“See? Piece of cake. If I can do it, you two can do it,” she challenged.
Robin was next. Teal helped pull her along and they were both up there. I hesitated and looked around, half expecting Dr. Foreman herself to step out of a shadow from which she had been observing.
“C'mon already,” Teal whispered.
I got up on the barrel. For me it shook, probably because of my nervousness and hesitation, and that panicked me. I caught hold of the edge of the roof and the two of them grabbed my arms, but when I lifted my feet, the barrel toppled and I dangled there.
“Great!” Teal moaned. She and Robin then struggled to pull me up.
Finally, scraping my left forearm, I got most of my body up and over the edge. I swung my feet around and lay there, panting.
“How are we going to get off now?” Robin moaned, looking at the barrel on its side.
“We'll just lower ourselves slowly and jump. We're not that high up,” Teal said, refusing to be discouraged. “Ready?”
Robin nodded and the three of us, kneeling to stay low and out of the light that poured from the window of the hacienda, walked slowly over the roof toward the illuminated window. As we drew closer, we heard both the music and the laughter get louder.
We hesitated.
Teal indicated we should lower our bodies to keep out of sight. Practically on our stomachs, we inched toward the window. A loud peal of laughter from all three buddies stopped us for a moment. My heart was thumping. My forearm burned where I had scraped it, and I felt so weak in my stomach, I thought I might lose my balance and go rolling down and over the edge of the roof.
Teal wiggled like a snake under the window to the other side. She beckoned to Robin, who rose a bit and pressed her back to the wall. Moving on only her heels, she drew closer to the window, then they both waited for me. Another loud roar of laughter came from the buddies and the sound of someone clapping.
Robin reached down for my hand. I clasped hers and crawled closer to the window. Then Robin leaned in small increments until she was looking into the room. What she saw made her jaw drop. She looked at Teal, who peered in and then pulled back quickly, her head against the wall.
Stepping back to make room for me, Robin tugged at my hand and I rose to look through the window.
M'Lady Three wore a pair of jeans and a bra. She had her thick arms around M'Lady Two, who was in her uniform, and they were dancing. M'Lady One was on the bed to the right, dressed only in her bra and panties, smoking what looked like a joint and laughing as the two danced.
M'Lady Three had no rhythm. She was like a tree trunk, unmoving. M'Lady Two turned out and moved well to the beat. Then M'Lady Three let go of her hand and reached for the joint M'Lady One was smoking. She lay beside M'Lady One. M'Lady Two kept dancing while the other two shared their joint, watched, and laughed.
How could they do this without Dr. Foreman knowing and approving? Was it some way of rewarding them? Or were they just confident she wouldn't hear them or bother with them?
Suddenly, M'Lady One clapped her hands and cried, “Take it off, take it off,” at M'Lady Two, who was still dancing. She laughed and turned to them and began a striptease.
Robin leaned in to look over my shoulder, and Teal lowered herself and peered in now through the opening in the window. We watched in awe as they cheered on M'Lady Two. She dropped her jacket and undid her blouse, turning and swaying to the music as she disrobed. When she stepped out of her skirt, the other two stopped cheering and watched with fascination.
“This is stupid and disgusting,” Teal whispered.
Robin shook her head and put her finger to her lips.
The striptease continued. M'Lady Two unfastened her bra and held it up and then flung it at them. They laughed and sat up watching as M'Lady Two slowly took off her panties. Then she bent over and wagged her rear end at them and they laughed. When she turned and straightened up, she looked toward the window and we didn't get our faces back fast enough. That was clear from the expression on hers.
Teal scampered on all fours under the window and we rushed to return to the place where we had boosted ourselves up on the roof. We could hear the window being opened wider.
“Who's out there?” M'Lady Three cried.
The three of us stopped and dropped on our stomachs, hoping we weren't seen. We held our breath, but our hearts were pounding like three jungle drums.
“I see them,” I heard.
“Let's get them!”
