Little Shop of Monsters, Chapter 5

[Cbarton]

Little Shop of Monsters
Chapter 5
by
c_tickler and The Hawk​

It was nearly 6 AM when the car drove up to Ockerman’s Nursery. A lone female figure opened the door and slowly walked to the back of the shop. Hayley looked around as the sun slowly started to rise over the horizon. Her eyes blazed with glee as she saw that the paltry alarm system was not on. No need for the tools she brought with her. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the small electronic kit she had been given by the security chief for Munster’s from her skin tight Capri-style jeans. She set it next to the door and slowly entered the shop.

Hayley felt no need to dress in any sort of ‘covert’ style. She was just going right in and right out, so she just pulled on her black sports bra top, the Capris, her favorite black knee-high socks, and her trainers. After this ‘hit,’ she was going right to the gym for her workout. She looked in her hand and smiled. The bottle contained pure Mun-clear, the herbicide that Munster’s sold exclusively. It was sold as a 3% solution and would kill any plant out there. Hayley was taking no chances and was going to pour the straight solution into TeeKee’s pot.

She looked around slowly. The main room was trashed. It looked as if someone had been in there searching for something or as if a brawl had occurred. “That explains why the alarm is off,” she mumbled to herself. She slowly looked around her, hoping that whoever was here was gone. She saw no signs of humanity around, just all the offered flora. TeeKee was impossible to miss, its massive bulb and vines all over the place. She saw several vines at her feet and stomped on one just for spite. She hated Katie, Keeley, and this wretched plant that was causing the world to forget about her.

“Let’s get this over with, “she said out loud, to no one in particular. She slowly walked over to the terra cotta pot that TeeKee was potted in. She couldn’t help but be impressed with its massive size. She agreed now that perhaps she should steal a spring from it so Munster’s could grow one as well or at least start to sell bulbs of it to the public. She looked it, and determined that it was not the kind that would grow from a cropping. She dug around in the dirt and could not find any seedpods, bulbs, or other sources of reproduction. The only thing left was to try to get to the blossoms. She noticed that there was a new one, kind of a bluish-black coloring. She thought that is was weird that all the blossoms were different shades on the same plant. She looked around and saw no step ladders anywhere.

“Time to ‘cowgirl up,’” she said as she looked for a way to climb up to the nearest blossom, the purple one. Reporters had said it was the first, so it would be more likely to create seeds. The trunk of the plant was not conducive, so she looked at the vines nearest to the blossom. She tugged on one. It seemed strong enough. She giggled as she thought of herself as Tarzan’s Jane, swinging in the shop on the vines. She wrapped her legs around a vine and began to shimmy upwards. The vine felt strong, but the leaves all over it were incredibly soft, and she giggled as they slide across her belly and neck. The neck was the worst, by far. She tried not to giggle as she climbed but she couldn’t help herself.

Suddenly, she felt one of her shoes fall to the floor. She looked down as it fell and hit the floor. It was surprising, since the Velcro should have held tight. She shrugged and kept climbing, a mere 3 meters from the bloom. This time she heard the Velcro peel off. She looked and shook her head in disbelief. The vine she was climbing was actually wrapped around her foot and seemed to be pulling off her shoe! She quickly climbed further up and was right in front of the purple blossom. She reached out with one hand to touch it and feel the pistle to see if any seeds were there to be harvested. She watched in amazement as the blossom closed up completely upon her touch.

Suddenly, she felt the vine she was climbing jerk her away from the closed blossom. She felt herself fall to the ground. She was able to land on her feet. She spun around and looked right at the plant. With shock, she saw the large bud opening. Instead of petals, she screamed when she saw teeth and a tongue appear in the opening. She felt in her pocket and pulled out the herbicide. “Forget the seeds, I gotta kill this thing off now!” she thought as she ran toward the pot. Vines flailed out at her as she dodged, desperate to get to this monster of a plant.

She tripped and fell as one vine managed to trip her. As she hit the floor, the plastic bottle skittered away from her, landing near the counter. She cursed her luck as she turned as ran to get the only weapon she had. She sprinted to the checkout area and reached for the bottle. Just before she could grasp it, she felt a vine grab her ankle and pull her away.

