Re'Kha woke up with a start, feeling a chill creep up her body. She looked around, unable to see anything, flailing her hands without result, unable to catch hold of anything.
"Re'Kha! ...Re'Kha…Re…" She heard her master's voice turn fainter and fainter, unable to pinpoint the direction of the source. It seemed to resound from all around her, like an echo in a valley. The voice lost its vigour with every echo, soon becoming a wheezing gasp.
"Master!" Re'Kha sat up with a fright, finding herself seated on a ground carpeted by fallen leaves. A boulder was positioned to the forward on her left, dripping with blood. The carcass of a lady lay over it, her head smashed into a pulp.
Re'Kha tried to move but found her legs were stuck in the mud. Something seemed to hold her from within the muddy, sludge-filled ground, trying to pull her deeper. She flailed her hands, trying to grab anything of support to climb out.
