Disclaimer: I do not own "The Walking Dead" in any way unfortunately.

A/N: This takes place at the beginning of Season 2 when Sophia is missing but changes direction from that point forward. - GG

Chapter 1: Off the Beaten Path and Up a Creek

-GLENN-

Glenn was getting tired of the whole imminent emergency thing.

The group had barely managed to escape the CDC unscathed if Jacqui's decision to "opt out" didn't count, and yet, they were already facing another crisis. The herd, as they'd dubbed the crowd of lethargic walkers ambling down the road, had passed, and Glenn sighed in relief.

One less worry. He thought, but he should have known better.

Sophia was missing.

Though Rick wasn't directly responsible, Rick was directly responsible at least according to Carol. The two stray walkers from the herd that had chased the twelve-year-old into the tree line and what was presumed to be Sophia's own disregard to heed Rick's directions and prematurely abandon the hiding spot had nothing to do with how things turned out in Carol's eyes. Glenn didn't blame her for wanting to place fault. She was grasping.

What he was more worried about was the look in Carol's eyes. If his hunch was right, the woman was only projecting the blame she felt onto Rick for not protecting her daughter herself. Then again, Carol always had that expression—fearful, desperate, bitter, and Glenn understood a little more why Sophia hadn't stayed put.

She hadn't trusted anyone, even if it was someone as dependable as Rick, to pull through for her. Sophia had been abandoned as far as she knew, and learning from her mother Glenn suspected, the girl frightfully returned to what she knew and wound up even more lost in the process.

Four of them had set out from the highway as soon it was evident that Sophia hadn't returned, and Rick's pulse in his temple had barely had time to settle from the run through the woods before he was back out among the trees. Judging by Lori and Dale's concerned expressions, Glenn knew he wasn't the only one thinking the man needed to take a break, but Rick was too good of a man to simply stop.

He had even promised Carol that he would find her daughter. He had said it with such determination that Glenn wondered how he could be that hopeful after everything their group had witnessed and experienced. They'd seen the horrors of the world and knew how quickly everything could turn disastrous. Yet, Rick didn't seem to falter in his determination.

Glenn supposed parents didn't get that luxury, at least not verbally. They had to remain strong regardless of the fear of failure nagging at their mind and heart while still keeping face, especially in front of their children. Glenn couldn't imagine what that was like. He was doing well enough taking care of himself.

Him…with a kid? He'd pass.

Not that he minded kids. He was fine with indirectly helping to protect them and the group at large. He even enjoyed a laugh with Carl and Sophia sometimes, found it fun to play monopoly with them or play catch with Carl once or twice. It was the undeniable responsibility that came with having children which seemed daunting to Glenn.

Parenthood was hard enough he speculated, but with walkers in the mix, he shuddered at the amount of strength it took to keep face for a child and worry about danger always lurking. And as he watched Rick inadvertently rise up to gain authority in their group, he presumed the man had even less room for hesitation. Do or don't. That was it, and Rick had chosen to bring Sophia home at all costs.

Not everyone felt the same however.

Shane had grown irritated by the thought of hanging around the area as soon as the situation was assessed and it lead to a dead end. Rick had led them and Daryl to the bramble covered piece of creek bed he had hidden Sophia. From there, they followed the weak tracks of her tennis shoes which came to a sudden stop, and after a bit of aimless walking in the area calling out her name, their search party slowed to a stop as well.

Glenn wiped at the sweat on his brow, sucking up the urge to sit. If there was one thing he had learned navigating the world post-outbreak, it was that sitting didn't come when desired or even when needed, and with a child missing, sitting was equivalent to throwing in the towel. The sun lowering in the sky as late afternoon fell wasn't encouraging.

They should have found her already, and Glenn knew that T-Dog had to have been bandaged up as best as possible given their circumstances at the mercy of the highway. Any distraction his injury had served for the rest of the group and Carol who had been attending the man along with Lori would be gone. Everyone would be anticipating their return with Sophia no doubt, and Glenn feared emerging from the woods without the girl.

However, that didn't change the fact that the trail was cold.

"We ain't gonna find her this way," Daryl commented as they arbitrarily trudged further into the woods and thereby further away from the highway.

"He's right," Glenn agreed. "She could have gone in any direction."

"Then, let's come up with a Plan B," Rick suggested.