“Ummmm…breakfast time…” she heard the plant say. Say? It could TALK???? What had Katie found? This was surreal, like some low-budget horror flick. She reached down and with amazing speed was able to pull her foot free. She looked the room over for anything she could use to defend herself. Seeing nothing, she tried to slowly make her way back to the bottle. A new vine shot out of nowhere and grabbed at her arm. With cat-like reflexes, she dodged it. All those martial arts classes had her reflexes sharp. The plant seemed frustrated as every vine that shot for an arm or leg missed. She had to get to the door and get out. She knew she could not defeat it on her own. It would take a small army to take this thing out. She saw the doorway in the back and began to work her way back to it.
As she reached the door, a group of vines dropped in front of the doorway, hanging like a beaded curtain. She looked around and saw no other way out. She gritted her teeth as she ran toward the open doorway, trying to dive between the vines. As she dove, she curses as she was move vines drop down, making a net now in the doorway. She felt the vines all over her as she tried to swim through to the outside. Instead, they wrapped around her waist and pulled her slowly away from the door.

“Let me go, you ignorant shrub!” she shouted. She tried to pull the vines off her waist, but they clung to her bare midriff like cables. She tried to grab anything she could to pull back with, but the counter was too far to the right. Two more vines snaked up her sides, the soft leaves tickling her bare skin. She fought them off as she giggled her salon-pampered skin still sensitive from her spa trip the day before. She pulled them away and bent them as if to break them, causing the plant to pull them away.

Next, she felt vines moving across the soles of her feet. They weren’t grabbing at her ankles, just swirling against her hosed souls. The sensation was horrid as she fought off the ticklish attack. She had to focus and keep her feet and arms moving, looking for anything to grab or fight back with. Then, she saw the gleam of steel on the floor. It was a knife, big enough to be a hunting knife. She reached down and grabbed it. In one quick motion she was able to slash at the vines around her waist and cut herself free.

TeeKee howled in rage and pain as she broke free. Hayley made a desperate dash for the doorway, now free from the monster plant’s clutches. She was just within reach when a new vine grabbed her by the ankle. The shock nearly caused her to drop the knife. She fell to the floor and began to hack at the vine. The knife was able to break the hold, but not before the plant had drug her most of the way back into the room. Rather than run again, she sprinted toward the pot. Knife raised, she charged at TeeKee. She slashed at his main trunk, hoping to stab it in the main bulb, perhaps weakening it enough to be able to escape.

She reached the bulb and there was a silver flash as the steel blade swung downward. Just before the blade could enter the bulb, one of the vines wrapped around her wrist. It pulled back with equal force to Hayley’s stabbing motion, holding it in the air motionless. Then, she felt the slow, tortuous crawl of a vine around her neck. The shock sent her into a ticklish frenzy, flailing with her other arm trying to grab at it. At the same time, vines slithered all the way up her legs and wrapped tight. “NO-HO-HO-HO-HAHAHAH…STOP THAT…YOU’RE…CHE-HEE-HEEHEEHEETING!!!” Hayley cried out as she tried to slash with the knife, but this time, the grip was too tight on her wrist.

“Not so vicious now, are we, my treat?” said the plant as it slowly, cruelly stroked the vine along her neck. The motion caused a convulsive surge of tickling sensations throughout her. It was like it knew that was her worst spot somehow. She felt the plant trying to slowly close her legs together. She fought it with all her might. The plant was strong, but so was Hayley. Then, it shot a vine to her knife arm, stroking her armpit. The sensation was enough to cause her to lose control, laughter shooting out. It was just enough distraction for the vines to pull her legs together and slowly lift her up in the air, foot first. She fought and struggles all the way.

She found a way to move the knife to her other hand, and quickly slashing at the vine on her wrist. She got it free and the plant lifted her 6 feet in the air. She tried to bend upwards to cut her legs free. As she lifted her head up, she felt the sensation of the vines stroking her feet. The thin, black socks made the leaves feel even more feather-like. She gritted her teeth and tried to fight the sensations off.