Teal rushed to get to the edge of the roof, lost her grip, and rolled over with a short scream. I heard her hit the barrel below.
Robin and I swung our legs over the roof and, as gracefully and carefully as we could, lowered ourselves and dropped. We fell on our rumps, but neither of us got hurt. Teal was squirming on the ground, holding her ankle and crying.
“I smashed it against the barrel,” she moaned. “It feels like it's bleeding!”
“No time to look,” Robin said.
Without delay, we got her up and had her put her arms around our shoulders. Then we moved as quickly as we could, staying within the darkest shadows, Teal limping along. We were practically carrying her most of the way. When we heard a door close behind us, we tried to go faster. Teal moaned and nearly fell, even with us doing most of the work. Neither Robin nor I looked back.
When we reached the barn, we opened the door and hurried in, setting Teal on her cot.
“My ankle feels like it's on fire.”
“You'll have to put up with it and keep quiet, Teal,” I said. I helped her get her shoes off and then we got her under her blanket and made it to our cots and under our blankets just as the door was opened. Incredibly,
neither Gia nor Mindy had awoken, or if they had, they pretended to be asleep.
I thought the buddies would put on the lights and start screaming at us, but it was quiet. I had my back to the door and looked at Robin, who had hers to the door as well. Finally, I did hear footsteps over the straw and, moments later, jumped when a stiff forefinger was poked sharply into my side.
I spun around.
M'Lady One was kneeling at my cot. In the moonlight that poured through the barn windows, I could see her dropping her cold smile over me. “Been flying about, Phoebe bird? You and your new friends?”
I started to shake my head, but M'Lady Two pulled the blanket off Teal, who screamed. M'Lady Three approached her. Mindy and Gia finally turned and sat up.
“What's going on?” Mindy asked.
“We're doing a bed check. Shut up and go to sleep,” M'Lady Three ordered.
Mindy lay back and practically pulled her blanket over her head. Gia remained sitting up and stared silently.
“Get up,” M'Lady Three ordered Teal. She looked at me helplessly and struggled to her feet, swallowing as much of her pain as she could.
M'Lady Three saw the blood leaking through Teal's white sock. “Hurt yourself running about, did you?” she asked in a mock sweet voice.
Teal nodded. “I need to go to a doctor. I need an X ray. I might have broken my ankle.”
“Oh, sure. We'll just bring the limousine right up and get you into it. Move!” M'Lady Three ordered, pushing her toward the door.
Teal started to cry. “I can't walk on it!” she moaned.
“Move,” M'Lady Three repeated, poking her sharply in the ribs.
Teal limped toward the door. “What do you want? Why do I have to go outside? It's late,” she pleaded.
“I want you to enjoy the cool evening air.”
I started to get up to protest, but M'Lady One put her forefinger between my breasts and pushed so hard, I lay back down.
She hovered over me. “Just relax, girl. You're not going anywhere.”
“Leave her alone. She's really hurt,” I pleaded.
She smiled. “Suddenly, you care about each other? How sweet.”
I looked at Robin who was back on her side, shivering in fear that she would be next, I was sure.
“
If you don't bring Teal back in here . . . ,” I started to threaten.
“You'll do what, Phoebe bird? Huh?”
“I want to see Dr. Foreman,” I said, starting to sit up again.
“Oh, you'll be seeing her. Don't worry about that. You want to spend some time in the Ice Room first?”
“You're disgusting. You're all disgusting.”
M'Lady Two drew closer. “You better shut your mouth, or we'll shut it for you for good.”
She had as mad and as wild a look on her face as I had ever seen on anyone. I swallowed hard and looked at Gia, who was staring at me without any feeling, any expression, not even slight interest.
I folded my arms under my breasts and lay back again.
The two buddies turned and followed Teal and M'Lady Three out of the barn, closing the door behind her.
“What are they going to do to her?” Robin wailed.
“What did you do, spy on them?” Gia asked us, speaking as if she were in a dream.
