"Or water."
"Yeah," Robin said. "I'm sure there's a fountain out there somewhere just waiting for us."
I started down the hill. Teal groaned with disappointment, but followed Robin. For a while we trekked in silence. I wasn't watching Teal and didn't realize she was not only falling behind, but because she was closing her eyes too often, she was wandering too far to the right, practically walking in her sleep. Robin, like me, was plodding along, lost in thought and not paying attention to Teal either.
Suddenly, we heard a frightening rattle sound and then Teal's scream. When we turned around to look, she was five yards or so off our trail and she had walked right into a low bush under which a sidewinder rattlesnake was concealed. It had given a warning, but she had either snapped to attention too late or lost her bearing and stepped too closely to it.
Robin and I saw it whipping from side to side in its flight, its body gleaming until it disappeared under a rock almost as if it was ashamed of the damage it had caused. For a moment neither of us could move. A cold wave of panic turned our feet into fifty-pound dead weights. Teal had fallen to her side and was screaming in such a high-pitched voice, it seemed to be coming from inside my own ears. She had her hands around her leg and was rocking.
Both Robin and I got hold of ourselves and charged at her. "What happened?" Robin screamed,
"It just bit me. I'm going to die! A rattlesnake bit me. I'm dying, I'm dying!"
I fought back the panic that was 'trying to climb up my legs as if I had stepped into a pool of ice water. Then, Natani's instructions came back to me. I turned in a new panic. What could I use to lance a wound? We had no knives.
Teal's screams were vibrating my very bones.
"Calm her down!" I screamed at Robin, and reached into the bush under which the snake had been resting. I broke off the thickest branch I could, then took it to a rock and worked on sharpening the edge.
"I'm going to die."
"If you don't settle down, you will," I screamed back at her as I worked. "You're making your heart race and that's sending the poison out over your body faster. Stop it!"
She paused and looked at me and then at Robin, "She's right, Teal. Calm yourself."
"What are we going to do? We'll never get me to a hospital in time," she moaned, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Natani taught us how to handle a snake bite. He put something in his bag." I said, bringing the sharpened branch back to her. "Straighten her leg out and let's see the bite."
I saw the holes made by the snake's teeth clearly.
"I've got to lance it, Teal. It's going to hurt. Just bite your teeth together and try not to think about it."
"How am I not going to think about it?" she screamed back at me.
"Think about the boys you're going to tease at the pool," Robin told her.
I held her leg with one hand, then brought the sharpened edge to the teeth marks and pressed. She screamed and I hesitated, my own heart probably pounding as hard and as fast as her heart was pounding,
Can you do it?" Rabin asked me.
I swallowed, or thought I had, and nodded.
I brought the branch back and pressed harder and faster until the skin broke and I could tear down through the wound. Blood seeped out around the incision,
"Do you remember his instructions?" Robin asked. "I think so."
"You think so?" Teal asked through her cries.
I placed the bag on the ground and carefully looked at the contents until I located the rattlesnake weed. Then I looked at Robin.
"Got to suck it out now," I said.
"I've already had dinner. Okay. I'll do it." Robin said, which surprised me. She looked at Teal. This doesn't mean we're in love." she told her, and brought her mouth to the wound. She sucked and spit, sucked and spit. When I thought it was enough, I tapped her on the shoulder and she sat back. Then, again following Natani's instructions. I squeezed the juice of the weed into the wound.
"What is that? It looks like some weed," Teal said.
"It is, but it has medical powers." I said. "Natani told us."