The Keys Ch. 05

Lydia was sprawled spread eagle on the floor of her office cubicle. It was the middle of the night. No one was supposed to be there, least of all her and least of all naked. But that still did not explain the intrusion. Who was it? Why were they there? Was she found out? Seen perhaps out the window? Did she make too much noise and get followed upstairs? A million questions whizzed through her mind. It was too much to bear.

"I'm just saying, Marla, the guy's a perv. I hate the way he looks at me when we come in every week. I can feel his nasty old eyes all over me."

Okay, two people. One named Marla.

"Just let it go Brittany. It's not like you can do anything about it and, besides, he's just a dirty old man. Who cares what he thinks?"

"Maybe I do," Brittany retorted, "Maybe you wish he would give you the same treatment!"

Lydia listened carefully to figure out where the voices were coming from. It was clear that it was two women. Maybe it was a cleaning crew. Marla sounded like she might be in her late thirties or early forties. Brittany sounded much younger. Early twenties, perhaps. A vague memory returned to Lydia about the building getting cleaned twice per week overnight. That's why she never had to change her trash out at the office.

STUPID! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Lydia felt tears welling in her eyes over the distress of her predicament. How could she overlook this? Why didn't she ask someone at the office about the cleaning schedule? This could be it. Caught. And in her place of work. Fired. Arrested for trespass and public indecency. Kicked out of school for having a criminal record. Branded for life as a sexual deviant by everyone she knew.

"As if, darling. Besides, I'm too old for that old coot. I hear that he likes the young hotties. Maybe you can finally get a boyfriend, how about that?" Marla laughed.

Lydia heard the rumbling sound again. It must be the cleaning cart, and it sounded like it had stopped either near the doorway to the main hall or right inside of it to hold the door open.

"I think I would rather die," Brittany said in a dejected tone.

The voice was closer. Perhaps circling the room. Lydia heard the clamor of plastic trash cans banging against one another. She suspected that this Brittany person was picking them up to pour them out in the cleaning cart rather than changing the liners. Lydia eyed her own trash can and knew that it would be the next one eventually. She pushed herself off the floor and assumed the lowest crouch she could manage. Her breasts pressed against her thighs in a feeble attempt to conjure a semblance of feeling covered.

It was pointless though. Not a thing in the world, except perhaps a fresh set of clothes, could possibly make her feel any less exposed than being naked in front of two fully dressed women that she did not know. Lydia wondered despairingly how it had come to this. She had been startled during her evening escapade so far. Frightened, even. But this time she was legitimately scared. She could not conceive of a way out of this debacle.

"Look, let's just get this building done quickly so we can get out of here. Why don't you do the room across the hall while I work on this one?" Brittany suggested.

Yes! Please do!

"Why?" Marla shot back sharply, "So you can listen to music and goof off again while I do all the work?"

"Come on, Marla. That was one time several months ago. When will you let it go?"

The conversation was killing Lydia. A needle prick upon her naked skin with every word, but at least Lydia could be sure that the women did not know she in the room with them. The second cubicle cluster had been emptied of trash. Lydia's was next. Like or not, she had to move and there was no way to know if she could stay out of sight. If she was seen out in the open, she would just have to make a break for it. Key in hand, she crawled out of her cubicle on hands and knees around the corner.

Lydia now had her back pressed against the exterior wall of the cubicle, using her hands to brace herself against it. Her waist twisted to point her knees parallel to the wall as she faced the window overlooking the front parking lot. Lydia could not see the parking lot through the window anymore though, only her stark-naked reflection with breasts on full display. Mere seconds later, Brittany arrived at Lydia's desk and casually reached in to retrieve the trashcan.

"I'll let it go when I'm good and ready, and you can count on that," Marla said teasingly.

"Ugh," Brittany sighed, "Whatever. Hey, do you smell that?"

"Smell what?" Marla responded.

Brittany sniffed the air, making Lydia feel like she was a woodland rabbit being tracked by a bloodhound.

"I smell... chlorine, I think."

Lydia's heart dropped. She was the source of that exact smell. She was the one who, not even an hour past, was fully submerged in her friend's chlorine-treated swimming pool.

