Taking a long drink from her water bottle, the young redhead looked slowly about her. “I’ve still got about four hours of daylight left, but I’d better be through this stuff soon or I’m going to have to camp in the midst of it. I’ll go on for another hour and then decide.”
She was on a quest. It started with a few obscure old references in the sub-archives at the university library regarding third-hand reports of large carnivorous plants that fed on humans. After two years of reading old documents, she had narrowed the possible sites to two. One was in South America in an area where local warfare was raging. The other was here in central America, in a hidden canyon somewhere ahead. If she could find and photograph the plant, her position in botanical history would be assured.
The university reagents had listened to her proposal, but the concept was too wild for them to fund. “And what would be the benefit of finding such a monstrosity, other than to prove it’s existence?” they had asked. She had to admit to herself that there really wasn’t any; the only reward was to have validated the old reports. Even if she brought back a living specimen, realistically there was no way anyone would let her feed it people – even troublesome freshmen.
Frustrated, she sold everything she owned to finance the trip. The Botany dept did allow her to take some surplus equipment, including a very good camera and infra-red scanner with her. These so far useless pieces of lead were now pulling down on her shoulder straps as she moved forward with a forty pound pack on her back.
Just as she was ready to stop for the night, she noticed the brush beginning to thin. “Am I imagining it or am I finally through this morass?” she asked.
Up ahead, a clearing appeared. True, she was still deep in the rain forest, but the head-high brush seemed to fall away. Nearby, she could hear water running. Stepping into the receding sunlight, she realized that at least for tonight, she’d found a place to rest.
Removing her pack and boots, she walked around. The area was perhaps fifty yards wide and more important, held a lovely stream. Looking into the clear waters, she could easily see the soft sandy bottom, punctuated by a few round stones. A few small fish darted away as she stepped into the warm water.
“Do crocs live at this altitude?” she asked herself, but her tired brain refused to respond. “Not likely” she decided and waded in up to her knees, washing the dirt and sweat away. Returning to the bank, she peeled off her shirt, bra, shorts, and panties and returned to the soothing waters. She lay back and floated in the still pool at the bend of the stream, letting the mild current wash and cool her heated body. “What a relief” she sighed, “but I need to be careful or I’ll go to sleep right here and drown”.
Something moved softly over her leg. Looking down, she saw the long strands of some water plant floating in the current. Her hand slipped and she was wafted slowly towards the strands. Regaining her grip on the bottom, she allowed the leaves to caress her skin. It felt good. Too good. “I haven’t had anyone touch me for a month” she thought. The soft touch was like that of a lover as he undressed her. By turning her body slightly, she was able to move the leaves so they stroked over her groin. Within minutes, a powerful orgasm washed over her, the another, and another. In her weakened condition, she realized she couldn’t keep this up, and forced herself to leave the pool and crawl into her sleeping bag. Her eyes closed and her brain simply shut down. Blackness rose up and swallowed her.
The next morning, she awoke to realize that she had grossly overslept. “The sun is climbing towards mid-sky and my lazy ass is still in bed” she thought. “And I still have to keep going through the forest for at least another day just to be sure I’m in the right area. The canyon was supposed to be due west of a ridge with a tall peak of white granite at one end. Supposedly, the sun striking the granite at the right angle would make it appear to be snow. Snow; in a land where the temperature was already eighty degrees. Some joke!
“Time to get on the trail” she admonished as she shouldered her heavy pack again and bid farewell to the clearing. The forest seemed to open as she walked. While there was nothing that resembled a trail, she could see ahead and began to make good time as she progressed. At noon, she reached a sudden overlook. Scanning the horizon, all she saw was green; no snow, not even a flash of white. Discouraged, she checked her map again. No clues!
“Damn. This just isn’t right” she fumed. Discouraged, she sat down with her back to the overlook. “Maybe I should just go back and….”
It was a though she’d been hit full in the face by a ball bat. Directly behind her, a tall white column of rock jutted silently into the clear sky. It couldn’t have been half a mile away. “How the hell did I walk past that?” she asked. A quick compass check told her she was west of it. “I’m in he damn valley right now. Great way-finding, you dumb shit!” she exclaimed. “You’d probably trip over the Goddamn plant, pick yourself up and walk blindly on without ever seeing it. What an explorer! Thank God no one else is along.”
Calming down, she began to put her thoughts together. “First, I need to establish a base of operations. Second, plot a return course on my maps while I still remember the details. Third, set up a search pattern and start looking.”
About fifty yards downhill, she could see a level spot. When she reached it, she was rewarded with not only a nice camp site, but a small waterfall with a deep pool at it’s base. Sorry, no floating plants this time. Ah, the things a researcher had to give up these days…..
When all of her plans were complete, she ate her dinner, took a swim, and went to bed. Tomorrow would be a busy day. “How many days will it take to search this place?” she wondered. “First, I need to find out how big this place is. Then I simply have to find a plant I’ve never seen before in an area whose size I don’t know – assuming it even exists.”
Her only clue came from the two brief reports that both mentioned silver leaves. There was a single vague reference to a blue flower or bluish color somewhere. Each of the four reports gave differing sizes for the thing. “Well, if it can eat a human, it has to be at least six feet tall” she said. “WRONG said her brain, suppose most of the plant is below ground. All it would need would be a small opening – maybe a flower – to swallow its prey. Or it could be a version of the Venus Flytrap and just enfold its victim with sticky leaves that secrete digestive enzymes.” All pure speculation!
