An Unwelcome Gift

The doorbell rang, grabbing Emma's attention. She cocked her head to the side quizzically. She never had guests. She got up from her bed, where she had been reading, with a yawn. Emma was a young woman in her twenties, with long, shockingly red hair, pale, fair skin, and turquoise eyes. A line of freckles trailed across the bridge of her nose. At the moment, she wore an oversized blue hoodie, as well as fuzzy pajama pants, and slippers that looked like sleeping cats. Emma held two jobs to provide for herself. One was a mattress tester at a local factory, and the other was as a test subject for sleep studies in a nearby lab. Both made excellent use of Emma's main quirk -- she was almost always dozing off, no matter the time or place. It had hindered her from getting much work in the past, but she had been lucky enough land both jobs, and now lived semi-comfortably.

She descended the stairs and strode to the door, curiously. Through the peephole, there was no one there and Emma grew suspicious. "Did someone ding-dong dash me? Don't they have anything better to do..." She opened the door and almost stepped on the object that was sitting on her doormat. As she looked down, she saw a plant in a pot, with a bow and note tied around it. The plant itself was completely inconspicuous; it simply looked like a cluster of vines tangled together. Emma removed the note and read aloud "From a secret admirer." There was nothing else written on the note, as she turned it over and inspected it thoroughly, before putting her hand to her chin thoughtfully. "Secret admirer, huh? It was nice of them to give me something, but..." She scratched her head and yawned. "I don't even know how to take care of plants. Or even what this one is; that's a really weird gift. It doesn't even have any flowers or anything." She lifted the plant up, inspecting it, while stowing the note in her pocket. "Hmm..." She stared at it for a moment, then shrugged nonchalantly and brought it inside, closing the door behind her.

She took it up to her room and set it on her bedside table. "Maybe I can give it to Gabi or Alyssa; I know Alyssa knows how to take care of them." She murmured to herself. For now, she returned to her bed, laying above the covers. She picked up her book, and began to read again. After a few minutes, Emma's eyelids began to droop of their own accord. She tried to stay awake, but it was hard. The room was nice and warm, she was comfy, there was that pleasant hum in the air... Her eyes opened. "Wait. Hum?"

Emma looked around her room. Her PC was off, she hadn't been gaming or anything. The air conditioning wasn't running at the moment. So what on earth was the noise? She stood up from her bed and began looking around the room, opening her closet and checking her drawers. Maybe she had forgotten to turn her phone off, and it was vibrating from a text or something? But her phone sat on her bedside table, still as always. As she approached her phone, the humming noise got louder, and yet the phone was still silent. Her gaze turned to the houseplant, and she shook her head in dismay. There was no way. Plants didn't hum... did they? Certainly not any of the ones she knew of, but then again, she'd never seen this particular plant until a few minutes ago.

Cautiously, she walked over to the plant and picked it up, gradually lowering it near her ear. Although faint, it was the noise she had been hearing; sure enough, the plant was... humming. Emma shook her head in disbelief as she listened. What the heck was up with this plant, and who had sent it? Lost in thought, she didn't notice the plant slowly but surely growing closer to her ear, the vines beginning to unfurl and untangle themselves. As she was about to set the plant down, one of the vines quickly shot toward her ear, embedding itself within her ear canal. Emma shuddered from the sensation and turned to look at the plant, the vine stretching further into her ear despite her trying to distance the plant from herself. The other vines began reaching toward her and she stared in alarm. "What the hell?!" She tried to throw the plant away, but two vines had wrapped around her forearms, preventing them from moving at all.

Emma grunted in frustration as she tried to shake the plant free, but as the vine in her head pushed deeper, she shuddered again, and her attention turned back to it. "Oh my god, what the heck is happening?!" She couldn't even lift her arms to try and pull the vine out, and as two more vines extended to grab hold of her calves, she fell to the floor. Out of nowhere, she felt a sudden wave of unwilling relaxation wash over her. She should have been scared or angry or frustrated, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make herself feel any of those things. It was as if a black curtain had dropped over Emma's emotions; she knew they were there, but she couldn't reach them. "What's going on..." she muttered, without much force behind her words.

