The morning search was underway for Sophia the moment daylight started flooding through the vehicles and waking everyone up. I had barely slept. My mind had been on Sophia the entire night. It didn't help that I could hear Carol's crying from the RV for hours, too. The sound of a mother who lost her child—it was heartbreaking.

I had to leave my gun in my duffle bag today; the only people armed with guns were Rick and Shane. They claimed someone would be too jumpy and pull the trigger at the first rustle of leaves and lead another herd of walkers our way. Andrea tried to fight them on this, but I thought they had a point. I didn't think anyone had gotten much sleep last night and we would all be a little jumpy and slow today. Rick and Shane had been officers. They at least knew how to shoot a gun. Best that this morning they were the only ones with one. At least I still had that knife I'd found.

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles and then come around the other side," Daryl told the group as he watched each person pick a weapon out of a hunting pack he had unrolled onto the hood of a car. "Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's the only landmark."

Rick stood beside Daryl, his hands on his hips. He looked the most worn out of everyone.

"Stay quiet and stay sharp," Rick directed. "Keep space between each other, but stay in sight of each other."

"Everyone assemble your packs," Shane ordered.

I readjusted the strap of the backpack on my shoulder as everyone began filling up duffle bags or packs of their own. I'd found this backpack in a car this morning on my way back to the RV. It had a couple unopened bottles of water, some crackers, and some beef jerky. I dumped out the empty wrappers and spoiled food that had been in it into the car before I'd taken it, assuming I'd need something easy to carry food and water if we would be out all day.

Dale was instructed to fix the RV while we were out so we could be ready to go when we got back. Everyone was becoming uneasy being stuck out in the open like we had been for so long. It was only a matter of time before more walkers would show up.

I watched silently as Carl volunteered to join the search party. Rick looked torn as he became lost in thought.

"I'd say he's in good hands with all of you," Dale told Rick.

Rick let out a slow sigh and shot Lori a glance. She didn't make an effort to protest so Rick gave in. "Alright, but you stay within our sights. No exception."

Carl nodded his head firmly, a serious expression on his face. He looked a lot older in that moment than he actually was. I couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not.

I saw T-Dog leaning against a car in front of the RV. His forearm was bandaged up and my brows furrowed in confusion. When did that happen?

I made my way over to him and nodded at his arm. "What happened there?"

T-Dog glanced down at the bandage. Some red blood was seeping through it. "Yesterday. When the walkers came. Sliced it accidentally on a broken window of a car."

I winced as I eyed his arm.

"Walkers smelled the blood. Would have been dead if it wasn't for Daryl," T-Dog admitted to me, his eyes making their way to Daryl's back.

My eyes followed his to see Daryl counting the arrows he had and checking his crossbow.

"Surprised he helped me, after what happened to his brother," T-Dog admitted.

I frowned at his words. Daryl wasn't as bad as everyone made him out to be. He wasn't heartless. It seemed like they were judging him based on his brother. That didn't seem fair. He pulled his weight with the group; he helped fend off walkers, gather supplies, track Sophia.

I was about to open my mouth and say this when Andrea's booming shouts caught everyone's attention. Turning my head, I saw her yelling at Dale. I could only see his back but I didn't need to see his face to know just how hurt he was at her words.

"Gratitude?" Her voice shouted, reaching a higher volume. I could make out her words clearly now. "I wanted to die my way. Not to be torn apart by drooling freaks. That was my choice! And you took that away from me, Dale. I just wanted to get away from this horrific nightmare. I wasn't hurting anyone. You took my choice away."

"I don't know what to say," Dale's faint voice said.

Everyone was blatantly staring at the exchange between the two, but I noticed Daryl by the guardrail eyeing me now. A contemplative expression was on his face.

I remembered the other day when we were at the CDC. I remembered not being able to move when everyone was rushing to get out before the clock reached zero. I remembered considering taking the easy way out, ending everything instead of fighting on. I remembered Daryl pulling me up and forcing me to keep going, not giving me a choice. But I didn't feel towards him like Andrea felt towards Dale. For some reason, I did feel grateful that he made that decision for me so I didn't have to.