Oh, no. I'm done. This is it.

Lydia braced in anticipation of her scent tracing the young woman right to where she was hiding. If that happened, Lydia was mentally prepared to make a run for it.

"Do we use any chlorine in our cleaning supplies?" Brittany asked.

"Not that I know of. I don't smell it though," answered Marla.

"Hm. Maybe it's just me," Brittany shrugged and walked through the middle of the room to empty the trash cans.

Lydia did not know what to do. If she ran for the door then Marla would see her. If she stayed put then Brittany would soon find her. Heart pounding against her chest, Lydia looked back toward the window to see her own expression of abject terror. She wanted more than anything to be teleported away. How could the night come to such an awful end, and because of just one small oversight?

Lydia heard Brittany walking back across the middle of the room to return the trashcan to Lydia's cubicle. After setting it in place, she paused at Lydia's desk.

"Hey, Marla, come look at this."

She's seen me!

Lydia screamed in her head and held her hand over her mouth. But no, that was not the tone that someone used when they come across a naked girl by surprise. Footsteps indicated that Marla's curiosity had been piqued. Together, the two cleaning ladies stood in Lydia's cubicle. One thin, short cubicle wall separated Lydia from everything that she feared.

"I think I know this girl," Brittany said. "Yeah, I went to high school with her. That's Lydia! I didn't know she worked here!"

Lydia could not believe what she was hearing. She was hiding just three feet away from *that* Brittany?! They had hung out together a few times and shared a couple of friends, but their paths had not crossed enough for them to get to know one another all that well. Still, if Brittany could identify Lydia in photo on her desk then she could certainly identify Lydia crawling naked through the office that she was cleaning.

"That's what you called me over here for?" Marla asked pointedly.

"Yeah, that and to see if you plan on helping me tonight. How about it?" Brittany set the frame back down on the desk.

Lydia realized that this was her chance. The women were distracted so she crawled on tiptoes and fingertips away from her cubicle and rounded the corner. Sure enough, the door was blocked by a cleaning cart. There was no way to get through without pushing it out of the way and attracting attention to herself. Taking an extreme risk, Lydia poked her head over the walls of the cubicles to see if they were looking her way. They were not!

Continuing her desperate escape, she silently scurried past the cart and momentarily in view of anyone who entered the cubicle crossway. Betting that at least Marla would return to the cart, she ducked around the next corner as well. Now she was positioned opposite to the front window and within jumping distance of the door that opened into the side hallway. If she could just get there, then she just might make it. Otherwise, it might be Lydia naked in handcuffs sulking in the county jail.

Brittany and Marla had been continuing their conversation. Lydia had been so focused on avoiding being seen that all she had heard was vague sounds resembling human speech in the background of her attention. Now that she was stopped again, she listened as footsteps walked back toward the cleaning cart and moved it out of the doorway.

"I'll be right back with the vacuum cleaner. I think I saw it by the refrigerator in the big room this time," Marla said from the main hallway.

Great. One down and one to go.

Lydia heard the sound spraying liquid and the squeak of wet cloth against glass. Another win! Lydia slowly raised her eyes over the cubicle wall one more time to glimpse Brittany cleaning the windows opposite to Lydia. She was performing some light dancing to the music in her earbuds. With Brittany's back turned and her ears occupied, this was the golden opportunity for Lydia to escape into the side hallway. Lydia bent back down and tread lightly toward the wooden door.

As quickly as she dared, which was not much, Lydia opened the door and deftly pulled herself around it into the side hallway. All the lights were on now. She had hoped in vain to be greeted with the coveted darkness. It would have made sneaking away so much easier. Lydia decided that the stairs were her only option. The elevator presented too much chance of being caught. She did not wait a moment longer. She glanced over her shoulder out of reflex but all she saw was the reflection of her naked butt in the window as she proceeded down the side hallway.

By the time Lydia reached the corner, Marla had returned to the main hallway with the vacuum cleaner. Now, Lydia was stuck again. Lydia pressed her hip against the office wall and peered around the corner at Marla to see what she would do.

