Author's note: the females featured in this fictional writing are volunteers because they are addicted to the pleasure they receive. They are not tortured or permanently harmed. If this does not interest you, don't read it.
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Our internship began with a tour of the facility. Myself and 5 other male botany students were led into the first room, an observation room with a thick glass window. Before entering, Brian, the no-nonsense guide, had strongly urged me to return to my car and not participate in the program, but curiosity got the best of me. I insisted that anything my fellow male students could learn, that I should be permitted to study as well.
I looked into the terrarium, maybe 20 foot across in both directions with a very high ceiling. Among ample soil and a variety of plants stood the scientific discovery, and there were four. The plants stood approximately 8 or 10 feet tall. A sturdy trunk supported a huge unopened flower bulb. I had never seen a flower so large.
As if it sensed us, the upright bulb slowly dropped its head in our direction. My heart raced with its movement and size. The bulb puffed itself slowly, reminiscent of someone inhaling deeply. Then, before our eyes, the small mouth of the flower began to open.
I heard myself suck in a breath. It was an amazing sight as if watching time elapsed footage of a blooming bud. The morning sun has shown a ray of light from a small high window as if a spotlight. Dust stirred and twinkled in the air around the magnificent scene. When fully opened, it was approximately 8 feet across. The petals were a beautiful deep red and countless vines and tentacles spilled out from its center in various lengths and thicknesses. Some covered the ground like party ribbon, others swayed about beautifully, as an anemone dance in the sea. I was awestruck.
Brian continued to speak about the exhibit. He said it was discovered in a remote part of western Canada. He delved into its preferences for barometric temperature and so forth, but I could only hear the tone of his voice getting further away. After opening, the enormous flower slowly lowered itself to ground level. It felt welcoming. I felt it call to my soul. I remember wanting so badly to smell it or to touch the satiny petals, to get closer any way I could. That's when I cracked my forehead on the glass and a fellow student grabbed me.
"What's wrong with you?!" He tried to get me to look at him but I felt entranced by the sheer beauty of the flower. He pulled my face towards him and the room went dark for a moment.
"Catch her!" I heard someone say as my knees gave out.
I think I only passed out for a fraction of a second. I had been so overcome by such magnificence that I guess I forgot to breathe. As I came around, the tour guide explained to everyone that this kind of reaction is very common in women, they seem to be drawn to it, like a moth to a flame. I felt both embarrassed and sick to my stomach as I got back to my feet.
Brian picked up the phone and told someone on the line to send in the volunteers. Below, the flowers seemed to turn and shift towards the lower level door, as if they sensed what was now behind it. Then it opened and four young women walked in. The heavy door slammed loudly behind them but they didn't notice. They were instantly in awe of the amazing sight before them. For a moment I was jealous of them. I wanted to get a closer look too.
Three young ladies stepped slowly towards the plants. One began untucking her blouse. Another stopped dead in her tracks and for a moment I could relate to the look in her eyes. Then she closed her eyes and collapsed onto the soil. The other two girls did not notice at first, as they continued stepping closer in amazement. They did not see the longest tentacles of the first plant wrap around the ankle of the girl on the ground and begin to drag her in.
My mind was racing and my stomach felt something very wrong. I put my hand on the glass and stepped closer, watching closely, projecting support, asking the girl to wake. That is when the other two girls noticed. As they changed paths and took a step towards her assistance, the other two plants long tentacles reached for them as well. One girl tripped and a tentacle used the opportunity to wrap around her torso and begin slowly drawing her towards it as she screamed and fought in horror. The other girl was also being held by a tentacle via her dress. She quickly evaluated the situation, unzipped her dress and spun out of it to get away. A vine made contact with her wrist and swiftly entangled itself around her arm, pulling her in too. Cries for help went unanswered from the outside. As the tentacles drug her fighting across the earth, her panties slipped down, below her knees, then to her ankles, obstructing her kicks.
The two girls struggled and fought and screamed for help, but slowly and steadily were pulled in regardless, overcome by the rest of the tentacles. Upon returning its prize to the center of each flower, the petals and all its tentacles began to close around each girl. I remember the look of horror as the first woman finally gained consciousness, just to get a quick image of this gruesome scene. Each bud closed completely and returned to ' upright position, now fuller. The bulbs shook and jerked showing the ongoing struggle within.
I was horrified and panicked. I wanted to demand from the guide what the hell was going on. I wanted to find a way to the lower level and cut the girls free from the plant. I wanted to do so many brave and courageous things, but I couldn't. I was so cowardice that if I said or did something, that I'd be given to the plants. And I was even more horrified that a part of me wanted that.
I swallowed hard and turned to one of my classmates for support. He still watched, fascinated. That's when I noticed the fourth girl was still standing near the door. Side-stepping along the wall, she managed to get away from the tentacles that hunted her. Even as tears streamed down her panicked face, she was quick on her feet and continued to avoid capture. Every so often, she would yell out "will someone help us!", but no one came.