259. Breather
Amy stands up and takes a few deep breaths, bracing herself for the coming sprint. She looks around and judges that there should be another safe spot by the right wall, opposite the entrance. She sees some large, colorful flowers growing over there and decides to make those her target. Amy takes a moment to limber up, inhales, then runs.
Two vines come at her from above-left and above right; she ducks under them without breaking her stride. Another tries to sneak its way across her path and trip her. She leaps over it. She feels one brushing against her left arm, but she quickly spins, maintaining her forward momentum, and breaks whatever grip it may have managed. After what seems an eternity she makes it to the flowers. Looking back at the vines she sees that she was correct that they can’t make it over to where she’s standing. Amy smirks with self-satisfaction.
She takes a minute to look around. The flowers near her really are beautiful. They’re probably as big as she is, with petals that are yellow at the middle, blending into a bright orange, then an iridescent pink at the tips. They’re speckled brown and black throughout. Each one has three or four large, orange stamens at the center that are surprisingly long and thick. Each stamen gets slightly bulbous at the tip, with a little bifurcation running down the middle. Amy wonders for a moment what they remind her of, then giggles at her naughtiness when she makes the connection. Shaking her head, she looks back toward her destination.
“Halfway there. I've already gotten this far, I should be able to make it over to those pipes without much trouble. But… There’s not really any hurry, is there?” Her eyes drift back to the flowers. Something about them is strangely… compelling. Amy feels like she wants to touch them. And a strange tingling in her loins tells her she doesn’t just want to touch them with her fingers…
What should Amy do?