Chapter 15

As the three of them headed towards the woods, Andy took the lead with Ellie right behind him. They had already walked for a mile and a half, and were getting into the heart of the woods.
"We used to hunt around here when I was younger. Always a guaranteed deer" Andy said as he seemed to open all his senses to notice any possible movement. They were walking slowly and they all had their guns loaded and ready to shoot. Ellie was holding only her pistol in case some infected would come to ruin their day, but both Andy and Joel had their rifles all ready to go. It wasn't too likely they'd come across any clickers or runners, but Joel had made Ellie carry the gun for safety. Even though Andy claimed the area to be safe, it didn't mean that it could not have been changed over the years.
"Why did you leave the place? It seems almost... too perfect" Ellie asked, frowning her face. Joel sneered behind them. He really wanted to hear this one.
"We uh... my mom passed" Andy dodged the bullet, and Joel had to bite his teeth together not to give him in.
"Oh. I'm sorry" Ellie answered, and acted just the way Andy wanted. By bringing his dead mother into the discussion, he made Ellie too uncomfortable to resume asking questions. Joel would've wanted to hear how he'd talk himself out of the mess that he had told him about, but it didn't happen today.

Despite what Andy had said about the woods, they hadn't come across any movement at all. No infected, but also no deer. Joel was starting to get a bad feeling about the whole trip, and had already put his rifle back to his shoulder. He was still aware of his surroundings and held his hand on the pistol.
"We've been walking for miles. We should really get the fireplace lit or we'll freeze to death when we hit the sack" Joel proposed, shaking his head while walking on. Ellie was a bit tired too, but she wanted to get some action to prove that they didn't walk the whole way for nothing. Andy was annoyed by the fact that the trip had proven him wrong, but he kept on walking.
"I guess you're right, we..."
"Hey!" Ellie whispered loudly, interrupting Andy. They all got down, and leaned against the nearest tree for shelter. For Ellie and Andy it was the same one, and Joel was just a few metres away from them.
"Oh, that's pretty!" Andy rejoiced as he turned to see what Ellie was walking about, turning the safety off from his rifle once he saw it. Joel also turned to see the deer, but he kept the rifle on his back. The deer was quite far away, and was heading to the opposite direction.
"You ain't gonna hit it from here" Joel said to him, turning his head to see the boy. Andy sneered, shaking his head. He had a serious look on his face, and some kind of hunting mode seemed to turn on.
"My eyes are younger than yours, old man" he answered without shame, taking a step away from the tree to get a clear sight at the animal. Ellie looked at Joel, who really hated being called old. He sneered and turned to see the boy aiming at the deer.
"Come on..." Andy whispered while walking sideways for a better angle. After a moment, he stopped.
BLAM
"Fuck!" Andy shouted right after the shot, kicking some snow away with his leg. Ellie laughed once, shaking her head. Joel was kinda happy that he didn't get a hit. Being right was always a joy.
"How the hell did you catch the first one with that sight? Oh man" the girl kept on laughing, and even Joel cracked a smile while listening to her. They both got up and took steps away from the trees.
"Shut up" Andy sneered, looking at the direction the deer had ran to. He put the gun down, trying to swallow the disappointment. It was quite hard even without the comments.
"I bet it ran quite far. We'd better head back to the cabin" Joel said, already turning to leave. Ellie tried to stop laughing while she followed him, but Andy didn't move.
"I bet you shoot better than me then?" he challenged Ellie, who stopped and turned around. Joel had also heard it, but he took a few steps forward before noticing that she wasn't following him anymore.
"I bet I do" she answered without doubting one bit. Andy laughed and nodded at her.

"Okay then. Let's go"
"You got it"
"Now wait a second" Joel interrupted them, taking a step back at their direction.
"She's coming with me"
Ellie turned her head, being in between two fires. She really wanted to show her skills, but Joel's words should not be disobeyed. At that point she was hoping that Andy would come up with an excuse to continue.
"Don't worry, pops. I'll bring her home by midnight" Andy promised with a smirk on his face. Even though it was obviously a joke, the way he said it didn't please Joel, who instantly shook his head.
"You know my sense of humour doesn't bend that far, kid" he said with the lowest, most serious voice he had. Andy shook his head once before changing the look on his face.
"You're right, sorry. But really, I'll do anything to protect her. Just like I said before" he promised, and Joel sensed that he had no reason to doubt his honesty. Ellie looked at Andy while he gave the oath, and then turned back at Joel.
Joel looked at the boy for a while, but then turned to see Ellie.
"You alright with this?" he asked without the tough touch in his voice. Ellie took another look at Andy before turning to him. After a while of silence, she nodded.
"Yeah"
Joel didn't answer her with words, but he nodded almost invisibly while turning back at the boy.
"Okay, you give her the rifle. I bet my next meal she's a better shot than you are with that thing" Joel ordered, briefly pointing at the rifle on his back. Andy frowned, looking at the girl.
"You heard the man. Gimme" Ellie smirked, offering her hand to take the weapon. After a short while of thinking, Andy took it off his shoulder and slowly handed it over to the girl. She took it with a wide smile, checking it and feeding it a fresh bullet. Andy looked at her to see how she handled the gun, and was surprised how well she did it.
"You keep the handgun ready in case of an emergency. We clear?" Joel ordered Andy, who didn't get his eyes off the girl.
"Clear"
"Alright" Joel said, looking at the two kids. His eyes stayed at Ellie a bit longer than Andy, and she answered the look.
"I'll be okay" she said, with noting else but honesty in her eyes. Joel knew that kind of promises weren't smart, since the world was unpredictable and crazy, but he took it. After a while, he turned to see his own shoes.
"Just come back before dark"
"Got it"