"Hey Brittany, I think I'm going to vacuum the hallway first while you finish in there. Is that alright?"

The color drained from Lydia's face. She could hide in the other cubicle room, but Brittany would eventually start cleaning that one too. Plus, Lydia doubted that her strict timetable for getting the keys before dawn afforded her the luxury of waiting for the women to finish cleaning even if there was a good chance of getting away afterward. Alternatively, she could not simply waltz in front of Marla without getting caught. Lydia was truly stuck.

"Brittany?" Marla repeated, and stuck her head into the cubicle room, "HEY, BRITTANY! HELLOOOOO!!!"

Seizing the moment, Lydia thrust herself off the wall and into the main hallway. She wanted to run but knew that she would almost certainly be heard if she did. Instead, she trotted on the pads of her feet to dampen the sound. Halfway to the stairs, Lydia heard behind her:

"BRITTANY! I said I am going to vacuum the hallway!"
"FINE!"

"How long are you going to be in here?"

That was the last clear thing that Lydia heard as she whisked herself around the barrier to the stairs and descended the first few rubber steps toward the first floor. With both hands on a guardrail and each foot on a different step, Lydia strained her ears with her mouth agape and eyes widened.

At this distance, Lydia heard scattered bits of conversation upstairs but nothing that sounded like an alarm or pursuit. Somehow, by some miracle, Lydia had evaded the two cleaning ladies under full fluorescent light and in the nude. If she had not lived it, she would not have believed it to be possible. Taking no more time to consider this incredible outcome, she continued down the dark stairway into more light. It appeared that the whole building was awake now and actively wanted Lydia, the naked intruder, to be found.

Reaching the bottom step, she checked all four directions for activity and discovered none. She was now in a hurry to take her key and go as far from Trace and Avers as she could. Lydia's feet made a gentle tap-tap sound on the tile flooring with every step that carried her to the back of the building. She only got a quarter of the way down the crossway when she heard whistling and heavy footsteps.

At first, she didn't know where to look. It sounded like it was coming from all around her, so she looked up and down the hall in frenzy to pinpoint its source. Caught up in the moment, Lydia was not even covering herself as she searched. As the footsteps got louder, she realized that she was heading in the direction of the noise. She immediately doubled back, nearly tripped, and clumsily hid herself on the side of the snack machine. Confirming her fear, she heard the heavy steps of work boots and whistling now definitely in the crossway approaching the intersection where Lydia stood.

As fast as she could think, she considered the odds of being seen if she hurried to the intersection and turned right. From there, she might sprint to the end, turn right once more and get to the back door of the building before being seen. She thought about it too long though. By the time she had made up her mind about such a plan, the whistling was nearly upon her. The security guard was a few steps away from feasting his eyes on a naked girl who was so foolishly streaking through the building.

There was only one thing left to do. Lydia sidled the machine and squeezed her body into the narrow space between the snack machine and the cold wall. Despite the obscurity of the rear of the machine, she could almost feel the light all over her bare body. To make matters worse, her newfound hiding place was positively filthy. Lydia stood face to face with clumps of dust hanging from back panel. She could feel even more with her toes which were stuffed uncomfortably under the machine.

Making one last gesture before committing to a resolute position, she lifted her arm lateral to her body and pulled it back behind the machine to cover her mouth and nose with her hand. Not only was she hoping to muffle her breathing, if she dared to breathe at all, but also mitigate any chances of sneezing in the presence of all the dust. Finally, she heard the footsteps come to a halt. All she could do was stare down the hallway toward the front of the building.

"Hrrm, hmmm..." grumbled a voice. The security guard smacked his lips and shuffled his feet.

Why did he stop? Does he know I'm here? Is he just toying with me?

From her present position, she was trapped if the man had any physical intentions with her. She could scream, or call out for help, but even budging herself out of the space behind the snack machine would take several seconds even unimpeded. Perhaps he did not know that she was there. After all, how could he? But unless he turned left or went back the way he came, then Lydia would be moments away from giving him a show that just might give the old man a heart attack.

