"Sure this is the spot?" Daryl asked and turned towards Rick. The former cop confirmed that he had left Adam and Sophia to hide underneath the roots reaching into the creek we were standing in right now.
"They were gone when I got back here…" With an angry growl, I kicked some water between the roots and almost lost my footing in the slippery bed of the creek.
"You done kickin' water?" I brushed some stray hair out of my face and turned my back on the roots to follow Daryl back towards the shoreline.
"Hey, short round, why don't you step off to one side? You're mucking up the trail!" Daryl barked at Glenn behind me and motioned for him to step away from where he was going in small circles. The poor guy turned pale and quickly stepped aside. Rick and Shane started discussing whether or not Sophia understood when Rick told her which way the highway was and how to get there.
"Shut the fuck up, Shane!" I snapped at him. "The girl isn't stupid and my brother was with her!" Shane turned his head to me and gave me an angry glare.
"Yeah, same brother that was stupid enough to have a shelf fall on top of him in a gas station? Real smart, that guy," he replied, and I was ready to pounce on him like a wild cat.
"Rachel, don't." Rick put himself between me and his best friend and tried calming me down with his hands on my shoulders.
"She's right though, got clear prints of both of 'em here. Did what you told them and headed back towards the highway," Daryl interrupted and pointed out a trail leading from the shoreline into the woods in the direction of the interstate we had come from. With Shane's help, he climbed out of the creek, with Rick behind him. I followed and stubbornly ignored Shane's hand.
"For heaven's sake, take my hand already," he grumbled.
"Over my dead body!" I hissed through clenched teeth. I'd rather die than let this asshole help me.
"Rachel." Another hand appeared in my line of sight while I tried to pull myself up by grabbing a long reed. It was Daryl offering his help this time, so after slipping back again I grabbed his hand for him to pull me up.
"Stubborn bitch." Before I had the chance to kick Shane for his comment, I was dragged off by the hunter, who hadn't let go of my hand yet. Once he was in the front of our group he let go, his eyes on the ground where even I was able to clearly see the two sets of footprints.

"Wanna tell me what he did to tip you off so easily?" His voice was low enough for only me to hear, since Glenn was a few steps behind us and Rick and Shane brought up the rear.
"Nothing. Just can't stand his comments…" I replied, trying to sound convincing, but was aware that Daryl didn't buy it for one second.
"Fine. Keep it to yerself." I could tell he was getting annoyed.
"Why do you care anyways?" I mumbled, not really expecting an answer.
"Right, why do I even care…" he growled, and I felt kind of guilty. I knew I was being unfair, but he of all people should understand what it was like to have your brother missing.
"They were doing just fine up until here, just had to continue straight that way to make it back. Somehow they went off in that direction." Daryl had crouched down and pointed out the trail veering off to the side instead of continuing on. But why?
"Something deter them? Make them change directions?" I asked with an ill feeling in my stomach.
"Nah. I don't see any other footprints," the hunter mused. I took an involuntary step closer to him when Shane crouched down as well. Luckily, nobody besides the hunter seemed to notice. I just hoped Adam and Sophia were alright and back on the right track, that maybe they just saw something and took a little detour just to be sure.
"I'll keep 'em busy scavenging cars. Think up a few other chores. I'll keep 'em occupied," the deputy offered. I must have spaced out a little, because it took me a moment to understand that Shane and Glenn would be going back and updating the group.
"Are you staying?" I nodded at Glenn and he gave me a sympathetic smile.
"Maybe she should come with us. Make herself useful…" Shane started, but was cut short by Daryl, who got back to his feet.
"She ain't goin' back with ya. She needs to do this." The ex-cop wanted to say something when Rick chimed in as well.
"Daryl's right. You wouldn't go back either if it were your family," he told his best friend, who just shrugged his shoulders and motioned for Glenn to follow him.
"What is it with the two of you?"

