A Lovely Plant

It all started with a simple plant.

I woke up that morning, like I did everyday. About to leave for work, I noticed a change in my garden. There was a small, unknown plant growing in a corner, with a note tied to the base of it. "A gift from someone who enjoys your garden."

I must say, I take pride in the plants in front of my house. I've hand-picked them, and made sure they all grow as beautiful as they can. Though, now a gift because of them? My ego was going to burst!

I went to work for now. When I had time I Googled a bit, trying to find out what kind of plant it was. The closest plant I could find in looks wasn't named, and there was just a picture on a poorly constructed website, recommending to keep it indoors with good light, enough water, and good soil. It showed a picture of the flower - lovely star-shaped flowers in a blue shade with a red center. Once I was home, I brought the flower inside to keep it safe and hoping to see the blooms.

A month goes by and the li'l plant is now tall, the leaves coming directly from the round center. It looks a bit like a pineapple, except completely dark brown, the leaves fading to red on the tips. My friends find it really strange, but cute. They laugh a bit about my ego when I explain to them how I got it, but they agree I do deserve it...

...two months. One night, I hear a soft cracking, like when you open an egg for breakfast. Laying on my bed, I wondered when it could be...but the night was silent again. I shrugged it off and went back to the book I was reading.

The next night, it started. Little steps on the walls during the night would wake me up. As soon as I started paying attention, they would stop. Two, three, four times a night I would wake up to this soft, small hits on the sides of my walls. I spoke to some friends about it, who said I was working too much and the stress was getting to me. I believed them, and after a couple of days the steps finally stopped.

One day, when I went to water my 'gift,' I noticed it had a small crack on one side. I poked it a bit, curious, and it gave it, with the sound of a cracking egg, showing me that the plant was hollow. Surprised, I decided to check the net later to see if it was normal on this plant, and left to work. I had a hard day that made me forget the plant completely until I was back at home in bed, relaxing.

You know that moment of the night when your mind runs wild, making all kinds of crazy ideas sound possible?That's when it hit me: The plant, the egg cracking, the steps in my wall, the insect-like creature over my chest...

...I couldn't move. I wasn't paralyzed by fear, even though I was scared to death. I just couldn't move. I hadn't noticed the ugly creature standing on my chest, piercing through the covers, apparently to inject something in me. It was as big as my fist and had six legs, no wings, and a huge head. I had time to see it as it ripped the blankets, reaching for my body. Two others joined it, silently falling from the ceiling. I couldn't feel a thing, even though I could see my blood as they burrowed themselves into my body. Only my eyes were responding to my brain...that's when I passed out. 

I woke up after a while. Right now, my eyes and my brain are all that belongs to me. They somehow move my body, forcing it to act against my will. My body's withered; they seem to feed on it, yet I feel nothing but the terror of knowing they're inside me, making me walk...making me grab the note I got with the plant months ago...making me walk to another garden during the night, dig a hole, die the note to my dry, brown index finger and get into the hole, leaving only the finger out...