Lydia imagined that if the security guard turned right at the intersection then there was no chance of escaping notice. Then again, he had no reason to go that way. He could continue forward to the front desk, but on any whim upon which he decided to turn around there Lydia would be with no veil between his wandering eyes and her naked body. She squeezed her eyes shut to try to expel the horrible image from her mind.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" the gruff voice said out loud.

What is he doing?

Lydia opened her eyes and worriedly scanned the floor, searching in vain for clues to what was happening just five feet in front of her.

She heard the sound of crumpled paper being roughly unfolded and fed into the snack machine. Of all the times and in all the days for a snack, Lydia wondered why he had to pick now. A jangling noise was followed by a series of clanks as the guard deposited coins into the machine. He pressed buttons and the coils holding the various foods whirred to life.

To Lydia, it felt like the machine was vibrating against her entire body. Despite everything, she was surprised to feel a not insignificant sensation of pleasure across the front of her breasts which had been flattened against the back panel. At any other time, she might have released a sigh at the unexpected tingling feeling which was spreading over her. All she could do at the moment was shudder from the unexpected, grotesque pleasure from the machine that was hardening her nipples.

The release of the snack resulted in a *ker-plunk* and the machine resumed its dormant state. The guard reached inside and retrieved his prize. Lydia hoped that he would just go right then, but he proceeded to rustle the wrapper until it opened. He crunched into it which gave Lydia no indication that he was leaving any time soon. She was eternally grateful that in this one instance that she was wrong.

The heavy footsteps resumed toward the intersection and the guard came into Lydia's view. He was a portly, slightly hunched over older man who appeared to be in his mid-fifties. True to his reputation, he also appeared to be groggy. Lydia once more cursed the cleaning crew internally. She might have never encountered the security guard if they had not shown up. He might have slept through the full duration of her clandestine nude visit.

The man suddenly stopped at the intersection of hallways. All Lydia could do was stare with wide eyes and wait for what might happen next. Once again, this was someone who could ruin her whole life by just turning around. He would see her, recognize her, and at best report her to her boss. At worst, well, she could not help but think of what Brittany had said upstairs about his apparent appetite for young attractive girls. Lydia would be at this old pervert's mercy.

"Meh," said the man as he rifled through his left pocket, pulling out the contents and fumbling with them in his palm. He seemed disappointed because he forcefully refilled his left pocked and stepped toward the water fountain. He bent over and drank, evidently parched from the snack that he had just eaten. At this point, Lydia was paralyzed with fear. She considered just making a break for it and hiding her face, but she just could not bring herself to attempt it.

The man stood up and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He turned to his right and started again back down the hallway toward the front desk. The guard looked at the snack wrapper as he walked and tossed it to the ground.

"One more for the cleaning ladies, heh heh heh," the guard chuckled to himself, no doubt thinking that he was clever.

Just a few more steps. Please, just a few more steps. Don't turn around! I'm begging you, please!

As she watched the man shuffled down the hallway, creating more distance between them with every step, Lydia noticed something that she had not seen before. She could see herself! Not well, but there she was. The windows throughout the building were like giant mirrors by night when there was no sunlight beaming in from outside. The window at the end of the hallway distinctly showed a fully naked girl hiding behind the snack machine against the wall with a hand over her mouth. All the guard had to do was notice.

Each second felt stretched and painful to Lydia. Each footstep of boot on tile pounded like a hammer in her mind. All the universe was condensed to herself, the hallway, and the man whom she prayed did not see her. Step by step by step, the guard paced the length of the hallway. He seemed to be watching the floor. Perhaps he was eager to return the desk so he could fall back asleep. He veered left and disappeared around the corner, the sound of his footsteps fading into the distance.

Lydia knew that there was not a moment to waste. She pulled against the side of the snack machine to unwedge herself from the gap. With a final tug, she pried herself loose and stumbled awkwardly in the hallway. Checking each direction quickly, she saw that no one was around. Lydia once more used the pads of her feet to half-run toward the back of the building. Passing under the stairs she heard the roaring sound of a vacuum on the second floor. Two people upstairs, two people downstairs. Four in the building, soon to be three.