"I said I'd crawl if I had to and I will."
"Maybe I would. too," Robin added.
A tiny bit of light came through the crack in the door so at least we weren't in total darkness as we had been the first time we were in this van. I sat back and tried to relax when I heard the engine start and felt us pulling away. Then I glanced to my right..
Something was there,
"What's this?" I muttered, reaching for it. It looked familiar. I held it up,
"What is it?" Teal asked.
"Phoebe?" Robin followed,
I looked at the two of them. "It's from Natani. It's his healing bag."
"What's that for? I mean, what does it mean that he left it in here?" Teal asked. whining.
"It means, we're in bigger trouble than we imagined. Dr. Foreman is finally punishing us."
"I don't understand." Teal said. "I think I do." Robin said.
"Well, tell me, big shot."
"Maybe we should just wait to see," I said. "Let's not panic until we have to panic."
"Oh, great. And here I thought we were going on a picnic," Teal moaned,
We were all quiet, listening to see if we could hear anything that would give us even a slight hint as to where we were going and what we would be doing. The roughness of the ride, however, began to reinforce my worries. I couldn't see Robin's face clearly, but I was sure the same was occurring to her as well,
"How far away are they taking us?" Teal cried after what was surely a good hour. "I'm so nauseous. I'm sorry I ate anything this morning."
Finally, the van stopped. We heard a door slam and then the back doors were opened. The Lightness made us all squint for a few moments.
"Ladies," M'Lady Two said, standing there and looking in at us. She wore a wide-brimmed hat.
Robin crawled out first and I followed with Natani's medicine bag around my shoulder. I reached back to get Teal's crutch, then Robin and I helped her down. We stood there looking around. We were, as I had feared, in the middle of the desert. The mountains, in fact, looked farther away than they did when we were at the ranch.
"Where are we?" Teal asked first,
"That's top-secret information." MLady One said.
"We're going for a long walk in the desert, aren't we?" I asked. "This isn't a work detail."
"Believe me. Phoebegzirl, a walk in the desert is a work detail," M'Lady Two replied,
"How can I walk in the desert? I can't walk back at the ranch that well." Teal complained.
"You can walk just like the rest of us. You've been using that sprain as an excuse from work long enough," M'Ladv Two said. "Ready?"
"I'm not going," Teal declared, and folded her legs to sit on the ground.
M'Lady One looked at M'Lady Two. "I'll meet you at the designated spat." M'Lady One said, and got into the van. We watched her start the engine and drive away.
"This way. girls." M'Lady Two said, and began to trek forward.
No one moved. She stopped and looked at us. Teal tried to keep her mask of defiance over her face of fear.
"I'm walking and meeting that van," M'Lady Two said, pointing at the van, which was disappearing over a hill. "If you girls want to remain here, you can." she said, shading her eves to gaze up at the noonday sun burning down on us. "However, I wouldn't advise it."