I looked at Rick for a second and then turned my attention back on Daryl, who had continued to follow the trail. "Can't stand him and his whole attitude. Don't know what his problem with me is. Can we try to find my brother and Sophia now?" I had no interest in discussing my dislike of his best friend right now when there were more pressing matters at hand. We kept following the hunter and the trail, which in all honesty wasn't as clear to me as Daryl made it seem, but he was the expert here.
"Tracks are gone," Rick stated. From what I could see, I agreed with him.
"No, they're faint, but they ain't gone. They were here, both still together," Daryl denied and I felt at least a little relieved.
"That's good, right?" I whispered and Rick gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He turned back to the hunter and asked him how he could be sure of that.
"You want a lesson in tracking or you want to find that girl?" was Daryl's blunt reply.
We continued following the supposed trail until a loud rustling in the bushes ahead caught us off guard. We crouched low with our weapons drawn. Down in a ditch a few feet from us, a walker was making its way through the forest. The two men were having a silent conversation on how to proceed and I rolled my eyes in annoyance.
"Fuck this…" I muttered. Pulling one of my knives, I stood up, and before one of them could stop me, I jumped down and embedded my knife in the walker's skull with a sickening crunch.
"The hell were ya thinkin'?!" Daryl grabbed my arm and whisper-yelled at me. I shrugged him off, not really seeing the problem with what I did. "Ya wanna get yerself killed? What if there'd been more than that sumbitch? Damn it, woman!" He ripped the blade from the corpse's skull, wiped it clean on his pants and shoved it back into my hands.
"There wasn't and none of you were going to do anything." My voice was calm, almost careless as Rick started to inspect the corpse.
"Ya bein' reckless ain't helpin'! What good 're ya to yer brother an' that girl if yer ripped to shreds by those geeks?!"
"You're my babysitter now? My, how did I survive until I met you?" I could see the anger and frustration in Daryl's face but I didn't care. All the frustration,the pain, the hate for Shane and the fear for my brother's wellbeing had pooled together and had me acting like a total bitch.
"To hell with ya. Ain't yer punchin' bag! Don't come runnin' when reality catches up with yer fucked up head!" Fuming, the hunter turned his back on me and towards Rick in time to catch the former cop's intention of gutting the dead walker since he had found some flesh caught between its rotten teeth.
I watched with clenched jaws and balled fists as the hunter started cutting into the rotten body and prying the ribs apart to get to the rotting intestines. He pulled out the stomach and carefully sliced it open.
"This gross bastard had himself a woodchuck for lunch," Daryl stated while holding up the skull with his knife.
"Great. All this butchering for nothing…" I grumbled and kicked against the walker's head hard enough to send it flying into some bushes. Of course I lost my footing and, just my luck, landed face first in walker guts. I pushed myself up until I could sit back on my haunches and spat out everything that had ended up in my mouth. With a sigh, Daryl crouched down in front of me and wiped my face with the red rag for the second time today. I glared at him, refusing to thank him or say anything else to him.
"Should get back. 's gettin' too dark to continue searchin'. They might have made it back a'ready. No point in losin' more people out 'ere." Rick agreed with that and helped me back to my feet since I refused the hunter's help. I knew he was right about getting back to our group, but it still didn't sit right with me that we had to abandon the search.

It had taken us longer than I expected to get back to the highway. I hadn't even realized how far we had wandered off from the creek and the interstate. The sun was setting when we came back and I was trailing a little behind the two men. I wasn't really keen on facing a heartbroken Carol, not when I wasn't feeling much better myself.
"You didn't find her?" Carol's weak voice carried along to where I had stopped halfway up the small hill.
"Her trail went cold…" Rick was trying to calm the frightened mother down when I finally found the courage to continue walking. Everyone stared at me - no wonder, with me being covered in walker guts and blood no doubt still on my face.
"Is that blood?" Carol looked about ready to collapse. Daryl and Rick might have gutted that rotten piece of shit but I fell right into it, so of course she would notice the blood on me first. Rick tried to explain to her that we came upon a walker and made sure he didn't come upon Sophia and Adam.
"And why is she covered in blood and… I don't think I want to know what the rest is?" Andrea spoke up with a look of disgust on her face while Lori tried to comfort the crying woman.
"Tripped. Fell face first into the walker," I mumbled and shrugged.
"How can you be so calm? You were out there almost all day and didn't find anything. Your brother is still missing and you don't care one bi…"
"Don't you dare speak to me about my brother! I didn't tell you what to do or what to feel when Amy was bit, so keep your damn mouth shut! You know nothing, you have no idea how I feel. The moment we find Adam's lifeless body is the moment I will break down and cry! Until then: SHUT! THE! FUCK! UP!" I interrupted the blonde and yelled into her face. She turned pale and took a step back from me, apparently afraid that I was going to strangle her right here and now. I shrugged off Dale's hand and stomped off between the car wrecks, determined to find something other than Andrea's face to bash in.

