Sorry for the delay again, I've had my mind all over the Part II (as with my schoolwork, too), and I've spent more time on my writing to make it more specific. A lot of stuff happening right now, hope you enjoy!

Chapter 19

"What...?" Ellie whispered once she opened her eyes again. She had fallen unconscious due the hit from Andy's elbow, and woke up only because of the boy poking her side with the baseball bat.
"Wake up" he ordered. His voice had nothing in it. It was plain, empty and ignorant of her pain.

Ellie frowned her face as she rose her head. She was lying on the floor, having apparently fallen off the armchair after being hit. She lifted her gaze to the boy in front of her, and swallowed once.
"Don't do this..." Ellie whispered from behind the gag with a head shake. She was only 14. Even though most of the time she was defiant and strong, she was really only a kid. She was loading all her will and emotion to her gaze pointed at the boy's eyes, and another tear rolled down her cheek.

The last months of her life had been such a misery, a sad play. Yet there she was again, crying on the floor with bruises all over her body and nowhere to escape. Joel was probably outside enjoying a shot, since he had taken Andy's advice of enjoying the evening. Ellie hated herself for not demanding on him to come with her. All she could think of was how he'd react, finding the girl dead. She hoped that Joel would take her to the fireflies, that being the only way she knew her life would matter in the end.

Andy laughed. The mischievous grin grew back to his face as he looked down at the little girl. She now noticed that even her legs had been tied together during the blackout, and she could not strike again. She was no longer feeling the alcohol in her blood, and she couldn't feel tired while so afraid.

"Oh, I'm so gonna enjoy this" Andy chuckled, grabbing the bat with the both of his hands. Ellie shook her head, and felt her eyes gain tears in them. There was nothing she could do to protect herself, and she was already in pain, blinded by fear.
"No, no..." she whined, kicking with her legs. They were tied together, and her movement was pointless.
The grin didn't disappear from Andy's face as he swung the bat. First behind his back, then towards the girl. Ellie closed her eyes and turned her head, as the hard wood hit her stomach with great power.
"Hnngh.." she cried from behind the rag, squeezing her eyes shut. It hurt like hell.
"Yeah, you like that?" the boy grinned, taking a better grip of the bat while enjoying the vision of the girl suffering in front of him. She had lost all the air from her lungs, and was slowly gathering some of it back.

Ellie rolled on the floor in pain, her eyes closed and teeth bitten together. She was panting and tears kept on rolling down her cheeks. She hoped it would be over. She hoped that she had given Joel the permission to shoot Andy's goddamn brains out while they still could. She hoped that she had not given Joel the chance to gain trust in him. She knew this was her fault.

Fortunately, Andy stopped right after the second hit. He stood quietly for a while before loosening his grip again, and throwing the bat on top of his bed, stretching his neck from side to side.
"Let's try something else" he said quietly, having a good look at the girl while walking to his bag. Ellie didn't care. All the bad memories rolled in her head, and she was sure that this was how she would die. She was crying helplessly, quietly, knowing that it would only get worse.
Unfortunately, she was right.

"It is uh.. a bit sharp around the edges..." the boy started, and Ellie squinted her eyes to see what he was talking about. The world seemed hazy and awfully round, as it reflected to her through the tears.
".. but I think it'll suit the job just fine"
He was holding a metal pipe, just as described. It had been cut roughly and the ends were sharp as a knife. Ellie swallowed as she saw the new weapon, and she felt nauseous. Her heart skipped a beat as he saw the boy move towards her.
"No, no.." Ellie mumbled repeatedly through the rag, shaking her head.
The boy observed his newest weapon with great pleasure, turning it in his hands while walking.
"Let's see how this'll treat you" Andy said as his last words, approaching the girl with quick steps. He landed his eyes on the girl before stopping right in front of her.
Ellie was panting like never before, more afraid than ever. She shook her legs, arms and head, trying to move out of the way. Of course she couldn't do it, shaking like a fish on land.
An evil grin, and another swing at the victim.
"Aahh!" Ellie cried, as the pipe hit her leg. Her jeans ripped where Andy hit her, instantly colouring the surroundings dark red. She straightened her spine, wincing and shaking while trying to breath out the pain. It didn't seem to bother Andy at all.
Another hit to her thigh. Ellie screamed in agony. Another one to her arms, and a new one to her already aching stomach. This continued for too long, and she screamed every single time. This was of course damped by the gag.