“I’ll know when I find it” she thought, “But I do need to be careful. I’m here to find it, not feed it.” The sheer thought of becoming plant food made her shudder. “No one would ever find my remains way out here.” Sleep came easily and deeply.
For the next three days, she searched in vain. Each night she returned to her camp. Finally, there was no more area to search. She had found two small previously unknown plant species which she photographed and collected, but her prize had eluded her. Her food supply was getting critical; she needed to go back. Reluctantly, she turned her back on the white column and retraced her steps.
Back at her original camp, she returned to the warm solitude of the pool. Floating naked in the water, she allowed herself to drift over to the floating leaves. Soon they were caressing her body again, relaxing her, tempting her. She allowed herself to float even closer to them. Now she found she was actually supported by them in the water. Soft smooth leaves covered most of her body. The rubbing of the leaves between her legs lifted her gently from one orgasm to the next.
“Ok Cheryl, that’s enough” she thought to herself, “You’ve got to get some rest for the trek back.” Time to get out.”
Probing for the bottom with her foot, she discovered she couldn’t find it. She had drifted into deeper water. “No problem” she thought, rolling onto her belly, “I’ll just swim over to the bank.”
She hadn’t gone three feet when she noticed she was not making any headway through the leaves. They seemed to be gently holding her back. She tried to push them away, but the current seemed to wrap them about her wrists and arms. Slowly she began to notice that they were moving against the current rather than with it. It was also becoming harder for her to move, as though the leaves were pushing in around her body. Her legs felt like she was buried in soft mud.
She finally stopped struggling and lay still, waiting to see what happened. Off to one side, she noticed something floating in the water; something large. Rolling onto her side, she watched
as a dull bulbous object rose slowly first to the surface, then above it. It seemed to be attached to a thick float or….was that a stem?
Mesmerized, she watched as the object swayed gently in the air, the water dripping silently off to fall back into the pool. The thing seemed to expand and then the covering seemed to peel backwards, exposing a strange unrecognizable shape. Only when the covering was completely retracted did she notice the silvery color on the inside of the tissues.
“Silvery leaves…..blue something…. flower? no…..petals? no….” Then it hit her; water, blue water. The pool was distinctly blue. Why hadn’t she noticed it before? “I think I may have just found what I was looking for or, more appropriately, it’s found me.”
She could feel herself being drawn closer to the main body of the plant, for that was the only thing this object could be. A faint aroma was noticeable; pleasant, but not overpowering. Unnoticed, small tendrils began to first stroke her body, then rest against her skin. Swirling about her like so many long hairs, they soon had her effectively but loosely restrained. Microscopic needles lining each of the hairs gently entered her skin. A powerful drug began to be injected very slowly, causing her to relax even more. Strangely, she felt no fear, only a calm repose as she watched events unfold around her.
Looking about, she realized that she was no longer in the water. The writhing leaves had raised her above the surface slightly where the sun began to dry her off. Returning her gaze to the plant, she began to search for the mouth. “If it’s going to eat me, there has to be an opening somewhere in the main part of that bulb.”
As if on queue, the white bulb expanded. A depression appeared in the top, which widened steadily. Slender tendrils wiggled out and over the sides, reaching for her. She could look directly into the opening now. A moist, pink tube going down into the stem beckoned to her. The tendrils guided her head forward.
“I’ll o down easier this way” she said as she raised her arms over her head. The restraining leaves did not serious impede her progress as she was moving very slowly. Both hands disappeared into the tube, exploring the incredibly smooth, slick surface. As her arms slid in, her fingers touched something hard and unyielding. There were several of these, slightly oval but thin, set into the walls of the tube. Running a finger over one, she was surprised with the ease with which it cut her flesh like a razor – deep and clean. “Hmmm…she thought, “teeth of some sort, to slice up its prey on the way down.
Again, almost no pain. The drug that relaxed her also dulled all nerve endings. Her head entered the maw. Looking down between her breasts, she could see the leaves lifting her belly. A large thick coil appeared out of the water, ran under her pelvis and back over her rump. As it rose, she was slowly raised higher. Something crept tightly around her ankles and she felt her legs being raised as well.
“It’s going to just let gravity slide me inside” she thought. “No wonder no one ever found this thing, it’s aquatic. It lives under water, disguised as a mass of floating vegetation in a quiet pool. Anyone looking would see only a crystal clear swimming hole beckoning during a hot day.”
By now her shoulders were inside. She felt the leaves and tendrils moving against her breasts, guiding them into the maw. Now she was in up to her waist. The plant seemed to stop for a moment, then she felt more vines tighten around her ankles and she was suddenly standing on her head.
“Dinner time” she shouted as the grip was released. Her body slid forward slowly, gathering momentum as she went. With a single smooth motion, her long legs straightened out and followed her round ass inside. The teeth cut long, deep gashes into her breasts, back, and belly as they slid over them. The maw closed over her feet and she was gone from sight.
She slid about eight feet into a smooth sack. This had to be the digestive chamber. It was already filling. She felt vaguely warm, then realized it was the digestive juices working on the raw meat exposed by the teeth. “It won’t take long like this” she thought through a dim haze. Her higher brain functions were beginning to go.
“Well I certainly proved the stories were true. Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to share that with anyone. I wonder if they’ll even look for me. Probably not, the gear isn’t worth the cost of the ticket.”
With a final sigh, she curled into a fetal position and went to sleep. Already above, the leaves were covering the bulb, which was slowly submerging to await its next victim.