Sorry for the long delay, I've had a ton of schoolwork. Here's the next chapter, I've got the next things clear in my mind and I'm ready to bring them to you! Enjoy!

Chapter 16

Joel had been quite anxious the whole time Ellie had been outside without him. He crouched in front of the fire, which was cracking quite nicely for the second hour. They were soon running out of firewood, but he'd go get some after he'd seen Ellie come back without a scratch. Once in a while he gazed towards the front door, but until now he had been sitting in silence.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a song popped to his head. He frowned his face as he started remembering the lyrics.
"Empty spaces.. what are living for?" he whispered. After the first phrase, he coughed to clear his voice.
"Abandoned places, I guess we know the score" he kept on whispering. He frowned his face again, putting his eyes to the ground.
"On and on... does... uh"
He kept a moment in silence, trying to remember the rest. He had not been singing the correct melody, but it was clear in his head. Even though Ellie had demanded on him to sing for her if he got out of the University alive, he was not practising. It had popped into his head without a reason, and he was sure that they weren't around to hear him. There was no way he would sing to anyone but himself.
"Does.. anybody know what we are looking for...?" he remembered the lyrics again.
"Another hero, another mindless crime.. uh..." and he lost it again. This time he had been singing the correct melody along with the lyrics, but he could not remember the rest.

Suddenly, he heard a familiar thud from the porch. Since he had drowned into his own thoughts while remembering the lyrics, he got scared of the sudden noise. After the first shock, he sighed out. It would probably be Ellie and Andy with the deer, but he pulled out his pistol just in case. He got up from the floor and pointed it at the front door.
"Come on in" he ordered loudly, looking at the handle as it was pushed down. As he had thought, Ellie came in first.
"We're back" she said, making him lower the gun immediately. He pushed it back to it's holster, taking a couple steps closer to them. Andy came in second, pushing the door completely open so that Joel could see the deer lying on the porch. He briefly looked at the dead animal before turning his eyes back at Ellie.
"You alright?"
Ellie nodded, but didn't smile.
"Yeah", she sighed. Joel got the feeling that something was bothering her, and he knew he was right when Andy started talking.
"That kid of yours is a hell of a shooter" he announced, nodding while staring at the girl. He was talking quite insecurely, which alerted Joel before Ellie started talking. She had walked into the living room and sat to the couch while putting down the rifle.
"You can quit that bullshit"
Joel's eyes turned back to Ellie, who seemed very tense. It had to be about Andy, since she was in such a good mood when Joel left. Andy also turned to see her, and couched something from his throat while staring at the deer.
"What's that?" Joel asked Ellie, but he turned to look at Andy. Ellie sat quietly, waiting for the boy to answer him.
"We, uh... She knows" Andy said, nodding a few times. He dared to look at Joel, who frowned his face before understanding what he tried to say. Andy was obviously avoiding the critical words, and had succeeded at that.
"You should say that you know, shouldn't you?" Ellie spat out, as she turned her eyes back at Andy. Even though she had been quite calm outside, something burst into flame after seeing Joel again. It had made it more real.
"Yes, yes. I know" Andy corrected himself, nodding once to the girl before settling his eyes on the deer again.

Joel got the feeling that the conversation had not been pleasant outside. Even though Ellie was mad at Andy, the news wasn't new for Joel. Of course a boy like Andy would burst out the fact sooner or later, and it happened to be sooner.
"Ellie, come gather some firewood with me" Joel proposed, nodding towards the door. Ellie lifted his eyes, frowning her face.
"Me? Why not him? I got us food..."
"Ellie" Joel said with a more serious tone. He had walked to the door with his eyes forward, but he now turned to see the girl. She looked him straight into his eyes and sighed.
"Alright" she whispered, getting up from the sofa. She looked at the boy as she walked past him, sneering as she faced him on the way. Andy kept his eyes on the floor, ignoring the girl almost perfectly.