I wondered what it was Daryl was mulling over in his head right now. Was he feeling bad for taking my choice away? I had yelled at him afterwards in the car, telling him that it was my choice. I remembered the conversation we had and the way that his words had struck something inside of me, even if he had yelled some of it at me.

I shot him a small smile, hoping he'd understand just from the gesture that I wasn't mad about that. His gaze shot away quickly to Rick who was now clearing his throat and trying to gather everyone's attention.

"We should get moving," he told the group.

No one said anything as Daryl swung his leg over the guardrail and led the group into the forest. We all followed in a single file line. I decided to stay towards the back of the group, with only Shane and his rifle behind me. No one spoke as we trudged through the dirt and bushes.

After awhile, I was not certain how long but the sun was definitely risen by this point, the group came to a sudden halt. I made my way up past Lori and Carl to stand beside Glenn and Andrea near the front of the group. About forty feet ahead of us, nestled among some trees and bushes, I spotted a lone tent.

Daryl moved into a crouch, his crossbow quickly sliding from off his shoulder and into his hands. Everyone followed his lead and ducked down behind him.

"She could be in there," Daryl told the group in a rough whisper. "Could be a bunch of things in there."

Daryl was on his feet again, his crossbow raised at the ready. He moved silently forward, his feet somehow managing not to make a sound. Rick gestured for me to stay back when I made a move forward. I stayed put and watched as Shane and Rick followed after him, but their footsteps weren't as skillfully quiet.

Beside me I saw Carol chewing her lip, her hands fidgeting together as she craned her neck to watch the men approach the tent. No doubt she was hoping Sophia would be safely inside. Something in my gut told me we wouldn't be that lucky.

Daryl signaled Rick and Shane to stay put and cover him as he slid his hunting knife from his pocket. Knife raised in his right hand, Daryl approached the tent alone. I could feel everyone hold their breath as he peeked inside the tent flap, and then took two steps back to peer in through what must have been a screened window. He turned around and threw his hands up in a gesture towards Rick and Shane. He must not have been able to get a good enough view inside of the tent. It was probably too dark with the way it was covered.

Rick turned on the spot and motioned for Carol, waving her over. She obliged immediately, racing forward and barely managing to keep quiet in the process.

The rest of our group quietly trudged forward after her, still keeping our distance. Lori was clutching Carl to her side as the two moved.

Rick was whispering something to Carol, but I couldn't hear what. I saw the older woman nod slowly at whatever instructions he'd given her and then take a few steps toward the tent. Daryl readied himself with his knife by the tent's opening.

"Sophia?" Carol's soft voice called out hesitantly. She paused. No answer. "Sweetie? Are you in there?" Still no response. "Sophia, its mommy. We're all here, it's okay to come out."

When there was still no answer or sign of movement, Rick placed a hand on Carol's shoulder to quiet her. Both he and Shane made their way over to Daryl. I watched as Carol's shoulders slumped in defeat. Her daughter wasn't in there. Judging by the expression on Daryl's face though, he must have seen something in there.

He reached out and opened the tent flap with his left hand. He paused a brief moment and coughed into his shoulder. A few moments later the wind picked up the scent and I gagged as well. The smell of rotting flesh stung the air now. Daryl disappeared inside the tent and Rick and Shane began choking on the smell that lingered.

"Daryl?" Carol called out.

He was in there for half a minute only before he appeared outside the tent again. "Ain't her," was all he told Carol.

Carol turned around and covered her face in her hands. Lori stepped forward and tried to comfort her.

"What's in there?" I called out to him.

His eyes met mine as he sheathed his knife and readjusted the crossbow on his back. "Some guy. 'Opted out.' Isn't that what Jenner called it?"

I felt uncomfortable as his eyes lingered on me for a moment longer. There was something about the way he said 'opted out' and Jenner's name that made me think he hadn't forgotten about Andrea's outburst earlier. Or about my lack of action at the CDC. Something inside of me told me I was going to have to talk to him about that later, let him know I wasn't mad at him for what he did. Even though I had yelled at him in his truck after the explosion.

