Chapter 4

They were in a field.

Brenda kept walking, not wanting to block those coming in behind her. It was a nice field. Large, somewhere between a baseball and football field in size. It wasn't magical or anything, which is sort of what she had been expecting. After all, if God is sending you to a new home, you sort of expect more than this. Then again, this was just the front hall.

She felt the door vanish behind them. Turning, all she saw was the congregation of nude girls and women.

They were here.

Alan dropped his bags and pack, Brenda stepping away to protect her toes. He smiled apologetically. Jeanie also got rid of her burdens.

"Drop your stuff!" she yelled to the group. "Time to get organized."

"Do we set up the tents?" It came from the rear. Jeanie shook her head.

"Nope! We have to find water. No sense setting up camp a half mile from water." She looked around. "How about we send out four scout parties of four or five girls out, one in each direction? Travel maybe fifteen minutes or until you find water, then come back."

Brenda noticed those with weapons. Eight girls had brought bows of various kinds. She had no idea if they could use them, or if they were the result of recent fads. She personally liked her badass women to have a sword.

"One archer per group!" Sally gave her a weird look. Brenda shrugged. "Hey, even Eden had snakes."

"Who were right most of the time," Jeanie added. She suddenly gave Alan a look. "Is this all OK with you?"

"More than OK." He raised his voice. "We are where the Lady wishes us, but it will be up to us to discover her blessings. Keep an eye out for fruits, berries, nuts. Once the scouts come back, we'll make our plans."

Teri glanced down at the three freshmen walking beside her. They were not who she would have chosen for this. Then again, it was they who had chosen her for their scouting party, probably wanting some adult with them. She would have told them to stay behind, if the pimply faced one didn't have one of the bows. She looked like she could possibly use it, too.

"Siena, right?" The girl nodded, adjusting the quiver slung across her back. "Teri."

"This is Kei and Laura." Siena paused as they stepped over a log. "You didn't stay with the other cheerleaders?"

"Sue went west, but the others are 'tired'." She scoffed. "Outside of practice, those girls can be so lazy."

"They'll learn," the Asian one, Kei, said. That pulled at laugh from her. Varsity Cheerleaders being scolded by freshmen! This was a new reality.

Her eyes suddenly narrowed. There was a faint glow around Kei.

"Kei. Have you and Alan..."

"Yes!" Her eyes actually sparkled. "Do you still feel him in you? I felt it for hours!"

"He hasn't leaked out yet, if that's what you mean!" The others laughed.

"Are any of you actually looking around, or just talking?" Laura cast her head around. "I thought down hill would be the way to go, maybe find a stream in a gully, but I don't hear anything."

"Me either. In fact..." Siena stopped. "I don't hear birds."

"Or insects." Teri glanced up. Leaves rustled in the slight breeze. "I don't like this."

"What are you doing here?"

Teri's eyes dropped down. The girl before them had red hair, almost unnaturally so. A shade she had definitely not seen in the group up in the clearing. She was slender, breasts small, about the same size as the freshmen. Eyes dropping down, they stopped before reaching her bush.

She had no belly button.

Teri blinked. OK, then.

"Excuse me?" Siena asked. The stranger looked at them confused.

"Why are you here? You should be in the field."

"We're looking for food and water. Can't survive without those." Terry narrowed her eyes at her. "Why aren't YOU up there?"

"Food and..." The girl's eyes widened. "OH! You were to bring some!"

"A few days worth, yeah, but not years worth!" Teri glanced at Siena. The girl was staring at her, equally confused. They looked back at the stranger.

She was gone.

"I don't like this."

"I don't like this."

Brenda stared at the glowing portal next to Alan. It was identical to the one they just came through. Same size, same color. Same creator? Or is some other god trying to steal them? She had no idea what the theology here was.

"Any one notice there are no animals here?" Venus was coming towards her, the rest of her scouts just staring at the portal. "No birds, no insects."

"I don't mind the insect part." A shout sent her eyes south. The freshmen and Teri were back. "Find anything?"

"No, and it looks like we have our orders to leave." Teri shook her head. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Don't know," Alan said. He lifted up his backpack. "Is everyone here?"

"Is there a redhead here?" Teri lifted up on her tiptoes. "If you're a redhead, let me see you!"

"What's up?" Alan asked. Kei answered as she too grabbed her pack.

"We saw a girl with red hair. She seemed surprised that we needed to eat."

"Not here," Teri said, inspection complete.

"Not important," Alan said. "Or, at least it can wait. Everyone! We're moving again! Same as before, leave nothing and no one behind!"

They were on a beach.

Not just a beach, but a stream cutting through that beach, its fresh water running into what Brenda assumed was an ocean. It had that salty smell.

"This is more like it," Jeanie said. "Water, fresh seafood."

"We'll have to be careful," Teri said. "We don't want to overfish it."

"True."

"Do we camp here?"

"No," Brenda said. "We follow the stream inland. Put some trees between us and the ocean, so the first storm doesn't blow us away."

"It's a plan," Alan said. "Onward!"

They followed the stream through a patch of woods, the path only difficult for those not paying attention to roots. Toes were stubbed. Brenda could not help but smile. Did Adam and Eve have the same problem? Or had God made the garden root-free?

They passed a patch of bushes with berries. Along the banks of the stream, she thought she saw chives. Jeanie pointed out the trees seemed to be the kind that had walnuts. There was food here, at least to some degree. Enough for a hundred? They'd find out.

Another field greeted them after twenty minutes. The stream ran through its middle, widening a bit into a pool before narrowing as it flowed past them towards the sea. Jeanie moved towards the center, throwing her gear onto the ground.

"This is more like it."

"Why didn't we come here first?" Kei stood out of the way as Siena and Laura carried one of the large tents into the center of the field. "I mean, why did we have to walk?"

"So we knew where the ocean was, maybe." Jeanie shrugged. "You know as much about goddesses as I do."

"You have an extra day on us!"

"That's right, so you must obey me in all things." Her grin was evil. Brenda shook her head.

"I have an hour lead on you, as if that matters." Jeanie stuck her tongue out at her. "OK, everyone can have a quick break, then we set up the tents. Venus, Teri, let's figure out how to do this."

They had five ten person tents, thanks to Amber's credit cards. Teri was actually impressed with them, although naturally you took those occupancy specs with a grain of salt. They assumed you had no gear and were very good friends. Still, you could easily stand up in them and they even had screen porches.

"I think," she told the others considering the tents, "We should create a sort of 'U' with these. A town square. The other tents can be set up around them."