen to feel like they might see her if they looked over at just the wrong moment. If they saw anything, it would likely be too little of her for them to know what they were seeing.

Still, this only did so much to ease her tensions. She knew if she wasn’t careful then she might accidentally step into a bigger gap. On top of that, the constant noise only served as a reminder that so many people were that close to her while she was in such a **** state. Every time someone laughed, it felt like they were laughing at her predicament.

Continuing north, soon Jen heard the voices receding behind her. She didn’t want to get turned around and heading in the wrong direction so she started easing towards the east. The path she had crossed moments ago curved around these trees in that direction, running north, then arcing again to the west where it would lead back to the main path. That in turn would take her to the parking lot, and the trashcan where her clothes were hidden.

Once the trail was in view, Jen re-altered her course and walked along side it, always several trees between her and the cement. She was growing used to moving through the trees now, glancing down to make sure she didn’t step on a rock, ducking under or around branches to avoid making noise or getting scratched.

After some distance the trail started to curve westwards, and Jen followed it, safely hidden in the woods. She was happy to be heading in the right direction, and not having seen or heard anyone for a bit she started to pick up her pace. She wasn’t making much additional noise, and she knew that if anyone came by she could hide behind a tree trunk and stop moving until they passed.

She kept walking for a bit, then ventured closer to the trail to check on her progress. There, she could see the main trail up ahead. If she could get there and safely stay on track, she should be back to her clothes reasonably soon.

Continuing onward, Jen slowed once again as she neared the intersection. She knew that immediately north of her position was a large, grassy clearing, almost entirely surrounded by trees. If there was no one in there she could quickly move past it and keep moving up the trail.

Getting closer to the intersection, Jen soon started hearing voices. They weren’t coming from the clearing but she had difficulty pinpointing them. She slowed further, cautiously making her way towards the intersection, being very careful to not make any unnecessary noise.

Soon she was able to see the source of the commotion. Slightly south and directly across from her was the dog park, a large grassy field surrounded by the main trail one side and trees on all the others. This was where people were allowed to let their dogs off their leashes. A man and a woman were in the park, two dogs happily running around, chasing tennis balls and chasing each other. She looked north. She couldn’t see much of the clearing but what she could see was unoccupied. She couldn’t hear any noise from that direction and felt it was likely clear.

She knew the area well enough that she knew the dog park would have a good view of part of the clearing. But if she couldn’t go this way, she would have to turn around and go north from the other side of the clearing. That would take more time, and she was feeling more and more **** to get dressed. If she went that way, she knew that beyond this clearing there was a pond. It didn’t usually have many people but on occasion she’s seen people around there, occasionally swimming or floating in little boats.

She looked back at the dog park. The couple seemed very engaged in playing with their dogs. Maybe, just maybe, she could make it across the clearing without catching their attention. It would take just as much luck for no one to come by on the path, walking or biking. It would be several yards of walking completely in the open with nothing to cover herself with. Jen waited for a minute, considering her options.