"What did he say?"
"Uh.. nothing" Ellie answered, even though it offered nothing to Joel. He walked before Ellie, lifting his eyebrows as she spoke. It was snowing lightly, and the sun was almost below the horizon. It was completely breathless and tranquil as they walked in the snow.
"He's just.. fuck. I guess he just annoys me in general". Ellie had to admit that the blissful surroundings calmed her for a bit.
Joel laughed briefly as she finally admitted it. Even though it was him who didn't want to take the boy with them in the first place, he had gained more trust in him and started to feel like Ellie had made the right decision with him.
"Do you realize that it's you who's saying these things?" Joel sneered, finally approaching the little shack where they kept the logs they had found earlier. He grabbed the axe and put the first log onto the bigger one.
"The hell with that, I just.. ugh. I want him out of my head" Ellie answered after a deep sigh. She walked into the shack after Joel, sitting on top of a pile of logs. She waved her legs in the air, putting her face down. Her hair was full of small snowflakes, and she shook them off.

Joel glanced at her, lifting the axe in the air. He landed a hit on the log, making it crack into two pieces.
"You know what we used to do when we had that feeling? Back in the days, I mean" he started telling a story again. He crouched to the floor, grabbing another log. Ellie lifted her eyes, furrowing her brows.
"I dunno... maybe.. steal their bike and dump it in the lake?"
Joel cracked a laugh, splitting the second log with the axe.
"Oh, no. We bought the biggest bottle in the market and drank the thoughts away. It used to be a lot of fun clearing your thoughts with friends and a touch of alcohol in your blood" he explained with a golden memory in his head. He would've killed for a shot of whiskey.

Ellie lowered her head again, keeping her brows furrowed. She thought about the bottle she had found upstairs and hidden to her backpack. It was almost full and no doubt that it had enough percentage to mix up their heads. Only question was if Joel would let her keep it, or at least have a taste of it with them.
"Did you, uh... drink as a minor? I mean, it was illegal, right?"
"Oh yeah. Can't say it was wise, but we all did it" He had already gathered a small pile of firewood, and he loaded another log to cut in half.
"Then what would you say if I wanted a taste?" she asked, loosing all the former anger and frustration. Even though Joel had no right to tell her what to do, it wouldn't be wise to disobey him. That would turn into a long period of tense atmosphere and arguing.

Joel had lifted up the axe, but he didn't land it on the log right away. He listened to her words, keeping his eyes on the piece of wood. After a while of pondering, he landed the steel on it, cutting it in half. This time he didn't crouch to the floor for another one, but turned around to see the girl entirely. He looked at her for a while, frowning his face while putting the axe against the floor. He leaned to it while talking.
"Why'd you ask?"
She lifted her eyebrows, stopping the motion of her feet.
"Uh... No reason. I've always wanted to taste it, you know" she said innocently, but she had already said too much.
"Now I assume that you've got something, but you don't wanna share it unless you get a taste. Am I right?"
He kept his eyes on the girl, putting the axe down. Ellie sneered, looking outside. It was getting dark.
"Maybe" she said, getting the feeling that Joel wasn't angry or crazily paternal about this. Maybe she was in luck.
"I gotta say I... I really do want to taste it"

Ellie awoke to his words, turning her eyes to the man. She dropped down to the floor, smiling a bit.
"Then let's get this firewood and go!" She started gathering the logs from the floor, and soon had her lap full of wood. Joel stood back to his own feet and lifted the axe again. He shook his head while hitting it against the huge log to make it stick. Ellie got scared of the hit and turned.
"Hold on a second" Joel said, lifting his hand with a pointed finger. She had dropped a few logs, setting her eyes on the man with a sigh.
"I ain't gonna let you get drunk with that thing. Just for taste, alright?"
"Okay" she answered with a hint of new frustration in her tone. She lifted her eyebrows again, waiting for him to gather his share of the logs.
"We absolutely clear?"
"Totally"