Xin Yan, Locked Out: Part 1

Xin felt really dumb. She had only stepped out to dump some trash in the trash suit, naked as she usually was, and she forgot to put the door on the lash.

Simon was out for the day, and there was no one to let her back in. She was stuck outside the apartment!

No phone, no clothes, she had no way of calling Simon to come help her. She felt really stupid and a little scared.

It was one thing to be naked in the apartment all the time, but another to be out in the hallways.

One option she had was to go down to the building manager's office, to see if he could let her in. But the thought of going all the way down there naked horrified her. Not to mention they would probably get evicted!

But then she remembered, Carlos, their blind neighbor. Maybe he could help!

She could always hide out at Carlos' place, and as long as she didn't let him touch her, he would never know she was naked!

And maybe she could even use his phone to call Simon.

That seemed like the best plan, and she went to go knock on his door.

But Carlos wasn't home, and that left Xin really stuck.

Then she heard the elevator coming, and she couldn't risk it. She had to hide. There was only one spot, the stairwell.

She heading quickly for the stairs, and got through the door just in time not to be seen. She waited for a few minutes in the cold stairwell, it was winter after all, then tried the door.

It wouldn't open, it needed a code. And Xin couldn't remember it.

Their building had a lot of security and to get onto any floor from the stairs meant knowing the right codes.

Xin couldn't remember the last time she used the stairs, and now was stuck on them.

There were only two ways off the stairs, the emergency door to the roof, and the one to the parking garage in the basement.

She had to choose.

But then she thought, maybe if she got on the roof, she could climb down onto their balcony and get in that way. It would be cold, but maybe she could manage it.

What she didn't realize was how cold it was out there. The city in winter, all that snow. And up so high there was nothing to stop the wind.

She was freezing the moment she opened the hatch!

And to make matters worse, the snow on the roof burned her bare feet as she ran across it.

At the parapet, one look down convinced her this was a bad idea. She couldn't even see her balcony, and to climb over the edge and hang naked from freezing concrete while naked, would be really stupid and dangerous.

Climbing down was out then.

That left going down to the basement.

At least she remembered to not let the roof hatch latch, and she got back inside okay.

But it was still cold on the stairs, and shivering she made her way down, trying each door as she did in case one was unlocked.

But no such luck, she had to go all the way down.

Peeking out at the bottom, she had to make a decision. If she left the stairway the door would lock behind her, and she would be stuck in the parking garage. It was warmer there, but hiding would be a problem.

But, she could wait for Simon to come home, and surprise him and get back inside.

She really had no choice though. She might miss him if she hid on the stairs, and what if someone wanted to go up that way, she had no place to hide there.

So out she went, the stairway door locking behind her. She looked it sadly, cos it, and the elevator, needed a code to use.

Then, voices!

Not Simon. She raced to hide behind a car. She did not want to be seen by anyone, but there were people there.

Trembling, she hid and waited, and soon the people left.

She crawled around for what seemed like forever, hiding when people came through the garage.

Would Simon ever come home?

She started to cry, annoyed with herself and how stupid she had been.

And what would Simon say!

But then she heard a voice that she really did not want to hear, say something that made her heart sink.

"Miss, Xin. What are you doing crawling around here naked!"

It was Mr, Silver. The building manager.

More to come in Part 2