Adventures in Botany
Chapter 4
by Penny Propofol
Francesca was a young doctor on vacation with a group of friends. She was a beautiful 27 year old Jamaican woman. She had the sweetest, warmest brown eyes and her light chocolate skin tone was the envy of the other girls. She had finished her first year of residency and badly needed the vacation. The first day she was there she slept most of the day. Her best friend Annette was on the trip too, though she hadn’t seen Annette since she’d gotten up that morning. By that night she began to become concerned. Her friend’s phone was in the hotel room and it wasn’t like that girl to go anywhere without that phone. Francesca put on her pretty blue bathing suit so she could go out to the garden to lie in the sun for a while. Alicia smiled as she entered the private garden through the door. The floral scent from the garden combined with the salty air from the beach to produce a very pleasant environment. The exotic plants were beautiful and provided plenty of privacy for sunbathing.
She was excited to try out the sunbathing leaves that she had heard so much about. She sat her beach bag down next to the bed of leaves and looked around. Nearby she saw another one of the giant plants. Its leaves were not lying out flat like this one, though. They appeared to be wrapped into some kind of a cocoon. As Francesca walked over for a closer look, the shape of the cocoon began to resemble the figure of a woman. As she stood by one end where the leaves closed up together, she carefully peeled back one of them to uncover the beautiful face of the sleeping redhead, Wendy. Her mouth and nose were concealed behind a light pink blossom, but her eyelids were closed and she looked absolutely peaceful. Her skin appeared to be lightly coated in some kind of clear gel.
Francesca was a very smart girl. She knew this was no accident, and the kind of plant that did this to the redheaded girl was all over the garden. Now she had a very ominous feeling about her friend Annette. With her medical knowledge she understood what was being done to Wendy. She could see that this plant was using some kind of chemical compound to incapacitate this young woman. If Annette had come into contact with one of these, she could be unconscious and cocooned almost anywhere on the island. There was no way that the people running the island didn’t know about this. Little things that had bothered her since she arrived began to make sense now. She needed to try to free this girl to see if she knew anything. To do that, she needed her medical kit, but it was still up in the room. Carefully placing the leaf back into place, she picked up her bag and nonchalantly made her way back to the room. It took all of her willpower to stifle her emotions, she was frightened, angry, disgusted. But she knew that she didn’t dare show a sign of that. Once she made it back to the room, she opened her bag of medical supplies. She knew that her doctor’s bag would be too suspicious if she were seen carrying it around. So she took what she needed and put it into her beach bag.
Several minutes later, the Jamaican beauty had made her way back to the garden. She knelt down beside the plant containing the redheaded Wendy. She took out a surgical knife that would normally be used for an emergency tracheotomy. Using the blade to cut the plant at strategic locations, she weakened it enough to cripple it from being able to close the leaves anymore. She did the same to the tentacles that wrapped her limbs and those that were penetrating her body. Lastly, she sliced the one that was gassing Wendy and removed the flower from her face. She pulled the tentacles from Wendy’s body and placed her quietly in a recovery position away from the plant. As she finished tending to Wendy she realized that nearby there was another girl cocooned inside one of these plants. She went over to have a look. Peeling back one of the leaves she could see curly blonde hair. She had found Melanie sleeping in the grip of the plant. Francesca worked at cutting the girl loose and within a few minutes, the petite blonde was freed and placed next to Wendy to recover. At this point Francesca began to worry about someone discovering her and the two girls. She carefully moved the girls so that they could not be seen by someone else entering the private garden.
