At the Mall

Brandy Stuart wandered through the mall gazing into windows, occasionally entering a dress shop to flip through the racks.  She wasn't looking for anything in particular.  She'd come to the mall for the sole purpose of getting something to eat at the food court and killing the hour and a half between work and her evening class.  If she drove home, she would make it just in time to turn around and come back to the campus.  Since the semester started, it had become her routine to roam the stores every Tuesday and Thursday evening at the same time.

Brandy glanced at her watch.  Six-thirty.  It was almost time to go back to her car and head to class.  She left the shop and walked toward the entrance.  When she was still several feet from the thick glass doors, she heard a man's voice behind her.

"Miss.  Miss."  She started to turn around when he said, "Can you tell me what time it is?"

Brandy looked at her watch.  "It's six-thirty . . ."  She glanced up at the man and found his gaze sweeping over her body, a leering grin on his face.  Her heart began to pound.  It wasn't too difficult to tell what was on his mind.

His dark eyes glittered as he stared at her.  She turned and continued rapidly toward the exit.

Fear flooded her body as she heard his footsteps coming behind her.  Her breathing was rapid and erratic.  An icy ball formed in the pit of her stomach.  Where was Security when you needed them?

She looked through the doors, her gaze sweeping the parking lot.  There was not another human being in sight.  She pushed open the door and heard him follow her through.  When she was about four feet beyond the door, she suddenly whirled around, doubled back and rushed for the door.  But he was too quick for her.  With one leap he stood, his arms spread wide, blocking her entry.

"Get out of my way!" she cried.

He shook his head, grinning.  "Uh-uh.  No way."

She tried to shove him out of the doorway, but he was too strong for her.  With a push of his muscular arms, she stumbled backward.  He made a grab for her.  With speed brought on by terror, she whirled to one side, wrenching her arm from his grasp.  His forward lunge, coupled with the jerk of her arm, caught him off balance and he staggered against the building wall.

Taking advantage of his momentary incapacitation, she dashed around him in an arc and burst through the second door back into the mall.

She ran down the deserted corridor, desperately searching for someone to help her.  When she reached the center of the mall, she ran twisting and turning between the kiosks like a wild rabbit trying to elude a hungry hound.  She could hear his feet pounding behind her.  There were no attendants visible at the kiosks, no customers strolling the courtyard.  Where was everybody? 

She ducked into a dress shop and crouched down behind a rack.  She saw the man run past first one window, the doorway, and then the other window.  How long would it take him to decide that she had hidden somewhere and to come back looking for her?

Keeping watch on the windows, she moved from rack to rack toward the back of the store.  There was not a cashier or even a sales clerk in sight.  Surely everyone hadn't gone to dinner at the same time.

She pulled her cell phone from her purse and punched the talk button.  Barely any signal was showing on the panel and the dial tone was almost wiped out by the static.  Shoving the cell back into her purse, she went to the cashier's station searching for a phone.  There was none.  They had to have some way of calling security. 

She went behind the counter and, bending down, peered into the dark depth.  Maybe there was a panic button somewhere.  She ran her fingers along the edge, but could feel nothing.

She looked around in desperation.  How long would she be trapped here before someone happened along?  Then her gaze fell on the beige arches flanking either side of the entrance.  Grabbing an armful of clothing from what she guessed to be the most expensive rack, she made for the exit. 

As she stepped between the arches, the alarms started going off.  She stood where she was and waited.

Suddenly, like ants in a disturbed anthill, people came from everywhere.  Within seconds, clerks, managers and a fierce-looking security guard surrounded her.

"Finally!" she said, turning to hand the armload of clothing to a clerk.  "They came from that rack right over there," she continued, pointing.  Then she turned to the guard.  "There's a man in this mall who tried to attack me."  She held up her arm, revealing the cut left by his fingernail.  "He's probably still somewhere out there looking for me."

"Have you ever seen this guy before?"

Brandy frowned.  "I don't think so."  But had she really paid any attention?  Had he been watching for her?  Had he watched her before?  She had been coming here at nearly the same time every Tuesday and Thursday evening for the last couple of months.  Had she just been too preoccupied, or maybe too complacent, to notice?  The officer stopped her efforts to recall with another question.

"Can you give me a description?"

Brandy nodded and proceeded to describe the man and give the officer her own name and telephone number.

When she had finished, he said.  "The cops may want to talk to you." 

Brandy nodded.  "Okay."

"You can identify him, if they catch him?"

"Oh, yes, and believe me, I'm going to be watching for him too."  As she walked through the parking lot beside the guard, she thought, I'm going to be a lot more aware of whoever is, or isn't, around.

Word Count: 997