Bringing her arm back down, she went to where she had her tea sitting on the cashier check out counters. Picking it up, she turned and hopped her butt onto it. Taking a sip, she observes everyone working and those were slacking and allowing others to pick up their work. As she was going to call these people out, Carrie walked up to her, stating everything was going as planned, buuut she wanted to know about the overstock. “If no one has come out...uuugh...ok. Follow me for a moment. Everyone else, you either work like your lives depended on it or your fired.”
Following Masumi, Carrie waited for an answer to her question; behind them, everyone was continuing to work, busily stocking shelves or putting the shelves together. Entering one section of the floor, she kept pace with Masumi, who - despite her attire - was walking at a pace just a hair faster than Carrie. Seeing a couple guys who appeared to be doing no work whatsoever, Carrie was about to say something when she saw what they were looking at and thought, Slacking off, huh fellows? Masumi's thoughts, on the other hand, were more to the point... Holding her finger up to stop Carrie in her tracks. The one that had a playboy looked at Masumi grinning. Turning it to show her of an Asian playmate. “Ma’am, could you do that for me and th-“ Her anger and tiger had gotten the better of her as she balled her fist. When her mouth opened, it wasn’t human screams heard coming out towards them. It was a roar of a very pissed off Tiger. Breathing heavily as she stared at the three guys who were pressing themselves against the wall as if the wall would open and allow them to escape. Pointing towards the door she and Carrie had walked in from. “All of you! Get! Ouuut! Nooow!”
For several moments, Carrie just stood there, speechless. The three guys - who Carrie assumed would soon be unemployed - scurried out like frightened voles being chased by one of her wolf cousins...the four-legged, not two-legged, variety. Watching as Masumi thought once more about her question from earlier, Carrie heard her tell her to set the boxes aside where they were, that she would take care of them and to tell everyone else to go ahead and take fifteen.
"Right away, Masumi," Carrie replied, turning on a heel and stepping outside; getting everyone's attention, she called out, "Go ahead and take your break, everyone; we'll continue in 15." It was the voice of a leader, not an escapee, that could be heard; after a few moments, Carrie - having noticed that Masumi hadn't come out of the area they'd been in earlier, turned back around and walked back over to her. "Masumi," she asked, "is everything okay?" her wolf senses tensing as she waited for a reply...
Carrie had left her for the time being. She could hear what Carrie was saying to the others about going on break. With her eyes still closed, she took in a deep breath and then let out a sigh as she gently pushed herself off of the wall. She could hear the sound of someone walking back into the overstock area and then soon heard who it was, Carrie again. The werewolf had asked her if she was alright. Nodding her head, she would explain. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just with the full moon being tomorrow, my tiger is stirring up causing my temper to flair up a bit.” Reaching behind her, her hand slipped into the back pocket and pulled out the folded up paper from the newspaper. While she was walking past Carrie, she put the paper on Carrie’s chest and said to her. “But don’t worry, don’t give me a reason to regret my choice on hiring you and keeping your secret Ms. Schwab. Don’t like to be proven wrong...” Masumi explained as she took her empty hand back and kept walking. Heading out from the Overstock back room, she pushed through the two heavy swinging doors and was back inside the second floor which was empty of life. Walking over to the cashier checkout counters, she pulled her cellphone out. Turning it back on, she unlocked it and then turned on Spotify. Going through her playlists, Masumi’s thumb touched on her work playlist with ‘For whom the Bell tolls by Metallica’ came on playing. Cracking her neck from one side to the other, Masumi would get back to work.
Going over to where the closest shelves being stocked and began to slide books and manga into their proper places. Even though she was going at a faster clip then some of the workers, she was making decent time as the rest were on their break. She was quiet as she was thinking and making plans inside her head as she finished stocking two of the book cases. Standing up from her crouching spot in front of the second book case with a couple of books for overstock. Going over to the box she had started for overstock, she slid each book and manga into it until the box was filled. Wrapping her arms around it, she pushed off of the ground and stood up straight. Turning, she went to the back area again and walked through the many lined up metal cases and empty shelves. Moving to the end, she set the first book down onto the floor where she began to unload the items in order of alphabetical of series name. Ripping the box with much ease, she walked over to where she had a Cardboard box compactor installed and tossed the remains of the box into the machine. Plastic and other trash had it’s own compactor on the other side of the overstock room. Coming back out, the second floor area was slowly coming together and was looking nice to her as she looked around. Looking down at her watch, she saw that the fifteen minute break was over and that the second floor workers were going to be coming up to get back to work. When her arm came back down to her side, the elevator doors and the door to the stairwell opened up with the workers pouring back onto the work floor. Timing was everything.
Everyone was getting back to work as Masumi moved through the room and went through the stairwell door. Instead of going down, the exotic Asian went upwards. Passing the third floor and then fourth floor. Taking a hold of the knob, she turned it and was now on the roof of her building. Closing the door behind her, she walked across the one section of roof that was flat, she reached up to her other breast pocket and pulled out a cigarette and a bic lighter. Lighting up the cigarette, she took a deep drag from it and then slowly exhaled the two white jets of smoke through her nose. Looking upwards, clouds were getting slightly darker due to storms slowly rolling in. The wind was slowly kicking up in breezes and the temperature outside was a tad bit colder. Taking another drag, she blew it out feeling the nicotine coursing through her body making her feel like she is light and a bit light headed as she stood there over looking over some of the buildings around her and her store.
After asking if she were alright, Carrie waited for a reply; it was soon in coming... “Yeah, I’m fine. Just with the full moon being tomorrow, my tiger is stirring up causing my temper to flair up a bit.”
"Yeah, I can imagine," Carrie began to say but before she could... Reaching behind her, her hand slipped into the back pocket and pulled out the folded up paper from the newspaper. While she was walking past Carrie, she put the paper on Carrie’s chest and said to her. “But don’t worry, don’t give me a reason to regret my choice on hiring you and keeping your secret Ms. Schwab. Don’t like to be proven wrong...” Masumi explained as she took her empty hand back and kept walking.
For several minutes, Carrie didn't do anything; she just kept her hand on her chest, the newspaper clipping - the one with her prisoner photo on it - tightly gripped in her hand. She could feel the werewolf stirring in her chest; Masmui was right, she thought. I can feel the stirrings of a full moon coming; I gotta' control myself or I'll be right back in prison. Maybe that's where I belong in the end but I'll be goddamn if I ever go back, she promised herself. When her and the other 200 or so convicts back at USP Blue Ridge had used the prison riot to escape, they'd all made a vow to never be captured again. She'd seen the stories: mutants killing themselves - and others - to avoid re-capture and Carrie knew if the chips came down on her, she'd go out that way....all guns a-blazing, taking out as many people as she could before the life bled out of her.
But dammit, I don't want to go back, she muttered, pacing back and forth in the backroom before deciding to go back out onto the sales floor and get back to work; as she got back to work, someone asked, "Are you alright, Carrie?"
"Yeah, I'm alright," she whispered back in reply. "Can we just get back to work, okay?" she added. Without waiting for a reply, Carrie resumed stocking, preferring just to work in solitude rather than explain what had transpired earlier, all the while thinking, I will not go back, I will not go back, I will not go back....over and over, in her mind.