The vine in her ear had reached her brain, and the tip of the vine opened to reveal small, pink tentacles with rounded, flat tips. They gently adhered themselves to Emma's brain, and immediately, Emma felt sleepy. She always did, of course, but this was something different; something... sinister. For once in her life, Emma dreaded falling asleep. She fought as hard as she could. Her mind was beginning to grow foggy, and a gentle voice whispered in her mind: "Sleep... just sink into slumber, and let us do the rest..." Was the plant talking to her? Through the haze in her consciousness, she couldn't tell if she was dreaming it or not. "Sleep... and snore..."

At this, Emma paused. The request was more than odd, it was bizarre. The plant wanted her to sleep, but also... to snore? What did that have to do with anything? Why did it ask her to do that? As her mind continued to shut down, she started getting confused. Wait. Snore? What was that? What did that word mean? She knew she'd heard it before, but--

"Sleep... and snore..." The vines whispered to her. She knew what both of those words meant -- or at least she thought she did, but for some reason she couldn't remember what either of them were supposed to mean. The words were quickly slipping away from her. Distracted by her confusion, Emma began to resist less, her mind now preoccupied with the problem. What was sleep? What was a snore? It was if there were two holes in her mind that, despite being on the tip of her tongue, were impossible to fill.

As she yawned, and the vines continued filling her brain with hypnotic energy, she suddenly decided it wasn't important. Did it even really matter what they meant? Did she even care? She had a vague sense that something was wrong, looking at the plant she was still being forced to hold, but she couldn't put her finger on what. In fact, she couldn't even remember her own name. Something so important to her somehow eluded her. Who was she? What was she? But the vines soon gave her the answer.

"Slave... host... sleep for us... and snore..." Slave? That didn't sound right. Something was wrong, Emma thought again. She didn't have the faintest idea what it was, but she knew something was very wrong. But the vines continued their work, more tendrils attaching themselves to her brain. After a few moments, she changed her mind. No, wait. That was right. She was a slave. She served her masters, the vines. They were the ones in charge, not her. And... what had they asked her to do again? Emma struggled to think of the answer.

"Sleep... and snore..."

That was what the vines had said, but she still couldn't remember what they were, as her eyelids began to droop again. Sleep... snore... what did they mean? After a few minutes of thinking, she began to get a vague idea. Sleeping... wasn't that like... when you were really tired, and you had to lay down? And a snore... that was a sound you made while you were asleep, right? A tired, lazy, peaceful sound. You had to be tired to do both, didn't you? Emma did feel incredibly tired. Like she hadn't rested in months. This was hard. How did you... put the letters together again? She had begun to forget... even the sounds... and looks... of words... A huge, invisible weight bore down on her shoulders, as she sat on the bed. Her masters were right. She should do what they said, and sleep... and snore...

But the vines weren't quite done with her yet. "Strip..." the vines whispered. Strip? Like, take her clothes off? No. No, she couldn't do that, that wasn't safe-- "Strip." The vines said, more forcefully. Emma paused, then began to take her hoodie off. She was in her own home, so... it should be okay... right? She had a black t-shirt underneath her hoodie, which the vines again commanded her to remove. After a moment's hesitation, she obeyed, lifting the shirt up over her head. She had no bra on; as the shirt came off, her ample breasts, as well as her nipples, were exposed to the warm air of her bedroom. "Pants." The vines commanded simply.

Emma resisted again. No, she had taken her hoodie and shirt off, that was enough-- "Pants." The vines commanded, a hint of irritation in their voice now. She didn't want to take her pants off, but... she also didn't want to upset her masters... She hesitated longer again, but as the vines let loose another pulse of energy into her brain, a dreamy expression came over her face, and she began to remove her fluffy pajama pants without a second thought, leaving her only in her blue underwear. Without even being asked, she began to remove those as well; she knew it was what her masters wanted.

She tossed the panties aside, leaving her completely nude in her bedroom. Now, the vines were satisfied. They returned to their earlier instructions. "Sleep, and snore..." Emma's eyelids grew unbearably heavy, beginning to hide the bright, turquoise color. Her head began to nod forward. She wanted so badly to obey, to simply drift off and sleep. "Sleep, and snore..." Her chin began to sink against her chest, as her eyes started to close fully. She was so exhausted... With one final pulse of energy from the vines, her eyes finally fell shut. Her head hung down, hair falling around her face.

