There's a dull thunk of something clattering to the hard earth when the first one drops to his knees. Joel spots it as he's ducking down behind another log: a metal pipe. The sound of the gunshot firing aimlessly off into the air cuts into Joel's head like a knife, sending his eardrums ringing.

And then he hears Ellie. That soft sound of pain she makes. Sees the remaining men turn sharply in the sound's direction. Starting charging off towards where Ellie is.

Oh no, they don't. No, they fucking don't. Leaping silently over the log, he crouches down low, reaches for the metal pipe, snatches it up in his grimy hand. It's heavy; he can feel the warmth where the man now dead on the ground had been gripping it just moments before. Clutching the pipe in both hands, he creeps up behind one of the men. Brandishes the pipe against his shoulder.

There's a sudden sickening crack of metal striking a skull as Joel leaps up and takes a swing as hard as he can. The man lets out a stunned howl of pain, which Joel is quick to cut off with another savage blow, this time to his back, rupturing the man's liver. And then another slam of the pipe down on the guy's head again and a fine mist of blood as he goes stumbling to his knees in a gasp of breathless pain.

The other two men have their weapons drawn. One fires; it just misses Joel, goes shooting off into the woods, and Joel reels around and lands a fierce blow against the guy's face with the pipe.

"Ellie!" he shouts over the top of the commotion.