Esmay’s upper body spun around as Alex’s voice called out through the relative quiet that had settled over the desert. She hurried to her feet, kicking up a bit of sand, and looked around, trying to find where his voice had come from. She saw one of the beast’s bodies moving, and grabbed her sword before she realized what, exactly, had caused it to move.
	She let out a sigh of relief and ran toward Alex. She slid on the sand, intentionally letting herself skid to the ground. She stuck her sword into the sand far enough so it would stay up, then clapped.
	“There, I gave you a hand.” She gave him a small, relieved smile.
	Careful to avoid the dangerous quills of the monster and ignoring the stinging in her shoulder, she started to dig at the sand around Alex, hoping to create a trench to be capable of pulling him free. She gasped at the blood coating much of the sand surrounding him, the color staining her fingers and wetness making the sand pack easily.
	“[i]Please[/i] tell me that’s not yours.” Her voice shook slightly in anticipation for the worst, her face twisting in panic and concern as she paused in her digging to look at Alex.