Once Andy took a break from the abuse, Ellie finally had time to breath. She couldn't tell how long it had continued, but she didn't think it would matter. Joel wasn't there to save her, and she would never make it to the fireflies. She had absolutely no energy left.
"Stop... " Ellie cried from between her teeth and the rag. Her clothes painted red from her own blood, she looked miserable. Andy clearly enjoyed her suffering, and Ellie didn't know how much more she could take. She was thinking of her regrets, as well as her accomplishments. She had thought that her help with the vaccine would be her life's biggest achievement, but it seemed very unlikely to happen. She slowly closed her eyes again, since seeing didn't make her happier. Another tear formed in her eye, and slowly rolled down her cheek, dropping to the floor. She couldn't feel it anymore, and Andy could not have cared less.

"You know, I've probably never been this happy" Andy chuckled, shaking his head while looking at the girl and her wounds. If he had even heard the girl's quiet words, he acted as he had not. He looked down at her face while sighing and throwing the pipe far away from them, towards the door. It was red and splashed some blood on the floor on it's way. The ping that echoed from it would've normally scared Ellie, but she could barely hear it now.
"I had to be really careful not to wake up that big guy's paternal instincts. Good thing he's not around" the boy laughed, sneering at the girl. She was hardly recognizing him anymore, which made Andy a bit nervous. He wanted her to be around when he decided to finish the deal. Andy was also panting a bit, having hit the girl with the most of his strength. He swiped his hand across his face, swallowing and thinking about his next move.

Joel was still outside, but his glass was empty. The song that had popped to his head was one of the most popular Queen songs of all time, and he could hardly remember the first phrases. For a while he thought about the next line, but he couldn't remember it.
He sighed, putting the glass on the fence while leaning backwards to stand on his own feet. He stretched his arms behind his back, turning his head from side to side.
"Oh hell.. " Joel yawned, grabbing the glass again after a while. He was getting drowsy, and snapped back to reality when Ellie suddenly popped back to his head. The kid should probably be under supervision while in such condition, and he knew he didn't trust Andy with such responsibility. Joel would be the one sleeping with her anyway, so he might as well be the one making sure she was alright. He turned around and walked inside.

Getting inside the cabin, Joel stopped for a while to listen the upstairs: nothing. They're probably asleep, he thought to himself. Joel yawned again, lifting the glass to meet the eye level. It was empty, as already mentioned, and he turned to see the bottle on the living room table.
"Hm, maybe tomorrow" he whispered to himself, walking towards the table to lay his glass on it.

After setting the glass right next to the two others, Joel headed upstairs. He was still humming the melody in his head, and the words he could think of were on a constant repeat in his mind.

Heading towards the bedroom they had slept in, he didn't find what he was looking for. Joel slowly cracked the door to look inside, but he was surprised by the sight. Thinking he would find a sleeping little girl on the twin bed, he found it empty.
"Ellie...?" he asked with a quiet voice, in case he just wasn't seeing clearly. The room was pitch dark and that could've cheated his eyes, but after another check, he didn't see her. Joel walked around the bed, brows furrowed due the odd situation. He looked around him to find Ellie's stuff, and he didn't have to look for too long. Her bag was leaning against the night stand on the other side of the bed, and nothing was missing. Joel frowned his face as he took another look around him. She definitely had not left the cabin, since he had been on the porch the whole time. Where could she be?

When it appeared to him, he didn't hesitate for a second.
"Andy..." he whispered, heading towards the door. He got flashbacks from his own youth, and how a crush on somebody was formed. He was not too old to recognize the clear signs of someone being interested in someone, and he had seen those exact signs earlier that day.
"I sure hope you haven't..." he kept on murmuring to himself, and he headed to Andy's door with quick but careful steps, not to make too much sound. Not once did he think about turning back and giving them a proper privacy, even though their possible relationship would be none of his business.
"That slick.." he mumbled once again, as he already saw the door. It was shut.

Once he arrived to his door, he leaned forwards and listened for a few seconds right behind it.
"I've really waited for this" he heard Andy say, as he listened very carefully. The boy was not talking loud, but almost whispering. There was something odd in the tone of his voice.

This was enough to make Joel loose his temper. He bit his teeth together, pushing the door open right away.
"Get away from... " he shouted once he stepped inside the room, but the sight was unpredictable.