A soft sound in the distance broke me from my thoughts.

"What is that?" Lori asked cautiously.

"Sounds like…a church bell," I said, the words tumbling out of my mouth. For some reason it sounded almost familiar. Why would I recognize a church bell?

Rick, Shane, and Daryl were off in a bolt, racing towards the sound. All of us took off after the three men. I tried to keep at a brisk jog with the group, ignoring the protesting pain in my lungs.

The farther we ran, the louder the sound became. The loud, distinct sounds of a church bell ringing continuously. I had been right. The closer we got to the church, the more an unknown tugging sensation began to pull at the back of my mind. It felt like a memory trying to reach the surface but it felt jumbled.

Suddenly the bells stopped and so did the tugging feeling in my head.

The group paused, no longer being able to follow the sound. Rick took a moment before pointing a little to the left.

"That way, I'm sure of it," he told us before picking up running again.

A few minutes later, the trees led to an opening and we all stopped. A white building stood just before a road and a small cemetery was nestled just behind it.

Shane was shaking his head as he tried to catch his breath. "This ain't it. There's no steeple for a bell."

That tugging sensation in my head came back again, hitting me harder than before. I felt lightheaded and near ready to pass out, but I shook my head at Shane's words.

"This is the church."

Everyone in the group turned to face me, curious expressions on their face.

"You don't look so good, you okay?" Daryl called over to me.

"Just…my head," I said, my voice coming out breathy. "I'm fine. Let's go."

Rick ran forward as Shane called out after him. Clearly Shane still thought this wasn't the church, but he began running forward after him.

I was running slower behind the others, my head feeling like it was swimming. I made it to the front entrance where everyone had come to a stop in front of a pair of bright red doors. Rick was on one side and Daryl was on the other. Rick motioned for everyone to remain quiet.

I took a moment to lean up against the railing of the stairs, trying to catch my breath and push away the feeling in my head. I needed to focus now. Anything could have been drawn out by the sound of the bells.

"You sure you're alright?" Lori asked me quietly, leaning forward so no one else could hear.

I nodded slowly. "Probably just dehydrated," I lied quickly.

She nodded in return before pressing Carl farther into her side.

Rick was counting down from five on his hand. When he reached zero, both he and Daryl pushed the doors open simultaneously. They opened with a creak.

Three walkers were sitting in pews in the church. Their heads snapped in our direction instantly. My view into the church was cut off when Shane and Glenn flanked Daryl and Rick. They made gestures to each other before heading inside. My hand instinctively rested on the knife at my side, feeling the weight of it against my leg. The feeling in my head suddenly vanished and I was heading up the steps two at a time after the others.

Rick ran in and took out the lone walker who'd been sitting on the left side of the church. Shane had rushed forward and slid a machete cleanly through the walker's head that had made his way at him. The only walker left was a female with long, graying hair. Some sort of fabric or veil was covering her decayed face as she blindly tried to find her way out of her pew. Daryl snuck up behind her and let out a low whistle. She spun at the sound just as his knife slid through the middle of her face. She dropped to the ground, unmoving.

"Sophia!" Daryl's deep voice rang out in frustration as the rest of us filed into the church.

"It's the wrong church, Rick. It's got no steeple," Shane shot.

Rick was trying to catch his breath, his body resting against a pew.

"It's not the wrong church," I shot out in response.

Shane turned and rounded on me. "And we're supposed to listen to you?"

"Stop," Rick commanded.

"There's no bell," Shane said again.

A thought suddenly struck me. "No, there's no bell. This church has something else."

I spun around and headed outside just as the sound of bells ringing enveloped us again. Everyone followed after me as I led them around the side of the church where a speaker was attached to the top of the church, a long wire running down to a metal box.

I flipped the box open and tore out the wire. A spark flashed in protest but the bells died. The sound would have just attracted more walkers to our location. When I turned back around, the whole group was standing there watching me with strange looks on their faces.

"It was on a timer," I explained.

"How did you know that?" Rick asked me, his expression curious.

I shrugged in response, feeling a little uneasy at this sudden knowledge as well. "I remember this church."