Ellen moved from the table, slowing a bit as she approached the door in order to hear some more of their conversation. When the stranger glanced up in her direction, she immediately returned to the kitchen.

Sylvia didn't say a word to Ellen as the young hostage bent over the sink again and ran cold water over the remaining dirty dishes. For a moment Ellen almost felt like trying to talk with the gang girl, but when she looked into Sylvia's hate-filled eyes she knew it would be useless. There was an unfathomable gap between the two young women that was made more apparent by their very gestures and forms of speaking: Ellen was soft-spoken and slightly refined in her way of expressing herself, while Sylvia had a crude coarseness that bluntly branded her as coming from the lowest segment of society.

The dishes complete, the blonde hostage turned to help Sylvia who was slicing pieces of ham onto plates for the men in the next room, but she was stopped when the sharp tip of the knife was pressed against her breasts. "Ya keep your hands off the food, I'll take care of that; and you finish cleanin' up in here," Sylvia scolded, as though Ellen were a small child. "I'm gonna take this stuff out to them. Ya just stay put, and get your ass busy and clean up the rest of the mess."

Ellen felt a surge of relief race down the length of her spine when the other girl left the kitchen. Yes, she would just as soon remain here throughout eternity than be abused by the four convicts again. So much depended on how she handled herself during the next few hours; if she irritated Sylvia unnecessarily, or brought the conflict between Billy and Vito to a head by her presence, she would be the one who would ultimately suffer. Her best chance would be to remain as inconspicuous as possible, and wait until her chance arrived to run away again, if it ever did. It might not be too difficult, since their attention was diverted from her for the moment.