Spotted but saved

The men ran up to the bush through which Druuna had plunged, but then stopped moving.

**** not to be noticed, Druuna pressed into the ground and held her breath.
It was no use, for then a voice was heard from above, saying: “Alright girl, we know you’re down there. I can even see that thick ass of yours!”
This made Druuna look up, and she could see the two men glaring down at her through the hole in the shrub that her fall had caused.

The man with the rifle had his weapon locked on Druuna, while his friend was playing with a short length of rope, apparently fixing it so that it could be used to tie Druuna up.
The man with the rifle demanded that Druuna should climb up out of the gully, and she felt no need for arguing with him, especially not as long as his weapon was aimed at her.

And so, Druuna began to make her way up the steep slope, while the man with the rope demonstratively grabbed his crotch as a signal to her about what she could expect once she had gotten up there.

Distracted from her climbing by the man’s crude gesture, Druuna lost her footing and fell backwards, landing on her ass back down on the bottom of the gully.
This brought about a virtual explosion from the man with the rifle.
“Stop fucking about, you stupid slut! GET UP HERE!”

Getting up on her knees, Druuna was about to make another effort to climb out when a loud crack could be heard, reminding distinctly of the sound of a rifle being fired.
Druuna’s heart skipped a beat as she thought that she had been shot, but the lack of pain and the series of screeches coming from someone up on the surface effectively convinced her that she wasn’t the one who had been shot.

Eager to remain in one piece, she crawled up against the rocky side of the gully and laid still.

Several seconds passed, and a male voice shouting “Duke!” could be heard alongside the agonized screams.
The shout was followed by another shot, and then another one.

After the second shot had been fired, the wails had ended, and an eerie silence filled the gully.
Not having seen anything of what had happened; Druuna remained still for almost a minute before deciding to climb back up.

Carefully and slowly making her way up the rocky slope, Druuna was greeted by the sight of the two men slumped down on the ground.
Neither of the two was breathing, the man with the rope was now lacking a large portion of his skull. His friend, probably the one who had been called Duke, had been shot twice, once in the stomach and once in the throat.

Looking round, Druuna could see a figure approaching, carrying a rifle and walking in a slack pace.