Vestiphobia

Chapter Eleven: Unleashed

She couldn't allow herself to panic and freeze up. Right now, Lisa had to act. Unless she wanted to be arrested for breaking and entering, she had to move. Could they also charge her with public indecency? Best not to find out.

Lisa grabbed the bag that Debra had been carrying and used it to scoop up her disappeared friend's clothes, as well as her own. No time to think about what had happened to Debra. The canvas didn't trigger any reaction when Lisa touched it, so clearly the lightning shock only applied to clothes. Although, if she were to cut a couple of holes in the bottom...

"Mmph!" Lisa stifled a cry as the canvas suddenly became too hot to touch. Had the curse advanced that quickly? No, it had been her thoughts. She remembered the cardboard box in the alley.

"It's just a bag," Lisa whispered to herself. "I'm going to use it to carry things. It's not an outfit. I'm not going to wear it."

She steeled herself and reached out to touch the canvas again. It felt fine. Totally normal.

"Phew," she said, as she finished scooping up the clothes. "Now to get out of here."

Lisa slung the bag over her shoulder and tiptoed towards the entrance of the boutique. Slowly, carefully, she peeked around the corner. She could still hear footsteps and see flashlights, but they were on the lower floor of the mall. The security guards, or police, or whoever they were, were conducting a thorough search, and they hadn't yet reached her level, let alone the boutique. But it wouldn't take them long.

Heart pounding, Lisa advanced out of the boutique entrance and into the open hallway. The mall was large and spacious, so she pressed herself against the window of the boutique. The glass was cool against her bare ass.

Then, slowly and carefully, she pulled the boutique door closed. Lisa had picked up everything they'd left inside, and she could see no signs of disturbance—they certainly hadn't stolen anything.

Luckily, the boutique door locked automatically when shut—just like her dorm room door. Lisa remembered how terrified she'd been when Wendy had stolen her towel and made her streak back to her room. Her current predicament made that look like a walk in the park.

The flashlight beams disappeared, heading deeper into the mall. So they weren't coming upstairs just yet. Relieved, Lisa pulled herself away from the wall and into the main walkway.

A beam reappeared, shining up onto the walkway from the lower level. It glanced over her, then immediately returned. Momentarily, she locked eyes with a security guard, standing on the lower level, looking up at her. His mouth hung open.

Lisa sprinted across the hallway and towards the fire escape, holding tightly to the canvas bag. She heard confused shouts from below, and pumped her legs even harder.

She skidded around the corner and through the metal fire escape door, then down the metal stairs, taking two at a time. Then she was out in the cold night. The breeze chilled her bare skin.

But she was still on the mall's grounds, could still hear the shouting and barking dogs. She needed distance. That was the only thought on her mind as she ran through the parking lot, and out towards the street.

Out on the main street, the streetlamps shone brightly. A car zoomed passed, and Lisa crouched down and slunk back. They hadn't seen her, or at least, hadn't cared to stop. But the street was too bright, too exposed. Lisa crouched low, hung towards the facades of the downtown buildings, and continued her frantic run.

She zigzagged down the streets, keeping low to the ground and out of the traffic lights, only stopping once she was certain she had gone far enough way from the mall. But she still felt exposed, endangered, and so she ducked through a nice, dark alleyway, far from her pursuers and any prying eyes.