Velma knew better then that

It was all just way too coincidental. Ever since she first stepped into the greenhouse, Velma had felt the heat and humidity slowly but steadily rising. While her sprint down the path definitely didn’t help matters, she was certain that the deeper she ventured through the greenhouse, the more the conditions were intentionally worsened. The air was thick and the mist was around Velma’s knee. And now, just as things had reached the point of unbearable, a fountain just so happened to be placed right when and where she needed it most. Yeah right, the textbook definition of too-good-to-be-true. At first, she likened the idea to seeing an oasis in the middle of a barren desert, a mirage, a falsehood of relief that would not ease her suffering. However, this was in many ways far worse, this was a booby trap and she resigned herself to not drink a sip of that water, no matter how parched her throat became. Or as hot sticky and itchy as her top felt around her body.

She walked closer to the fountain and examined the carved stonework. It was ice-cold to the touch and she dipped a finger into the water and found it to be frigid. Suspicions confirmed. This wasn’t her first venture into a haunted house rigged with unpleasant surprises, not by a long shot. There was no way the water of an unassuming decorative fountain like this one would be kept so cold in a stifling room like this unless there was clear intent behind it. She imagined how refreshing the water would taste, the perfect answer to the prayers of anyone who has been unwittingly trapped in this maze, the perfect bait. And she wasn’t biting.

Velma stepped away from the fountain and was about to start further along down the path but then she stopped herself and turned to regard the suspicious water once more. She shrugged and quickly rolled up her sleeve and splashed some of the water on her face. She managed to cup a bit of water and let it trail down her hair and the back of her neck. She gasped at the ice cold liquid dripping onto her skin and shuddered. While it had been a shock, the relief she felt in that moment was well worth it. In fact, the cool balm of water upon her neck had given her a rather brilliant and at the same time, risqué idea.

Velma knew beyond a doubt by now that whoever had been tormenting her, that omnipotent presence was likely watching her at all times. She considered the notion of taking off her heavy wool sweater and dipping it into the water and then wringing it out over herself, no doubt cooling her off as well as being relieved of the itchy uncomfortable turtle neck for a few minutes. It was already drenched in sweat anyway. Even though she knew the heat and humidity would build back up again, she felt that cooling down her top and putting it back on would give her at least a few blessed minutes of relief. Of course, the other downside was that she guaranteed that she would be exposing her herself to her unseen attacker, which was one of the very last things she wanted at this point. Still, just because she was strong-will enough to resist drinking the water, she was still in a fair amount of agony thanks to the combination of thick wool and the relentless atmosphere.

The decision was made. Modesty needed to take a back seat to comfort and relief. At least her captor wasn’t physically standing right there leering as she grabbed the hem of the moist garment and pulled it off her body. The sweater was nearly soaked through and her skin was quite wet which gave it a light shine in the soft ultra violet lights of the greenhouse. Her bra was simple white cotton and thankfully thick enough that despite the moisture; it wasn’t transparent enough for anyone to see too much.

Velma dropped the sweater into the basin, splashing some of the cool water onto her front as she watched it sink to the bottom. She pull it out sopping wet and lightly twisted it before raising it over her head and pulling it tight, letting the refreshingly cold water splash down onto her sweltering body. Her breasts jiggled as her whole body twitched and writhed from the sudden shock of the icy cold. It felt harsh for the first second or to, but the wave of pure relief that followed was absolute bliss. She let out a loud moan of pleasure as she felt her body temperature falling to far a more comfortable level.

You never witnessed a group of coeds having too much fun at a car wash but you imagined this had to be a pretty close analogy. Your pretty little target was given you quite a show, especially since there was a tiny camera built into the front of the fountain, giving you an up close view of her cleavage as she repeatedly soaked herself in the ice cold water. So she didn’t drink it, that was unfortunate but all together a minor annoyance. After all, this wasn’t the worst consolation prize you could have received. Besides, it was far from the only thing she would have to worry about in the hedge maze as she would quickly discover when she finally tore herself away from the soothing waters of the fountain.

Ironic how she had first whipped her head around the room, looking for more obvious surveillance equipment, wall mounted cameras on the ceiling like she was at a department store when most of them were far smaller and hidden in far more discreet locations, such as the very hedges that loomed around her and of course the one in the fountain inches from where she dunked her top and allowed to it absorb a good amount of the refreshing liquid only to rain it down on herself over and over again.

After several long self-indulgent minutes, Velma felt that she had given herself enough time to cool off and recharge. She held up her turtleneck and felt the thick, soggy fabric. At least it was much cooler than before. She did her best to wring out the sweater and make it as dry as possible but even in her hands, it felt incredibly uncomfortable. As she inspected it, she felt a pang of hesitation towards the notion of putting it back on again. While walking around fairly topless in a place where she was certainly under close surveillance, she could not deny how much more bearable the greenhouse had become since removing her top. Velma pondered the revelation that just a few minutes ago, the idea of taking her top off in a place like this was beyond unthinkable and that now she would do almost anything to avoid putting the heavy turtleneck back on. The curvy little nerd reasoned that her decision was purely out of comfort and self-preservation. She knew she was far more likely to get through this ordeal with more focus and energy then if she tried to continue trudging along with that thing sticking to her skin as she tried to navigate the hedge maze.

So she heaved a sigh and tied the garment around her curvaceous hips and reluctantly started further down the path she had started. The mist was indeed much thicker now and while it had not risen above her knees, the tops of her orange high socks were just under the mist line it and was virtually impossible to see her little red slip shoes. She had gone several yards before feeling a light rustling beneath her feet. She knelt and realized the bouncy path had given way to grass. While the softer ground was somehow comforting, at the same time Velma knew that it would be easier to hide any sort of floor related triggers to set off any number of traps. And worse, the grass made her footsteps far more audible. That meant that if she was indeed ever to come face to face with a masked stalker in the hedge maze, it would be far easier for them to locate her, even if she managed to break a pursuer’s line of sight. She tried to slow her steps and see just how quietly she could make her way down the path. She reached a sharp turn and just as she was contemplating what might be waiting around the next corner, she felt her foot sink into the earth.