After catching a breath of the vapors coming off of the gel on the bodies of the two women, Francesca became a little light headed. She realized that the gel was drugging the women too, so she carefully rubbed it off with her beach towels. Once the gel was gone, Melanie began to come around within just a few minutes. She coughed slightly as her eyes fluttered open. She was too weak to talk yet, but she seemed to understand Francesca when she said she needed to stay quiet. Melanie rested with her back against the nearest tree and waited for her head clear. Wendy began to wake up as well, only she didn’t cough or make any noise. She just lay on her back with a contented look on her face, smiling as the sun warmed her. Francesca sat next to her and took her pulse as she asked the girl if she was okay. Wendy blinked slowly then without looking at Francesca said: “It brings people together. The collective, it brings people together. The people, the plants, we become one together. It is love, it is peace.” Then she looked at Francesca and the expression on her face became troubled. She said, “You are not one of the collective. You must be contained. Contained.” She started to try to get up to grab hold of Francesca. Francesca was trying to hold her down without hurting her.
Melanie said, “Ugh. When they start talking like that you can’t reason with them. A couple of them put me in that plant. They were going on about this ‘collective’ whatever it is. She won’t stop until she gets you into one of those plants. She has their scent on her now. They’ll leave her alone, but they’ll still snag you if you get close enough.” Francesca said, “Come over here and hold her down while I get something to make her sleep.” Melanie moved as quickly as she could and held Wendy down by pinning her shoulders. Francesca quickly loaded a syringe with a large dose of Versed. Pinning Wendy’s arm down she gave her the injection quickly. Wendy continued to struggle. She said, “You cannot escape the collective. We are all. You will be contained within the collective. It brings peop... It brrinnngssss.... Iiiiiit....... ohhhhhhhhh.” Wendy’s pretty brown eyes rolled up into her head as the drug overcame her and her body went limp. Francesca was caressing her forehead as she went under. She said, “Now, now. That’s better. Just let go. Don’t fight it honey.” Once Wendy was under, Francesca looked at her peaceful and carefree face. She looked so pretty and innocent.
Turning her attention to Melanie, she asked, “So what happened to you?” Melanie had her head in the palm of her hand. She said, “Ohhhh, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. We’ve got to get out of here, miss. We’ve got to get out of here now.” Francesca was confused, “I don’t understand. She can’t call for help and no one saw us sedate her. What’s the rush?” Melanie looked at her and focused as best she could. She said, “They have some kind of hive mind. The plants, the plant people, everything. They know that you did something to those plants and they know that you put that girl to sleep. They just haven’t gotten here to do anything about it, yet. But they will if we don’t get out of here. I can fill you in later, but right now we have to get out of this garden.” The two girls got up and made their way the garden to the beach as quickly as possible. The sound of the waves was loud enough to cover their voices, so the two girls sat in the sand and Melanie told her tale.
Melanie shook her head again as it began to clear. She said, “It’s hard to remember now, I think the drug that the plants pumped into us helps make us forget. I was looking for my missing friend Arleen and I met a couple of girls down here on the beach. At the time I had noticed that there were very few men here and saw a really hot diver.” She looked around to be certain no one could hear and then continued on. She said, “When he came back up onto the beach from his dive I got totally distracted by him and forgot about my friend. He took me for a walk on the beach, we kissed. He bought me dinner, it was so romantic. I brought him up to my room and we had sex until I fell asleep. When I woke up he was gone and I thought about my friend thatwho was still missing. I decided to go out looking again even though it was dark out. I wandered into one of the green houses, looking around.” Francesca said, “Did you find her?” Melanie shook her head no and continued. She explained, “Inside the green house there were about six of these plant people that had been let out of their cocoons. They spoke in unison and in a drone with some woman that was controlling them. In the middle of her speech she tells them that they have an uninvited guest. Then she turns right around and looks at me. Somehow, the plants I was hiding near told her I was there.”
Melanie shuddered as the memories began to come back to her. She said, “So I decided to make a run for it before any of them got a good look at me. As soon as I got outside of the greenhouse I could see more of them heading toward me. Like zombies or something. I was so scared and I knew I couldn’t make it back to the hotel right away with them between it and me so I headed toward the sunbathing garden to try to hide. Just as I got there, five of them swarmed me.” Francesca listened, terrified by the girl’s story. Melanie said, “So they overpowered me and stripped me naked. Then they brought me to that plant. I’ll never forget how it felt having that thing plug into me. At first I was terrified, but soon I was really turned on. I’ve never felt so sexually alive; the way it took my body was so erotic. It drugged me into submission and wrapped me up tight as it fucked me and fucked me.” Francesca listened with a mixture of horror and intrigue.