Joel was long gone when they finally reached the deer again. They hadn't been talking much during the walk, since it would probably scare off the animal. After they got her to their sight again, they both hid behind a rock. The distance was more bearable, but the vision wasn't very good. It was snowing a bit, and there were some smaller trees in between them and the deer.
"We can get closer if you want" Andy offered while leaning against the rock. They both stared at the animal that was again walking to the opposite direction. There wasn't even a scratch on it since Andy had missed it so badly.
"Nah, I got it"
Ellie stretched her neck and slowly rose her head to see above the rock. She leaned on the boulder while aiming at the target, which was moving further away the whole time. Snowflakes slowly settled on top of her head and shoulders as she didn't move one bit after locking the target. She wasn't hasty, but the aiming didn't take too long.
BLAM
"Nailed it!" she rejoiced instantly, even though the deer didn't fall down. She jumped away from the rock, aiming at the animal after loading another bullet. Andy jumped to the other side of the rock, just to see the deer running right at them. He had his back at the rock while he noticed it.
"Fuck!" he shouted, stumbling backwards while trying to reach his pistol. Ellie was on the right side of Andy, as she had walked further away the rock. The deer was clearly headed towards the boy, as it was insane and blinded by the shot she had taken to her side. It was just another shot away from passing, and had clearly dedicated the rest of it's life to hurt the ones who had hurt it.
"Aah!" Andy shouted, as he fell down before the deer. The animal had it's antlers pointed at him as she rushed forwards with mere power.
BLAM
Andy had closed his eyes. Unable to catch his pistol in time, he was already waiting for the deer to hit him with it's sharp antlers, but it didn't happen. He had covered his face with his hands to protect himself, but it had turned out to be unnecessary.
Ellie lowered the rifle, taking a look at the situation. Andy lied down with his back at the rock, with the deer almost in his lap, dead.
"Oh, fuck!" he shouted, shaking his head in shock. He slowly lowered his hands and stared at the dead animal in front of him, trying to catch his breath.
"You alright, buddy boy?" Ellie joked, taking a few steps towards him. When Andy turned his head, she was right next to him.
"I... I guess so" he sighed, getting a better position while trying to stand up. The deer was lying on top of his legs, and he kicked it away to free them.
"Oh, man. You really should've seen your face" Ellie laughed once she saw that Andy was okay. His pride was probably quite badly hurt, but he seemed to be fine otherwise.
As Ellie laughed and put the rifle to her back, Andy wasn't too happy. He crawled up from the ground after finding his own legs from under the deer, and looked at the girl. Even though he wanted to say something nasty back at her, he didn't think it was a good idea. He was just angry and would regret it later on.
"Well uh... Gotta say you know your way around guns" he admitted, swiping off most of the snow that covered his legs. He swallowed once after finally catching his breath, and turned to see the deer. Ellie smiled proudly after hearing his words, but shrugged to be modest enough.
"Well I guess I've had some practice"

"No way!"
"Yeah! And that wasn't the only time I saved his ass"
Ellie had found more things to brag about to Andy, and was telling about the time she had saved Joel from a certain death after the elevator fell down and they had separated.
"Well I'll be damned. I thought it would've been the other way around"

Ellie shrugged, tilting her head.
"Well, yeah. He has probably saved me more times than I've saved him. But that don't mean that he would've survived without me, either"
Andy laughed briefly, nodding while walking forwards.
"That must be why he protects you that eagerly. You know, despite you ain't.. " and he faded away. Ellie frowned her face, turning to see the boy. He was carrying the deer on his shoulders while they walked back towards the camping site. She had a bad feeling about his words.
"Despite what?" Ellie asked a bit more quietly, cutting the joyful spirit off her tone. Andy seemed to quiet down too, as he clearly avoided looking straight at her.
"Uh, nothing. I was not ..."

"Say it"
Ellie stopped. She looked at the boy who took a pair of steps ahead before following her example. She stared at his back since she couldn't see his face, and waited for an answer.
"Look, I already had this conversation with Joel. Let's not waste time for..." Andy started explaining, looking at his shoes while talking. He was honestly quite exhausted for carrying the deer the whole way, and they were almost at the camping site.
"How the hell do you know?" Ellie raised her voice, taking a step towards him. She had not been this angry at him after accepting him along, and was just inches away from grabbing the rifle off her back. Where Ellie had given a positive influence on Joel, he must have affected her with his bad temper. She noticed it, and tried to calm down.
"I'm sorry, Ellie. But it don't matter to me. I won't speak of it, I'm sorry it slipped out of my mouth"
Ellie looked at the boy for a good while before lowering her sight. She nodded to herself, starting to walk again. Andy followed after her, keeping his eyes on the ground instead of the girl.
"If I'm not being too pushy, I'd like to ask something" he started after a short while of silence. They already saw the camping site, and it was under a half a mile to the cabin five. Ellie stopped and turned around to hear him. She didn't look too happy, but was eager to hear what he wanted to ask.
"If he ain't your dad, how come he's so protective of you? I mean, I understand taking care of a kid is normal, but why is he so... "
"It's not just him" Ellie spoke over him, and made him look at her for the first time in a long while. Ellie stared right back at him, trying to pass on her feelings.
"The hell we've been through would connect anyone" she continued, turning towards the camping site. Andy looked at her back, as he started to understand the situation. Even after hearing the fact that it wasn't a father-daughter relationship he had thought that it was something like an uncle with his brother's kid or something. Now that he heard her words, he knew it had nothing to do with that. He now thought it might've been an unfortunate coincidence, which seemed the most probable option to him.
"It's getting dark. Stop asking questions and move your fucking legs" Ellie interrupted his thinking, and he got a move on.