“Yes,” Robin said. “Teal remembered your telling us about it, about their partying.”
“You went up on the roof and looked in their windows?”
“We did and we saw worse than you saw. They weren't just listening to music and smoking pot. They were dancing and striping for each other. They're sick and disgusting. Wait until we tell Dr. Foreman what we saw. Right, Phoebe?”
I didn't respond.
Her words died like hollow threats in the dark. Gia went back to sleep and Robin turned on her side, but I sat up for awhile and listened for Teal. I heard nothing, not a cry, not a loud voice, nothing. Finally, I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer and lay back.
Teal wasn't there in the morning. The first thing I did after my eyes opened was sit up and look for her, but her cot was empty. Gia and Mindy were dressing silently. Robin was still asleep. I woke her.
“They never brought Teal back,” I said. I wondered why they had chosen her out of the three of us. Why hadn't they taken Robin and me, too?
Robin looked worried, but said nothing. We dressed and stepped outside and the buddies were there as usual, waiting to hear us recite our prayer.
“Where's Teal?” I demanded.
“The prayer,” M'Lady One said, stepping up to me.
We did it and then I asked after Teal again.
“That girl,” M'Lady Two said, shaking her head, “keeps getting hurt. She shouldn't have walked so much on that injured ankle, but we couldn't stop her from going around and around. Now she's in the infirmary again, but she'll pay for it. As you know, there are no excuses for not doing your work. Dr. Foreman will give her five demerits for this.”
“What will she give you when she finds out what you did?” I muttered.
“What did you say?” She stepped up to me again, her nose touching mine. I stepped back. “Well? Did you say something? Did you threaten something, Phoebe bird?”
“No.”
“Very wise reply for a stupid girl. Get to work, all of you.”
I looked at Robin, whose head was down the whole time. Mindy was muttering to herself and Gia was staring ahead, her eyes so dark.
I took a deep breath and turned to go into my shell, chanting to myself.
From the confident way they acted, I was sure that the buddies had told Dr. Foreman what we had done, but they had given her selected information, of course, leaving out what they had been doing. To my surprise Dr. Foreman didn't ask Robin or me anything specific about it. Teal was kept in the infirmary and apparently not questioned either. Dr. Foreman didn't come charging out of the house, her eyes blazing with anger.
However, the silence made me more nervous. It was like the moments before a bomb would explode. Our days weren't any different, except Teal wasn't with us. One afternoon we saw Dr. Foreman leave in the van and I didn't see her return that day. She wasn't there at dinner either. What does all this mean? I wondered.
The next morning, I did see the van out front again,
and later in the day Dr. Foreman sent M'Lady One to call Robin and me in from the garden work.
“This is it,” Robin said.
We hurried to her office, expecting now to hear her anger over our spying on the buddies. She was sitting at her desk, filling out some papers. When we entered, she looked up.
“Oh, Phoebe, Robin,” she said in a friendly voice, “I want you girls to take some lessons from Natani.”
“Lessons?” I asked. Was she going to make fun of his idea of the shell?
“Yes. I usually start the girls on these lessons earlier, but we've had so much orientation and setting up to do, it's just all taken a second seat. I find it more effective for Natani to work with no more than one or two at a time. He's expecting the two of you in his hogan after dinner tonight. You're excused from any other schoolwork for now. I'll ask you to be polite and give him your full attention. We'll talk about it all afterward. That's all. You can return to the gardening.” She returned to her paperwork. “Oh,” she added as we were leaving. “Don't discuss it with the others. I hate these petty jealousies that develop. They'll have their turn when it is their turn.”
We left in a daze.
“I thought for sure we had bought it,” Robin said as we walked down the steps. “What is this about, lessons from Natani? He gives us lessons in farming as it is. What else could he possibly teach us?”
“I'm not sure,” I said. “The way she talked, it sounded like some sort of reward or privilege, but yet, I can't help being very suspicious.”
