An escape attempt

Shannon took hold of the rope.

"Well," she said, nervously, "wish me luck."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Somebody has to. Might as well be me." The tall, ash-blonde farmgirl shook out her hair, and brushed a fleck of dust off her checkered shirt. Her cowboy boots clicked against the tiles. "It's only a few yards to my van."

"Don't slow down for anything, okay? You get in that van, you bring it right back up against the door. We'll all climb in the back. Then we can drive right out of this place."

"I hope so."

"It can't go on forever, right?" Deena hesitated. She was by no means sure that the mist couldn't go on forever. Still, she had to hope. She couldn't imagine every woman in the world being subject to the same slimy, humiliating punishment as her partner. Christina Hendricks, Scarlett Johannsen, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez... it didn't bear thinking about.

Shannon gave her a wan smile. "Sure it can't," she said. "But you pull me back in at the first sign of trouble, okay? As soon as I yank the rope."

"I promise."

"Okay. Here I go."

She took a deep breath, and took a step towards the sliding door. It swung open.

Quickly, before anything could get inside the supermarket, she walked out into the mist.

The doors swung closed on the rope. A few wisps of mist drifted in through the gap. Deena watched them nervously, expecting them to dissipate, but they just hung in the air, coiling like pale snakes.

Her skin prickled. She hoped she hadn't just made a terrible mistake.

There was a long, cold silence.

Then, all of a sudden, a tug on the rope.