Then Melanie went on to say, “I could feel it reaching into my mind, into my body. I felt it taking over both. Soon I could hear a voice in my mind that commanded me and my body. I felt an intelligence merging with me, gaining control of me. If you hadn’t gotten me out of there when you did I’m afraid I would have become like that pretty redhead.” Francesca couldn’t fully grasp what Melanie was saying and thought some of her ordeal may have been a result of the drugs that were pumped into her. Though she didn’t say so, she just nodded and listened. Melanie told her, “After that plant captured me, drugged me and fucked me I think I’m addicted to it. I want to go hop onto one of those things so bad and just let it use my body as its fuck toy. You can’t imagine how good it felt, those soft petals wrapping me up tight, the tentacles pinning me down and fucking me. My pussy was so creamy it slid into me like a hot knife through butter. I don’t like anal, but the feeling of that thing fucking me and reaching deeper and deeper into me as it merged with me was heaven. I felt so warm and loved while I slept in its silky wrappings. Now I feel alone, and cold.”
Francesca said, “We’ve got to find a way off of this island. The next boat doesn’t come for days. I don’t know how much good we can do here, there are just too many of them around. It only takes a few to put us into one of those plants and we’re finished.” Melanie nodded her head in agreement and said, “You’re right. As long as we’re here we can’t really help the other girls without a high risk of being taken just like them. There has to be some other way of getting in and out of here, we just need to find it. The girls went up to the hotel to get dressed for a walk around the island. They agreed that they would meet back up in the lobby after one hour. Melanie smiled and said, “See you in the lobby.” Then she got off the elevator and went into her room. As soon as she shut the door a hand covered her mouth. The hand was slippery with some kind of gel. Melanie thought to herself, “Oh no! That’s the same gel the plant covered me with!” She tried to struggle but the effect of the vapors was nearly instantaneous. She felt her knees weakened, she gave in to the grip of the two women holding her.
Elisa stepped in front of her and took a small plant out of a tiny pot. As she held the plant in front of Elisa’s face, she could see the roots beginning to move. Smiling, Elisa said, “How do you like my little creation? You two are about to become very close.” She laughed as the other two women pulled Melanie over to the bed. They pulled down her bikini and bent her over the bed. She felt the coolness of the plant as Elisa placed it onto her tailbone. The vapors from the gel on Melanie’s face had weakened her. She felt the roots begin to move again, the small plant began to crawl. Elisa said, “Awww, look at that ladies, I think it found a home.” The roots of the plant slithered in between Melanie’s cheeks and found her already creamy light pink pussy. The two women holding the little blonde down spread her legs and watched the plant insert its roots and stem inside leaving only the bud exposed. Melanie felt the roots of the plant begin to bond with her body as a small branch pressed against her clitoris and began to weaken her will even more.
Melanie struggled with all her will. She could feel the plant beginning to try to reach into her mind, to find out what she knew. She imagined a door in her mind that she was desperately trying to keep closed against the probing. The pleasure from the plant’s insertion into her sex and the manipulation of her clitoris was making it increasingly difficult to keep the door to her mind shut. In her distraction she didn’t notice the second plant until it was too late. Elisa said, “Oh, look how pretty. It looks a little lonely, don’t you think? Let’s plant another one in our little girl garden here.” Holding her cheeks open, the other women watched as Elisa pressed the roots of the plant against Melanie’s helpless anus. She felt the plant pressing into her, the roots began to bond to her body inside. It manipulated her nerve clusters, triggering a massive release of endorphins. She felt another consciousness push the door to her mind open. The two plants tag teamed her body and mind and her back arched involuntarily as her she braced for climax. Her fists clenched and she pounded on the bed as she felt her mind being pinned down and fucked just like her body had been. She liked it so much she began to purr. The last of her will melted to merge with the plants. Her body went limp as she surrendered to the forced orgasm. The buds that were sticking out of her pussy and ass opened to reveal two beautiful, delicate pink blossoms that formed her new bikini bottom. After a few minutes, she came down from her orbit and found herself to be one with the plants. She was one with the other two women, completely under the control of Elisa. She happily told Elisa all about Francesca and their plans as Elisa held her close in bed and stroked her hair lovingly.
