O'Brien, Taisce, Ellie, OPEN.
"Trouble everywhere," Ellie murmured. Her head felt oddly light at the moment, like a swollen dandelion. She squinted at O'Brien again, counting to three before approaching the door again. Gunshots outside. Coming from the roof...?
Yes. That was clear enough, as soon as she'd exited the building. There was that odd crackling burnt smell that always accompanied a newly warm firearm. The smell of blood, too. All of the sounds you'd expect, though Ellie made none of her own.
Soon they were swallowed up in the crowd. The fighting hadn't ceased; it wouldn't cease until the strangers retreated or died, probably, and she could wait out either. Remember your friends, she thought, ducking a blow from the left; retaliation was a swing with the machete that sent someone's hand flying. There were so many people out here in the yard. It reminded Ellie of a forest: cut it down or go around.
Still, they had a destination in mind, and she would help get O'Brien there. There had to be a more efficient way. Something easier.