"It's gonna get dark soon, only got a couple more hours of daylight. So, whatever we're gonna do we gotta get to it or call it a day," Shane wiped at his neck and sighed in agitation.

"Well, we aren't calling it a day…What do you have in mind?" Rick asked, clearly not impressed by the man's flippancy.

"You ain't gonna like it," Shane snorted.

"Try me."

"I say we split up."

"Ain't a bad idea," Daryl agreed though the roll of his eyes said otherwise. "Cover more ground. She can't have gone far."

It was a bad idea in Glenn's opinion. It was irresponsible to go it alone. They had no idea what kind of dangers they could find in the woods, and with no one watching each other's backs, any number of problems could arise. Besides, no one knew exactly where the herd had migrated to after passing by and cresting over the hill of the highway.

Yet, whereas they were better equipped to handle themselves, Sophia wasn't, and he ignored the little voice in his head telling him it was a bad idea to split up. The little voice was beginning to sound an awful lot like Dale lately; Glenn noticed. If the other men were going to be asinine and take the risk, he would roll with the punches. He just hoped for Sophia's sake it paid off, and they found her soon.

"If we head in more directions from this point, one of us will have to come across her…Right?" Glenn said.

No one answered him outright, and their lack of confidence only confirmed his belief that it was a wrong move.

"I don't know. I'm not sure we should split up," Rick shook his head. "That's how we got in this situation in the first place."

"You mean how you got us in this situation." Shane started

"Seriously?" Glenn bit out.

Shane snarled at him in disgust, but Glenn stood his ground, slightly shocked that he had spoken up at all. He had never had a problem with Shane at the quarry camp, but the more days passed since Rick joined the group, he could see Shane changing incrementally. It was if he was finally showing his true colors with mood swings alternately from temperamental to friendly without much segue.

Glenn wasn't for picking sides between the two men, and he hoped it didn't come down to that. Yet, the tension between Shane and Rick was growing a bit more with each conflict. Any evidence the group had was circumstantial at best, but everyone knew without really knowing that something had transpired between Shane and Lori to cause the friendship to be unsettled. The extent of whatever had transpired was debatable depending on who was asked.

All Glenn saw though was a melodrama beginning to causes waves that didn't need to be addressed when looking for a child.

There was a beat of silence in which Shane glared at Glenn, Rick narrowed his eyes at Shane, and Daryl's fingertips inched toward his bow, prepared to handle whoever needed handling.

"Wastin' time," Daryl said after a few minutes. "We go in different directions. Meet up here before sunset. I'll take this-a-ways…gettin' tired of ya'll anyways."

"Yeah and what if someone doesn't come back?" Rick called to Daryl who was already trudging away.

Glenn caught Shane's beady-eyed look at Rick without him noticing, and alarm coursed through him as he remembered Dale's confession in confidence at the CDC. The older man had witnessed Shane stalking Rick in the woods at the quarry camp. Glenn hadn't honestly put too much stock in Dale's claim, thinking his friend was growing paranoid, but seeing the look firsthand, he saw what Dale must have seen.

There was something frightening in Shane's eye, reminding him of walkers' eyes when they were fixated on their prey.

"Pussies can't find your way back that's ya'lls problem," Daryl called over his shoulder.

"Well, I'll take this way," Shane drawled out and stomped off as well.

Glenn's gaze lingered on his back, suddenly hoping the man wasn't thinking of taking advantage of the opportunity away from the group for his own benefit. If so, Sophia wouldn't be the only one missing.

"We can go together," Rick suggested, and Glenn's attention snapped to him.

It was the wisest plan to cover the most ground but still stay safe, and they all knew well enough to know that. Yet, ready to find Sophia, get out the woods, and back on the road, Glenn shrugged. Fort Benning or bust was the goal after all. Besides, the less time they spent in the woods, the less time Shane had to kill Rick if he was actually going to follow through.

"No it's fine. I got it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Glenn nodded assuredly before taking a few steps, but he turned on his heel before he got too far. "Hey, Rick?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't get yourself killed," He said nonchalantly.

"You either," Rick laughed none the wiser.

Glenn pushed aside the guilt he felt for not accompanying Rick. As if he could stop Shane should he want Rick dead at all costs. If a man could kill his best friend, he could certainly kill the novel Asian guy tagging along, and Glenn didn't exactly want to be collateral damage. Perhaps, he was selfish, but he wasn't in the woods to protect Rick. He was in the woods to help bring Sophia to safety. He'd cross his fingers for Rick's sake.