Melanie was a thing of beauty. Elisa admired her lovely body as she held the girl’s head at rest against her soft, ample breasts. Melanie’s mind had merged with the collective. She was now Elisa’s to control. Elisa sent her best team to locate and capture Francesca. She would make an excellent addition to the collection. She’d already decided to keep the cute little blonde Melanie for herself. The team of girls started their search at Francesca’s room. They fanned out and searched the rest of the hotel. While Elisa had been capturing Melanie, Francesca had a change of plans. She reasoned that the two of them together were only more likely to be caught and that her best bet was to move immediately to try to escape the island. She made her way through the night air, toward the garden. After looking around she quickly located Wendy where she’d been hidden before. She dragged Wendy over to a nearby tree.
She sat with her back against the tree, holding the drugged Wendy in her arms. Francesca thought about what Melanie had said, about the hive mind with the girls and the plants. She realized that Wendy may be useful to her. She spoke softly into Wendy’s ear. Soon Wendy was responding to her voice. The drugs from the plants had worn off; she wasn’t controlled by them anymore. She was still sleepy from the Versed, but could respond to questioning. Wendy told her all about the cave below the ground. Her time in contact with the collective provided valuable information. She learned about the boats in the cavern. There were also submerged craft but Francesca didn’t think she’d be able to operate them. There was a shipment of girls that would be leaving tonight. Maybe she could stow away on that boat or manage to take a different one. Francesca turned Wendy’s head gently so that she could see the girl’s face in the moonlight. She was such a pretty girl and her body was very attractive. She’d never really been into girls, but she found this particular young woman to be very attractive.
She knew it upped her risk of getting caught significantly, but she didn’t want to just leave Wendy alone, naked in the garden and at the mercy of these people. She tried brushing Wendy’s face and trying to wake her, but she was simply too sleepy to walk. Francesca knew that the Versed would wear off pretty soon, but she didn’t have the time to wait. She reached into her bag and prepared a syringe with a light dose of Flumazenil. It would reverse the effects of the Versed and help Wendy to wake up. Within a couple of minutes of being given the Flumazenil, Wendy touched her face with her hand as she began to wake up. She said, “Ohhh. What happened? Where am I?” Sitting close to her, Francesca spoke quietly. She said, “Wendy, my name is Francesca. I don’t have time to explain but we can’t stay here. They’ll be looking for us and we have to get out of here.” The words sparked Wendy’s attention like a slap to the face. She said in a hushed but excited voice, “Oh my God! I remember now! I was trying to help some girl after she’d gotten out of one of those plants. She sounded really odd and I was worried about her. The next thing I knew, it had taken hold of me! It restrained me, gassed me and wrapped me up in its leaves. These plants are evil! They get into your mind and your body.” Francesca nodded in agreement and said, “I’ve seen what they do. I’m really frightened that we won’t be able to get off of this island to get help.” Taking a large t-shirt out of her bag she said to Wendy, “Here, honey, put this on. It isn’t much, but at least you can cover up.” Wendy thanked her and put the shirt on over her lovely body.
Ducking down as they walked, the two women made their way out of the garden and into some bushes some distance away. They saw a woman in the distance that appeared to be searching for them. She had a caretaker’s uniform on and that gave Francesca an idea. She had Wendy strip off her shirt, stand up and stumble out of the bushes as she made plenty of noise. Wendy stumbled around and sounded confused as if she were drugged. The other woman walked over to her quickly and just as she was about to say something she saw Wendy collapse onto the grass. The woman got down to look at Wendy more closely. As she did, Francesca managed to sneak up behind her and wrestle her to the ground. Wendy covered the woman’s mouth to keep her quiet and wrapped her other arm and her legs around her to restrain her. Quickly, Francesca injected the woman’s neck with her powerful sedative to quiet her. Within seconds, the drug took hold of the woman and she faded quickly. Wendy and Francesca carried her back to the bushes and stripped her. Wendy put on the woman’s uniform and took her radio as well.