“Oh, well. No homework. I'll take whatever little gifts I get here. That's for sure.”
We returned to work and, as Dr. Foreman had ordered, said nothing about Natani and the lessons. All day I waited to see if Teal was being released. I listened when the buddies talked to each other, too, to see if they would mention her and anything that had been done to her, but it was as if she had never been here. Not a word about her was spoken.
Once again, she wasn't at dinner, and once again, neither Gia nor Mindy seemed to care or be interested. What did interest and surprise them was our not returning to the barn to do our schoolwork.
“How come you're excused from that?” Mindy asked irritably.
“We have some other chore to attend to,” I said.
“Ah,” Mindy said, nodding. “You're finally being punished, aren't you?”
“We'll let you know,” I said.
Gia made her eyes small, studied me for a moment, then walked off silently.
Robin and I headed for Natani's hogan. When we got there, he had us sit on the floor. The rocks were gone but he had animal skins in a small pile. Both of us eyed them timidly as we sat, especially the snakeskin.
“What are we here to learn?” Robin asked him.
“The desert.”
He said he wanted to begin first with the desert's poisonous creatures. He reached into his pile and plucked out the snakeskin, which was so long and real the two of us gasped and sat back when he held it up.
“Sidewinder,” he announced as if he were introducing us to one of his pets, and moved his body to show us how it moved and from what it got its name. “In the sand, it makes this shape.” With a stick he drew parallel J-shaped marks. “Tells you it's been here. If the mark is very fresh, you take another path.”
“I would take another path if it was months old,” Robin muttered.
“Snakes come out at night. Sleep in burrows or under brush. They don't try to hurt you if you leave them be,” he said. “That's a good lesson about most things in nature.”
“I would have no trouble leaving it be,” I said. Robin nodded in vivid agreement.
“Sometimes, foolish person blindly invades its safe place and it will strike.” He held up his healing pouch. “Inside is rattlesnake weed.” He dipped his hand in to take it out and show it to us. “If someone is bitten, cut the wound immediately, suck out poison, and squeeze juice of the plant into cut. Chew plant and swallow juice. Make you vomit.”
&nb
sp; “Ugh,” Robin said. “Do you have to tell it all in such detail?”
“Person who has been bitten is very sick, sweating. Bind the wound with plant after it is boiled. It will save the person's life maybe or keep him from being very, very sick.”
“Why is he telling us all this now?” Robin muttered, squinting. “We should have learned it all the first day we arrived at this hellhole.”
He put the pouch down and reached into the pile of skins to show us a lizard with brightly colored, beadlike scales on its back.
“Gila monster,” he said, holding it up. “Poisonous bite.” He shook his head. “Let it be and it let you be.”
“It will have no problems from me ever,” I said, inching back when he brought it closer.
He then showed us four other lizards, the chuck-walla, the desert night lizard, the thorny devil, and the armadillo lizard, just so we would know them and not be afraid of them. He held up another skin he called a blind snake and told us it was harmless.
“It doesn't look harmless to me,” Robin muttered. “A snake's a snake.”
Natani stared at her a moment. “Once the night lizard asked the rattlesnake why he ran from men and got so angry if they came too close. The rattlesnake replied, 'A man's a man.' ”
“Very funny,” Robin said. I smiled and she looked like she saw the point, too.
“Scorpions you know,” Natani continued, but showed us dried scorpions anyway so we could tell the difference between the poisonous and nonpoisonous, and then he held out a dead poisonous black widow. One creature I didn't anticipate was a centipede he said had venomous pincers and could give a painful bite.
“Always shake out clothes and blankets good when in the desert,” he warned. “You can have a bad surprise putting on shirt with one of these inside.”
One final creature was the velvet ant. Natani said the wingless females could inflict a painful sting and he called them “cow killers.”
I could see Robin was getting paler and paler. “All of these creatures are around us, some right under our noses?”
Broken Wings 2 - Midnight Flight Page 23