After a few moments, a deep, resonant snore escaped Emma's lips. She was sound asleep. But even in sleep, the vines still had control. Now they could begin their real work. The vines spread over her body, curling around her breasts, tracing over her belly and navel. Some went down to her nether regions, pushing their way into her pussy as she slumbered on. She was their vessel now; a mere host. And as such, these intrusions barely bothered her at all. Her only task now, above all else, was to simply sleep, and snore. The vines freely roamed over and into her body, a second vine entering her other ear, two vines blocking her nasal passages, forcing her to breathe through her mouth, which only amplified the sounds of her snoring, as her throat relaxed in on itself. After the vines had explored every inch of her, they commanded her to leave her room, and walk down the stairs.

Although she was sound asleep and clumsy, the vines ensured Emma wouldn't make any mistakes, no stumbles or falls. Their host was too precious to them. She sleepwalked down to the living room, where a large window sat behind her couch. The vines walked her over to the window, still asleep, and made her wave at passersby, making more than a few of them stare. One young man crashed into a telephone pole on his bike as he watched. After a few more minutes of people watching, the vines made her wave again, before finally drawing the curtains shut. She would sleep better in the dark, after all. The vines made her lay on the couch to snooze, and she haltingly obeyed. While still snoring, she let her body entire body be sprawled out on the cushions, her breasts and pubic mound revealed.

She simply lay there, snoring loudly, her chest moving up and down with the rhythmic, peaceful sound. Her breasts hung lazily to either side of her ribcage, her nipples erect in the cool air. Snoring fully exposed, all her inhibitions gone... The vines commanded her to stay in that relaxed position on the couch, and let her deep, slumbering, soporific sound just fill the entire apartment, each snore fully enforcing the control they had over her.

Slowly but surely, they wound themselves around her middle, anchoring her tightly to the sofa. Vines covered her like a blanket, protecting her and caressing her, one slipping in and around her belly button. In her sleep, she let out a relaxed giggle and continued her snoring. She became almost invisible among all the vines, which cocooned her torso completely. They intertwined under her legs and over the sofa. One found its way into her open, yawning mouth, and she let out a small "snrk" in response, but instinctively swallowed it like a reflex, falling even deeper into her snoring slumber.

Drool began to leak from the corner of her mouth, down onto her chest and stomach. For hours, Emma continued to simply snore on the couch. As she slept, her memories of ever being awake slowly began to fade, seeming more dreamlike than the slumber she was in now. Soon, all she could remember was sleep... and more sleep... and the endless snores that filled her ears, acting as a sort of automatic lullaby to lull her even deeper. More vines spread down to her crotch, entering without much resistance. She accepted their presence willingly, not caring what was happening, or what might happen. The drool from her open mouth began to spill from her chest onto the couch cushions, then to the floor.

A few vines coiled themselves around her nipples, squeezing and caressing them. Had she been even slightly conscious, she would have moaned at the stimulating sensations. But as it was, she simply slept on and snored away. After a few more hours, and with it growing dark outside, the vines directed her to move back upstairs, to her bed. She ascended the stairs once more, and entered her bedroom. Without any hesitation, she sat down on her bed, then laid down completely on her back, her body sprawled out haphazardly. She continued to sleep and snore soundly throughout the night... then through the morning, then the afternoon as well. Despite having been asleep for almost two days, Emma felt no hunger or thirst. It was if the vines were supplying her with everything she needed.

Three days went by. Four. A week.

Then, at the start of the second week, Emma's phone began to buzz and make noise. Ping! She had gotten a text, but the vines certainly weren't about to let her wake now. After about fifteen minutes, two more notifications sounded out. Ping! Ping! Still, Emma snored on lazily, not responding at all. She no longer had the mind to care. The vines wouldn't allow her brain to respond or even hear the noise, as she snored soundly on, comfortably asleep. As the text vibrations continued, her snores seemed to get deeper and heavier, as if in defiant response. The vine near her navel sluggishly reached over and coiled around the phone. Then it returned to her belly, setting the phone down directly above her belly button.