While Francesca had her helpless on her back, she used the Versed’s effects to her advantage. Under the drug, she didn’t resist the questioning and divulged her information freely. Francesca found out that her name was Rissa and that she had been a tourist here. She ended up being so obedient to Elisa that she was recycled and made into a caretaker on the island. Rissa’s dark hair framed her pretty face and her dark brown eyes were only half open as she spoke in a low drone. Within minutes, Francesca and Wendy knew the location of two passageways to the cavern where the hidden docks were. Each taking an arm, Wendy and Francesca walked Rissa to the greenhouse with the first passageway. Inside they could see the doorway at the back of the building.
This greenhouse was particularly large, the trees inside of it were exotic looking and they had a very pleasant scent. The women could see the vines hanging down from the trees. Wendy pointed out sack-like pods attached to some of them. Then she said, “I think we’d better put her into one of these. It’ll keep her out of sight long enough for us to get away. By the time they find her, we’ll be long gone.” Francesca agreed, and so they gently pushed the drugged Rissa toward one of the trees. She stumbled at the trunk of the tree and fell to her hands and knees. Just as she was beginning to protest, the vines descended upon her. The first one wrapped itself around her midsection to hold her in place. She pulled herself upright, though still on her knees and tried to wrest it from her. That was when the second vine located and penetrated her soft, moist pussy and began fucking her from behind. Reflexively she bent over only to be orally and anally penetrated at the same time. All three of her holes were filled and being fucked, making Rissa just want to let go and surrender her body. She wanted to yell out with pleasure, but her voice was muffled by the vine in her mouth. Drugged as she was, Rissa had a very hard time trying to fight against the pleasure. The truth was she liked it so much she probably wouldn’t have fought it without the drugs anyway.
A thin vine wrapped itself around her arm and inserted a very fine thorn into her vein, pumping some of its serum into her body. Her head began to spin and then a pretty pink blossom closed in on her face, covering her mouth and nose. She felt it beginning to breathe for her: in and out, in and out, spreading the sweet smelling vapors through her body. She began to feel warm all over and very, very sleepy. She could feel the tree taking over all of her bodily functions. She felt it reassuring her that it was going to take very good care of her while she had a nice long sleep. Her body was now completely limp and unresponsive to her. Not that she could have managed to control it anyway, her brain had almost shut down completely and would be reprogrammed during a nice long sleep. It sounded so good to her, being sleepy as she was. She felt the vines begin to rock her gently back and forth. With a muffled moan of resignation she surrendered her consciousness to the soporific power of the tree’s vapors. Once she was anesthetized, the vines lifted the sleeping girl up into the branches. There, she was inserted into one of the sacks. After pulsing for a few seconds, the sack shrank to fit Rissa’s body skin-tight. She was effectively shrink-wrapped into the sleeping pod. Wendy admitted to Francesca that she found the whole thing to be a turn on after being taken once. Francesca told Wendy that watching it happen made her both horny and terrified.
Now that Rissa was contained, the two girls decided to split up. Each would do their best to get off of the island and get help. Wendy agreed to take the passageway from the greenhouse they were in. Francesca would make her way over to the tool shed hiding the other way to the hidden dock. Wendy was frightened, but she went through the door and made her way as quietly as she could. She could smell the earth in the tunnel walls as she made her way down the stairs. There was something else in the air, something she wasn’t familiar with. It was a little strong at first, but quickly faded into the earthy smell. Crouching down she went along, silently as she could, listening for any sound. Wendy felt funny, a little unsteady. She sank to one knee and placed a hand on the ground to steady herself. She shook her head, trying to clear it but it was of no use. She felt confused, unable to concentrate. She felt something gently wrap itself around her thigh but oddly she was more curious than alarmed. Then her other thigh and her two upper arms were suddenly wrapped as well. She was still down on one knee as she tried to tug free but she was too weak. Then she felt the roots begin to cover her body, running over her skin like thousands and thousands of fingers. They were so soft and gentle as they caressed her skin. She felt them running through her red hair, massaging her scalp, soothing her as others began to gently rub her belly.