“Come now, don’t resist…give in to the feelings…you cannot escape me…tickle tickle tickle…” the plant chided, as the vines started to rub her soles and toes more intently. The sensations were weakening Hayley, as she began to loose the ability to hold it in and lift her torso upward enough to cut the vines. The giggling started to slowly overwhelm her, to the point that she stopped trying to lift up her head. She held onto the knife tightly, still slashing. Then she realized that the vines were not trying to grab her arms. Instead, to her horror, she saw that the plant was lowering her head toward its open maw!

TeeKee lowered her head and licked its tongue under her chin. "Yumm… salty…” was all it said as it quickly snapped it jaws around her head. Hayley swung her arms all over, trying to make contact with it. It swallowed, and now her shoulders entered. Its lips closed around the biceps and just below the breasts of its next meal. Hayley tried to breathe as she entered him further, her mind racing with the sheer desperation of survival. She still felt the knife in her hand, and felt she had only one chance. She waited for the time for the only shot she would get.

When the plant swallowed again, she felt the lips close around her forearms. Slowly, she positioned the knife in her hand so that the blade was pointed up and towards the plant at about a 40 degree angle. She waited and felt the vines lift up her legs to push her in for the next swallow. When it did, her hands entered the bulb-mouth. Instantly, she slashed upward with the knife inside the mouth, aiming for as much of the inside of the plant that she could hit. The blade sunk in deep and hard, and she knew it. TeeKee howled and opened its jaws wide.

She was able to slither out, her body slick and wet from the internal juices of the plant. She tried to get away, but the monster still held her legs. She tried to slash her legs free, but she was now exhausted and the blade was dulling. Before she could break free, it lifted her up in the air before its jaws again.

“You don’t play nice…” it hissed as it swung her back and forth, upside down like a pendulum. “And now, no more play…” it said as she saw a vine shooting toward her. She tried to knock it away with the knife, but missed it. The plant was not aiming for her knife hand. The vine started to slide along her neck, like a feather boa in the hands of a burlesque dancer.

“No, not that…not…THERE!” she shouted out. She tried to pull it away. As she did, more vines grabbed her wrists and pulled them away. Rather than squeeze the knife out of her hand, it sent more vines to her neck. They began to rub against her neck as well, like a brush.

“Pleheeheeheese…not…that…not…therhehehehehere…nohohohohohhahahahahahahah” she squealed as the plant teased the soft skin of her neck. Her neck was the most ticklish. Worse than her feet, ribs, pits, or tummy. She hated for it even to be touched. It was now overwhelming her.

TeeKee watched as she slowly, finally began to go limp from the tickling. Without knowing it, Hayley was overcome with such a fit of giggly laughter that she released the knife. When she did, he lowered her once again into its jaws. The head entered first. It held her there awhile, licking its tongue all over her neck. This wet sensation threw her into even more hysterical fits. All she could feel was the tickling on her neck. She was unaware of her head entering the jaws. She didn’t feel it swallow her down to the waist, licking her tummy on the way. Next swallow left just her feet, still covered with the thin, black socks, kicking like a girl on a swing. One more gulp, and her ordeal would end. TeeKee took it’s time, seeming to savor the moment


Katie arrived a little early that morning. A photographer was meeting her there today to do a photo spread on her and the store. She had even agreed to letting him take some alluring cover girl/centerfold type shots, but, of course, no nudes. She had picked out her favorite white top, grey miniskirt, and black knee-highs. She giggled as she though about the bikini she had hidden in her purse for the latter half of the shoot. She saw the car there in the lot, and knew it was Hayley’s. What in the world was her car doing here? She walked up and saw the empty car. Even stranger. Slowly, she walked to the back door. If Hayley was here to vandalize, snoop in, or take something from the store, she wanted to catch her in the act.

She entered the shop, seeing the tools Hayley had left there. “Shouldn’t leave evidence behind, Hayley-Girl,” she thought to herself. She hid the tools behind a pot and entered, seeing that Hayley had undone the alarm. She slowly and cautiously entered the shop, stunned at what she saw. The room looked trashed, as if it had been ransacked. Pieces of vines from TeeKee lay all over the floor. She gasped in shock seeing them. Had she done something to TeeKee?

She hurried to the main room and screamed at what she saw. There was TeeKee, her precious plant. The bud was partially open, some teeth visible. She also saw the kicking feet of what had to be Hayley sticking out of the plant’s bud…