With the rest of the men heading other ways, Glenn was left to take the direction doubling back toward the creek, and with his gun at the ready, he headed straight, feeling glad no one could see him when he looked over his shoulder just to be sure. He didn't need to get lost too, and he groaned at the thought of something so embarrassing. If that should happen, he might have to stay lost simply to avoid the teasing he knew several in the group could dish out.

As he walked, Glenn called out Sophia's name tentatively, not wanting to rouse any walkers possibly nearby but hoping the girl would hear if she was close. The creek bed had long since disappeared behind him and more than an hour had passed when Glenn stumbled upon another. Curiously, he inched toward the incline that was more severe than the one Sophia had been hidden at the bottom of. An obstacle course of trees, vines, and bramble led to a bottom of jagged rock before giving way to the muddy bed and murky water.

Glenn stayed close to the edge and forged a path ahead of him, cutting at tangles of thin branches in his way and cursing at them. He maintained an eye on the creek bed and tried not to acknowledge why he was so interested. The thought made him cringe. If Sophia had happened in the direction and stumbled down the incline, she could be hurt or worse, and Glenn hoped that wasn't the case. He hoped the girl had come running to Rick or Daryl, even Shane, when one of them called somewhere else in the woods.

Glenn was prepared to investigate elsewhere, perhaps find a spot to cross, when the lump caught his eye. It was trapped against a log half buried in the shallow water. He leaned in for a closer look and felt his weight plunge forward as he fell suddenly. The sound of wooden switches hitting him and his shoes thudding repeatedly on the ground filled his head until Glenn landed in a heap of pain at the bottom.

With a mouth full of water and mud, Glenn groaned. He was never more thankful for guns having safety mechanisms when he realized that his weapon had landed beside him with the barrel aimed at his side. He rolled over and cringed, expecting bruises to form if they hadn't already. Glenn pulled himself to his feet, remembering the strange lump and bitterly hoping he hadn't tumbled to the ground to find a big rock.

He was slightly stunned when he reached down to find Sophia's doll that had been buried in the mud. He gaped and looked around wildly as if the girl would wander out of the woodwork.

"Sophia!" He called splashing through the water as he twisted and turned.

He waited, but Sophia didn't appear.

"Sophia!" He tried again.

Nothing.

Dejected, Glenn picked up his hat and gun, and taking the doll, he looked for any indication of which way she could have gone. It wasn't the way he had come from, but that was about as far as Glenn's expertise went. He suddenly wished Daryl was with him. The redneck would be able to make heads and tails of the scene.

Everything was literally as clear as mud to Glenn, and he felt quite inept. He considered returning to the rendezvous point. However, Daryl would still be out looking in his direction anyways, and knowing for certain that Sophia had come that way, he couldn't think she had strayed too much farther. No, Glenn put himself back in Sophia's shoes and was rewarded when he found the hand print in the soft soil of the hill leading up the opposite side of the creek bed.

Dead straight ahead.

Glenn followed her cue and pulled himself up the other side. She was alive. He could feel it, feel that reality become more tangible with each step. There would be no digging roadside graves today. There would be no crying except for tears of joy when Sophia ran to embrace Carol.

He was surprised to pull himself up onto a thin dirt trail running the length of the creek bed, and he looked either way to make sure Sophia hadn't followed the path. Thankfully, there was no sign of her changing course late in the game, and Glenn was set to keep working his way straight through the brush when the noise alarmed him.

"Sophia?" He called out tentatively, and he clicked the safety off his gun in case walkers were to shuffle through instead.

Glenn turned around when nothing met his eyes and no sound was made again. He nearly thought his imagination had played a trick on him, but the sound reverberated around him again. He raised his gun.

"Soph…oomph!"

Pain erupted from the back of his head, and Glenn hadn't even registered what had happened to him when the second blow was administered. His second tumble down the hill was worse, and head over feet he rolled to the bottom. There were snapping sounds that couldn't all be contributed to the breaking limbs judging by the agony radiating through various points in his body, and his head hit the ground with a thump.

Water rushed into his ears. Glenn's vision was blurry, peppered with black spots, and without thought to his limbs sprawled out to all sides, Glenn watched the darkness invade his mind as he finally gave in to the exhaustion he had never truly been able to shake since the outbreak first began. He welcomed sleep, vaguely listening to the voice floating high above him.

"You think he's dead?"