She made a soft gasping sound as a group of them entered her clitoral hood and delicately began to pulse vibrations into it. She sank down to her other knee, held up by the roots wrapped around her arms. She felt a very large root slither down past her belly. Soon it found her pussy and pressed its way inside the lips, through her vaginal opening, filling it. She felt the bumpy texture of that root as it slipped effortlessly into her creamy vagina. Her whole body shuddered as it slid in and out of her slowly. She felt her face getting warm. Her breathing was getting faster as she was becoming aroused. She felt some delicate roots touching her head all over, she felt some kind of intelligence, reaching into her. She felt something very slick pressing against her asshole. Before she could protest, her mouth was filled with a large, phallic shaped root. She felt an irresistible urge to suck on it, wrap her lips around it and try to take it as deep into her mouth as she could.
Passion had begun to overtake her and she lost herself in the situation. She felt the invading root pressing deeper and deeper into her body from behind. She felt it slithering into her and she bent over and relaxed completely to just let it in. The feeling of it becoming familiar with deeper and deeper regions of her body was sexual ecstasy for her. Having her clitoris pleasured at the same time made it very easy for her to submit to the pleasure. Every inch of her body was being gently caressed. Her body shuddered softly as she came for the roots. The pleasures continued and in a matter of seconds she was climaxing all over again. Somehow this thing had attached itself to her mind as well as her body, it knew what pleased her. It knew her deepest, darkest fantasies and it was using that knowledge to get control of her. Its grip on her mind was now so complete that she could only melt and accept its control. She just kept cumming and cumming, lost in a haze of unbridled pleasure. Her limbs hung down limp as the roots held her suspended in the tunnel. They began to rock her back and forth, knowing that it would soothe her. Overcome by pleasure, her dazed brown eyes rolled up as she lost consciousness and sank into her captors clutches willingly. Her lovely body was the very picture of surrender as her pretty red hair hung down.
After several minutes, a man walked up to the spot in the tunnel where Wendy was held. He sprayed a mist onto the roots and they slowly lowered her into his arms and removed themselves from her body. Cradling her little body, he carried her off to see Elisa. She slept in his arms, blissfully unaware of her peril. A few minutes later, he arrived at Elisa’s lab. He gently placed Wendy on a soft examination table. He positioned her face down and secured her wrists and ankles. Her face was past one end of the table, resting in a padded hoop. Elisa walked in and examined her body. Wendy was clearly a strong, healthy young woman. Elisa opened a jar of extract from some of her plants. The extracted gel could be used to cover Wendy’s skin. The chemical compounds in the gel would enter her bloodstream through the skin. These chemical compounds would lower her defenses. So, when she woke up, she would be more pliable.
Elisa inserted a couple of fingers into Wendy’s still creamy vagina. With her fingers, she found and began to manipulate the girl’s ‘G’ spot. It wasn’t long before Wendy began to stir. The feeling was so good that her hips began to undulate in rhythm with Elise’s fingers. Elisa smiled at the girl, she was ripe for picking. Pulling her fingers out she said, “Wake up, little girl, I’ve got something for you.” Wendy moaned softly, after the roots had sexed her into a coma she was spent. She didn’t even struggle with the restraints on the table. Elisa smiled as she spread Wendy’s pussy lips and inserted the roots of one of her small plants. Almost immediately, Wendy felt the roots bonding inside of her, connecting with her. As the roots bonded with and stimulated the woman’s G spot, a tiny limb inserted itself inside her clitoral hood. The tender green limb wrapped around the clitoris very delicately. Very gently it began to massage her clitoris causing unimaginable pleasure. Wendy’s brown eyes rolled up as the tiny plant pleasured her clitoris. Letting out a long, low moan her body trembled from head to foot. Unable to stop herself, in another few seconds she came again. The tension ran out of her body as she lie there catching her breath.