Daryl silently watched Rachel shout at Andrea and then storm off in a fit. He had honestly just waited for her to finally go over the top and let some of her emotions out. He shook his head and would probably have laughed at how much she acted just like he had when Merle disappeared, if the situation hadn't been so tragic. He felt bad for cutting the search short but they were of no use to the girl and Adam if they got lost out there or stumbled upon another herd in the dark.
"Shouldn't someone go after her?"
He turned towards Glenn and let out a sarcastic laugh. "Sure. If ya wanna get yer head ripped off and shoved up yer ass," the hunter answered dryly. If Rachel behaved any more like him, she would sure as hell lash out physically at whomever went after her right now. "She needs to get it outta her system. Leave her for now."
Everyone stared at him as if he had grown a second head and he uncomfortably walked to check on Merle's bike.

When the darkness had set in, they had some kind of stew for dinner. Carol didn't eat much and retreated back into the RV from where her sobs sounded loud through the silence. Lori had disappeared with a bowl of food towards the abandoned pick-up to where Rachel had retreated after she finally came back.
"She won't talk or eat…" Lori huffed and returned with the still filled bowl. Before she could dump the portion back into the pot, Daryl reached for it.
"Let me try. I'm gonna check on her." Lori gave him an indifferent look and finally handed over the food. Picking up his crossbow, he made his way over to where Rachel was sitting on top of the driver's cab with her knees pulled up against her chest. He put the bowl in the truck bed and hauled himself up before he walked over and stopped behind her.
"You need to eat." She didn't react or give him any hint that she even heard him while she kept staring off towards the dark tree line.
"Hey. I know this ain't easy but ya need to eat if ya wanna keep searchin' tomorrow." Finally Rachel turned her head a little and looked at him. Her eyes were clouded over, none of the usual sharpness or that ever burning fire left in them. He let out a sigh and jumped up to sit next to her. Without another word he held the bowl with stew out to her until she took it with an annoyed grimace and started to slowly eat. They sat in silence, only interrupted by Carol's weeping and the occasional clang of the spoon against the dish in Rachel's hand. It wasn't uncomfortable though, more some kind of content coexisting in that moment.
"Thank you," she whispered between two spoons of stew wandering into her mouth.
" 's nothin'," he replied. Even now, in that state, he enjoyed her company more than that of the others. Maybe because she was so much like him, or just for the simple fact that she respected his reluctance towards physical contact and his unwillingness to share what was on his mind.
"How do you do it?"
Daryl looked over at her and leaned back on his elbows. "Do what?"
"Don't go insane with your brother gone. How are you keeping it together?"
He thought about it for a moment, not really sure he even knew how he was doing it. "I know Merle. If he is still alive, he can take care of himself, even down one hand. For all we know, he made it outta Atlanta. Yer brother's smart. A dumbass, but smart. He will take care of that girl, he helped her get away after all. If he's anythin' like ya, he's too stubborn to get killed the first night out. We will head out there tomorrow with more people and find 'em."
She turned towards him and looked at him with those damned blue eyes. Against his usual reluctance towards such actions he felt the strong urge to cradle her in his arms. To reassure her that he would keep her safe and that they would find her brother. But he knew that he couldn't. He was broken beyond repair. She didn't need him. Not like that.

