Little Shop of Monsters, Chapter 3

[Cbarton]

Little Shop of Monsters
Chapter 3
by
c_tickler and The Hawk​

The next few days were quite an ordeal for Katie. Three days after Vicky had stood them up, her agent came calling around the shop. Clare had a tough-nosed attitude that made her sound more like a hard-boiled detective than a talent agent, but it worked for her. When Katie and Keeley told her about how they found Vicky’s phone there, Clare took no chances and reported her as missing to the police. That, of course triggered many visits by police officers, investigators, and the press. Katie feared the negative press of Vicky last being seen there would hurt sales. Keeley just had fun being the focus of the cameramen.

In spite of it all, sales grew instead of falling. When the reporters saw TeeKee, they filmed, shot and reported about it all the more. The crowds grew bigger, sales grew as much, and Katie found herself soon needing to hire more help. As the investigations continued, everyone noted that TeeKee was putting on a growth spurt. The new limbs that started to grow out suddenly sprouted buds. Two days later they blossomed with rich purple flowers. Katie noticed to herself that it was the same shade as Vicky’s shoes, but said nothing. She had told no one, not even Keeley, about them. She had a funny feeling when she saw them, but did not want to create too much of a stir.

Now, her big problem was Clare. It seemed she came out to the shop every day to grill her about what had happened that afternoon. After answering her questions for what felt like the 3 trillionth time, Katie lost it. “Clare, I’ve told you ALL that I know. I have no idea where she is. She stood US up. Let the police find her or go hire a P.I. I have WORK to do!” she said as she stormed off to tend to the customers in the store. Clare stood there, hands on hips. She smelled a rat, and hung around and chatted when she could with Keeley. Keeley had nothing more to offer, so Clare stormed off.

Later that night, Clare was in her red sports bra and shorts in her upscale flat working out with her exercise DVD. The more she thought about it, the more she thought there were clues to be found in the plant shop. Evidence gathered by the bus driver placed Vicky in the area that night. Was Katie hiding something? She decided to find out. She quickly slipped out of her sneakers and put her lace up boots on. She jumped in her car and drove out to the shop.

She parked her car at the far end of the lot the shop shared with several other stores. She went to the door and saw that the alarm was on. No problem, she thought as she pulled out some tools and disarmed it. She walked to the back, hoping to find a way in. She explored and found an old window that was not locked tightly. She opened it and crawled through into the shop. She stayed low, not wanted to be busted as a thief. She crept to the back where the counter stood.

She stood when she reached the counter and began to search it for any clues. She got frustrated when she found nothing. She ducked down as she saw lights pass over the windows from a car. When it got dark again, she crawled to Katie’s office. The door was locked. She reached in her boot and pulled out a knife she kept there for self defense. She tried to pick the lock or pry the door open, but to no avail.

Suddenly, she froze. She thought she heard the sound of something moving across the floor. She spun around with the knife poised. She saw nothing. She crawled to the counter again, and then peeked around. All she could see were the shelves and displays in the shadows, and of course, the shadow of TeeKee. Various vines from it were on the floor. She got up on her feet and walked in a crouch toward the nearest shelves, turning her back to the massive plant.

She spun again fast as she heard the sound of something skittering across the floor her direction. All she saw were vines on the floor, looking closer than they were before. “Strange,” she thought. As she started to turn, she felt something on her shoulder and, out of instinct, slashed in that direction with the knife. She saw some vine fall to the floor, cut off from the plant by her blade. “What the heck…” she said, wondering how the vine had got there.

“Owww…someone wants to play rough, hmmm?” a voice said from across the room.

Clare shrieked, got to her feet, and ran behind the counter. She held the knife in a defensive pose, looking for the source of the voice. “Who’s there?” she demanded.

“Come to Poppa…” said a voice coming from the direction of the plant. Clare found a torch behind the counter and turned it on. When she pointed the light toward where the voice came from, she shrieked and dropped the torch. She saw the large bud open, with teeth and a tongue inside, licking its ‘lips’. As it did, she saw and heard vines moving toward her.

She screamed as she slashed right and left with her knife. It was sharp, but Clare wished it was larger, like a machete. She stabbed and cut off vines as they reached for her. With every cut, the vine would retract, only to be followed by more. Clare panted for breath, slashing and looking for a better weapon as she fled the demon vines. She saw a scythe on the wall and ran for it.