She didn’t notice Elisa spreading her ass cheeks and inserting another set of roots into her anus. Again, it was almost immediately that Wendy felt the plant begin to act. She felt the roots reaching deeper and deeper into her. As they did, they massaged her, making her want to relax and take it in deeper. The roots secreted a slippery liquid that contained a psychoactive drug. She felt each connection the plants made inside of her. She felt the drug sending her mind slipping and sliding down into the grip of the collective. When they had taken her over completely, the two buds opened up like roses as she sighed in surrender. In a droning voice she said, “It brings people together. The collective brings people together. The people, the plants, we become one together. It is love, it is peace.” Elisa smiled as she heard the words from her new beautiful slave. She couldn’t help but admire Wendy’s soft, smooth body as she lie there in defeat. Wendy would fetch an excellent price on the market. With her deeply submissive nature, she would make her new master very, very happy.
Francesca didn’t know what had become of Wendy since they split up but she did know that they were running out of time. There were just too many ways to be captured and enslaved on this island. She had made her way down the tunnel from the tool shed where Bernadette had gone before her. She made her way past the lily pad ponds and found herself in a small cavern that appeared to be some kind of holding area. Several girls in sleep sacks were lined up against a wall of the cavern. Each sack had some kind of pod attached that appeared to be controlling their body functions and keeping them asleep. Lying on her side, on a table was a tall athletic woman. Francesca walked up to the sleeping brunette and discovered that she had a pretty floral blossom sticking out of her pussy and ass. Quickly digging into her medical pack she removed the plants from the girl’s body very carefully. She was surprised to see the roots retract and wrap themselves back into a neat little bundle. The blossoms closed up tightly into their buds again. Clearly these plants were meant to be removable.
The young Jamaican doctor did her best to rouse Veronica from her slumber. Veronica had a very athletic body. After a few minutes, she began to stir, her brown eyes fluttered open; her sleepy eyes looked around as she began to sit up. She was didn’t know where she was, how she’d gotten there or how long she’d been there. Francesca learned that Veronica had been diving along the reef, trying to make it into the cave undetected. She didn’t remember anything that happened to her after that. Francesca knew that the drugs that Elisa’s plants had pumped into Veronica probably had amnesiac properties that made her forget. She learned that Veronica was sent to investigate the disappearance of some young women on the island. Francesca told her what she had discovered and explained that they needed to get away very quickly. The dazed Veronica agreed. If she could clear her head she would be able to pilot one of the faster boats to the nearest port to alert the authorities. Francesca didn’t know the chemical nature of what the plant had put into Veronica’s body so she didn’t dare risk trying to give her a stimulant. She did lead her outside that part of the cavern and to the water’s edge. From there, the girls could see the docks. Veronica quietly put cold water on her face, trying to wake up while Francesca watched what was going on.
Girls in sleep sacks were being transported to a small hydrofoil ship and carried down inside. Then with a gasp she recognized her missing friend, Annette. She was contained in one of the sacks. The pod attached had integrated with her body. Francesca had to fight the urge to run up there and try to save her best friend. But she knew that would only get her caught. She would be lucky if she managed to get off the island without ending up like the other girls. By this time, Veronica’s head had cleared enough to be able to think and help Francesca find a way out. After watching closely she said to Francesca, “You notice there’s only one man on that boat right now? The others all went to get more girls. He didn’t talk to any of the others, either. I don’t think he helps them load the boat, I think maybe he’s just the ‘pickup’ man.” Francesca nodded in agreement. In a few minutes another group of girls were being transported to the boat. Then the men left the hydrofoil again. The two girls made their move. Keeping low and moving quickly they made their way up to the craft, careful to avoid the pilot’s attention. The two moved quickly to get down inside the hatch.