I didn't get much sleep that night, and morning came much too quickly. Carol's weeping kept me awake as much as my own thoughts. I had refused to eat when Lori came over and tried to talk to me. I didn't need her pity and hollow words, nor did I need her to act like my mother and beg me to eat. I only snapped out of my trancelike state when Daryl came over and joined me on the pick-up I had retreated to.
He had brought the bowl I had refused earlier with him and insisted that I needed to eat if I wanted to be able to search for our missing members the next day. I was kind of glad that he was the one to make sure I ate. His presence, I could tolerate. He made me feel calm and safe. I knew that it was wrong to feel like that around him, to allow him to get so close to me that I felt at ease around him. I knew that it was dangerous for the both of us, yet it calmed me down when he told me that we would find my brother and Sophia. Shortly after he left me to take over watch for the night, I had fallen asleep in the truck bed.
After everyone had finally woken up, Rick gathered us all so we could head out. Dale and T-Dog were going to stay behind in case Sophia and Adam made their way back to the highway while we were out searching. Of course, a discussion broke loose when Rick told everyone to grab a weapon that wasn't a gun. Andrea kept on bragging about wanting her gun that apparently Dale took away because he was afraid she would try to kill herself.
"We've been over that. Daryl, Rick and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles," Shane chimed in, causing the blonde to roll her eyes.
"And why is she allowed to carry a gun? She is the most unstable out of all of us right now!" Andrea accused and pointed at me. I pushed off the RV where I was leaning next to T and she instantly took a step back. I pulled my Glock from its holster, made sure the safety was on and threw the gun at Andrea.
"You want it so bad, take it. I am done with your bullshit! You figure out how the safety works and you can use it. Wanna draw in another herd? Be my guest!" I pushed past her and jumped over the guardrail, no longer willing to stand there and listen to her complaining all day long. A tap on my shoulder had me turning around and Rick stood there, handing me my gun back.
"This better be used by someone who knows what they are doing." I gave him a firm nod and slid the gun back into its holster.
"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are, they'll be by the creek. It's their only landmark. Stay quiet and stay sharp. Keep space between you, but always stay within sight of each other," Daryl explained the plan once more before he joined me at the tree lines. I groaned in annoyance when I heard Andrea getting in Dale's face because of that stupid gun again and making him feel guilty for forcing her to leave the C.D.C. instead of choosing to die there.
"Seriously… Now, of all times, she has to bring that shit up? She had more than enough time for that while we were on the road. I swear, if she doesn't stop that bullshit soon I am gonna drag her into these woods by her hair and grant her her wish to be done with this life…" I growled in annoyance.
"Would be a waste of bullets," Daryl said with a slight smirk on his lips. "You done up there? We're wastin' time!" he yelled at the others, hoping they would finally get moving as well.

We searched the woods for hours with no success. The only thing we found was a campsite with a single tent. There was a short moment of hope that we might have found the two missing people, but it turned out to be just another person who couldn't take it anymore and took themselves out.
I whirled around at the sudden sound of church bells ringing loud through the forest. While the others were still wondering about where the ringing came from, I had already taken off into the general direction. My heart was racing with tension, the hope that Adam or Sophia might be ringing those bells overshadowing every last bit of common sense. I only stopped long enough to let the others catch up until Rick pointed out that he was sure which direction to go.
"That can't be it. Got no steeple, no bells," Shane stated when we broke through the tree lines into an open field with a small church and graveyard.
"Fine, stay back and I'm gonna check anyway!" I growled at Shane and started sprinting off towards the white building.
"Great, man. Just let the girl run in all by herself. Pussy!" I heard Daryl snap at Shane behind me and I soon heard heavy footfalls follow me. At the steps leading up to the chapel next to the much larger community house, Daryl, Rick and Shane finally caught up to me. Rick barely managed to keep me from just barging inside. He motioned for me to calm down before he pushed the doors open. The chapel was abandoned, save for four walkers sitting in the pews and rising upon our entry. Daryl walked past me to round the pews on the right while Rick went left. I pulled my hunting knife out and slowly walked towards the walker closest to me in the aisle.
"I got this, princess." Shane pushed past me and I shot him an angry glare. Who did he think I was? Some helpless little schoolgirl?! I watched the second walker in the aisle creep towards the ex-cop who kept beating down on the corpse he just killed. It would be so easy to just let him take the fall for his arrogance. With an annoyed sigh I stepped forward and rammed my knife through the backside of the walker's kull, in time with Shane finally turning around and realizing that I just saved his life.
"You're welcome," I told him with a venomous smile and turned to leave upon realizing we'd just hit another dead end. The same second I passed the chapel's threshold, the bells started sounding again. It turned out that the noise came from some speakers hooked to a timer and were still running. Once the power was cut, our group started to split up.
I couldn't take this place, couldn't take the looks of pity on Andrea's and Lori's face, couldn't stand that Carol went back inside to talk to a God that didn't answer, or simply didn't care for an innocent little girl or her distraught mother. I grabbed my bow a little tighter and marched off to the far end of the graveyard to get out of the sun. I sat down in the shade of one of the large trees and just stared at the withering graves. What if we went in the complete wrong direction? What if they got separated? What if we find them and one of them was bitten?