As she wrapped her hand around the handle, she felt herself fall. When she spun around on her back, she screamed at the sight of why she had fallen. The vines had wrapped around one ankle. She swung the scythe toward the vine but missed. The vine lifted her up by the one ankle into the air, suspending her over the floor. She kept swinging, but the vines held her out of their range. After another futile swing, she felt another vine wrap her other ankle, holding her spread eagle over the floor, head down. She tried to lift her head up, as if doing suspended sit ups, and swung again. She barely missed the vine holding her left leg. In the process, a vine grabbed her left arm. She tried to swing for that one and missed, and the vine snaked all over her left arm. She shrieked at the sensation, for the leaves were soft and feather-like.

She made another desperate swing with the scythe and missed, losing her grip on the scythe. Her eyes got wide as she saw her weapon fall to the floor. The plant saw its opportunity and tried to grab her other arm. Clare kept fighting and dodging its attempts. “No, I won’t let you get it!” she shouted.

“Ahhh…she puts up a fight. Must tire you out more…” she heard the plant say. She looked down and felt more feathery leaves snake along her legs. She tried to stifle a giggle at the tickly sensation. She looked in horror as vines began to wrap around her bare belly. The feather sensation there was too much and some girlish giggles slipped out.

“Nohohoho….fair…dohohohn’t….ticihihihihihihkle…” she called out. She tried to grab the vine around her belly to pull it off. In the process, a new vine shot out and took advantage of it, and wrapped around her right arm. “NOOOO!” she screamed. Now she was at the plant’s total mercy.

“And now…let’s finish you off…” TeeKee whispered towards her. She gritted her teeth as she saw the leaves on the vines around her stroke and rub her skin. They felt like hundreds of horrid feathers on her skin. In moments she was giggling and laughing from the ticklish onslaught. She watched and felt in defenseless horror as new vines began to poke her sensitive ribs. She wriggled and writhed to try to free herself. However, the vines held her too tight.

“Nohohohoho..tihihihihickle me all youhoohoohoohoo want…I work out…can’t wear...me out…stupid plant!” she screamed, hoping someone would hear her. The leaves and vines tickled her with more fury now, all over her legs, arms, pits and belly. The more it tickled her, the more she laughed and fought against it. She noticed that the more she fought, the less it tried to pull her toward its mouth. She only had to hold out long enough for someone to see and save her. It ran leaves and a vine under her sports bra, with highly ticklish and erotic results. “Youhohohoho pervert!” she cried out, suppressing the ticklish arousal she was now feeling.

Then, the unthinkable happened. She felt the vines loosen a little around her ankles. When she did, she kicked hard and looked. Her face went white as she saw vines pulling at the Velcro clasps on her boots. “No…not that…NOOO!” she shouted and began to kick and fight with her might. In response, the plant shot another vine into her bra, with a vine wrapped around each breast. It shot another under her shorts, up the left leg and back out the right. The vines and feathers went to work on her all over. Her shrieks were accompanied with moans as they distracted her. The plant pulled her feet as far apart as possible, and then began to slowly undo the boots. Clare watched, unable to stop them, the leaves tickling her all over.

Both boots fell with a thud at the same time. “Heheheheh…the best for last, I see,” she heard TeeKee say. She watched silently as the plant pulled her legs together. When she saw a vine slowly wrap around her ankles like a rope, she screamed as loud as she could for help. Clare pampered her feet with treatments, pedicures, and soaks. Previous lovers had found out how horridly sensitive they were. If the plant struck there, she was lost.

She saw the two vines as they floated over her feet, taunting, teasing, as if the plant knew. It drew the tip of a vine up and down her left sole. Instant screams and laugher erupted from poor Clare. Her feet were insanely ticklish. The plant started on the other sole as well, moving opposite of the other foot. Clare tried to fight, but felt her reserves draining. She looked again, only to see two new vines over her toes. The screams were reduced to laughing and girlish giggles as they wove between her toes.

Clare was a laughing mess now. She just hung there and laughed as the all vines other than the ones with her feet unwrapped from her. She looked down and suddenly saw the open mouth-bud. TeeKee slowly lowered her down into its mouth. First her head, then the torso, then the les until only her feet stuck out. It seemed to enjoy taking its time and kept tickling her feet with the rest of her inside him. After many minutes, Clare passed out, and TeeKee swallowed her.