Inside they found secured racks that the girls were being placed in for transport. Toward the aft section of the hold they found various sized crates and containers. Apparently Elisa was selling more than just the girls. One of the larger wooden crates was half empty. It was their only viable hiding place so the girls climbed inside. Through a small hole in the side, Veronica was able to keep watch on the hold inside the ship. As soon as they’d gotten in and had quieted down, the men arrived with another load of girls. When the last girl had been placed in the rack, the last man yelled up to the cabin that they were closing the hold. The hatch was sealed and one of the men pounded on it twice to let the pilot know it was ready. The girls heard the engines above sputter to life and soon heard the sound of the propellers cutting the air. The pilot eased the throttle forward and the boat began to glide toward the cave entrance. In the hold, the girls felt the boat begin to move. Carefully they climbed out of their crate and approached the racks.
Veronica could see her partners Jessica and Bernadette in the rack. Francesca saw her friend Annette. Francesca said quietly, “We don’t dare try anything right now, they may make too much noise and we don’t know if the pilot is armed.” The ride was beginning to get rough and very bumpy. Francesca looked around, as she was becoming frightened. Veronica reassured her, “Don’t worry, once he gets out past the surf, things will settle down. Once that happens and he will set his course and then we jump him. I can get him into a hold, you can knock him out. Then I’ll pilot this baby right in to the nearest port and we’ll turn that bunch of slavers over to the authorities.” Francesca agreed and began to prepare a syringe with a heavy dose of Midazolam for the pilot.
Just as Veronica had predicted, the ride began to settle down. The girls felt the boat make a deliberate turn and then accelerate to a cruising speed. Veronica looked at Francesca and said, “Are you ready?” Francesca smiled and held up the syringe in her hand, jiggling it just a little. Veronica laughed quietly and said, “Come on, let’s go ruin this guy’s day.” The two girls sneaked their way up the hatchway to the cabin. There, alone at the wheel was a man. Quick as a flash, the powerful Veronica had the man out of his chair and on the ground. All of her leverage and weight were on his back well above his waist, preventing him from being able to get to his feet or grapple with her effectively. His head was trapped in her arms, his neck exposed. He felt the slight sting of the needle as Francesca injected him with the powerful hypnotic sedative. Veronica continued to hold him, preventing him from getting loose before the drug took him over.
She felt the sting of the needle at her own neck. Her eyes opened wide with shock. She let loose of the man and he collapsed, overcome by the drug. As she felt the effects of the drug coming on she looked at Francesca in disbelief. Francesca smiled and said, “Surprised sweetie?” Gently she took Veronica into her arms, placing the side of the drugged girl’s face against her own breast. Caressing Veronica’s beautiful cheek she said, “Thank you for helping me to get out of there Veronica sweetness.” Veronica’s soft brown eyes were beginning to blink. Francesca continued, “I’d love to take you to that port and let you bust those guys, but you’re just worth too damned much money honey. So you’re going to have a nice little nap. And when you wake up, you’re going to feel like a whole new girl.”
Veronica was struggling against the drug with all her will, but her eyelids were getting so heavy. Francesca smiled and said, “There you go. Good girl. Sleep now. Jusssst go to sleep.” Veronica’s eyes rolled up and she surrendered her consciousness to the drug. Francesca let her down to the floor gently and then got up. She walked over to the radio, changed channels and said, “Market, this is Demon Seed. I’ve secured the shipment of merchandise. I’m en-route now. Over.” The voice at the other end replied, “Good work, Demon Seed. Sounds like our business dealings are off to a great start. Your money is waiting when you get here.” Francesca smiled as she hooked the handset back to the dash. She climbed into the pilot’s chair and changed course. She hadn’t had to go to the trouble to capture all these girls; all she had to do was steal the shipment. Her plan had worked out to perfection, though she did just barely avoid being captured herself. Soon, very soon, she would have a lot more money in her pocket. As the boat sped along, the helpless heroine Veronica slept on the floor unable to save the other girls, herself or even open her eyes. She could do nothing but lie there and allow herself to be transported.