Chapter 9

"Looks like a five to me" Ellie said while walking up the stairs to a porch. It was a bit deeper in the camping site and the cottage was not visible from the city or higher land. Andy followed after her, taking a long look at everything around him. Ellie was holding her pistol while walking around, but it was pointed down, just like the men were holding theirs.
"Damn.. I haven't seen those patio chairs in ages!" the boy celebrated, putting his hand on a rather worn out cloth of the camping chair. Joel was still observing their surroundings, as he walked slowly towards the porch. He was carrying the shotgun with his both hands, and didn't want to put it down before they had ensured the house to be completely safe.
"You've been here before?" Ellie asked, frowning her face as she looked at Andy. He realized that he had only told it to Joel.
"Oh, yeah. We used to live here. Actually, in this exact cottage" he offered a frank answer, which obviously pleased Ellie. She took a short look at Joel, who wasn't paying any attention to them.
"So it is safe in here, huh?" she continued, arriving to the front door. Andy quickly slid in front of her, pushing her further away from the door. Ellie frowned her face, offended by his actions.
"Yeah, it was when we were here" he replied, turning his head while reaching for the knob.
"- but I can't ensure that. I'll go first" he offered, holding the pistol in his right hand while turning the knob with his left. Ellie shrugged, and let him go ahead. He slowly pushed the door open with his body, taking the most lightest steps not to make the old planks creak. Joel had climbed onto the porch, and Ellie was soon stopped by him. As she tried to get in next, Joel put his hand in between the doorway and her. She turned her head to see his face, and he returned the gaze. He didn't say a word, as he quietly followed Andy. Ellie showed her frustration with her face, but Joel didn't give any attention to it. The boy was already in the kitchen, and the house seemed empty. There was absolutely no noise coming from inside, not even from the second floor. They all got in quietly, but it seemed safe to start talking regularly.
"It's definitely empty" Andy said, nodding while still going through the living room.
"Go check upstairs" Joel ordered him, and he turned to look at him. Ellie was afraid that this would cause another fight, but it didn't. Andy was used to taking orders from others, and even though he had hoped to get away from it, he obeyed without a single objection. As he nodded and disappeared to the stairway, Joel took a last turn before putting the shotgun back to his shoulder. Ellie sighed and turned around to walk to the fireplace.
"Do you think we can get this warm?" she asked whilst sitting onto the floor in front of it. The days were still cooling down towards the evening, even though Spring was approaching. The temperature outside was bearable, but it would've been nice if it was even a bit warmer inside.

Joel turned his head to see the fireplace, gazing it up and down.
"Yeah, I think" he answered, walking right next to her to open the route for the smoke that would come out. Ellie smiled a bit, looking up while thinking about Andy upstairs. His steps were clearly heard downstairs, and it was obvious that there was no-one else inside the house. They had locked the front door as they got in, and the back door seemed to be nailed shut.
"Why do you hate him so much?" Ellie asked while Joel squatted in front of the fireplace. He was quite near her as he turned his head to look her straight in the eyes.
"You're seriously asking me that?" he checked, letting his arms rest on top of his thighs. Ellie let her gaze lower from the roof, but it landed on the fireplace rather than on Joel.
"He's been nothing but nice to us. Maybe he had no choice before" Ellie tried to convince him once again. He sighed and gazed towards the stairway as he thought about it again.
"I know.. " Joel muttered while trying to make up something clever to say, but he didn't manage to do that. He didn't give any answer at all.
"Could you even try to be nice?" Ellie asked, pulling her legs to her chest. She tried to warm up her palms as she was freezing and tired. It would be just about an hour before it'd be dark.

Joel thought about it again, and got up. He didn't nod, even though in his mind he had to admit it. He should really try.
Before he had the time to even think about answering out loud, Andy was walking down the stairs. He put his pistol in it's holster and clapped his hands twice before opening his mouth.
"All clear!" he announced, finally stepping onto the ground floor. Joel nodded a few times, measuring him again with his eyes. He had to admit, that he seemed like a good fellow.
"Did you check if there was any food left in the kitchen?" Joel asked, as it was the next thing they should take care off. His stomach was already quite loud, and it got worse as he thought about food.

To his disappointment, Andy shook his head and sighed.
"Nah... but we'll get something better" he answered with a small smile on his face. He put his hands behind his back, grabbing the rifle he was carrying. As he loaded it, Joel lifted his eyebrows. He did seem like a good fellow.
"I'll go hunt us something. Could you get the fireplace lit?" Andy proposed, checking his bullet situation while talking. He found quite a pile from his pocket, and looked up at Joel.
"Oh, I found a bunch of these upstairs. You take these" he offered, and walked towards him. Joel frowned, but offered his hand to take the bullets Andy held in his palm. Ellie spied them happily, as she noticed that Joel had given up with his bad attitude towards Andy. The boy walked towards the door, loading his gun meanwhile. Joel put the bullets in his pocket, and grabbed the basket that was placed right next to the fireplace.
"I guess we need some wood for this" he said while turning towards the door. Andy was the first to exit the cottage, and Ellie followed right after him. Joel got out last, and they seemed to separate after the porch. Ellie walked after Andy, who headed towards the woods. While Joel walked to the opposite direction where he had seen a bunch of dead trees, he was surprised by the fact that the girl didn't follow him. As attached as she had been, it was weird that she'd not voluntarily come after him. Joel stopped and turned.
"Ellie" he called, and made the two of them stop too. They both turned around, and Ellie seemed to sigh out deeply.
"That's alright, she's okay wit..." Andy tried to calm Joel down, but his words had no effect on him.
"I don't care. She's coming with me" Joel demanded with his low, serious voice. Andy shrugged, and turned his eyes to see Ellie. She clearly didn't want to obey Joel.
"C'mooon! I wanna go hunting!" she argued, frowning her face again. Andy was standing as quietly and invisibly as he could, not to mess up the conversation any more.
"No" Joel answered briefly. He didn't offer any explanations, but his word had to be the law to her. She had promised that in the beginning of their journey.

Ellie looked up at him, trying to see if there was even a small chance he would change his mind. After a while of looking, she didn't see it. She sighed out once again, letting out a loud, complaining whine.
"Ughh, fine..." she gave in, separating Andy and walking towards Joel. The boy looked at him for a short while before he nodded.
"I'll be back in a bit" he said before turning and leaving. He took a few steps running, but slowed down as he entered the woods. Joel had already turned and was walking towards the potential firewood area, but he kept his eyes on Ellie. She instead stared at the ground while walking. It was quiet for a while, before Joel opened up his mouth.
"Oh! I almost forgot" he announced, dropping the basket to his left hand to free the right one. He dug through his backpack's side pocket to grab the one thing Ellie was surely missing.
"Here" he said while he offered her the switchblade. At first she didn't bother rising her gaze, but she gave out a smile as she saw her oldest weapon.
"What? I thought I'd lost that!" she rejoiced, grabbing the switchblade from his hand. He smiled a bit, looking forwards after making the girl happy again.
"No. Although it was weird of them to put it back to my bag after almost dying due it" he laughed. After Ellie put the blade to her back pocket, they continued their way as is they had no clue of what happened before. At least it was easy to ease her frustration.