The sudden tug of someone pulling Ellie back down is a nasty surprise; Joel lets out an expletive and quickly tightens his grip while scurrying to pull Ellie as hard as he can.

No use. Asshole has got hold of her too damn tight.

"Hold on, don't let go," Joel tells her between clenched teeth, blood running down his cheek and sweat beading down his forehead as he whips his hand around behind him for his pistol. "Keep your head down!"

He hears the guy who's got a hold of her hiss, "Get down here, you little bitch!" Shoving his arm through the window past Ellie, Joel cranes his neck to get a better vantage point of the guy, taking aim at him, and fires.

The first shot misses. Ricochets off the ground with a spark and a small explosion of cement. "Hold still, don't move!" he says to Ellie as he takes aim again. Fires.

The bullet sinks into the asshole's eye socket, tearing out flesh and exiting out the side of his skull with a wet splatter of blood. The guy's grip instantly goes limp as he slumps to the ground.

Shoving the pistol back into his waistband, Joel gets a better grip of Ellie, his hands grabbing her upper arms. "C'mon, baby girl, c'mon," he urges quietly.

Not that there's any point in being quiet. His gun firing has caught the attention of the Hunters out on the ground.