Not long before Lindt Cafe gunman Man Haron Monis executed manager Tori Johnson, another Sydney siege hostage heard him order someone to drop to their knees.
What are believed to be Mr Johnson's final words have emerged at the inquest into the December 2014 ordeal, with captive Selina Win Pe saying she heard a male voice with an Australian accent slowly say "Oh my God" moments before a shotgun blast.
"It was an absolutely fearful (plea)," she said on Wednesday.
"A very dire, sad, frightened last call for help."
Hostage Julie Taylor also gave evidence on Wednesday, the first time she has spoken about the ordeal, breaking down when asked to describe Mr Johnson.
"He showed amazing bravery and was very calm," she said.
Ms Taylor said she thought Mr Johnson could have easily escaped, given his knowledge of the building, and praised his enormous strength of character for remaining with the hostages.
The inquest also heard Ms Taylor almost walked from the Sydney siege in its early moments but was stopped close to the exit and ended up running for her life hours later.
As Ms Taylor and friend Katrina Dawson were about to leave the cafe, Monis ordered staff to lock doors and told the 18 people inside the cafe they couldn't go.
Soon after Monis appeared to change his mind and said the two female barristers were "nice" and could leave.
But as they neared the door he yelled "stop, put your hands up", Ms Taylor told the inquest.
"We were almost at the door," she said.
Ms Taylor, who was pregnant at the time, and Ms Dawson had almost escaped with colleague Stefan Balafoutis, but froze facing out of the cafe after Monis screamed for them to halt.
From what she heard, Ms Taylor believed Monis then moved his captives about the cafe, trying to position people in windows to increase attention on his attack.
"I was frightened that he was going to shoot us in the back," she said.
While the trio were near the doors, Mr Balafoutis suggested they should escape, but Ms Taylor was too scared to leave.
Monis had threatened to kill one hostage for every one which escaped.
"I couldn't live with someone being shot because of our escape," Ms Taylor said.
Monis kept Ms Taylor close to him all day and she didn't believe escaping was a possibility.
But when a group of hostages made a dash for safety in the early hours of December 16, Ms Taylor decided to run too.
She was wearing stockings and slipped on the polished marble floors as she sprinted out of the cafe.
Monis fired at the group as they were fleeing.
"It felt like there were bullets next to my head," she said.
Mr Johnson, Ms Dawson and the gunman died in the final moments of the siege as police stormed the cafe.
The inquest continues.
