For a terrible few moments, while he's helpless to do anything to stop them, Eli is overwhelmed by the dead. They descend on him like ravenous vermin, and in the midst of it all, Eli prays for them. He prays as his bones break and mend, flesh torn away and healed, body lurching free from the talisman trap.

It delays him for longer than he'd like, as he stumbles toward the gun he'd discarded earlier. With every step, he's fighting them off.

Once he's got his weapon in hand, he saves his bullets for the Pied Piper. No use wasting them on the dead. As soon as he has a clear shot at Wei Wuxian, he fires.