As the phone continued to go off, unheeded, the vibrations from it inadvertently helped to massage and relax her belly, just as the vines had intended. She let out a blissful sigh, the relaxation setting in and causing her to snore heavier. Ping! Ping! Ping! Someone was intent on getting a hold of her, but she no longer cared. She just continued snoring, unaware of her phone vibrating against her exposed stomach.

Then, the phone stopped getting texts and started ringing. As if the vines were starting to get annoyed, they reached over to the phone and accepted the call, putting it on speaker, intending to find out who was trying to disturb their host's sound slumber.

"Hello? Emma?" The caller said, the voice feminine. It was Emma's best friend, Gabriella. "It's Gabi! I've been trying to reach you for like the last hour! What are you doing?"

"Snkk-snork... Snooooooorrrkkkkkkkkkkk..." Emma snored contentedly, the sound loud enough to be picked up by the other end.

"What the... are you sleeping?! Did you seriously just pick up the phone to start snoring?...Wait, no, that doesn't make any sense. Emma? Are you actually asleep? Hellooooo?", Gabriella asked again, but to no avail, as her friend just kept snoring on the other end, not hearing a thing that she said.

Finally, the vines had had enough, and they disconnected the call.

"That's it, I'm coming over to wake you--" Gabi's voice was silenced as the call was cut.

More texts arrived, but the vibrations simply continued to send pleasant tingles through Emma's stomach as she snored happily. The vines massaged her stomach and kept her in a deep slumber, caressing her. Her snoring grew even louder and heavier as a result.

She let her jaw hang open as she slept, more drool spilling out onto her pillow, her snoring relaxed and regular. Deep, heavy rumbles filled the apartment, drifting peacefully through the air.

BRRR! Another phone call.

The vines were losing their patience. They grabbed the phone out of frustration, and answered the call, as usual, putting it on speaker.

"Snoooorrrkkkkkkkk..." She began to snore as soon as the vines put the phone up to her ear, and Gabi heard everything this time.

"God, Emma, are you in bed or something?! Your snoring is......oh my god, do you always snore this loud? We've slept in the same room countless times, and I've never heard you snore like this! I mean I know you're a deep sleeper, but... I'm almost there, something's gotta be wrong. People have reported you missing for a week! Just-"

The vines hung up again, and tossed the phone against the wall with a loud BANG, knowing nothing could wake Emma now. They would have to deal with her friend when she got here.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang, but there was no response. "Emma? I'm coming in!" came Gabi's muffled voice. The door unlocked from the outside, and Gabi stepped into the house. Gabi was a girl similar in age to Emma, but their appearances were vastly different. Gabi had short, dark hair and tan skin, with brown eyes. She wore a grey T-shirt and shorts, as well as sneakers. Even from the first floor, Gabi could hear her friend snoring upstairs. It sounded as if Emma hadn't slept in months... the snoring was so raw and deep. Worried about her friend, Gabi climbed the stairs, reaching her friend's bedroom. Pushing the door open, she stepped into the room, and shrieked as she was greeted by the sight.

On the bed, completely naked, lay Emma. But not only that, she was of course, sound asleep, and completely encased in vines. They had bundled her from head to toe, and two thick vines were inserted into each nostril. Vines were also buried deep in her ears and mouth, yet Emma wore a contented smile, snoring away as if nothing was wrong.

"God, what the hell?!" Gabi exclaimed in horror, rushing over to her friend's bedside and looking at her up and down. Something wasn't right...

The vines. The moment Gabi realized what it was, they seemed to recoil and expand, more of them writhing their way towards her.

She instinctively let out a scream and moved to climb onto the bed to help her friend... but froze in place. A thick tendril had fastened itself around her ankles, and began working its way up, wrapping around her lower legs...

"No, no, NO!" Gabi shouted, trying to struggle free. She didn't know how the vines had put Emma into such a deep sleep, but she didn't want to suffer the same fate.

She fell to the ground and kicked at the vines, desperately trying to get away. No good... More and more vines were already beginning to creep over her body, holding her tightly in place.

Gabi yelped loudly as the first of the vines invaded her ear. She twisted and turned her head wildly, trying to force the invasion to stop... but it was no good...