"We will find them." I looked up at the boy who stood in front of me with a determined expression on his face.
"I really hope you are right, Carl," I breathed and patted the grass next to me. "Does your mom know you snuck off to sit with me?"
A guilty grin appeared on his face. "She's arguing with Shane again. I think he hates me…" I felt a pang in my heart at the broken expression on the boy's face.
"He doesn't hate you, Carl. He is just worried for Sophia," I tried to convince him rather than telling him that the problem might be that his dad was still alive and kicking. I didn't know anything for sure, but the way Lori and Shane acted around each other and the heated looks Shane cast his best friend's wife sometimes, gave me a pretty colorful picture of what must have transpired between them when Rick was gone.
"He is just different now." I looked down at the boy beside me and took his hand.
"We all are. It's the way the world is right now. Don't worry, okay?" He smiled at me and we both looked up when Daryl came strolling over.
"Hey. We're gonna start headin' back, follow the creek bed. We need to get back to the highway b'fore we lose the light." I let out a heavy sigh and looked back at the rest of the group.
"What's the deal over there?" I asked while getting up and dusting off my pants. Rick and Shane were apparently arguing with some of the others.
"They wanna keep lookin' some more. Catch up with us later, just in case Adam and Sophia heard the bells and are close by," the hunter explained while we started walking back to them with Carl in tow. As we drew closer, I could hear them arguing and understood why Rick wasn't ready to head back now.
"I will stay as well. If there is a chance my brother is out there, I can't just go back." Rick gave me an understanding look and slowly nodded his head in agreement.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? You are the only one apart from Shane and Rick who's carrying a gun. What if we need you as a doctor before they come back?" I looked at Lori and shook my head.
"You got Daryl. He will keep you safe just fine. What if Rick and Shane find Adam and Sophia and one of them is hurt? What if they need medical attention? I can't abandon the search now. I need to make sure I am there when we find them." I could tell Lori wasn't happy with me staying behind, but what right did she have to tell me no? Being Rick's wife and him taking charge didn't make her a leader.

Shane reluctantly agreed with what I said, and suddenly Carl spoke up that he wanted to go with us to look for his friend. Of course, that led to another discussion with the end result that he would be staying with the three of us and continue to search the perimeter.
Everyone got ready to head out again when Rick said he needed a minute alone before we went off and jogged back to the chapel. The larger group would be heading back towards the highway already.
"Ya be careful. Don't do anythin' stupid like that shit with that walker yesterday."
I gave Daryl a half teasing, half appreciative smile. "Oh, you almost had me thinking you were worried for me, Dixon. You better be safe as well." The last part I added was more serious and I felt my cheeks flush a little. I really didn't want him to get hurt, and it was kind of cute that he told me to watch out for myself.
"Smartass," he grumbled and turned away to leave. I smirked a little and turned to find Rick was making his way back to us as well.

We walked in opposite directions as we searched or began to search the surrounding woods for any sign our two missing members had been drawn in by the ringing bells. I lost track of time after a while, barely noticing that the sun was starting to creep lower as it got later in the afternoon.
The sound of a snapping twig from up ahead had us stop abruptly. I caught Carl by the neckline of his shirt as he almost walked past me. Whatever was moving, it was bigger and careful not to attract attention. The boy in my grasp let out an excited gasp when a young buck came into view just some feet away. I lowered my bow and watched the animal move gracefully and completely oblivious to our presence.
Carl looked back at his dad and then slowly started to walk towards the animal. I turned around halfway and motioned for Rick that I would stay close to his son. Catching up to the boy, I showed him where to step so we would not scare the animal away. We were so close to it now. Suddenly a soft breeze wafted by and carried our scent over. The buck looked at us, trying to determine if we were a threat or not. I stopped moving but encouraged Carl silently to go on since the animal didn't seem to be scared. It was great seeing the pure happiness on the boy's face.
But with the world being as it was now, moments like this never lasted long. A gunshot broke the silence, and the buck dropped to the ground an instant before Carl fell backwards. I had only taken half a step forward to catch him when a second shot tore through the air and I fell to my knees instantly. I felt no pain in that moment, only looked down at the blood pouring from my body as if it was someone else.