Melissa inched away and stayed beside the door, looking out for soldiers that could be moving toward them. Cliff's shouting, again, made her bristle, but she stayed where she was: if any of these people tried anything, she could just dash out and have a run, which...well, which hopefully wouldn't happen, because she may be a strong woman, but that applied to hammering metals, not cardiovascular endurance. 

Again, she checked for the presence of the knife. If the soldiers were coming, she was pretty resigned to losing her life. No escape plan could save Melissa, or likely any of them, at that point. "Quiet down," she mouthed at Cliff.